Ocean Charter Guys… YA YOU WITH THE BIG BOATS!!!

[Marty S]

I think its high time you give us all an ocean fishing update, complete with lotsa brag pics… please????

We the little people sitting here rotting away in the algae ridden carp infested fresh waters of Alberta. Your input is needed to help us go on

And please waste no time, with a 2024 election happening south of the border there is sure to be a whole raft of new mandates and lockdowns and other stupidities coming right up!!!!

(Sadly im not kidding!!!)

[-JR-]

Might be to early in the morning for me ,but your post makes no sense !

[Marty S]

The desired lockdowns might bar us the little people from heading west fishing. If you an avid CBC guy then wont make sense, is the brainwashing station. People wailing “COVID VARIANT.. COVID VARIANT…. Even when there was only 6 documented cases around the world of the type in the spotlight. 2024??? Covid psydeuo panic causing liberal desired mail in ballot…. At least watch some Fox news man, possibly you can balance it out a little

No bites… ill just hafta go see how it really is myself!!!

UCLUELET HERE WE COME!!!

Yes minda late but the Stamp River run coming right up! I keep hearing stories of utterly steller chinook runs… even Skeena country!

Oh darn… this post could affect my social credit svore a couple years from now

[Sea Hawk]

Originally Posted by Marty S

I think its high time you give us all an ocean fishing update, complete with lotsa brag pics… please????

We the little people sitting here rotting away in the algae ridden carp infested fresh waters of Alberta. Your input is needed to help us go on

And please waste no time, with a 2024 election happening south of the border there is sure to be a whole raft of new mandates and lockdowns and other stupidities coming right up!!!!

(Sadly im not kidding!!!)

Your post got my attention. 15 years ago i was one of the people on the forum who dreamed of getting out on the west coast to fish .My wife and I had been out to the coast a few times and chartered a boat for a few hours and i got hooked. When we went to the local sportsman shows and talked to the west coast guides, I found they were always booked for the best times at least a year in advance and to be honest, we could not afford to book these guides for as long as i would like to fish. So I spent 2 years on the internet researching boats and finally bit the bullit on an ocean worthy craft in Seattle. For the last ten years my wife and i have made an annual trip to Prince Rupert to fish the ocean. Every time we go we stay for about a week and get our fair share of fish. I fished Alberta waters for over 35 years before i tried to take my own boat on the ocean. To say it was a steep learning curve would be an understatement. Sadly due to a family illness we did not get out to the coast this summer, but I hope to get back there next year and hopefully by then i can figure out how to post photos on the forum.

[Marty S]

I wet my salmon feet in the Skeena, such BIGGGGGGG fish! Our camp record was 57 pounds and camp beside us best us by a good pound, before i switched to braid! A 30 lber a day on the riverbank.
Ya, i wanted to get a boat too, but i want everything. Havent done it yet. trudeau and his WEF friends dont want us to, want us to stay home to reduce our carbon footprint while he flys all over the world making a fool of himself and all of Canada.

Im selling the lake boat, cuz i never use, and getting something that i can at least think about using inshore, ideally something to get out a few miles when the forecast is very fair. I see some great deals sometimes.

What did you have to do to get your craft imported?

[Sundancefisher]

Haida Gwaii is fishing well right now. Tons of coho. Plenty of Chinook.

Good times.

[Serengeti Charters]

Had our best season on Chinook EVER. Just bananas how many were out there this year. Aboard my boat (Ms Heather 3) between June 4 and aug 23 or so I don't think there was a day we didn't limit on Chinook, most days by 930-10am or so! Will post a big report once the season settles down. Lingcod and Halibut were great too, lots of perfect sized (30-60lb) hali's. Targeting Coho and Tuna now!

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by Serengeti Charters

Had our best season on Chinook EVER. Just bananas how many were out there this year. Aboard my boat (Ms Heather 3) between June 4 and aug 23 or so I don't think there was a day we didn't limit on Chinook, most days by 930-10am or so! Will post a big report once the season settles down. Lingcod and Halibut were great too, lots of perfect sized (30-60lb) hali's. Targeting Coho and Tuna now!

So how are the albacore fishing?

What the process cost etc.

[Serengeti Charters]

Originally Posted by Sundancefisher

So how are the albacore fishing?

What the process cost etc.

Most fun you can have with your clothes on!!!

Been consistently getting 26-36 each time out. Max capacity on board as have to ice them is about 45-50 I think. Probably would of reached that last time out but left grounds quite early as had bachelor party weekend to attend!!!

[Marty S]

INSTRUCTIONS: Albacore Tuna - DO NOT CAN!!!! Cook medium rare and devour!!! Canned tuna only good for heavy mayo sandwiches and ***** cats!!!

Warning: Dawg may not eat canned tuna!!!

Actually its great in a green salad… even real men eat salad these daze

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by Serengeti Charters

Most fun you can have with your clothes on!!!

Been consistently getting 26-36 each time out. Max capacity on board as have to ice them is about 45-50 I think. Probably would of reached that last time out but left grounds quite early as had bachelor party weekend to attend!!!

What’s the cost to go out and what is the best season?

I want some for sashimi and making sushi.

