|
Fishing
 Port Hardy and areas to the north enjoy some of
the best salt water fishing on the coast. That statement can be
heard from many communities up and down the coast but Department
of Fisheries statistics confirm that in the heyday of commercial
fishing, 75% of all catch was taken within 100 miles of
Port Hardy! Today the commercial fishing has
declined and the sports fishing "opportunities" have increased
tremendously.
FISHING TIME TABLE
Chinook
(King) -
May 30 to September 1st.
Coho
(Silver) June 25th- September 30th
Pink/Chum
July 15th- September 15th.
Sockeye
(Red)
July 15th- August 15th
Cod/Halibut
April- 15th- October 15th.
All
runs "Peak" sometime in July or August.
The
exact date varies from year to year.
Current fishing regulations, closures,
opportunities, and a wealth of general information can all be
found on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans web page:
www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca.
Your guide manages to keep up with the current regulations and
will assist you in identifying the various species to provide you
with a worry free fishing trip. Port Hardy has a great location
that is sheltered by Vancouver Island, but is adjacent to the open
Pacific and therefore a lot of various kinds of fish congregate
nearby before heading down either coast of the island. There are
plenty of sheltered waters that are free from the swells of the
Pacific to provide comfortable yet interesting ocean fishing. We
generally troll for salmon and "jig" on the bottom for cod and
halibut.
Salmon
For the past three years a small sports
Coho ((silvers) opening has occurred out in
front of Port Hardy in the month of July. You
are currently allowed to retain one wild Coho per person per day
and one hatchery (marked) Coho per day per person with a two day
possession limit prior to August 1st. In August only the marked
(hatchery) Coho may be retained. The Silver Fox
generally moves north of Cape Caution ( about 45 k.m. to the
North) in August so that anglers can enjoy retaining four (4) Coho
per day, with a total possession limit of 8 salmon. Coho stocks
have not recovered completely in areas to the south of Port Hardy
so we are fortunate to have a retention of this delicious fish.
They range from 5 lbs when they first arrive in our waters, and
average around 8-10 lbs by the end of July, and we have caught a
23 lb Coho ( silver) on the Silver Fox in September.
They are my favorite fish, both for taste and for the fight.
Although not as strong as their cousins, (the Chinook-Kings), they
usually fight up on top of the water and that is a thrill when it
is a big one.
Our Chinook- (Spring)- (King)
fishing seems to have improved in the local waters around Port
Hardy in the past decade. The current regulations are generous
and allow the retention of two (2) per angler per day and four (4)
in possession per angler. They must be 62.5 ctms..( About 25") in
length. They are the biggest salmon and are the strongest fish,
usually heading down deep and give extra long runs to keep your
hear rate up while fighting them. The largest Chinook ever caught
on the Silver Fox was 73 lbs. This was taken at the head
of Rivers Inlet in 1986. The largest hatchery Chinook ever caught
on the Silver Fox was 66 lbs when we caught it and 64 lbs
by the time we had it officially weighed at Dawson's Landing,
Rivers Inlet. B.C. Chinooks 32 lbs and bigger are called Tyees
and we have caught lots of them as early as June 1st. They peak
by the third week of August.
Pinks are still a mainstay in
the sports fishing opportunity in the Port Hardy area. They can
go up to 10-12 lbs and average around 6 lbs and are great fresh or
smoked. Because they do not freeze well, we recommend you smoke,
can or eat them while they are fresh. You are presently allowed
to keep four (4) a day, with a total of all species of salmon of 8
in possession. On light fishing gear they can provide you with a
great afternoon of fishing while the Chinook stop biting.
Sockeye (Red) are the prized
commercial fish as they command the highest price per lb. of any
of the salmon. In 2006 we had a record return and they hung
around Port Hardy for a good part of July and August. Because of
the strong run, DFO let us keep up to four a day that year but
generally speaking as soon as they show up in our waters, they
shut off our retention of these beautiful dark red meat salmon.
As a result I rarely bother to target them. Sockeye are supposed
to be the vegetarians of salmon, eating only plankton and krill,
and have no teeth and therefore are normally caught by nets. (
Commercial). I say "supposed to be" because in 2006 you could
catch them on herring, which proves that "theory" wrong!
Chum are another salmon that
sports fisherman are just learning how to catch. We have a major
run in southern waters as late as November, and the commercial
fishing fleet target these fish. We catch the odd one , usually
up at the end of an inlet as they head up to spawn. They can give
you a good fight as they can go up to 30 lbs.
Halibut
Halibut are the largest fish lurking around in
our waters and the record for the Silver Fox was a 267
lb.
(caught on a handline). Last year we managed to drag a 188 lb
over the side of the boat. A big female
(80 lbs +) can give you a great tussle on the end of a rod and
reel. We have had several of these trophies over 200 lbs. The
average seem to be around 25 -35 lbs and make the best eating.
Because we are normally fishing 300 ft down, wind or big tides
prevent you from keeping your lures in position so we pick "neap
tides" or dates when the high and the low tides have as little
change as possible. There are only about 8 prime days in May,
June, July, August and September when the best small tides occur
so we put them aside for people who are targeting Halibut.
Definitely an exciting fish to catch and a very tasty one with
lots of meat on them. Presently we are allowed to keep 2 the first
day of fishing/ person and then one more on another day, or 3 in
possession.
Cod
We get still get some large ling cod
in the 45-65 lb range, but again, the best eating seem to be the
smaller ones around 15- 20 lbs. All teeth and head they sometimes
follow up a salmon you have hooked and if you are really careful
with the net, you can bag both! Depending exactly where you are
fishing, you can retain up to 2 of these a day in our waters, more
as you head north. They don't really fight much but they make
great fish and chips! There is still plenty of opportunity to
catch the smaller rock cod of all species and occasionally while
trying for halibut we snag onto some large yelloweye rockcod in
the 20 lb+ class. Our bottom fishery is almost year round, with
the exception of ling cod which normally opens in June. My
favorite cod for both eating and angling has to be the black rock
cod. On light spinning gear they provide a great fight and their
hard white meat makes great Cajun cod and other recipes from our
stove. Recently some sanctuary areas have been set up to protect
these long living fish.
|
