We are back!!

The Westcoast was pretty phenomenal this year.  Plenty of fish and plenty of fun.

It may have started a bit slow for salmon in the first week or two of July, but was made up for with unbelievable Ling cod and Halibut fishing.

After the slower start, we began to see salmon showing up in large numbers.  In fact, probably the most salmon we’ve seen along the beach in years.  Chinook fishing was on fire from mid July right until beginning of September.  We had a few days of big water, but most of the summer was fantastic weather.  During the big tides, we might have had a lull in the action a bit, but not usually for more than a day or two.

Halibut fishing was amazing for all of July and the first half of August.  It tapered off a bit later in August, but we still managed to find them.  Just had to put in more time.  And, the Ling cod fishing was off the charts for the first half of the season.  It also tapered off mid August, but began to pick up again late August and early September.

All in all, it was one of our best seasons on the coast.

Thank you everyone who joined us this year.  Most people have already re-booked for next season, but we’ll be taking new bookings starting at the end of October for anyone interested.

And now, back to the Kootenays!

Kootenay Lake:

Our guides kept busy on Kootenay throughout July and August, and continue to be busy so far in September.

The fishing was pretty good through July, and then slowed a bit during August.

Our guides were catching 5 or 6 fish on most outings.  Rainbows up to 7 Lbs and Bull Trout up to 10 Lbs have been caught lately.

The cooler temps lately in the evening has got the fish becoming a bit more aggressive. Our latest outing saw our group hook into more than 20 fish one day. The day had a couple magic hours as it usually does.  During those magic hours, we were treated to double headers of Rainbows and Bull Trout.  Seems like more Bull Trout lately, but that will change as the water cools.

Looking forward to cooler nights and even better fishing as the fall progresses.

What are they biting on???

On the west coast, we barely had time to update reports, but we managed to keep the social media updated with current catches and tackle.  The Salmon were smashing the small spoons again.  The little Kingfisher ‘Herring Aid’ was on fire for most of the season, as well as my new favourite Gibbs Skinny G in the Killy Magee colour.

These spoons definitely matched the hatch, as the fish were feeding mostly on tiny herring or needlefish.  Speaking of needle fish, the Gibbs Wee Gee was another killer.

Offshore, we had good luck on glow hoochies.  The green pistachio and the green spatterback were our favorites.  Usually led with an Oki flasher in Green mist or Blue Footloose.  Killer combos on the west coast.

The Ling cod were crushing the Gibbs paddle tails on the troll, or the jumbo anchovy on the jigging rods.  We had a lot of fun with the spinning rods this year again.  Mostly hooking into feisty rock cod, but on more than a few occasions we landed some surprise Halibut and Ling cod.  Always a blast on the spinning rod.

And now that we’re back on Kootenay, we are having best luck with the same old standards.  The Bull Trout have been hitting the green mist flasher with the green oil slick hoochie.  And the Rainbows are slowly coming to the surface and hitting the Gibbs crocs.

It’s just the beginning of our fall fishing, so stay tuned……

Till the next report,

Tight Lines…….

Captain Kerry