Sooke Fishing Report

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Sooke Fishing Report, March 2010

2010-03-14T11:20:00.000-07:00

Gord from Foghorn Fishing Charters reports some fun days fishing for halibut. He has found the halibut at 150-250 foot depths,using Bluewaterbait mackerel and sardines. However, he reports the dogfish have been bad so far, very early for them in numbers. The photos are from some happy clients, including Danny from up island with his first halibut!

Here's the "Sooke Hookers" (Dave, Jamie, Aaron, Brad) with some dinner after a day's "chicken farming" just west of Sooke this weekend.

Salmon fishing is still spotty, though better than in February. Trevor from No Bananas Fishing Charters passes on a hint of some great reports coming from Albert Head and McAulley Point in Victoria. (Trevor also passes along a photo of some happy anglers with some tasty looking halibut)

DFO has set a "slot limit" regulation for salmon fishing in Juan de Fuca, meaning no wild salmon can be kept over 67cm (26"), somewhere towards 8-10 pounds. Larger hatchery salmon can be retained. This slot limit is in place until May 21st.

Good luck out there!

Springtime in Sooke

2010-02-18T19:52:00.000-08:00

The salmon fishing in Sooke is reported to be pretty slow these days. There are reports of a few smaller winter springs up to 10 pounds, but the fish and the reports are few and far between.

Those venturing out on the waters lately have mostly been chasing halibut. There haven't been any really big ones reported yet, but there's regularly "chickens" caught from out front of Sooke Bluffs, to the west to Jordan River, and to the east to Victoria and out to Constance Bank.

The spring weather has started early, with mild temperatures and sunshine, but also with some wind. So...pick your day weather-wise, and it's a beauty out there.

On a non-fishing note, Sooke has caught Olympics fever. Check out the sooke2010.com website, Sooke is hosting a booth at the O-Zone facility in Richmond. Drop by and say hi to the volunteers at the booth. There's an excellent contest giveaway on the website, make sure you sign up...2 fishing trips as well as other great prizes. And check out this video, it really nicely highlights Sooke's natural beauty and the abundant recreation on the ocean and around the town.

Sooke Fishing Report, February 9th

2010-02-09T23:05:00.000-08:00

There have not been too many salmon fishing reports around Sooke this week. From the sounds of things, Sooke's salmon fishing is a bit slow.

Quite a few reports of halibut caught from Sooke to Victoria though. With the recent Feb 1 opening, anglers seems excited to chase these tasty flat fish.

The photo to the right is from "Striper Jack", out for his first trip this year and got the lucky day he was due -- picked up three halibut at East Constance Bank. He was fishing in 170-195 feet depths and caught halibut weighing 18, 19.5, and 24.5 pounds. He says "I took the picture with small guys to help make the fish look bigger".
:-)

Trevor from No Bananas Fishing Charters reports two excellent days of February halibut fishing off Albert Head. The first day, they landed 5 fish and lost a couple of others, with the halibut 20-35lbs. The second day they fished for 4 hours and landed 8 halibut, as well as losing a couple. Lots of dogfish to wade through, but the halibut were there. Lots of action...in 270 foot depth, using mackerel bait, salmon bellies, and mudracker jigs.

Beautiful sunny weather and calm seas so far this week....get out there and try your luck!

January 18th Sooke Fishing Report

2010-01-18T20:57:00.000-08:00

Fishing in Sooke and in Victoria has slowed down over the past week. There are still salmon around, but the action isn't as steady and the winter springs a little smaller. Still, there's a nice one here and there.

Gord from Foghorn Fishing Charters sent in this photo of a fun day with some visitors from the Ukraine. These fish were caught off the Victoria Waterfront. Gord reports most success at 135-175 feet on the downrigger, using bait, spoons, and hootchies, in green colours and purple colours.

On the plus side as well is some nice sunny weather for a change...note the blue sky in the photos!

Good luck out there.

January 1, 2010 Sooke Fishing Report

2010-01-01T20:00:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year! Welcome to 2010.

The salmon fishing in Sooke continues to be steady. The winter spring salmon are mostly not all that big, but there's lots of them, so there's lots of action and still some tasty fish to take home for the table.

