February. Winter chinook fishing keeps on being excellent

  The winter fish are looking good for both number and size,  They will keep growing like teenagers though spring and summer.   

Anticipating cohos

 If there is a strong coho population in our local waters again, as there was last year, it will be such a fun addition to our already great chinook fishing.  This photo shows a super July day when it all came together for these fellows, with one right-sized chinook and one hatchery marked coho each.  Indications are looking good for 2024.  
 

Surprise Winter Cohos

Cohos were biting our micro-trolling gear February 9 . Shamra and I were out for a half day just to check out the nearby area around Shelter Point for young chinooks for the Bottleneck science project . 

This especially interesting because nobody is catching cohos among the sport fishing boats.  We caught 17 in bunches when we ran into a schools.   This looks like a very good sign that significant numbers of cohos are staying inside Georgia Strait, as they did for the great coho fishing last year.   They will be true "Blueback " size by spring . 

December . Winter fishing is very good .

Great Indicators for fishing to come .

    This photo is from the micro-trolling I've been doing for salmon research .  The program is called Operation Bottleneck, administered by the BC Conservation Foundation, for the Pacific Salmon Foundation.  We are fishing to DNA sample, PIT tag ( install an tiny electronic tag) , measure and release chinook salmon in their first winter at sea. 

  This is an extreme catch. The gear is mini- sized flashers and spoons , fished 6 rigs per side on the downriggers.   Here are 11 fish from 12 hooks .   6 are young cohos , which will be real sport fish by spring or summer.  5 are juvenile chinooks, but they are a year older and bigger than the ones we are looking for .  So, none of these are exactly what we are looking for in this research.  But, Golly these are great indicators for the near future of salmon fishing in our area.  

November . Winter fishing is very good .

 

So many summer photos not posted

In some past years I have posted a lot of photos, mainly guests with their catches, plus scenery.  It just didn't happen this year.  maybe I'll get around to filling some in.  

The fishing was dependably good and steady.  I had just one trip, for 4 hours in the third week of September when the boat didn't catch a fish.  Not including Tyee rowing, which is higher stakes, and fewer fish . 

 The season never ends, but after October there are few guests and I am doing the micro-trolling for salmon science through winter into spring.