[SouthWestRanger]

Haida Gwaii was fishing great the last weekend of august when we were there, limits of coho and Chinook and all the halibut we could bring aboard. Finally beat my PB saltwater Chinook of 29lbs with a 38lb Tyee caught shallow. If I could start over I would be a salmon guide, I love the salt and salmon that swim through there.

[Boatbuilder]

Originally Posted by Marty S

INSTRUCTIONS: Albacore Tuna - DO NOT CAN!!!! Cook medium rare and devour!!! Canned tuna only good for heavy mayo sandwiches and ***** cats!!!

Warning: Dawg may not eat canned tuna!!!

Actually its great in a green salad… even real men eat salad these daze

I disagree with you. We canned a lot of tuna a couple weeks ago and it is great. Everyone that has tried it loves it straight out of the can.
Jim

[Boatbuilder]

Originally Posted by Serengeti Charters

Had our best season on Chinook EVER. Just bananas how many were out there this year. Aboard my boat (Ms Heather 3) between June 4 and aug 23 or so I don't think there was a day we didn't limit on Chinook, most days by 930-10am or so! Will post a big report once the season settles down. Lingcod and Halibut were great too, lots of perfect sized (30-60lb) hali's. Targeting Coho and Tuna now!

I totally agree. It's been the best salmon fishing I've seen in the 19 years that I've fished the west coast. Limits of springs before first coffee. Left lots of time for halibut and ling cod fishing.
Only got out tuna fishing twice this year but caught more than enough tuna to last the year and share with friends and family.
Tuna fishing is an amazing fishery. Early mornings, late nights, lots of blood and worn out fishermen by the time all fish are processed.
Jim

[Coiloil37]

Those of you pimping the season haven’t mentioned the average size is this year. Allegedly the numbers were/are epic but the average size is much smaller than years past with fewer truely large fish in amongst them. Anyone else notice this with at least 20+ years experience fishing those waters?

I’ve had family on the QCI since the early 90’s and taking my info from them. I started fishing there in 2003 and back then we didn’t bother killing any chinook under 30lbs with plenty over 40. I remember a guy landed one at 99lbs that gave me hope I would find one that large. Double headers were the norm and we never got both lines out and had time for a smoke before we would be hooked up again. 2018 was the last year I fished there and through that 15 year period the quality declined fairly linearly year over year. Numbers were hit or miss based on the weeks I was there and the days we fished but big fish got harder and harder to find.

This year they caught non stop but most were under 10lbs and they only had two over 15lbs. We used to get coho that heavy.

If the above is correct, what are some of the problems? Food, predation, genetics, disease? Perhaps the square hooks used offshore and in Alaska only catch the larger class of fish? What’s the long term effect and how many fewer eggs will be laid as a result of these smaller fish? More importantly is the long term trend and no obvious appetite to reverse it.

Or was everyone else slaying a healthy mix of 25 to 40lb fish with only the odd runt mixed in?

[SNAPFisher]

Originally Posted by Serengeti Charters

Had our best season on Chinook EVER. Just bananas how many were out there this year. Aboard my boat (Ms Heather 3) between June 4 and aug 23 or so I don't think there was a day we didn't limit on Chinook, most days by 930-10am or so! Will post a big report once the season settles down. Lingcod and Halibut were great too, lots of perfect sized (30-60lb) hali's. Targeting Coho and Tuna now!

Looking forward to it! We were up at Hardy 2nd week of July and caught the tail end of a crazy chinook run. Leaves a lot of time to bottom fish after limiting out so quick! Nice mid teen eaters. Did you find any monster chinook?

[Serengeti Charters]

No monsters for us this year, nice number in the 30-37lb range but no huge ones. Pure numbers were insane though. Kind of lines up with ocean survival rates though. Last year had best Coho year ever (3 year life cycle), this year most amazing Chinook year ever (4 year life cycle). Those fish left the rivers on the same year. Coho was great this year as well, and my understanding is ocean survival conditions have been great up to this year, might change this winter but for next 4 years should have great returns.

Also means next year should see more 5 year old Chinook, aka bigger ones.

[Marty S]

People said up at Rupert that there was an insane number of chinook up there too, one guy trying to not target was getting 30 a day while fishing coho. Did the Alaska commercial fleet turn the tap back on or was the closure silly and unnecessary on the Skeena and Nass? Were those simply political closures and nothing to do with numbers or what?

[fish99]

The closure sure helped with the numbers
Ow just need bigger and more feed for them

[Serengeti Charters]

Commercial alaska fleet was never closed. They open july 1 every year and won an appeal at the end of june. So any rumours of them being closed hence good season is false. Mainly ocean survival rates were good from 2019-2023. So next 4 in theory should be good

[SouthWestRanger]

I’m curious how other salmon guys view releasing large chinooks. We have always done it because my understanding from talking to bios is that fish size is determined by genetics and environmental factors. A fish may have the genetics to be 40lbs but only too out in the low 20s based on environmental factors whereas any fish in that upper size class has the genetics to produce more of that size or larger if the environmental factors are right. For this reason we have always released the high 20s and bigger.

[Jims83cj5]

This