FISHING REPORT: ALBERNI INLET AND BARKLEY SOUND
SEPTEMBER 4TH 2015 DOUG LINDORES
Labor Day weekend is upon us and that means it is Salmon Festival weekend in Port Alberni. The Derby takes place on Saturday, Sunday, and Monday with fishing beginning each day at 6 am. The derby will close on Labor Day Monday at 3 pm with final weigh-in occurring at or before that time. Derby Headquarters and the official weigh-in center will be Clutesi Haven Marina located on River Road. There is $55,000 in prizes for those people participating in the Salmon Derby. With this is mind there are plenty of prizes to go around for everyone.
The Alberni Valley has experienced ample rainfall over the past few days meaning salmon are migrating to their natal streams, creeks and rivers. Fresh Chinook and Coho will move from the vast Pacific Ocean into Barkley Sound. Those fish in the Sound will migrate fairly rapidly up into the inlet. The water is no longer stagnant and has cooled down dramatically meaning the fish will be moving and will be a little more eager to bite the variety of lures put out by the many sport fisher people. There are plenty of Chinook and Coho Salmon in the system.
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has announced that there is a dramatic increase in the Chinook run size returning to the Somass. The original forecast of only twenty-five thousand Chinook returning to the River system has been increased by a much higher number of returning Chinook. With this in mind, the rule of retaining salmon under 77 cm has also been changed. Sport Fisher persons fishing the Alberni Inlet and Barkley Sound can now land one salmon over 77 cm per day and have in possession two Chinook salmon with one over 77 cm and one under 77cm each day. A two day possession level of two and two (two under and two over) is now in effect. This is great news for those many individuals fishing in the Salmon Festival Derby.
The best salmon fishing currently is in Barkley Sound. The many salmon that were in the Alberni Inlet have moved into the River system. However the Inlet will fill with fresh salmon in the coming days. Weather conditions are drying and warmer air is in the immediate forecast which will slow the migration. This will also be very true of the salmon down in Barkley Sound locations. The ample Chinook and Coho at Pill Point, Assets Island, and the Bamfield Wall should hold for a few days. The Wall has been very good for the last ten days. Pill Point and Assets have both been very consistent. The salmon in the sound have been biting and feeding very hard around tide changes but have also been very active between tides. The same scenario has been true for those fishing in the inlet. 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. Some fisher people fishing everyday in the Inlet are saying that the salmon they are landing for some reason are in seventy-five to ninety feet of water. The best lures depending on where one fishes are the 0-15, 0-16, spatterback and AORL 12 hootchies. Using anchovy in both the Inlet and the Sound seems ideal and for many is working the best. Leader lengths from five and a half to six feet behind green, red, or burgundy flashers with a gold face are working very well. The AORL 12 hootchie with 38 to 42 inches of leader behind a burgundy and gold flasher is ideal for Coho in Barkley Sound and the Alberni Inlet.
Entries for this year’s Salmon Festival Derby have been remarkably encouraging. There will be many boaters on the water. Safety precautions are always of importance. Good Luck to all those fishing.
For More information
Contact Doug Lindores
250 731 7389
1 888 214 7206
