We are back !!!!!!
After a bit of a hiatus with the fishing reports, we are back!!
Our annual west coast fishery has come to an end and now have all of our boats back on Kootenay Lake.
So, here’s the latest fishing reports:
West Coast Salmon/Halibut:
We are back from the west coast, and what an adventure it has been.
While the month of June was a good one for Salmon and for big fish, we did see a slow down for the first couple weeks of July.
The first half saw lots of bottom fish being caught, as the salmon were few and far between, which is the exact opposite of last year. Even though the salmon were scarce, we managed to hook into plenty of Ling Cod and Halibut to make up for it.
But, after the first couple weeks, the salmon started to show up in numbers. Our favourite Flo Bay fishery lit up once the fish showed. Plenty of large Chinook hanging around in shallow water. This has become one of our
favourite fisheries. Trolling was effective for a little while, but once the squid became thick, we had to switch techniques. Mooching with squid or jigging near the kelp became the most exciting times.
That lasted a few weeks and then the squid cleared out and the Salmon started to spread out.
Lucky for us, there were lots of popular spots that the Salmon were hanging around. So, if we couldn’t get them at one spot, we could usually find them at the next spot.
Halibut fishing was consistent throughout July and then became a bit more scarce in August. The new regulations didn’t help us either. There were a few sad faces when we had to release some of the bigger Halibut this year. These same fish were allowed to be kept last year. So, a tough
trade-off for our regular clients who were used to the old regs.
Our biggest Chinooks this year were just over 30Lbs, but the average fish was between 14 -20 Lbs.
Some giant Ling Cod were caught this summer, as we spent more time targetting them this year. And, our popular Rock cod fishery was a good one as usual. Lots of fun using ultra light gear and catching lots of scrappy rockfish with a few surprise Ling cod on the spinning rod.
August was a good month as usual. In fact, it seemed the local run may have showed up a bit late this year. But, the trade-off was that there were a lot of fish on the shore line right until the end.
All in all, it was another great year on the west coast. Thank you to everyone who joined us again this year. Already looking forward to next season.
Until then, we are fully back on Kootenay.
Kootenay Lake:
Our guides have kept busy on Kootenay throughout the summer months.
As usual, July fishing remained pretty good through the month. But, something different this year, was August actually remained pretty good as well.
Usually by the time August hits, the water temperature has warmed right up and the fishing usually slows down except for a few Bull Trout.
This summer however saw some great days throughout the whole summer and continues to be alright as we enter September. Probably due to the moderate weather this summer. A little bit of rain when we needed it
was great to help keep the temps comfortable. It’s been a good summer locally.
Most of our trips through the summer months were half day/morning trips, which allowed for us to fish comfortably before the temperature got too warm. The fish cooperated on most mornings.
Our guests consistently caught Rainbows between 2 – 5Lbs and more Bull Trout later in the summer. Bulls between 2 – 7 Lbs were the norm.
Now that September is here, we’ve already seen the odd Rainbow up to 8Lbs and a few decent Bulls.
As the water temperature cools down, we look forward to more and more action. Also looking forward to seeing some of the bigger fish becoming active.
What are they biting on???
West coast saw most of our favourite Gibbs lures producing. The Ling Cod were chomping on the
Gibbs paddle tails, as well as my favourite Jumbo Anchovy jigs.
The Hali’s were biting on the usual Gibbs guide series Halibut rigs tipped with Salmon belly.
And the Salmon were chomping on a variety of lures. The Kingfisher spoons in 3.0 were a popular lure. Matching the bait size was important. Our top 3 spoons were the ‘Maverick’, ‘Herring Aid’ and ‘Cookies & cream’.
Once we started to see some bigger bait in the bellies, we started running the Skinny G spoons. Similar patterns to the Kingfishers, although a couple different colors to add to the collection. The ‘No Bananas’, ‘Tailspin’, and ‘Killy Magee’ were hot colors for those spoons.
And, in the bays where the salmon were chomping on squid, we did best with our favourite hoochies in white or UV colors.
The green pistachio was a killer during our offshore fishing in deeper waters. That, paired with the STS flasher was on fire.
And now on Kootenay Lake, we have been catching on the Gibbs crocs a little bit on the surface. The usual brass/fire stripe or brass/firewing have been working.
And, since the water is still quite warm, we have been catching quite a few on the downriggers. The STS or Lemon lime flasher, followed by the pistachio or green spatterback or oil slick hoochie have been working best. Depths of 60 – 120ft have been optimal for Bull Trout.
September can still be a bit slower fishing, due to the warmer water, however, look forward to more and more action as the water cools.
We are scheduled for a lot of trips to finish off this month, so stay tuned for more ‘live’ reports.
Hope this helps with your next adventure.
Tight lines………
Captain Kerry