Vancouver Island, BC need info please!

[outback]

We are planning a trip for next July or August in the Ucluelet, Barkley Sound area of Vancouver Island, BC. Will take our own boat. Need info on any good lodging, etc. When is the fishing best for halibut and salmon? Any info would be greatly appreciated, as we have never been there. Thanks!

[corrirod]

Outback,

I've been to the Oak Bay Marine Charlette Princess before and it was just an o.k. trip. Very cheap and you get what you pay for. They are located right in the Ucluelet Bay.

I have also been to Weigh West Resort out of Tofino and would highly recommend them. I have often thought about taking my own boat up there. They have decent accomodations, a great restaurant, and very friendly people to talk to about the fishing. Most of the charters out of Ucluelet traverse up to the Clayoquot Sound anyway so it saves you the trip and there's tons of fishing. Depending on when you go, there is also some flyfishing opportunities for coho in the sound. They do have moorage for travelers so I'd look them up on the web and give them a call to find out the prime dates. I believe we were there in June which was a shoulder time and we still limited out on Kings and Hali's. The fishing area is real easy to find, just go due west out of the mout until you hit a large shelf that drops to 150 ft. I believe.

Good luck and catch lots of fish.

[ 12-31-2002, 07:54 PM: Message edited by: corrirod ]

[Sea Nymph]

I was looking at http://www.weighwest.com/
It looks like a nice place.

Corrirod, how rough was the water at the fishing holes? I'm thinking of doing the same thing as Outback but my boat is only an 18 foot glass boat.

Are there other people out there with similar boats?

Thanks
SN

SN

[ 01-01-2003, 09:36 AM: Message edited by: Sea Nymph ]

[Miss B Haven]

Assuming you're trailering- plan on two days to do the drive. The Ferry across to Nanimo takes 1/2 a day by itself. You have to go in the section with the trucks etc with a boat (PS- cost about $100 I'd guess- it was $60 back a nuber of years). You will almost always have to wait a full Ferry cycle to get on. You either wait 3 hours ahead, or get there 1/2 hour early and find out it's full and wait for the next one. Either way you probably will spend 3-4 hours at the terminal.
I would not pull a boat across to Barkey in the dark. Spend the night in Nanimo and start fresh in the daylight.
I haven't actually done Barlkey but friends have. They were stuck inside most of the trip due to really bad fog and ocean conditions outside. Not much Salmon action inside Barkley. You might want to check out the Port Macneil (SP) area. Lots of Islands up there, very protected water. I spent 2 weeks and fished every day. We stayed at Echo Bay. They are usually at the boat show (they started hitting it instead of the sportsman show.)

[outback]

Originally posted by Sea Nymph:
I was looking at http://www.weighwest.com/
It looks like a nice place.

Corrirod, how rough was the water at the fishing holes? I'm thinking of doing the same thing as Outback but my boat is only an 18 foot glass boat.

Are there other people out there with similar boats?

Thanks
SN

SN<font size="2" face="verdana,arial,helv">Sea Nymph. My Boat is also 18 foot. I plan on towing all the way to Ucluelet or Tofino. I want to be near Brakley sound. To be able to fish inside or outside, depending on the weather. Take a look at Island West Fishing Lodge. They have a Marina and Lodging. I know someone who fished Barkley sound last year and done real good. Outback.

[Get Bit]

Outback,
Don't know if you have your heart set on Barkley, but you may want to consider going farther North to Port McNeil or Port Hardy. Can get out of some of the people that way. Great fishing and I know of a great campground if your interested.
Let me know.

Get Bit

[DEEPWATER]

HI
New member here, though I have been following this site for quite awhile now. I'm primarily a salt water salmon fisher, though would like to learn how it is done in the rivers.

Outback

Probably the best time for salmon in Barkley Sound is the last week in August and first week in Sept. That said, it is also the most crowded time to fish there. When I first started going up there 20 years ago, I fished out of Ucluelet, but have since switched over to Bamfield on the east side of the Sound. The reason being that there is more and better protected salmon fishing than on the west side. Out of Ucluelet most of the better fishing is offshore and can be rough seas. For those with a smaller boat, Bamfield is a better and safer place to fish. When the main run starts coming thru in August, many locals will solely fish the wall which is just outside the harbor and suitable for a 12' boat and kicker. The area can be hit with some heavy fog, so I recommend a good GPS and know how to use it. I was there 22 July last year which I thought would be too early, but was pleasantly surprised. My son and I hit salmon everyday at Cape Beal. My largest was a 37 lb white king. My son lost several that were as good or better though we still managed to bring home a limit. A person that I met fished out of a resort at the entrance of Alberni Inlet by San Mateo Bay at the same time and did well on 18-25 lb kings. A benefit of that area is that it doesn't get fog. The nice part about that time of year was there were hardly anyone around. I got reservations at the Bamfield Trails Motel (250-728-3231) the day before I went. They have rooms with kitchens or the restruant is decent. The bottom fishing was phenomenal with lots of good size lings. I didn't go offshore for halibut, but several other boats did pretty well.
To dispell several of the misconceptions, the ferry ride from Twassan to Nanaimo is 2 hrs and 15 minutes. You can make reservations (about $10) if you are traveling on a weekend. During the week I've never had any problem getting on the ferry by arriving an hour early. The ferry is pretty expensive, about $160 for a suburban, 21' boat and 2 passengers. Of course that is in northern pesos.
Ports Hardy and McNeil are at the northern end of the island and a good 6 hour drive from the ferry. Not only do they get some very bad fog, there is also alot of large debris in the water and large ship traffic. For more info on that area go to the Salmon University site
http://www.salmonuniversity.com/bc_index.html
If you plan on going to the Bamfield or Port Alberni area, email me for specific fishing spots.

DEEPWATER

[Fishplay]

My .02.
If your wanting to halibut fish I would not go to Port Hardy without talking to someone you trust about catch statistics. The commercial fleet fished the grounds within close proximty last year and the catch rate went to hell. Still excellent for Spring Salmon near the end of July though.

[stick flicker]

I lived in Port Alice for 5 years and was able to fish the West Coast after a 25 mile run up the inlet. We brought my grandfathers 21ft glass up from Oregon and fished halibut, salmon, and best of all huge lings. If you decide to make it up more north on the island I can help. I commercial fished out of Uculet and during August I observed the Canadian Princess charters bringing in plenty of chinook daily. Good Luck.

[Great White Sturgeon Hunter]

I have fished Vancouver Island many times, Some of the best fishing I ever did was out of Nootka Sound on the West side of the Island. Cut across the Island on Hwy 26 to the town of Gold River at the end of the road is small boat launch. It's a long run out to the sound but well worth it. And as far as Steelhead WOW. In Aug. of 1987 I was fishing the Gold River my partner and I had a 30 fish day. It was unreal big metalheads on the whole day. 3 or 4 doubles it was great. The thing I liked about the west side of the Island is there is less preasure.