Most of the action in the past week has been towards Possession Point and Secretary Island, though good reports have come in from the Sooke Bluffs and all the way to Otter Point. Most anglers are using glow flashers with hootchies with some glow in them, though there's reports of anchovies and spoons too. It might not matter what you put down there....these feeder spring salmon are actively feeding, and if you put something food-like in front of them, they will bite at it.

Fishing with lighter gear this time of year makes for more fun, especially without the added drag of a flasher -- either with anchovies in a teaser head or a spoon.

The salmon are generally found 10-20' off the bottom, mostly at 130-150' on the downrigger in 140-160' depth.

Rob Wilson provided a New Year's Eve report on the sportsfishingbc forum: "Out yesterday off the harbour mouth to Secretary Island, lots of 20" class fish and the odd big one, we got lucky and got a 19lb, one that we didn't weigh that was in the 10-12 lb class on the fly rod and a couple 7-8lbers. All 120ft -140ft on the rigger in 120-160ft of water, all on bait today, purple haze and watermelon. Not sure it matters much though, Bulldog used Bug Eye flies the other day and they fished equal to the bait. Lots of fun on the fly rod, even those 20" are pulling line out." The photo is the Wilson family affair...brother Terry, dad Mick, and son Aiden, with a shiny silver 19 pound chinook salmon....Sooke's finest, good day!

A few reports of small halibut caught off the Sooke Bluffs on the eve of the annual January closure to allow them to spawn. Halibut fishing is closed until further notice -- hopefully to open on January 31st as normal, but we'll see.

On a non-fishing note, a holiday hike in East Sooke Park produced the following pictures...nice to get some perspective from land now and then. You can access this viewpoint from Pike Road in East Sooke.

Good luck out there, and may your 2010 year be productive and fun!

December 23 Sooke Fishing Report

2009-12-23T14:51:00.000-08:00

Some fun winter spring salmon fishing to be had in Sooke these days. The action is best towards Possession Point and out past the southern side of Secretary Island....though it will change day to day, depending on where the bait is. As usual for this time of year, the chinook salmon are generally right off the bottom, 130-160'. Most anglers are using hootchies with glow in them, along with glow flashers, but bait and spoons are said to be working well too.

Here's a report from yesterday:

"I had a good little solo session...two chubby 8 pounders right off the bat, done in an hour. Both at 150' in 160' of water between Possession and Secretary. First one red glow flasher, white glow hootchie. Second one a little blue/glow spoon, no flasher, on fly rod...fun! Bellies of both full of little anchovies...about 15 in one of them.

Beauty afternoon...nice and warm, sweatshirt only, no jacket needed, regretted not having sunglasses...nice problem to have this time of year."

The salmon are smaller, mostly under 10 pounds, though you hear about a bigger one once in a while. However, you won't taste a better table fish than a fresh caught winter spring salmon.

If you have the time, it is definitely worthwhile to get out there and get a line wet.

Happy holidays!

Sooke Fishing Report, Dec 13

2009-12-13T11:00:00.000-08:00

Reports from Sooke's waters are that there are abundant feeder winter spring chinook salmon, plus halibut, from Secretary Island westward through the Sooke Bluffs and to the trailer park.

JuanDeOne provides the following report on the SportsFishingBC forum: "Fished Friday and Saturday out off the Bluffs. Non-stop action both mornings. Had to weed through some smalls as usual but easy limits of 6-10 lbs each day for two. Bonus was a 20-25 lb hali on the Friday. Fishing this productive and there were more hali hunters anchored off the Bluffs than trollers. 148' on the riggers with hootchies did the trick."

Des from Vicious Fishing Charters gives a positive report too: "Fishing for winter chinook and halibut has been very productive lately. Salmon weighing 5 to 14 pounds are being caught on a regular basis as well as halibut 20 to 50 pounds. Shrimp and crab in basin are good as well"

And finally, a blog report "Vincent's Ramblings" on a bachelor party fishing trip to Sooke. Limit catches of feeder chinook salmon, plus some pretty awesome Movember 'staches.

