We have had some good fishing in early April, probably consistently better than we have seen in quite a few years for both Chinook salmon and halibut. Most of the Chinook are being caught about 15 mins from the harbour in partially protected water for a northwest swell. Chinook are ranging from 8-15 lbs which is a very good size for this time of year. The Chinook were biting on the normal needlefish hutches and small 3" Silver horde spoons.
There have been a good amount of ground fish around of which ling cod is a favorite. Putting a freshly caught ling cod in some white flour, then in a pan with butter, pepper and little fresh squeezed lemon is to die for. You don't even need pepper or lemon. Just the flour and butter is enough. Toast a glass of white wine along with it and you are in heaven!
We haven't done a whole lot of targeting halibut since most of our trips have been 8 hour 1 day trips and the guys have wanted to get the most fresh meat possible. With the salmon fishing and lingcod fishing so consistent we have been mostly focusing on that but the few fisherman that have been targeting halibut have been doing well in close to shore though just recently the inshore fishing slowed for halibut and the offshore is the better option.
With the new travel restrictions we will have less trips going but hope to keep you updated. We just had a great streak of sunny days which made it even better.
If you are wanting to come on a fishing charter in Ucluelet with us in 2021 expect accommodation to be in short supply like these past few summers. This past summer was the hardest season yet to find accommodation. You can check out Ucluelet-Info.com or get one of our fishing packages available at https://www.salmoneye.net/site/fishing-packages.html. We have very little ocean view accommodation but still have some cabins available.
For more info on Vancouver Island also check out https://www.discovervancouverisland.com/.
Tight lines,
Sam Vandervalk
Salmon Eye Fishing Charters
www.salmoneye.net
