[fishinmagician]

Hey hey!

From the Vancouver perspective...

What started off as a slow year and then showed signs of life (April/May)..then went into the doldrums until August when it literally LIT right ON FIRE... and kept on going through until the middle of September.....it was an interesting year.

A time when THE place to be was no where else than Vancouver...August 6 to September 17...far and away this was one of the best years Vancouver had to offer up in many. 2008 goes down in my books as memorable..which is more than many can say elsewhere the coast over.

I'm thoroughly looking forward to 2009 and the return of the runs!!!

Things I did differently this year.. (even for a seasoned salt like me who puts fishing as the number 1 favorite activity when the weather is nice..)

1. Changed up my hootchies, leader lengths and got it all dialed in...even more than before. I thought I'd hit the limit on previous with my boat etc, but tuning your gear is absolutely key..and you WILL catch fish even when the "bite" is not on. Speed, tie, rigging, it all works together!!!

2. Strike while the iron is hot. Drop the girlfriend, drop the wife, take time off and fish long and fish hard. When the fish are in--they're in..get out fishing and get on it. Fish it hard.

3. Fish different area take that chance and fish different...you can't do any worse..(usually not).

4. Put out the "bonus lures"..the ones which used to catch fish years ago..I usually fish six rods. The fifth and sixth rods are the ones I fish those lures on. Those rods were fishing depths not normally fished in the local areas. They produced. Tyees. 32, 37, 33. As well as smaller standard fare. A bit surprising...but not really. Some rules apply the coast over

5. Bait. I moved away from bait a bit more this year. I used to be a bait exclusive when we got into the summer/fall. But a brave move on my part one morning showed that properly fished hardware will keep pace bait.

6. Next year...I can hardly wait. I get fired up just thinking about it.

What about you guys? Anyone else learn anything? Who is looking forward to next year?!

:cheers: :happy:

 

[wopper]

Well, Im still learning on this end, but I am learning and cant wait til next summer to actually get out there way more and put in the time that is necessary to become better (baby on the way so might not happen. lol!) Just curious about the winter fishing tho magician. When do you start and do you strictly run hardware in the winter? Cant wait for a cool crisp morning with and an amarula and coffee. Fabulous. Keep up the great posts and be safe out there.

 

[fishinmagician]

Usually I take November off...I don't fish that month. Towards the middle of December I start to think about it. A couple of trips in December. Then January, etc.

Depends on where I"m fishing, but Herring Strip and Spoons are the mainstay. If I know there are fish there, then Herring Strip comes out of the freezer. Otherwise, there's no real need. Spoons. Coyotes in the 4.0 size. Gibbs Gypsy spoons as well.

Glo/Flo (the old ones..not the crappy green/white)
Midnight Rider(Glow Cop Car)
Cop Car
Army Truck
PUNK SKUNK (one of my absolute faves)
Half Green/Chrome
Half Blue/Chrome

This is all I use..and all you need.

Match the hatch with small bait as well. I know a guy who uses small Apexes...they still work..and catch plenty of feeders.

A local guide uses small 4" Tomic Plugs in the popular colours on some of his lines .

Hootchies in similar colours work as well (I don't tend to fish with these in the winter months).

Ultimately though, use a 4/0 5/0 hook on the 4" Coyotes to try to avoid shakers. The number of bites will be few though.

For the most part, take the first part of the winter off and nuture all the relationships with family, friends and the girlfriend you scorned while fishing the hell out of local Vancouver waters in July, August and September! :thumbup: >

 

[Dorman Point]

I'm a Vancouver local, fishing Howe Sound/Sunshine Coast/Van Harbour, and have been following this site for some time, but have just signed on. It's nice to see constructive and helpful posts, and not just meat reports.

Well said, fishinmagician. This was certainly a very interesting year... my days ranged from long hard days for only one or two shots at fish, to some beautiful summer evenings of 2-3 hours with consistent action. I think the most pleasant surprise for me was the productivity I found with some of my old favourite hootchies. Pink/white, green/white and glow truck produced well for me in August when, during the last few years, I have traditionally fished all bait. I agree -- it's always a good idea to go back to some of the old stand-bys when the fishing gets tough.

