[Enniberg]

Going to Ucluelet this coming weekend.
Have not seen any recent reports from that area, has anyone here fished over there within the past week or so?
Have only fished there once before which was 2 and a half weeks ago, weather at that time was so bad that we were not able to get off shore , hopefully it will be better this time!
Any feedback or advice from people who know the area is greatly appreciated

 

[Pippen]

Enniberg...

Just wait until Iron Noggin has a chance to see this thread.....he'll get you some info pretty quickly or you could try PM'ing him as he guides out of Ukie. I think it's a load of crap but apparently he once in a while hooks into a halibut or some sort of salmon. ;D Generally he does so when simply trolling around blindly talking his clients ears off about stories of the "good ole days". :thumbup:



Peace Nog. eace:

 

[Fishaholic]

I think it's a load of crap but apparently he once in a while hooks into a halibut or some sort of salmon. ;D Generally he does so when simply trolling around blindly talking his clients ears off about stories of the "good ole days". :thumbup:

LOL........
He just took back off to Ukee.... 'Says many big coho and lots of Halibut.




...... Oops its here.... thought so... check out WCVI still WIld

 

[kanuckle head]

Just came back from Ukee always dreaded the big moon fishing in big water ,pulled back the Grady on her last trip on the west coast for 08

Boy!! wished I could kept her out there for one more week end

Catching rocked!! easily limited in a couple hrs & released piles mind you they were all feeder springs 8-15 lbs 2 of them were whites didn't hook one Hoe....... flatties were tough too , some of my guide buddies fingered that with the clear full moon halies fed @ night & cruzed deep water in the day

And best of all flat calm offshore waters, Big bank (rats nose) usually takes me 1.5 hrs in 1-2 meter waves this time aprox 45 min never gone that fast offshore before
fog bank never reared it's ugly head
best 4 day week end I've ever had weather & fishing combined in 8 yrs of fishing Ukee

 

[Enniberg]

K. Head, that is a very exciting report to read! I sure hope we get weather like that when we are out! We are heading over on Thursday night to be ready to go out early Friday morning.
So far the forecast is not that good though but if we get the forecasted 1-2 m waves, it will be a great improvement from the 3 m waves we dealt with 2 days in a row last time - it was awful! :-[
Would you mind sharing a bit about how you fished over there? How deep? what kind of bait? troll or jig? I am still a newbie so any piece of advice is very much appreciated

 

[kanuckle head]

I fish 100-150 for springs, that week end low slack was the key. green with black tiger stripe hoochies & lime green 4in coyote spoon both run on a green apex flasher........yup greens the ticket
When we got our fill on springs we bounced the balls on the bottom in hope of flatties & a few cases when we thought a hali was on and a silver would show, in discuss I would say Dam not another spring
Never thought I would ever be discouraged to hook too many salmons

 

[Enniberg]

K. Head, sounds awesome! Can't wait to get over there! Gotta make sure we have some of the green stuff, I guess! Did you try fishing closer to shore also?

Just noticed the picture you attached - great catch!

 

[Enniberg]

Back from Ucluelet and I though it is time post a report about how it went.

Thursday night 3 of us headed over to Ucluelet, launched the boat, loaded our gear and went to bed.

Friday 7 AM, headed out towards the big bank in spectacular weather, the sun was shining and the ocean was calm as a lake!
It took us less than an hour to the rats nose!
Trolled the rats nose for about 2 hours, picked up 2 feeder springs, about 8 lb. Figured salmon fishing was a bit too slow so we decided to head a bit further in on to the bank and jig for bottom fish. We limited out with 6 nice hali's and 2 ling cod's, one of them weighing almost 30 lbs! Fantastic scenery with pods of killer whales and 2 huge humbacks at times jumping almost completely out of the water! I have never seen anything like it before.

Saturday we were joined by our families and headed back out to the big bank, ocean again unbelievably calm but covered by very dense fog all day, we took turns to watch the radar to make sure we did not get run down by the ships around us - a bit unnerving but the radar is a fabulous tool.
We trolled for about 40 minutes and picked up a nice 24 lb spring. Our crew wanted to jig so we packed in the trolling gear and headed back to our hali hot spot. With 8 licenses on the boat we figured it would be difficult to limit out, but we came very close - ended the day with 15 hali's and 3 ling's. At one point 3 of us brought hali's up to the boat simultaneously!

Sunday the wind had picked up and the water was choppy. we decided it was not wise to head to the big bank with the kids on board so we hung around close to sure for a couple of hours, caught nothing but at that point none of us really cared.

This was by far the most exciting fishing trip I have ever had. Ucluelet is truly a remarkable place to fish.

