Bamfield

no report this week

Barkley Sound, Port Alberni, and Ucluelet

Labor Day weekend has come and gone and that meant Salmon Festival weekend in Port Alberni. The Derby took place on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of this past Weekend with fishing beginning each day at 6 am. The derby closed on Labor Day Monday at 3 pm with the final weigh-in at this time. Derby Headquarters for the 2018 Derby was at Tyee Landing. The official weigh-in center was also at Tyee Landing which is very close to Harbor Quay and Fishermen’s Wharf. There was a total of over $55,000 in prizes for those anglers participating in the Alberni Valley Salmon Derby. The largest salmon landed was valued at $15,000. Daily prizes each day were $5,000 for first prize, $2,000 for second prize and $1,000 for third prize. All contending derby fish were weighed in at Tyee Landing. Other weigh in centers for qualifying hidden weight prizes were at China Creek Marina, Poet Nook, and Mckay Bay Lodge in Bamfield. The cost per Rod was the exact same as 2017 at $50.00 per rod fished. From this $50 there a donation of $10 was given to local enhancement. The Derby for 2018 was a great success. Returns for Chinook and Coho salmon in 2018 are above average. Chinook returns to the Somass River system for 2018 are approximately 85,000 pieces. Twenty percent of the run are five-year old fish which meant that there was a great possibility for some Chinook during the derby weekend to come in at the forty-pound mark. The winning fish for 2018 was landed in the China Creek area which is located in the Alberni Inlet. Crofton B.C. resident Chris Blace landed a 38.9 which won him first prize and the top prize money of $15,000. This fish was landed using anchovy and was landed on day one of the derby. Ken Pellett won top prize on Sunday with a 30.1lb salmon and James Zsiros’ 27.3 lb. fish won top honors on Monday. The Fred Duncan memorial trophy for the largest salmon caught by a local resident was won by Chris Dittkowski who landed a 34.1lb. Tyee.

The Alberni Valley and all of Barkley Sound has been experiencing very warm and dry weather conditions during the summer months. The Chinook and Coho will need fresh water before entering some of the smaller streams and creeks. There has been a very limited number of migrating Chinook and Coho into the Somass system. There has been some excellent fishing for anglers in Barkley Sound. The salmon that have recently reached the waters of the Sound will migrate up into the Alberni Inlet and will hold until there is ample rain to allow the Chinook and Coho to continue their final journey to their spawning grounds. Some salmon will remain in Barkley Sound will hold outside the many streams and creeks located in the area. The Chinook and Coho in Barkley Sound will continue to feed heavily and will be eager to bite the variety of lures put out by the many anglers.

The best salmon fishing currently is in Barkley Sound. The Alberni Inlet has had some good days of fishing. There has been some commercial fishing at the beginning of this current week which has slowed the sport fishing opportunity. The Inlet however will continue to fill with fresh salmon in the coming days. Weather conditions are forecast to continue to be dry. The ample Chinook and Coho at Swale Rock, Harbor Entrance, Pill Point, and the Bamfield Wall should continue as new salmon come in from the ocean. The Bamfield Wall has become a little more consistent over the last week. Pill Point, Swale Rock, Meares, Cree and Austin Island and Harbor Entrance have all had very consistent sport fishing over the past two or three weeks. The salmon in the sound have been feeding very hard around tide changes. The Chinook and Coho have also been active between tides. The salmon are in fairly shallow water in Barkley Sound and also the Alberni Inlet. Fishing between thirty and fifty feet has not been uncommon. The best lures in the Alberni Inlet are the O-2, 0-15, 0-16, spatterback and AORL 12 hootchies. Anchovy in the Inlet is also working. In Barkley Sound anchovy in a variety of Teaser Heads seem ideal and for many is working the best. Cop Car, green haze, purple haze, army truck glow and bloody nose have all been working. Leader lengths from five and a half to six feet behind gold, green, or burgundy flashers with a gold or mirror face are working very well. The AORL 12 hootchie and the spatter back and Halloween hootchies with 38 to 42 inches of leader behind a burgundy and gold flasher or a kinetic flasher is ideal for Coho in Barkley Sound and the Alberni Inlet.

For more information and/or reservations, call Doug Lindores at Slivers Charters Salmon Sport Fishing (250) 723-2435; (250)724-2502; cell (250)731-7389 or 1-877-214-7206 www.catchsalmon.ca or www.catchsalmon-ca.com; dlindy@shaw.ca.