We are in the second week of May and things are looking good for 2016 salmon season!
I am excited to be part of the Pro-Staff team with Gibbs Delta tackle again for the 2016 season! Great tackle and company along with an awesome network of guides! The south end of Campbell River starting with the "Hump" has had a lot of bait and some decent fishing on the slower ebb tides. 4" Silver Horde spoons with a short 42" leader behind the flasher have been working well. Wilby Shoals between the red and green can in the 180-220ft contours are also worth trying right now. Shelter point down to Salmon point is also a productive tack. Again the spoon including my favorite Gibbs Skinny G gold nugget with a short leader will do the trick. Spring is also a good time for towing around bait, I use 5-6" anchovies with a 4-6ft leader behind the Gibbs Purple Onion flasher. I usually run my bait 40ft or more off the bottom to avoid rock fish/P-cod and the rest! Sentry Shoals and Grants reef have had some good fishing the last month, but the fish seem to move fast from these spots, good one day, slow the next! Kitty Coleman (Bates beach) has had some good fishing the last few weeks. Lots of bait stacks up on the flood tides and the springs follow it in. I have had some nice fish caught on Yamishita hootchies in the OGL239R color, but changing around the gear is a must. I have had a few days this week when fish are on the hootchies for a few hours then nothing, switch to a spoon and bang, fish on! Also with the thick plankton bloom this week, the bait and fish have been higher up in the water column, most of the fish have been caught in the 120-140ft when fishing in 200-220ft Hornby Island to the south has been producing some nice fish into the 20 lb range the last week! Fishing the 160-200ft contours on the west side of Norris rock with the spoons mentioned above and anchovies behind a Gibbs Purple Onion or any Glow/moon jelly flasher have been producing well. keep track of fishing and get short reports by following my facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/CrabbysFishingCharters/ Chris Steinbach It has been a very busy summer so far this year! The south end of Quadra Island has been the place to be for months now and shows no sign of slowing down! In between the red and green can working the 180-260ft contour has been a consistent producer for nice springs! Along with the green can to Fransisco Pt tack . There are huge schools of herring all over which keep the springs around. Bates Beach(Kitty Coleman) has been hot and cold this year.That said,I have had some nice full limit days there the last few weeks! I am just talking about catching spring salmon in this report,there are piles of pink salmon and coho around in all areas also! Watching your sounder and always moving your gear so you are fishing below the bait balls is key to success for spring salmon! The gear of choice for me changes day to day for springs,but Silver Horde plugs and Yamashita hoochies and Gibbs flashers are doing the job most days! Follow and "like" my Facebook page for up to date reports! https://www.facebook.com/CrabbysFishingCharters Another June has come and gone!
The salmon this year so far seem to be concentrated at or near the south end of Quadra Island and Campbell River shore line. The traditional June "hot spots" like Bates beach and Grants reef just haven't been producing good numbers of springs this season. There seems to be plenty of bait (herring) around all over the Strait of Georgia,so I'm sure these other spots will turn on soon! Some bigger fish have been coming in the last few weeks,many in the mid to high twenty's along with a few tyee's! Fishing the Green Can to Fransisco point has been producing big time on both tides the last week.I have had good action on hoochies and plugs in all colors.I seem to be changing gear every few hours to keep these fish biting! There is some good tides this week for fishing "the hump" and the light house area's.The first few weeks of July usually has some awesome fishing! Check out and "Like"my facebook for daily reports! https://www.facebook.com/CrabbysFishingCharters Its the third week of May and the Chinook fishing is looking very promising for the 2015 season!
Sometimes you need to search around for these fish in May, but when you find them the action and size of fish can be great! A good example of this was the Monday of the long weekend, fishing was awesome at the Campbell River hump with lots of fish up to 20 pounds! Then the next day was slow, same place, same tide and gear! I'm very excited to be working with Gibbs/Delta tackle www.gibbsdelta.com for the 2015 season! I will be keeping up to date reports on my facebook, https://www.facebook.com/CrabbysFishingCharters of catch, location and gear to use in our area. I have been using a lot of the Silver Horde 4 inch King Fisher"lite"spoons and anchovies in Rhys Davis "Bullet roll heads" the last few months with great results. Most important is finding the bait and you will find the fish! Bates Beach(Kitty Coleman hump) has been hot and cold the last few weeks,it's due to turn on soon I would guess.This spot is very easy to fish,great spot if your new to the area! There is lots of Pacific cod at Bates beach so trolling fast and avoiding glow gear will help to keep these fish off your line. Campbell River hump and the Green can are producing well.We have some nice morning tides coming this week(May 22 on) so it should be great out there! Also a lot of nice Ling Cod around this season,trolling close to bottom while salmon fishing gets these fish along with drift jigging when the tide slows down. Sentry Shoals and Grants Reef are producing a few fish,but no good numbers yet. Tight lines, Chris Spring time on the Island is great,there is no better place to be! Salmon are getting bigger and prawn season is open!
