Tofino / Ucluelet Fishing Report:
August 2006
Aug 3rd 2006
Tofino B.C. Fishing report August 2006
After another fantastic early season of Salmon fishing in the Tofino B.C. area, the prime month of August is now upon us. With a strong forecasted return of West Coast Vancouver Island Chinook Salmon returning to hatchery systems such as Robertson creek, Conuma and Nitinat, anglers can expect a dynamic fishery in the Tofino/Clayoquot Sound area.
Consider fishing reliable areas like Wilf Rock and the Glory Hole, Tree Island, Blundan and Bartlett Islands with anchovies or medium Herring behind your favorite flasher. Common colors for the Tofino B.C. area are blues, purples, red and chartreuse, with the Purple Haze by Oki and the Purple/Green stripe Farr Better being hot flashers lately. For those anglers who prefer to fish with cut-plug herring, this is the best opportunity of the season. Large spoons are also a great option when large bait is present, either inshore or offshore. Sockeye salmon opportunities should be available offshore until mid month as well.
Halibut fishing in the offshore waters from Tofino B.C. has been consistently strong all season so far, and the month of August should see this trend continue. Most Halibut in the Tofino and Ucluelet area waters are in the 20-40 lb. range with some fish getting much larger. Most Halibut are caught in depth ranges from 140-240 feet, and anywhere from 3 miles outside Tofino’s lighthouse to 18 miles offshore. Bottom bouncing artificial baits and white grubs are popular, but we often catch numerous Halibut while trolling for Salmon throughout the season.
Although not very common, Tuna fishing opportunities in the Tofino-Ucluelet area offshore waters have become an option over the past few years of warming water trends. Primarily Albacore Tuna in the 16-35 lb range, these hard fighting and tasty fish prefer the offshore water breaks in temperature between 59-63 degrees. Albacore Tuna have been caught within 15 miles from the Tofino-Ucluelet coastline, and are often a great sport-fishing option for vessels equipped to travel as far as 50 miles offshore. Tuna lures such as Zukers and Tuna Clones are trolled on the surface faster than any salmon trolling that you may have ever done, and Tuna can also be caught on a variety of vertical jigs as well. Anglers should not consider this fishery unless their vessel is adequate for serious offshore travel and fishing.
Clayoquot Ventures newest vessel “The Right Hook” will be available for Tuna Fishing excursions on a limited basis, and of course, with offshore weather being a dependant factor.
Fly fishermen and light tackle anglers are now entering the second month of their peak season, with the size and numbers of Coho Salmon increasing daily. Catface bar, Tonquin Island and B.S. pass (Bartlett Island) are all prime areas that will produce great action. Coho flies to strongly consider are the epoxy Needlefish and the chartreuse Clayoquot Clouser, or Bucktails in orange or pink fished in the prop wash. A hot new Coho Salmon fly pattern that we have developed includes deceiver materials tied in a Clouser style, now in stock in our fly & tackle shop. Another exhilarating light tackle method is to fish with 12 lb. Test and a live Needlefish under the boat.
At Clayoquot Ventures, we are proud to offer guided excursions for inshore Saltwater Fly fishing as well as non-stop light tackle action for the numerous Coho in the area. These fantastic opportunities stay strong until mid October, and are a great option to get the kids out on the protected waters before school starts again next month.
Don’t disregard the great bottom fishing opportunities that await offshore. Halibut, Ling Cod and various other bottom fish provide great action through the late fall.
Phenominal month of fishing
August 30th, 2006
The delay in updating this reports page is not due to a lack of quality fishing to write about in the Tofino B.C. area.
August is always our peak month for charter volume as well as the height of the season for great Chinook Salmon fishing along the west coast of Vancouver Island.
This month has provided some great similarities to days of the past, as our local coastline outside of Tofino has been providing excellent numbers of Chinook Salmon for our guests. The prime salmon feeding habitat provided by Clayoquot Sound's outer island chain has played host to some of the best Chinook Salmon fishing available on the B.C. coastline, all within a short travel from nearby Tofino.
Coho Salmon have been late again this year, with quality fish showing up in hungry schools, and moving on down the coast rather quickly, as opposed to their normal feeding ritual of making the Tofino waters home for many tides or even weeks. The last few days have been getting better and better for Coho numbers, with many fish in the 12-15 lb range. This fishery will no doubt turn very good thru September, as we often experience mixed stocks of both local and transient schools of Coho Salmon. Fortunately, our inshore excursions this past month have experienced outstanding action for Chinook Salmon, in the absense of the normally "thick" Coho numbers.
Halibut fishing offshore has been as good as we have seen for the month of August, with good action for random sized Halibut along the nearshore bank with 4 miles of the lighthouse, as well as consistent excellent fishing (limits) at a the 18 mile bank South of Tofino. This fishery should continue through September as weather allows us to fish the offshore.
We have literally hundreds of great new photos to upgrade our site with as soon as we have time later this month, so check back soon to see some great fish and happy clients of Clayoquot Ventures in Tofino.
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