The Pacific Angler Pro Staff had a rare day off yesterday, so we did what we always do on our day off. We went fishing of course! It’s not very often that the staff here at Pacific Angler get the chance to actually fish together because we are usually too busy covering each others shifts as we chase salmon, steelhead, sturgeon and trout, keeping us pretty busy 12 months of the year. So when we went fishing this Monday we were all very excited to get out on the water together and hit one of our favorite fisheries of the year, the Thrasher Rock chinook salmon.
We were lucky enough to have amazing conditions; it was flat calm and sunny for the better part of the day, the fish were biting eagerly, the cooler was full of great food, and we had good times and good laughs.
That what it’s all about!
Limited Edition Red MR3 awaits action during a smooth crossing
After a smooth crossing it was time to get the gear down. The Big Shooter, Kinetic UV Jelly Fish series of flashers from O’Ki, a glow hootchie, and some Smelly Jelly UV herring scent is one of my top producing setups in this area.
We set the gear, two glow hootchies and two glow spoons, with depths covered from 117 to 163 on the riggers.
Within minutes we were into a school of springs and as fast as we could get the gear down we were getting hook ups.
Ron with the first fish of the day as Jason mans the net
A slab hits the deck!
Dimitri and Jason with a double header
Dave and Dimitri with a few more chinook
Jason and Dimitri with yet another chinook
The action was fairly consistent throughout the day around Thrasher Rock in 160-350 feet of water. The fish were fairly spread out in the water column. At times they were as high as 80 and as deep as 175. Overall the best depths for us were in the 117-145 range on the downriggers, using 15lb cannonballs. People have been catching fish on spoons, hootchies, and Sea Four lures. These are aggressive fish so if you have a decent presentation, they are going to hit. The key is finding the fish and staying on top of them to maximize your opportunity when the bite is on.
Our final count for the day was about a dozen hook ups and we put 5 in the box as we let a few go and had a few long line releases as well.
We likely haven’t hit the peak of this fishery yet, so if you have some time in then next 2-3 weeks you should try and get out. If you would like to book a charter please give Pacific Angler Expeditions Manager, Dave Fauquier, a call at the shop, 604-872-2204 or an email him at dfauquier@pacificangler.ca and he will take care of all the details for you. If you have your own boat and need a hand picking out the right gear for this fishery, come down to the shop and we would be glad to help you out.
See you at the shop or on the water!
Jason Tonelli