Locally in and around the Comox area most of the herring have moved on and fishing is picking up for spring salmon.Kitty Coleman hump has a lot of under size with some nice bigger fish mixed in.There is lots of Pacific cod around the hump,so i find avoiding glow hootchy's and speeding up a bit helps to keep these fish off your gear.Spoons and 5" plugs are a good bet! Around Campbell River the usual spots keep producing nice fish! The 200' contour off Shelter Pt and the hump seem to be holding some bait,putting your time in and covering ground looking for bait is key to success. The big schools of dog fish have moved on,so running hole herring and anchovies has been working well,along with the Gibbs G-force spoons. Lots of good size Ling cod around the hump and Shelter,it should be good when they open for these fun tasty fish! Salmon and prawn fishing in April is good on the east side of the strait of Georgia also. If you would like to spend the day fishing and prawning,now is the time to book,check out my great specials! http://www.crabbyscharters.com/rates.html The winter chinook fishing hasn't slowed down since October,it just keeps getting better!
Large schools of herring are starting to show up for their big spawn,and that's what the spring salmon are after. All the fish I have cleaned the last few weeks have full stomach of large herring. All gear seems to be working out there from Campbell River down to Comox. I have been using a 5" Coyote spoon silver/blue 20-30ft off the bottom trolling fast with awesome results! The usual winter spots off Shelter point in 200ft of water,or the CR hump on the end of a ebb tide are producing lots. In between Salmon Pt and the Oyster river out in 180-220ft can be great this time of year also! Bates beach hump is fishing well also with lots of bait and fish around. 2015 is shaping up to be another great chinook salmon year for the Strait of Georgia! With lots of fish in the mid to high teens around now,I think we are in for some big fish come summer! Happy new year! Chris Fishing in the Campbell River area the last few months has been great for feeder springs.The last few weeks I have caught many fish up to ten pounds with a few in the low teens also.
Today was a good example of what works one day,may not work the next! On the weekend 3 & 4 inch Coyote spoons in green/chrome & blue/chrome were the ticket for these fish.This morning spoons would only catch small springs,I switched to Army truck cuttlefish hootchie and a green Gater and the bigger fish started to hit the deck! Depth varies day to day,around the south end of Quadra Island "the hump" I have been fishing 200-220ft of water and running my gear anywhere from 160 to dragging bottom. Always watching the sonar for bait is mandatory,as is watching dive birds,they will show you where to fish! I started off the prawn season last weekend with some really good results,good numbers and size! These tasty critters are well worth the effort! Follow and "Like" my facebook page for up to date picture and reports. https://www.facebook.com/CrabbysFishingCharters?ref=bookmarks Check out my winter charter special and come out for some great fishing! http://www.crabbyscharters.com/rates.html Most of the mature chinook have passed through our waters now (Sept 26/14).
The good news is the "feeder" chinook are plentiful and big! Probably the biggest feeders I have seen this time of year ever.Every trip I am getting one or two in the low teens ,plus many more 7-12lbs. These fish are full of big herring .I was seeing lots of lantern fish in the belly's a few weeks ago also. Plugs in all colors are still working,but I have found the Army truck in the cuttle version and green Gater hootchie are producing nice numbers. The CR hump and green can area's are full of bait and a great place to catch these tasty chinook.Shelter Point is another spot full of bait and fish! The Coho fishing is slow and the Sockeye are about done.Some Chum are being caught around Browns Bay but no big numbers yet. Every September I spend time on the west coast chasing around tuna offshore.It has been a very odd season.Lots of nice warm blue water 60-80 miles out but no fish! Last week I fished the "Bamfield Tuna Shootout",the last few days of the derby the fish showed up in decent numbers,but still not the hot fishing we usually see this time of year. I'm sure next year will be back to normal for this awesome fishery! The past few weeks we have had steady chinook action from the Green Can in Campbell River down to Kitty Coleman.Trolling big Tomic plugs in 602 & 500 colors fast on the bottom has been the best producer for me lately!
The jiggers have been getting some great chinook and coho catches off the Green Can and Sentry Shoals in the shallows from 30-70ft deep. Sockeye are showing up now in the srait of Georgia.Small pink/purple or plain pink with a short 24" leader behind a red flasher will get these fish to bite. The next few weeks should be good for big mature springs in our area. The Coho are getting bigger by the week and Sockeye are on the way! The first few weeks of July have been fantastic fishing for Chinook around Campbell River! The hump to the lighthouse has been a constant producer in all depths.The Green can is also producing nice fish! The Blue Meanie and Army truck have been the go to hootchy.Tubby plugs in 602 & 500 colors are getting hit hard also!
Sentry shoals is open again and some good fish are being caught there. Kitty Coleman area is still spotty at best,it has produced some nice fish but a lot of smalls. Grants reef is also fishing well with some big fish mixed in with lots of 8-15 pound fish. Not much sign of Sockeye yet,but we hope to see the huge runs start soon! https://www.facebook.com/CrabbysFishingCharters?ref=hl |
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