December 1st Sooke Fishing Report

2009-12-01T18:53:00.000-08:00

When the wind stops blowing and the rain stops pouring down, there's some pretty fun fishing to be had in Sooke these days. The winter spring salmon are in thick, mostly from 120-150' deep, from the Sooke Harbour Mouth west to the trailer park. Most people are fishing hootchies with some sort of glow in them, 10 feet off the bottom. Some people are using anchovies, but you have to catch a lot of small ones until you get a keeper. The keepers have mostly been 5-10 pounds, though we heard a "friend of a friend" that says they caught a 17 pounder yesterday -- just to the west of Possession Point in only 60 feet depth.

Gord from Foghorn Fishing Charters fished last week and caught some nice 10lb spring salmon and a 25lb halibut, using hoochies and spoons right on the bottom. The picture is of his clients Al and his son Derik from Eastern Canada.

The crabbing in Sooke Harbour has been excellent too -- lots of big male keepers.

So...keep your eye on the weather report, watch for a sunny day (or bring your rain slicker), and get out there and go fishing!

November 9 Sooke Fishing Report

2009-11-09T20:58:00.001-08:00

We haven't posted in quite a while...the "gone surfing" sign is up on the front window. :-)

But there's still lots of fishing going on in and around Sooke!

Salty Towers reports that "some nice winter spring salmon are being caught out front of the Harbour mouth west towards Otter Point. This week has had some reports of fish well into the teens, up to 15 pounds. As is typical, they are usually caught right off the bottom in 130-150' depths, usually with hootchies -- something glow or purple haze are popular. There are an increasing number of boats anchoring up for halibut too, just off Sooke Bluffs....so that is an interesting possibility, bring home some nice white fish for the table, without having to go all the way to Swiftsure or Constance Bank."

Here's a photo from the Salty Towers dock of a nice coho from October. Way to go Mike!

The reports lately seem to be showing the winter springs steadily increasing in size, as they fatten up on the abundant feed in Sooke's waters. It should be an excellent winter season, for those willing to brave the cold. Winter fishing around here can be a treat...less wind, no fog, no crowds, and surprisingly warm when the sun comes out...not to mention lots of salmon!

In other local news, the Sooke Salmon Enhancement Society gathered its broodstock a few weeks ago, and we are happy to report they got the full complement of Chinook and Coho eggs. After a few tough years, last year and this year's successes are a big relief. If you like fishing in Sooke, then there's no better cause for you to support than the hatchery! Visit their site and join up, volunteers are always needed. Or if you can't spend the time, then make a donation. Photos from Jack Most Photography.

Sooke fishing report, October 4

2009-10-04T18:59:00.000-07:00

Beautiful fishing weather this weekend, sunny and warm with little wind.

The coho fishing has slowed down from last week. Despite now being allowed to catch 1 wild coho, it seems there's few around -- a couple of reports of hatchery coho caught in low teens, but not the schools of coho from a week ago. Out in the deep water in the middle of Juan de Fuca strait is the call, with fish reported at 70'-100', caught on dark hootchies. The Rhys Davis baitrix purple haze herring strip did well too.

There is an abundance of winter feeder springs, though, out in front of Sooke Bluffs and even out to the tidelines. They are mostly small shakers, 1-3 pounds, but there's some nice 10 pounders mixed in. Pictured is Jordan, from Vancouver/Ottawa, catching his first salmon...way to go Jordan!

Out in the Sooke River, anglers are catching coho and chum from shore and from little boats. Here's Dale from Australia with a nice coho caught from a zodiac.

Below are some additional photos of a fun weekend...Nathan H with a 14.5 pound coho caught with his dad Dave in a little tin boat, feeding the seals by hand from Salty Towers, a nice Sooke Harbour sunset, and a moonrise at dusk.

Sooke salmon fishing, Sep 28

2009-09-28T12:16:00.001-07:00

Sooke's salmon fishing continues to be pretty good for coho. Out in the deep water, 500' plus, there is pretty steady action. Many small shakers, and then a good number of decent sized coho -- up to 15 pounds. They are mostly wild, rather than hatchery, so most have to be thrown back...but as of Thursday (Oct 1), one wild coho per day can be retained.

