Fishing during April and May has been as consistent as I can remember for the past 20 years for Chinook, Lingcod and Halibut. We hope this is a very good sign for the season. Chinook fishing has been good close to the harbour. We have been either fishing just outside the harbour or within 15 minutes. Chinook have been biting on small spoons and needlefish hutchies. There has been a larger amount of small bait around than normal. Needlefish and small herring have been around in larger amounts. Chinook have been mostly between 8-15 lbs which is a normal to good size this time of year.
Halibut were close to shore in April and then moved off as we went through May. They are most likely going to be staying 10-20 miles offshore for most of the summer now though there will most likely be some periods where they come in closer for a few days, most likely following the bait. Often when salmon fishing is good a few miles offshore, halibut are close by.
If you are looking to come fishing accommodation is much harder to come by this year so make sure you book soon. We don't have much for ocean view available but if not we may have some of our cabins available from US bookings that were canceled.
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