I'm now looking forward to winter fishing... love those quiet days up Howe Sound with very few (if any) other boats out, sun glinting off the North Shore mountains, and prime winter fish on the line without flashers!

 

[kellya]

Magician any fish pics?

 

[Fishaholic]

Good job Fm. We had it difficult throughout the year off Sooke. Summed it up with SLOW. There was some good days but few and far between. I have a major feeling that most of the fish (springs) travelled down the outside....400-500ft of water as there was good amounts of bait every where, throughout the strait. The cooler temps might have had an affect as well?.
Bait is a staple off Sooke but from some luckless days experimented and came up with the Radiant "Burnt Sienna" that produced quite well.
Definite bite times this years as well.... If you weren't out when they happened it seemed like you were just burning gas, which is not the norm for around here.
There was an interesting time just west of Sooke for a few days late August. Quite a few Six Gills moved in and the guys Hali fishing were getting 2-3 a day up to 12 feet!

Lots of feeders around right now though and good size, hopefully a sign for next year? :beerchug:

 

[J-GLOBAL]

Things I (re)learned this year:

Fish can be anywhere.
-During the derby this year, most of our fish were caught more than 300 yards from the nearest boat, fishing "in the middle of nowhere".
-Fishing in the harbour, 1/2 my fish were caught a few hundred yards from anyone.
-Up HITW, my fish were caught way further up the inlet than anyone else was fishing at the time.

Change up lures often. Most fish were taken within 20 minutes of putting down new lures.

Throw everything at 'em. Some surprises were found just rummaging through the box on slow days.

Try new things. I picked up a few new items in fishing stores overseas that weren't designed for salmon. They sure seem to work though and I've stocked up on a few since (getting ready for next year).

 

[doublesteve]

Hey all-

I think I would like to add my 2 cents... for what they may be worth. I agree with the sentiments about changing your gear often if there is no bite going. Like all o you, I continually buy new stuff, but always seem to revert back to the same old stuff. The stubborness is almost unbearable somtimes, but don't lie people, you always go back to the same ol' trusty rigs time and time again... Often with no results! Anyway, I digress... My biggest case in point this year was one afternoon when on a whim, decided to try a hootchie- one that had beeen sitting in the package for a couple of years. It was multi color green with some silver flecks in in... kind of like and oil slick without the blue. Anyway, tied into 4 springs in under an hour, all on the same rig. The other rod never moved out of the holder. I had similar colored hootchies, but nothing identical. Even running at the same depth as the "hot rod" with similar gear- no action what so ever!! Just goes to show that if you find something that is working, it will keep working for that day (at very least). Interestingly enough, that one afternoon with that hootchie was the only time it produced fish. I tried it several other times, and had nothing. SO- to sum up. Don't drag the same ol stuff in the same ol spots. If you are not getting anything, change up gear, change up depths, change up speeds!!!! I usually run 20 min. maximum at a constant depth or location or rigging. If there is nothing, then I switch. I had a very good year this year, much better than last year, and the main difference was letting go of my good ol trusty methods, and constantly trying something new.

 

[fishinmagician]

Magician any fish pics?

Yep, I have a few..I'm not much of a pic person..but years of fish pics tend to get boring.

 

[fishinmagician]

Good job Fm. We had it difficult throughout the year off Sooke. Summed it up with SLOW. There was some good days but few and far between. I have a major feeling that most of the fish (springs) travelled down the outside....400-500ft of water as there was good amounts of bait every where, throughout the strait. The cooler temps might have had an affect as well?.
Bait is a staple off Sooke but from some luckless days experimented and came up with the Radiant "Burnt Sienna" that produced quite well.
Definite bite times this years as well.... If you weren't out when they happened it seemed like you were just burning gas, which is not the norm for around here.
There was an interesting time just west of Sooke for a few days late August. Quite a few Six Gills moved in and the guys Hali fishing were getting 2-3 a day up to 12 feet!

