Fishing around Sooke and Victoria has been quite good lately, with anglers finding success with both salmon and halibut.

In Victoria, last weekend saw the annual Island Outfitters halibut derby. Good weather and good tides made for some good fishing. 149 halibut in total were caught, with a 122 pounder taking the $7,500 top prize -- caught by a Sooke fisherman, Syd Spooner.

Cliff & Don were out fishing with Foghorn Fishing Charters, for the 8th year in a row, and took home 5th and 8th prize.

Farther west, Jolly Rogers tried his luck for halibut at Jordan River, reporting it pretty slow, no bites in a few hours. However, he caught a 15 and 2o pound Spring salmon at Sheringham Point on the way home. Not bad for a consolation prize. Hindsight Fishing also did well for Spring salmon at Sheringham earlier in the week. John reports Trap Shack was good mid-week, with salmon up to 20 pounds, but has slowed in the last few days.

Jamie & Aaron reported catching a nice 25 pound halibut right in front of Sooke Harbour, so they appear to be everywhere. They also hooked into a big Spring salmon, towards 25 pounds, off Possession Point. It was wild, so they released it, but a nice fight. It was a "fatty", a football-shaped "Columbian". Lure of choice was anchovie in a glow green teaser head.

Finally, Chris Brotherston and his rookie harpooner Jason Hardy caught a nice 56 pound halibut off William Head. It was Chris' first halibut in his boat, a 14 foot Smokercraft. He caught it with octopus, fishing off of home-made coat hanger spreader bar. Jason's first harpooning was a perfect shot, in the thick meat right behind the head. Small boat, small budget, big results...great job! Winning against the odds makes the prize all the tastier. Awesome!

Good times, fishing in and around Sooke and Victoria.

Gord from Foghorn Fishing got a guest into a nice salmon yesterday. The lucky angler is Bill, all the way from Australia. He caught this big winter spring off the Victoria waterfront...a hatchery salmon, so it's a keeper!

Gord reports: "salmon fishing has slowed down a bit but there is still fish out there".

As the saying goes, the only certain thing about fishing is you won't catch anything if you don't go...so get out there and enjoy some time on the water.

Have fun!

The halibut fishing has been excellent from off Victoria all the way past Sooke to the west. So good that not many people are chasing salmon.

The Ben Seaman party had a good time on a recent halibut fishing trip off Victoria: "Thanks to Trevor with No Bananas Charters - he took three of us out and we each caught a 30lb halibut. Great boat, great gear, great guide. We had a blast!"

Trevor also provides a photo of Gord Grivel with a pair of 50lb halibut from a quick morning fish off Constance Bank. Probably pretty clear from the pictures, but he reports "Halibut fishing continues to be very good".



















Roy from Blue Wolf Fishing met with some success too...taking out Terry and gang from Medicine Hat, Alberta, and getting them into some nice looking halibut. Their report "We put in 2 days with the big bad Wolf and I must say it was awesome. Roy was able to put us on some dandy fish. This being my first Hali trip kind of set the bar high but you never know there is always the big one next year. Brought out a friend of mine that was never out on the chuck before so it was a real experience for him. We came home with a 70, 42, 37, and a 25 pounder and Roy was able to bring one in for himself a nice 22 pounder for some fresh fish and chips. What can I say Wolf we had a great time and it was an awesome experience once again you came through with some great fish and a ton of laughs always a great time."










Finally, Gord from Foghorn Fishing sent in the following picture of a "family affair"...Gilles in the middle with 85lb, Lawrance on the right with 73lb and Charles on left with 40lb...a happy family from Alberta that come out to fish Victoria's waters with Gord each year.


Good times indeed!

The fishing around Sooke and Victoria has moved from salmon to halibut. There are a few reports of winter springs still being caught, but not too many people are still chasing them. The slot limit has lessened the interest too -- you can only keep wild chinooks that are 45-67 cm. Here's Dylan Yakimovich with a nice one caught off Sooke this week (courtesy of Sooke News-Mirror and Kiwi Magic).

The halibut fishing has been very productive, with some days off Victoria's Constance Bank so active that they are being described as a "mini Swiftsure Bank". Halibut are also being caught between Victoria and Sooke, and to the west to Sooke, to Point no Point and Jordan River.

Trevor from No Bananas Fishing caught a few good ones: "Here's a pic of a 60lbr we caught today at Constance. We also got one around 30 pounds. Dan Perrier was the lucky angler. There are still lots of fish to be had, it's just getting out there between the wind." One teeny one had to go back...he can come back in a few years when he's grown up.

The "Just for the Halibut" fishing derby is on in a couple of weeks, April 18-19: "13th Annual Just For The Halibut Derby with BIG PRIZES AND LOTS OF FUN!! First place is $7,500 Second Place is $2,500 Third Place is $1,000 There are lots of other fabulous prizes as well as a special Hidden Weight Prize. Tickets are $50 per rod and include a Just for the Halibut ball cap."

Good luck out there!