Bon Chovy Fishing Report - Mid July 2020
It sure is good to be back on the water in the fresh air doing what we love to do!! We are getting used to the new normal from a Covid perspective and fishing perspective. We have been out quite a bit in recent weeks chasing fish around Vancouver, Sidney and the Gulf Island's. There has been good numbers of chinook around in the Gulf Island's and Sidney and increasing numbers of coho around Vancouver.
Over the last week we have been targetting coho off the South End of Bowen Island, mainly from Cowan Point up to Worlecombe Island. The fish have been moving around a bit, but there has been some good pockets of fish once you get on them. Hootchies, spoons and anchovies have all been getting their share of bites. We have been doing really well on a simple, white "Casper" Yamashita Hootchie for coho on a short leader. Pair this up with a Bon Chovy, STS, Madi or Lemon Lime Flasher and you will get some bites. Smaller spoons like little 3.0 Irish Cream, Homeland Security, Trailhead Spoons by Gibbs Delta and Silver Horde our good bets as well. A lot of these fish are heading to the Capilano River and we will see more and more coho move into Vancouver Harbour soon and there will be some good retention opportunities for coho on our 5 hour charters!
Good news! On July 15th, we will be able to retain chinook salmon again in the Gulf Island's (Area 17) and north of Gibson's (portions of Area 29) . More areas open up for chinook retention on the 1st of August , including a significant portion of the West Vancouver shorleline. In July and into Early August we are primarily running spoons and hootchies when targetting chinook. Our favourite hootchies are the splatterbacks by Yamashita! Blue, green and chartreuese are definitely the top picks. We find them very effective when targetting July and August chinooks in the Gulf Island's. If you are looking to do a charter in the near future to retain chinook salmon, 8 and 10 hour charters are needed. Local 5 hour trips will primarily be targetting coho for the next couple/few weeks until Vancouver Harbour opens up for chinook.
Moored at the Port Sidney Marina, we are in an excellent position to target salmon and bottomfish on in calm water on ourcharters. Chinook salmon retention opens up on the 1st of August in Sidney and we have good options on our 5, 8 and 10 hour charters. If you are looking for accommodation, the Sidney Pier Hotel (https://www.sidneypier.com/en-us) offers excellent accomodation and only a two minute walk to the boat. Sidney is a great option for August with chinook retention opening up at it's doorstep! Calm water too! If you are staying on Pender, Saltspring, Galiano Island etc, we can do pick ups from there as well!
Give us a call or an email to get out fishing! We have salmon retention opportunities and Covid protocals in place. Summer weather is coming and the fishing is going to heat up as well!
