They're Here!

Winter Salmon Fishing Specials, Nanaimo, Vancouver Island, BC With the dawning of a new year comes the start of a new salmon fishing season. And the months of January through March offer some fantastic action for the kings of the Pacific Northwest, Chinook Salmon. Chinook salmon taken during this time of year are often between six to ten pounds with the occasional fish coming in at the low to mid teens. They look good, fight good and taste good. Our mild climate along with clear blue skies and snow capped mountains in every direction make for lasting life memories. Book your winter salmon fishing trip today. Our discounted winter charters are reasonably priced with 5% going back into salmon restoration projects through the Pacific Salmon Foundation (https;//psf.ca). Our guides, Captain Turk and Captain Josh are friendly, transport Canada certified and have a life-time of experience. Chances are good you’ll be back.

May is the Month for Lingcod They may be scary looking, but they sure are tasty. In fact, if I had to choose between halibut or lingcod, I’d pick lingcod any day of the week. Problem is, I have always found them to be a little tricky to catch. So, when I do fish for them, I check tides and tide tables religiously. Once fishing, I work ledges and drop-offs keeping my bait as close to the bottom as possible. The preferred method by many is jigging for lingcod. I like trolling for them using 4 to 8 oz swimbaits. It’s a lot of work and you must be on your toes since you are constantly bringing gear up and/or dropping it back down. But it can be a very effective way of hooking these “bucket heads” as they are sometimes called. On opening day this year, my group of two and I were greeted by a beautiful sunny morning. Knowing I just missed the tide change on an ebb tide, I choose to fish the northwest side of Gabriola. Trolling two of my favorite 4 oz swimbaits, I watched my depth as I began to work an edge. Once alongside of Gabriola Island near the old Cannery, we finally started having some action. Unfortunately, our customers where Quillback, Cooper Rock Fish, and a very nice Yellow Eye and an undersized Lingcod. We still hadn’t found our prize fish. With about an hour left in the trip, I was bringing up the gear as the depth changed from 160 to 90 feet when I noticed a slight bounce on the portside rod. I grabbed the rod yanking the line off the clip. I quickly handed the rod over to my guest and asked, “feel any better this time?” “Oh yes” was the reply. Five minutes later, we had our first nice lingcod aboard. Oh yeah! If you enjoy eating white meat from the ocean, Lingcod is the way to go. And, with salmon closed until the beginning of June, it is all we’ll be fishing for. As I tell my guests, May is the month for Lingcod.

It doesn't happen every trip but this morning it did. Great weather, superb fishing and whale sightings. Fishing for Chinook salmon has been surprisingly good considering all of the herring (bait fish) that are currently in the area. In fact, it may be the best I've seen in years. The fish are also larger than average for this time of year. Of the 5 fish we hooked in less than three hours, 4 were close to the mid teens (12/13 lbs or 5 kgs ). Crabbing also remains fair to good as well. With just over a week to go before the Chinook salmon season closes (April 1st), now is the time to get out there and enjoy the amazing scenery, awesome fishing and hopefully..., some warmer weather :).