 

[arimaBOATER]

Enniberg Wow Sounds like you had one great time!!! Now your hooked for sure on fishing in areas where there's still fish to be caught. Ya seen lots of beautiful nature... It guess Vancouver was a great place to fish 80 years ago... MILLIONS & MILLIONS of salmon. Thanks for your great report.

 

[kanuckle head]

Glad you had a great trip, calm seas in big water sure makes west coast fishing most memorable... it comes few and far between

those trips help in swallowing the cost of road & water fuel, ridiculously high ferry cost for boaters, launching fees, lodging, mourage,.........wobblies @ Island West pub.......& pizzas @ Romans :beerchug: :yummy:

I may have a chance for one last trip for this year, my buddy may need a companion to bring his boat back. will post a report if it becomes true

Already planning for next years trip. I need to modify my Grady for rough seas when fishing alone. the rear deck needs a rail aprox. 10-12 in. of height, to help keep me in when the boat pitches and rolls :thumbup:
would also like to incorporate a cleaning table and a large cooler holder...........kinda nice to discard the entrails before you tie up
would be a good winter project will post pics

 

[Enniberg]

Arimaboater, yes, I must admit it is very hard to get excited about Sand Heads, Bell buoy, Capilano, etc. after the Ucluelet big bank experience - lots of room and no gong show with 50 boats fighting for position and most of them not catching much anyway. In Ucluelet we found a hali spot miles away from other boats and Island West had only 4 boats at their docks!

Kanuckle head, I definitely have to agree with you that the costs of bringing a boat to Ucluelet is painfully high! Traveling 25 miles out every day is not cheap either! But the experience is priceless!

Now I just wish that my boat was bigger! I like my Arima a lot but it is not a boat I want to be 25 miles off shore in if the weather turns sour. Having said that, I saw other guys out there in identical boats and they caught fish too. I would certainly want to add a radar before taking my Arima over there, I don't understand how guys dare go without a radar, the second day we were out, the visibility was near zero but the radar helped us avoid the dangers out there. It is pretty scary to hear fog horns nearby and not being able to figure out if that big ship is heading towards you or not!

I definitely agree with you about the cleaning table, it is very nice to be able to bleed and clean the fish at sea. We were using the truck to shine light on the cleaning table at Island West - it takes a long time to clean and fillet 19 big fish and days are short this time of the year!

Looking forwards to your reports if you get to go again - the hali's were definitely there in abundance this past weekend!

 

[JREX]

Fellas,
What do you guys figure is the min. size boat you would have to have to fish the "big banks" area? Never been out there before, but lots of good fishing out there...

 

[kellya]

Tons of variables but 20 feet with reliable power in good weather. Guys go in smaller but not that safe if it picks up. Should have radar as its almost always foggy and know what your doing.

 

[Enniberg]

I would have to agree that there are many variables here. Bigger boat does not necessarily mean safer boat - We downsized from a 28ft Bayliner to a 17ft Arima and if I was to chose which one of those two boats to go off shore in, it would definitely be the 17ft Arima, simply because it has a better designed and stronger built hull.
Reliable power and a good chartplotter is a must. Personally I don't think I would go without a radar as the fog sometimes seems to come out of nowhere.
To be comfortable I think the ticket is a 24ft Striper, Grady W. or a similar off shore design.

 

[arimaBOATER]

Talked to a fellow boater just a few wks. ago who said he got caught in 15 ft following seas on the west of Vancouver Is. He owns a smaller Double Eagle boat... he made it back to port but he was quite terrified by the ordeal. He definately needed a longer boat... I've seen stuff on you tube like search: ship in storm or boat in big waves or watch dvd the true story THE PERFECT STORM ... We need always to take all caution when it comes to the big ocean ... Always impressed with the bravery of sailors going across the seas in some 25ft or so boat... not my cup of tea... too chicken

 

[kanuckle head]

West coast offshore @ times very unpredictable and can turn ugly in a hurry
no matter what large vessel your in the seas will let you its not big enough

If i fish the banks, preparation is numero uno monitoring the marine weather reports(http://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/station_page.php?station=46206 )is one key the other is proper operating electronics....... big gonads kinda help :thumbup:
I always let my friends on shore my destination & arrival time. For those buddies on the water keep them in radio contact not just for safety but also catching reports

 

[kanuckle head]

Here is a shot of offshore traveling the way it should be
my last trip coming back from big bank almost mauck speed

 

[Enniberg]

And here is a picture of a days catch last weekend! :thumbup:

 

[Enniberg]

We caught a nice 24 pound spring too! ;D

 

[kanuckle head]

And here is a picture of a days catch last weekend! :thumbup:

That's one hella great day of catching .............I bet u just added more STINK to Isl Wests fish cleaning station with that load :happy:
With the amount of coin Isl West rakes in you'd think they pressure wash that cleaning station periodically ........to think about they should do the guys can too eace: