Nanaimo Fishing Report, April 2017
April 04, 2017 Nanaimo 1 photo
Salmon
Salmon

Trip Summary

Salmon: This past weekend, Reel Time Fishing Charters spent 3 days on the water. On Saturday (April 1), we fished the shallows near Neck Point, the Brickyard and even went as far as Nanoose finding only small fish in the **hidden content**ft range. Sunday (April 2), we tried the Northumberland channel for a few hours before moving to the south side of Entrance Island. There, we finally found some bait and hooked into a nice 14lb Chinook. Monday (April 3), we started at Entrance Island but with the bait gone, we moved over to the Five Fingers. The bite was on but nothing big enough to put in the box. We moved to Neck Point which produced nothing but small fish as well. With time running out, we took our chances in the deeper water off of the Fingers in a place called the Spoil Grounds. One pass by a contour called "the boot" and we finally hooked into a beautiful 12 lb chrome Chinook. No doubt, there are fish out there but they are scattered and in small numbers. However, with the typically migration just around the corner, salmon fishing should pick up in the next week or two. Crabbing: Crabbing has been great in most of the typical places (Departure Bay, in front of Newcastle Island and Jessie Island). Even the Pier in Nanaimo is currently producing some nice dungeness. Prawning: Though we didn't set any prawn traps during the last 3 trips, reports from a few locals have told me prawning has been good.
Andrew Turkstra
Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
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Reel Time Fishing Charters offers a range of affordable trip options, a captain with more than 2 decades of experience on the water, a stable fishing platform, convenient moorage, and secure parking. Captain Turk’s friendly personality, extensive kn...

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May is the Month for Lingcod
May is the Month for Lingcod
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May is the Month for Lingcod They may be scary looking, but they sure are tasty. In fact, if I had to choose between halibut or lingcod, I’d pick lingcod any day of the week. Problem is, I have always found them to be a little tricky to catch. So, when I do fish for them, I check tides and tide tables religiously. Once fishing, I work ledges and drop-offs keeping my bait as close to the bottom as possible. The preferred method by many is jigging for lingcod. I like trolling for them using 4 to 8 oz swimbaits. It’s a lot of work and you must be on your toes since you are constantly bringing gear up and/or dropping it back down. But it can be a very effective way of hooking these “bucket heads” as they are sometimes called. On opening day this year, my group of two and I were greeted by a beautiful sunny morning. Knowing I just missed the tide change on an ebb tide, I choose to fish the northwest side of Gabriola. Trolling two of my favorite 4 oz swimbaits, I watched my depth as I began to work an edge. Once alongside of Gabriola Island near the old Cannery, we finally started having some action. Unfortunately, our customers where Quillback, Cooper Rock Fish, and a very nice Yellow Eye and an undersized Lingcod. We still hadn’t found our prize fish. With about an hour left in the trip, I was bringing up the gear as the depth changed from 160 to 90 feet when I noticed a slight bounce on the portside rod. I grabbed the rod yanking the line off the clip. I quickly handed the rod over to my guest and asked, “feel any better this time?” “Oh yes” was the reply. Five minutes later, we had our first nice lingcod aboard. Oh yeah! If you enjoy eating white meat from the ocean, Lingcod is the way to go. And, with salmon closed until the beginning of June, it is all we’ll be fishing for. As I tell my guests, May is the month for Lingcod.
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