Discover Sooke

“Want to go Salmon Fishing tomorrow morning off of Sooke?” That was the question I was asked not long ago by a close friend of mine who runs the local eco tour and whale watching company. I had only been Salmon Fishing a few times before, but was never successful in catching anything. As a recent implant to the Sooke area, I of course jumped at the chance to try this again, hoping to catch something, anything that made the tip of my rod bend over. I can’t afford my own boat, so it’s always great when my friends offer to take me on their boat.

I’ve been told how exciting it is to land a big Salmon on board so I was hoping that today would be that day. Why else would one choose to get up at 5am one a cold and damp morning when you could still be laying in your nice warm bed with both of your dogs tucked at your feet?

Today was going to be the day though, I told myself. I was going to come home with a nice fillet of Salmon for dinner. At least that’s what I told my wife, fingers crossed behind my back as I said this to her. I brewed my morning coffee, grabbed my fishing license and warm clothes and headed down to Sooke Harbour Marina where I met Russ and Matt, my two fishing experts who were going to help me get my Salmon.

We loaded all our gear and bait on the boat and warmed up the engines. It was probably the only thing warm near me though. The wind was brisk blowing off the water and the fog laid low, hanging over us – an eerie mist.

It only took us 10-15 minutes to get where we were going. Apparently I can’t tell you where that is though, it’s top secret. Let me just say it rhymes with Blotter Loint.

Dropped the downriggers, lines baited and anticipation was high. We waited, and waited and nothing. Stared mostly at the tip of the rods and the fish finder.

We checked our lines to make sure we still had our bait on and to my surprise, as I reeled in,we had a fish on. It happened so quickly. I reeled with all my might, fighting what was the best fight of my life. It wasn’t a Salmon at all. It was a Halibut, or Hali as the local fishermen call it. It was about 6″ long and weighed about half a pound. Not bad, not bad at all. Okay, so I was now the butt end of all the fishing jokes. Some harmless ribbing. Who cares, it was my first Hali.

Of course since it was so small, and not in season anyway, over the side it went. See ya next year, hopefully your eyes will be on the same side next time we meet.

Baited up again and dropped the lines. Another hour went by without anything. We could hear on the VHF radio that some people were having luck close by. After some discussion with the fishing guide on the other end of the radio, we slowly made our way over there, trolling the whole time.

It wasn’t long after that we had our first sign of a fish hitting our lines. Wham, the fight was on. Matt handed me the rod and I was in heaven. Here it was… the moment I was waiting for. It only took about 5 minutes but there it lay, in a net, on the back of the boat. We figured it must have been at least 50lbs…okay, okay, don’t all fisherman lie? It appeared to be about all of 12lbs, that is what Russ figured.

It was exciting, it was thrilling and it was way worth the early morning, the cold air and the damp chills. I also figure that feeling I had was addicting. I wanted to do it again, right now.

We baited up and dropped the line again, hoping that the school of fish we had seen on the fish finder was still there. But we waited and we waited. Nothing. By this time it was 5-6 hours since we started and we were all pretty tired and definitely cold. The simple mention of a beer and soup at one of Sooke’s restaurants was enough to have us reel in the lines quickly.

I can now say that I’ve been ocean fishing for Salmon. I’ve been there and done that. It ended up being a 11 lb Spring. And I can say with certainty that I will be doing it again, hopefully soon. It was all that it was cracked up to be and I can see why so many people head out and fish often. I can see why they would spend the money for a great charter and guide. The feeling is like nothing else. So if you read this Matt or Russ..

Filed under: Latest News on November 29th, 2008