Back From Tofino.

[Walleyes]

The boy and I got back from the west coast early Sunday morning after an 18 hr drive. Despite the heavy rain we had it was over all a great trip. Unfortunately due to the weather and wind we were not able to make it to the outside to get into the good fishing we were restricted to the inside waters. We tried a couple times to poke our nose out but the 3m (10ft) seas were just a little much. Most were just rollers but the odd one would get to heavy and break over. I tell yah when you see a couple 10ft waves break over it scares the crap out of you especially when you are the only boat out there.

So we decided to just stay safe and do what we could. We did manage one nice Chinook that Jesse landed it came in at 21 pounds a nice fish.. Other than that we did get on some prawns our first set but looked for a better spot and never found them again. We ran out of time to get back on the hole again so were pleased with the 2 dozen we did get. The crabbing was good. Our first set we got 3 huge dungeness and then after a couple more sets got into some dandy red rock crab. We came home with a dozen fresh crab as well so that was awesome.

In the end it was great just to get out on the chuck and on the open water. We really liked Tofino it is a great little town and I can`t wait to get back out there in August to really get at the fish. We ate lots of great food in the local restaurants and met some good people,, all very helpful and open.

A special thanks to Jay ( aka Tofinofish ) for his help once again and Jay we will see you in August.

Here are a few pics of the trip.

Jesse`s fish.

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k303/walleyes_2006/IMG_0429.jpg

A dandy dungeness..

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k303/walleyes_2006/IMG_0415.jpg

Loaded with traps ready for a new set.

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k303/walleyes_2006/IMG_0418.jpg

The next stop off the end of that rod is Japan and according to my GPS it was 4586 miles.

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k303/walleyes_2006/IMG_0442.jpg

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k303/walleyes_2006/IMG_0439.jpg

Here is a quick vid of the trap puller I built last month. Worked great, a little slow but all kinds of power I think I will put a bigger pulley on it to pick up the speed. It wasn`t bad it would take about 10 min to pull 2 traps out of 300 ft so still way better than doing it by hand.

( Click on the pic for the video ) You will have to exuse the quality of the video`s they were shot with my camera.

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k303/walleyes_2006/th_MVI_0411.jpg (http://s91.photobucket.com/albums/k303/walleyes_2006/?action=view&current=MVI_0411.mp4)

Taking a crab out of the trap..

( Another Video )

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k303/walleyes_2006/th_MVI_0414.jpg (http://s91.photobucket.com/albums/k303/walleyes_2006/?action=view&current=MVI_0414.mp4)

Just a little vid of us cruising for another drop for the traps,, what an awesome place to be..

http://i91.photobucket.com/albums/k303/walleyes_2006/th_MVI_0428.jpg (http://s91.photobucket.com/albums/k303/walleyes_2006/?action=view&current=MVI_0428.mp4)

[gramps73]

To bad about the weather but looks like you still had a good trip..
Nice fish Walleye.

[chubbdarter]

great pics..thank you

[Fishfinder]

:sSig_nicethread: Good stuff, thanx for sharing.
Took a trip out there several years back with the lil sis, was not a fisherman then but it was surely a fisherman's paradise!
Tofino is packed full of friendly people and is a Surfer's/Fisherman's/Outdoor Enthusiat's Haven. Saweeeeeeeet art museum too! Local restaurants serve up some fine fishy dishes too. Man I wish I was a fisherman then.
Awesome thread, suuuuper jealous, looks like a blast!
Cheers n GL:)

[Alberta Bigbore]

Nice fish !!!!

[Speckle55]

Grats!!! nice fish and Crabs:)

[SushiUnagi]

Awesome trip! Thx for sharing!

[Rockymtnx]

Congrats on a great trip Walleyes.
Looks like it was a great time!

[TyreeUM]

wow, I bet you guys had a blast!

[Deer Hunter]

Great pics. Cant wait for fishing season to arrive here.

[Walleyes]

Thx Gentlemen,, Yah it felt good to get on some open water for a change thats for sure.

And heck any day a man can spend in his boat is a good day fish or no fish.. The beauty of that place more then makes up for the fish,, well almost lolo.. We will get them in August when we are there, this was just a primer now I have a bit of a feel for the place.

[Mish@]

rocking the MR2 reel? :D

[WayneChristie]

looks like you had a good time, great pics. one of my favorite places

[The Fisherman Guy]

Great pictures Walleyes! Glad your son boated a nice spring over 20.

Tof is incredible, there is no where I have found that is quite like it. I lived in Ukee for a stint, and enjoyed every minute of it.

Did you have a chance to eat at Shelter, the Common Loaf or the Tuff City Inn?

Very good west coast style food at Shelter, and the best sushi I have ever had at the Tuff City Inn.

But, I am going to head out on a limb here Walleyes: You would (if you don't already) really like the Matterson House in Ukee. Everything on the menu is absolutely incredible. Family run restaruant, the co-owner head chef has developed all the recipes himself. From the seafood chowder, to the Matterson Monster Burger, to the Matterson Chicken.... Walleyes.... You will remember it for a long while. Make the journey there in August, you will not regret it. Main street in Ukee, small white house.

[WillyOneStyle]

Love Tofino, awesome pics.

[Walleyes]

Thx for the pointers TFG we will definitely check out Matterson House this summer,, trying all the local cuisine is always a big part of our trips,, what can I say we love food.

We did try out the Shelter and loved their seafood chowder but I must say we hit it a little late as they were sort of switched over to the night crowd already. The music was absolutely blasting and it was more of a drinking crowd. I do want to try it again but will hit it a bit earlier..

[deke]

Great spot and nice pics. What kind of boat are your running?

[Jwood 456]

Awesome! It looks you guys had a blast.

Speaking of the BC west coast, that has to be one of my more favorite places I vacationed to. The scenery there was second to none. It was really cool digging up clams on the beach and seeing all of the sea creatures on the rocks at low tide. The people on the west and north side of the island also seemed very friendly and the towns were very quaint. That trip I took to the island I don't think will be a trip I will forget anytime soon even though it was 9 years ago.lol

[Walleyes]

Great spot and nice pics. What kind of boat are your running?

Its a 2006 - 2000, (20') Lund Fisherman.. Very nice boat. Unbelievable how stable that boat is.. Have a 175 E-Tec with a 9.9 Johnson beside it. Very nice all around boat. Goes well for walleye fishing at home converts over for the family nice with the snap in bow busters and open bow and pretty much handles any water that is fishable out west.