Lots of feeders around right now though and good size, hopefully a sign for next year? :beerchug:

Yes I concur...

In the Vancouver area I noticed that there was generally more bait around. A good sign. In addition, it was also possible to get shakered to death (like it was March) while fishing for mature fish in the traditional late summer areas. That's a rare occurence. Hopefully this will pay future dividends as an indicator of fish surviving in the ocean. More bait is good too... if there is no bait...any resident fish tend to move on in a hurry. All in all Georgia Strait can be quite the nursery. The Vancouver area truly can be a very good area to fish..and so close to the city! I'm definitely learning more about the area trying to fish it 12 months a year..the best thing to do is get out and fish it and I'm thinking that understanding the tides more than anything in each month of the year really is key to producing legal and larger fish 12 months of the year.

I think you're probably onto a few things...fish migration patterns are changing...and sometimes fishing different areas make the difference. Not only are there fewer fish around, but we're fishing more efficiently than we ever have...(me included...6 rods on downriggers--kinda sad really).

This year, I'm hypothesizing that many fish came down the inside on their way to the Fraser--bypassed the outside and that may have resulted in slow fishing on a low cycle year for those on WCVI. Georgia Strait has little fishing pressure on the East side and if these fish powered through the top end on a few tides, intercepts by sport fishermen would be minimal as there's so little fishing pressure to speak of now on ECVI and the mainland BC. In addition 4 to 6 days is all a spring salmon needs to come down the inside strait--virtually undetected by us sporties.

So just how good was it???

For those who missed out this year on the August-September Vancouver fishery and others fishing elsewhere...

In early August it was average to hit anywhere from 3 to 5 springs in a half day and if you found them and managed to stay on them...results could have been much much better. By the middle of August some boats were hitting 8 and more mature springs in just 4 hours of trolling. Some were teenagers..but there were mornings where many Tyees were hit in just a small area--with fish to the mid forties (way to go Montego). Then the Killer Whales moved in, dispersing fish and turning an otherwise productive area into a ghostland. It meant spending money and spreading out to find the fish to keep on them. Towards to the end of the month, more fish showed up and if you were on your game, double headers and limits for all on board were possible. Through until the middle of September off the Fraser mouth there were fish to be had...although you had to be patient, cover area, and put your time in. However, you should have generated a fish or few each time out if you spent some money on gas to find them.

All in all we are extremely priviledged to have had these fishing opportunities in Vancouver in 2008.

 

[arimaBOATER]

Fishing is definately a science... & changing lures / fishing set ups definately works !!! Guess that's why stores have so much stuff to pick from... Have about twenty or so... dif things to put out for a DINNER for the prized salmon.... well this yr. I haven't been a good cook. Mind you when we go out maybe only 50 % of the time we fish. Plus it's mostly at Sandheads & for us anyways didn't fare well. But the right gear method & technique produces... Seen a 100 fishermen at Gerry PK. casting from the shore when pinks were going through ...it was just crazy...so many fish...don't know if we'll have ever a repeat performance like that ever again... yes people were catching then but Rod "fishingwithrod" website was getting 4 x more fish than anyone else... There was a time in the 70's we were doing some fishing on Loon Lk past Cache Cr... Was use willow leaf & worm with no bites ??? Flatfish still no bites... No one else was catching either... then one boat came in with plenty of fish... Asked what he was using... "A small light green colored fly" he said. I checked my tackle... everything except the fly he mentioned... So went to the resort store... green fly $2.50 each. That's like one high price for 1 fly in the early 70's... anyways it wasn't more than 5 minutes fishing & WHAM a fish hit...only one thing THE LINE BROKE. There goes my fish [ & my green fly] There isn't more of an exciting pastime...fresh air scenery weather tides sometimes possible dangers on & on & yes seeing the rod moving violently when a fish hits...TOTAL DRAMA TOTAL ADDICTING TOTAL RUSH... IT'S A NATURAL HIGH... [not the crappy street drugs that destroy people's lives] fishinmagician great topic as always !

 

[kellya]

You should post some up of those tyees