Spring Fishing Report
The birds are chirping, the sun is shining and the 2018 summer fishing season is underway at Cleanline. The weather has been incredible over the past week and it looks like it will continue into the following week. Spring is the perfect time to catch and harvest an array of sea creatures during your fishing charter. Over the past few weeks, we have been targeting halibut, rockfish, lingcod, chinook salmon, crabs, and prawns!
Bottom fishing is notoriously productive in Tofino and this spring has been no different. We have seen steady action on the cod grounds, especially since the weather has allowed a lot of offshore fishing! The rock cod and lingcod are providing steady action on the reefs off of Flores Island, making it well worth the run on those full day charters.
Last week in preparation for the Boat to Tailgate event we had the pleasure to go out and catch a few halibut. The fishing was excellent, we spent a total of two hours on the anchor and landed a 12 pounder, a 22 pounder, and released an estimated 80-pound monster. The halibut were all caught 4 miles from shore on herring and salmon bellies. Then this past weekend we anchored again for halibut and released an estimated 100+ pound halibut along with an 80 pounder. We did manage to get a few keepers but those monsters kept our arms sore!
We wish the salmon were as feisty as the halibut this time of year but we’ll take what we can get. The salmon fishing requires some patience, but each trip out we are managing to land a few. Right now we are targeting chinook salmon on the inside and outside waters (weather permitting) and we have been seeing the majority of our salmon bites all around tide change. Our tackle of choice has been a white glow hoochie on one side and bait on the other, and both seem to be producing bites. We have been fortunate enough to do a lot of offshore salmon fishing but even when we fished a close inside spot we were rewarded with a 7-pound chinook.
Along with the great spring fishing, we have also been having great prawning and crabbing. Prawning is a great activity for those looking to stay in the calm waters within Clayoquot Sound, and each time we have been out prawning we have harvested an estimated 150-200 in the traps. Although it is a bit of a ride over to the prawning grounds, we can cater the trip to include stops for calm rock fishing, bald eagles, and bear sightings if we are lucky. We have had a number of families with young children come out with us for calm waters trips and be amazed at the wildlife and bounty that the sea has to offer. We have the ability to cater our charters to your exact needs.
The saltwater fishing is only ramping up for the summer off of Tofino so if you have not already enquired about a charter, make sure to do it soon!