The fish are moving around out there, each day different in location and depth. Most of the hookups are reported deep, 90-110 feet, though others are reporting hits up to 50 feet. Dark green hootchies, coyote spoons #4 or 5. Fast troll, 3.5-4 knots.

In Sooke Harbour, there's still lots of shore anglers trying for chum and coho from the banks of the Sooke River out to Billings Spit.

Please use care with all those salmon you throw back! Today's shaker is next year's trophy...and the wild ones are the parents of our future fun fishing. No point in conservation measures to protect them if you kill them in the release. Don't net them if they aren't a keeper, release them on the side of the boat by grabbing the hook with needlenose pliers or the gaff and turning upside down.

Here's a picture of a 40 pound halibut caught near Sooke this weekend...fishing solo and while cranking it up the orcas came through. Yikes! But landed it, and fish n chips tonight, tastes all the better when caught close to home.

Good luck out there!

Salmon Fishing in Sooke Harbour and Regulations Update

2009-09-22T12:15:00.000-07:00

The coho and chum salmon are out front of the Sooke River and around the corner from Billings Spit, jumping all over the place. Anglers are fishing from shore and from boats...it is tricky to lure them to bite, because they aren't actively feeding any more, but some lucky anglers are catching good ones. Keep in mind the regulations update -- single hooks ONLY inside Sooke Harbour.

Sooke Fishing Regulations Update: http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/rec/tidal-maree/a-s20-eng.htm

Effective Sept 18 -- All salmon species: Subareas 20-6, 20-7 (Sooke Harbour): no angling with a hook having more than one point until December 31, 2009

Sept 18 Sooke Fishing Report

2009-09-18T15:02:00.000-07:00

It seems the big spring salmon have mostly passed through now, though you still hear of the odd one caught here and there, mostly by accident, as most anglers are now targetting coho salmon.

Most of the action is out in the tidelines towards the shipping lanes, 400-600' depths. Once you get into a school, it can be non-stop action, a bite every few minutes. Given the action, most are fishing with hootchies or spoons, rather than bait. A few reports of using apex lures to great success! As well, the coho seem to be deeper than usual, 90-120'.

There are lots of small feeder springs and lots of wild coho (can't keep them until Oct 1!), but in there is the occasional nice hatchery coho keeper. Fish reported up to 15 pounds plus, that's a nice coho! For a treat, once you're in the action, try lightening up the gear and stopping the motor once hooked up...let the fish run and have some fun with it. If you catch a 10lb plus coho on a light fly rod...you'll be in for some adventure landing that.

As well, fishing from shore becomes a good possibility for the next month or two. Click here for DC Reid story on Vancouver Island shore fishing. Here's what he said about Sooke area "Other spots closer to Victoria include Point-No-Point for coho on cast lures. The estuary for Muir Creek extends far out in the water at low tide. And it's almost time to trek out Whiffen Spit for chum and coho that pass close to shore on their way around. Then Billings Spit is the place for gear chuckers closer to the end of September and through October. And at about that time, the coho and chum pass under the Silver Bridge and fly anglers get two months of fishing at All Sooke Day Park and then follow the fish up stream."

Sun is shining, winds are light, no more fog, lots of fishing action....September is a beautiful time of year for fishing in Sooke.

Sooke Fishing Report, 2009/09/09

2009-09-09T20:59:00.000-07:00

The big news out of Sooke this week is last week's Vancouver Island Salmon Classic Derby.

Dave Cowell of N'Joy Fishing Charters in Sooke, and fishing partner Len Neveu, won first place with a 40.6 pound salmon. They also gained 2nd place, with a 37.8 pounder. Good for $150,000 in prizes!

Trevor from No Bananas Fishing Charters got third place with a 37.2 pounder, winning $25,000.

The fishing was a little slow, with 38 salmon weighed in from the 55 teams. However, the top 8 were over 30 pounds, so the Sooke report continues...some slow moments, but some nice fish out there too. The winning fish were both caught off Sooke Bluffs....no other details provided!

