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Fishing forum > Fishing Spots in Ucluelet, British Columbia


Author	Topic: Fishing Spots in Ucluelet, British Columbia

Alex	Posted: 8/6/2008 12:38:28 AM Reply We just came back from Ucluelet, BC - the true fishing village on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. Just being here makes you feel like a serious fisherman. No, it is not like Steveston in Richmond, where the spirit is preserved mainly in pictures, buildings and the fish market. In Ucluelet the fishing spirit is alive! You will feel it in the early morning, when fishing vessels leave the harbor one after another, you will feel it at noon, when people start to process their catch of the day at public fish cleaning stations and shortly after that, when another round of fishing expeditions begin their journey out into the open water. http://www.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=ucluelet,+bc&ie=UTF8&om=1%2F&ll=48.942573,-125.549355&spn=0.040646,0.076904&t=h&z=14
Alex	Posted: 8/6/2008 12:39:10 AM Reply Summer fishing is great here. And even newbie like myself can get their limit (or as they say “get license”) in no time. The only difference generally is the size of your catch. But I have to admit, that I feel proud about the 17 lb Spring which we caught ourselves, over 30+ ponder we’ve got on previous trip with a fishing guide (though the later looks better in a freezer) ;-) There are several things you learn don’t work in Ucluelet: 1. Ginger Gravol 2. “Vancouver Special” (4 rods on 2 downriggers)
Alex	Posted: 8/6/2008 12:39:42 AM Reply Here is a quick reference map for popular (and productive) fishing spots in Ucluelet: 1. Lighthouse (salmon, rockfish) – trolling along the shore, following bays, points & around riffs 2. Beg Island (salmon, rockfish) – if the weather if rough and you would rather stay out of waves & wind 3. South Bank/"6 miles"(salmon, halibut) – bigger fish at 120-140 feet (you might need 15lb cannon balls to get that deep); for halibut you should troll really deep & slow 4. Rack/"12 miles" (halibut, lingcod) – sunken ship became a very productive spot for jigging 5. Passage (salmon) – prize-sized Chinook Salmon is being caught here. 6. Nose/"24 miles" (salmon) - large Chinook Surely, this map is just a very general reference and should not be used for navigation (blah-blah-blah). It would also be very nice if somebody else would add details and maps regarding particular spots and details about fishing techniques. For salmon we used large (6”) anchovies on longer leaders. Red flashers worked better for us. Other fishermen suggested using silver/blue spoons. This time we didn’t fish for halibut (weather was rather brutal), but you will need 3-5lb weights, spreaders & bait, such as pieces of squid, herring or plastic attractors.
Alex	Posted: 8/6/2008 12:40:48 AM Reply Bringing your own boat is a good way to save some money, especially if you will sleep on the boat. I found marina at Island West Resort http://www.islandwestresort.com to be one of the most comfortable places (they provide showers, cleaning station, new docks, private boat launch - $15, trailer storage - $12/day, moorage - $30/day, pub – opens at 11:00 am,). If you would prefer to go with a guide, I would suggest Mike at Long Beach Charters (1962 Bay Street Ucluelet BC V0R 3A0) – (250) 726-3474. I am sure there are a lot of other great fishing guides there, but we used Mike’s services four times and always with great results. He is very passionate about fishing and it does make the difference! There are also budget options, such as groupd fishing tours at Canadian Princess Resort (1943 Peninsula Rd., Ucluelet, BC) http://www.canadianprincess.com - 1 (800) 663-7090. It would be really nice if you would also share your experiences regarding Ucluelet, especially if it will help amateur fishermen like me catch larger fish there ;-)
Alex	Posted: 8/7/2008 9:37:03 PM Reply I am not a frequent guest there, so I hope somebody else can provide useful information about flounder fishing. But since you've mentioned 10ft boat I remembered another story from that trip. Weather was not nice at all (wind warning the previous day, so waves were rather high). Plus it was rather foggy. So, we were doing hardly 12 mph trying to keep up with other boats that we were following to the South Bank. Half way through our journey we passed a 12ft dingy with a small outboard heading the same direction. By that time you could hardly see the shore. And we briefly chatted with my buddy if the guy really understands what he is up to and weather we should give him a hand. But as he looked rather confident we decided to watch him just in case but not to interfere. As we joined other boats fishing the South Bank, this guy arrived there safely about 20 minutes later. Then we figured that since there are many other boats around he will be taken care of if necessary and went on with our fishing. Later that day we returned to the dock, spent some time in the pub, cleaned our boat and fish and right at the time we were planning to leave, this very guy just arrived back to the dock. That was a relief for us! But there was also a BIG surprise waiting for us - that guy brought by far larger fish then we did!!! Needless to say, that this guy knew exactly what he was doing and had a lot more experience then we did. So, maybe we should have asked him for some help ;-)
Eddy	Posted: 8/8/2008 9:26:12 PM Reply I bought my dingy when I lived in Sidney just for fishing. I lived in the harbour with the boat next door in the water so it was good to go anytime. Salmon fishing in the morning at Sidney spit, flatfish in the afternoon and casting for shallow rock fish with ultralight gear at sundown. But boats would stop all the time to check me out, especially if I was in open water on oars. Good times.
Eddy	Posted: 8/7/2008 8:34:08 PM Reply I'm going to the Broken Islands from Toquart bay in two weeks with my 10ft sailing dingy and I am goin to use a #2 deep six planer with a 8" dodger and a anchovy/ hoochie/ spoon set up. I wonder if there are any good spots for flounder you could point out for me.
roxyhound	Posted: 8/6/2008 9:35:54 AM Reply I would second the suggestion to go out with Long Beach Charters. We went out with them for our anniversary and had an awesome time. In fact, our guide (Red) invited us back to his house for dinner. We were amazed at the hospitality they offered us. We will be going out with them again next time we make our way to the island. www.longbeachcharters.com
coto	Posted: 8/7/2008 9:36:04 PM Reply good info on ucluelet , by the way how do you set up a profile picture?

Fishing forum > Fishing Spots in Ucluelet, British Columbia

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