There are still pinks and coho out in the deeper water. Dave Hadley reports some luck: "run a little faster - 3 to 3.5mph around the tidelines, greens are good, whites are good/combinations of white/green. My traditional favorite combo is usually mint tulip hootch on a plaid flasher - rarely fails me, yesterday was doing good when we found the pockets on glo-green coyote and plaid. Can be partly a hunting game as well...only area we got into them was around 95', but earlier in the day, one guy mentioned all around 40'. Stack your lines until you find the depths. I'm hearing further east (Church/Race) is better right now as well, but I'm sure waves of them will be coming through."

And finally a hopeful word from Trevor at No Bananas, for all you hunting that last Tyee of the season: "i have a feeling there's going to be one more small push of springs in the next morning floods...don't give up yet boys, the biggest fish of the year are still lurking around."

Good luck out there!

Sooke report Sept 1

2009-09-01T22:47:00.000-07:00

Sooke's salmon fishing continues to be spotty...with some very slow days chasing spring salmon, but still a really nice one caught now and then. Coho are in thick, reported up to 16 pounds. Pink salmon are still around in the tidelines too. So, fishing is definitely still worth a go in Sooke!

The Vancouver Island Salmon Classic derby starts this week, Sept 3-5. It is a big one, with huge prizes that will attract the finest anglers...both from around Sooke and internationally. Expect some intense competition for the $100,000 top prize! We will keep you posted as results come in.

Good luck out there!

Sooke fishing report, Aug 26

2009-08-26T20:11:00.002-07:00

Spring salmon fishing in Sooke has slowed. There's still a few good ones to be found here and there, but in between are some slow patches. Otter Point in the afternoon seems to be the most commonly report bite time.

Pinks and coho are still plentiful out in the tidelines. There are some really nice coho salmon into the teens ... a mix of wild and hatchery.

Last weekend there were two events in Sooke's waters. The Consultants Invitational Derby was a great success, fun times for all involved. The Pink Salmon Festival continues to be super event for the kids....getting kids who don't have the opportunity to go fishing out on the water. It was an excellent event from start to finish, ran smoothly, and a 100 or so kids grinning ear to ear! Anyone with a boat is encouraged to come out in 2011, for the next pink salmon run.

Here's some fishing excitement during the Consultants derby...photo taken by Glenn Votkin of Martech. The orca whale chased their salmon almost right into the boat. They landed the 15 pound spring, and then the orca hung around under their boat for a minute or so, rubbing alongside it. Yikes!

All in all...there's adventures to be had, definitely worth getting out onto the water for a Sooke fishing adventure.

Sooke salmon fishing update

2009-08-19T21:48:00.000-07:00

Sooke's fishing continues to be hit and miss..."here yesterday, gone today, back tomorrow?" You need a little bit of skill and a little bit of luck, to be at the right place at the right time. However, that's good enough for most, as you can see by the armada of boats out front of Sooke Harbour in the lake calm evenings this week. Such a nice evening the last two nights in a row....what a beautiful part of the world this is, when the weather cooperates.

Roy from Blue Wolf Fishing Charters sent in a couple of nice photos. The first is a group of happy guests from San Francisco, returning with their limit of chinook salmon: a 26 pounder, 25, and lower 20s and a few in the teens. The second is Roy himself, fishing for fun with buddies in the afternoon, and actually getting to reel in a fish himself for a change -- a 37.5 pounder. That's when you know you're fishing with a real fisherman, after who knows how many hours on the water guiding fishing trips, what do they do on their day off? You guessed it, they go fishing! Nice fish Roy.

Finally, here's Dave with his best yet Sooke salmon, a 28.5 pounder caught at the Trap Shack using a Betsy flasher and oki Juan De Fuca anchovie teaser head. Nice hog Dave!

Sooke report August 16

2009-08-17T21:07:00.001-07:00

Sooke's fishing continues to be hot and cold....though probably more on the warm side! There are reports of some slow days and then there are some REALLY BIG salmon being caught. The latest is a 51 pound slab caught off Possession Point in Sooke by Dewayne Walsh (photo from Island Outfitters report).

The Bite Me Salmon Fishing Derby had some very respectable fish too over the two days. 106 salmon were weighed in on Saturday and 44 weighed in Sunday. The winner was a 42.7 lbs Chinook Salmon caught by Keith Martin.

Ryan from Fresh Fishing Charters posted the following report: "Since thursday nite i've been hitting a good one every time out. I've been very aggressive with the reefs at Otter Point by staying close to the bottom when cruising over them, in tight to shore. 75 feet off first rock...50 ft from 1st to 3rd...had luck in both spots. Got a couple of hogs at Possession Point too...good luck out there."

Upcoming in Sooke:

August 13 Sooke Fishing Report

2009-08-13T00:50:00.000-07:00

Sooke's fishing continues to be hot and cold. Some days there's a hot spot and a good bite, like Otter Point for a few evenings last week, on the flood tide. Other days, things are fairly slow all over. But one thing for sure, there are some very nice fish out there, and the only way to have a chance is to get a line in the water.

Ron from Sidetrack Fishing Charters caught a 42 pound tyee salmon off Otter Point on Sunday: "We hooked it up in the flats off of Gordons beach and third rock in 120 ft of water and 90 ft on the gear..... in the afternoon flood this past Sunday. The client who reeled it in was very good on the rod but the fish did take virtually all the line out of the reel and I did have to turn the boat around and chase it down a little. 43lbs 3oz! Its a monster looking fish!

"Profisher" reports the following on sportsfishingbc: "Friday morning a bit slow but managed a 24 and lost another. Started the afternoon trip with the crowd in the hot spot for the last week but after an hour and a half only seen Cal get 2. Decided to play a hunch and make a move. From 3:40 to 5:10 we landed 28, 25, 24, 21, 14 and 10 pound springs, lost 2 more. Fish were on as fast as you could get gear in the water once the bite started. Only a single pink too! Had to be the fastest flood current I've ever seen, bite started just after peak flow and start of reduced flow."

The salmon fishing for other types of salmon is very very productive and fun. Out in the tidelines, 250' deep plus, it is non-stop action for pinks, coho, and sockeye. Right now you can only keep hatchery coho and you can't keep sockeye. Time to bring out the kids. Bring along some lighter gear, loosen the drag on your reels, and have some fun. Here Aiden and Jacob from Vancouver showing off their first ever salmon...way to go boys!

August 8th Sooke Salmon Fishing Report

2009-08-08T16:58:00.000-07:00

Sooke salmon fishing is a mixed bag these days. There are definitely nice fish out there, but you have to be in the right place at the right time.

Gord from Foghorn Fishing Charters reports:
"fishing has been slow for the springs, you have to work hard to get a couple, but the ones you get are good size. Offshore is still good for pinks, coho and sockeye. Here is Boone and Rick with a pair of 28 pound chinook salmon. They are from Thailand and had never fished the ocean here."

Spring salmon in the 20s and 30s are regularly being brought in, with Possession Point and Otter Point reported to be good. Below is some happy guests from Blue Wolf Fishing Charters: Terry & Lisa Mellett with good friend Greg, with 3 spring salmon up to 28.5 pounds, caught at the Trap Shack.

If you get bored trolling for springs, there is endless action to be had out in the tidelines for pinks -- point towards the USA and somewhere around 300-400' depth, you will have some fun!

Good luck out there!

August 2nd Sooke Fishing Report

2009-08-02T23:02:00.000-07:00

The Sooke Salmon Enhancement Society held its annual fishing derby this weekend. A good time was had by all. The winning fish was a 39.4 pounder caught at Sheringham Point, a new record for this derby. And a hatchery fish too! All in all the top 10 were all over 30 pounds, a nice sign of good things going on.

Here's a photo of Donovan R and John B with #19 and #17. in the derby, caught in a double header at Otter Point. Lots of good fish caught at the Trap Shack. Below is a photo of Jamie with a 33 pounder, good for 7th place -- caught out front of Sooke Harbour, in the messy weather Saturday. Tricia has a 23 pounder caught Sunday morning at Possession Point.

The fishing was productive but not super busy. There are clearly fish out there, but some time and effort has to be put in. On the other hand, pinks are everywhere! Bring lots of bait, as if you get into a school, it's difficult to keep gear in the water to chase spring salmon.

It is definitely worth getting out there...Sooke fishing is pretty good right now, peak season!

July 15 Sooke Fishing Report

2009-07-15T07:56:00.000-07:00

The fishing in Sooke has been quite good lately. There are big spring salmon (king salmon) coming in regularly, but the word is "patience"...you have to put in the hours and stick it out. There are lots of coho salmon (silver salmon) out in the tidelines. This is an odd numbered year, so there should be a large number of pink salmon migrating through shortly...put out some lighter tackle and have a blast fishing these scrappy fish.

Gord from Foghorn Fishing Charters reports: " fishing is still abit slow this week for big springs, but there are nice fish to be had with some patience, there are some sockeye showing and pinks, here are some happy clients from this week, John & Dale from Castlegar B.C. with a 22-29lbs, and Branch from Seattle WA, with a 33lbs. These salmon were caught at Possession Point at 55 to 95 feet with medium anchovy, Ryhs Davis 602 head with a white glow flasher. Watch out for the weeds!"

Ryan from Fresh Fishin' Charters adds "we got a 35 pound chinook salmon this week at Sheringham Point as the ebb was slowing down. We got a couple 27's and 15 as well over the past week. Fishing is a bit slower but persistence is the key."

Get out there and fish! Your trophy is waiting for you...

Sooke Fishing Report, June 27

2009-06-27T18:10:00.001-07:00

The fishing around Sooke has ranged from good to excellent lately.

Last weekend, the Juan de Fuca Derby was a huge success, with over 200 salmon weighed in on the Saturday, and nearly 300 in total. That is close to triple the 2008 result...needless to say, this is proving to be a much improved year for salmon fishing off Vancouver Island's south-west coast.

There was a tie for first place, two 36.2 pound tyees, both caught west of Sooke, one at Sheringham and one at Muir Creek. The winner was the one weighed in first.

Below is a picture of Roy from Blue Wolf Fishing Charters with his fishing buddy Paul Taylor (from Trotac), a happy derby participant.

Since the weekend, lots of reports of tyee salmon above 3o pounds. Many reports from Possession Point, Secretary Island, and towards Trap Shack.

The coho have arrived, once you're in a school, there's reports of regular triple headers. They are still small, up to 10 pounds, but there's no shortage of action (just either bring a LOT of bait, or switch to artificial lures). They are both wild and hatchery salmon, so you can keep some potentially....smaller, but nice dinner fish.

A few reports of pink salmon arriving too...this being an odd numbered year, they should be in thick in another couple of weeks.

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On another note, some very entertaining stories posted to the Sport Fishing BC forum about orca whales and salmon fishing. Below are a few excerpts, see the original thread for more...picture courtesy of Salty Towers Oceanfront Cottages.

"Profisher: Started at the trap and hit a 20 before I even got the 2nd cannonball one the rigger. Lost another later, (sawed off leader) also 3 hatchery coho, then part of L pod showed up heading west. Ran to Sheringham and picked up a 15 on the first pass and another hatchery coho. Lost another spring just before the whales arrived again. Then the fun began. One of the other 2 boats there hooked a big fish. They fought it while the whales were passing by. I saw 3 females turn back to the east heading right for them. I knew what was coming. The 3 people in the boat saw it too and started to work the fish more aggressively to the boat. The flasher was up but the fish stayed about 10-15 feet away from the boat. The whales closed in. The guy holding the net started smacking the water with it trying to spook the whales. They got the flasher to within a foot or two of the rod tip but the fish was going nuts. The net guy tried a couple of times to snag it. The line and flasher went quickly towards the bow, I knew a whale had it. Then the line eased off and the net was quickly slipped under a 30+ pound spring. The female on board started yipping it up as they managed to land the big fish. They told me a few minutes later that the whale did have the fish in it mouth but it slipped out. They managed to net it before the whale could get turned around for a 2nd attempt. The 3 whales swam back and forth around their boat for a few minutes trying to find the fish. What a great thing to watch and what a story they have to tell!"

"TheRock: That sounds like my experience 2 years ago at Otter, a pod of killer whales came right under our boat and at that moment we had a TRIPLE header on !! the pod kept going however the big male killer whale by him self turned back and came straight for one fish and grabbed it and came to the surface ! Rolling and splashing with the spring in its mouth. It was the most unbelievable experience I have ever seen! Here I am Fighting out a killer whale with the rod in my left hand!!! My right hand I have the net scooping my dads spring all on the same side of the boat and the third rod still in the rod holder as the third spring is zipping line offff!!!!!!!! An experience I will never forget.. we had 6 springs on by 7am !!! All in 30. Min. of fishing!!!!! (Kept four) I will never forget that trip.. a memory to last a life time. I look back and wish I had a third person on the boat that day with a video camera filming that morning.. If I did I would of put it on U-tube for every one to see..."

"FishFlyGuy89: Same story for me at aldridge 3 years ago, My dad had about a 15 pound spring on, no whales to be seen and then what happenes, out of nowhere a small female comes right up behind the flasher, my dad is fighting the fish, and he starts to horse it in only feet from the whales mouth and into the net and into the boat, the whale did one pass and then bolted out into the strait."

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A short youtube video of a similar encounter:

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Great fishing stories...like it's not already exciting enough just catching salmon!

Good luck out there.

June 17 Sooke Fishing Report

2009-06-18T03:06:00.000-07:00

The salmon fishing in Sooke is excellent right now!

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Gord from Foghorn Fishing Charters reports: "Sooke fishing has been good over all, nice fish around and like normal good days and slow days, but the one thing is they are here till Sept and the pinks and sockeye should show up mid July, here is a pic of my clients from Texas John Bledsoe and his 16 year old son Wilson with there first spring salmon, John has a 20lb and his son a 32lb"

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Lots of reports posted on sportsfishingbc forum of salmon in Sooke from high teens to mid 20s. 65-85 feet, most common combination is Betsy flasher and teaser 82 feet.

Mark P out for a quick Sooke fishing trip today: On the water by 6:00am done by 7:30am. Four fish up to 32+lbs.

That's fast and furious fishing action.

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Trevor from No Bananas Fishing Charters is down from Port Renfrew for a week's fishing in Sooke: "salmon fishing in Sooke is unreal, best june I can remember in many years. Yesterday we fished 5am until noon and played 8 fish up to 28lbs. Then this morning we left the dock at 5 agaain and fishing was just as good if not better. We were back at the dock by 10am with 6 fish a 14,24,25,29.5,30,31lbs. What a morning! The salmon were caught at Otter point on betsy flasher and bloody nose teaser head, or white glow flasher with green head. Depths 51 and 85 feet."

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Steve from Kiwi Magic Fishing Charters wrote the following in the Sooke News-Mirror:

Fishing in the Sooke area continues to be strong with nice catches coming from all the local hot spots.

After a good run of calms seas the westerlies returned last week and continued through the weekend limiting fishing to the morning. Saturday seemed to be the hottest day on the water with many anglers returning with limit catches into the 30 lb. range.

Fish are being taken from 30’ to 120’ on the rigger, fishing in close to shore or out in the 200’ range. With the Granddaddy of them all the 23rd Annual Juan De Fuca Derby coming up this weekend the poundage should be up considerably from the past few years.

One local guide said Chinook fishing hasn’t been this good in six or seven years. It wouldn’t surprise me if the big fish comes from one of Sooke’s many hot spots, just like last year when Joe Kadar nabbed his winner off Secretary Island. Angler’s will be heading out early Saturday morning in search of the winning fish which will net a nice $25,000 first prize with the final weigh-in Sunday at noon at Peddar Bay Marina.

Halibut has slowed a bit with the windy weather and the arrival of more Dog fish making catching a nice Hali a bit of a challenge. Crabbing continues to be strong with some really nice keepers. Keep your rod tip up!

Kiwi Magic

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The Juan de Fuca Derby is this weekend. This high stakes derby is sold out far in advance, most difficult ticket to get in town! It is the traditional kick off to the Sooke summer fishing season.

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Tickets are now on sale for the Sooke Salmon Enhancement Society (SSES) Derby: July 31-Aug 1, 2009. $50 to enter. A very fun weekend and for a very good cause! Come out and support your local hatchery and have a blast doing it.

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Now get out there and go fishing!