The annual herring spawn has started! This is possibly the greatest natural spectacle of the season. It draws in thousands of marine mammals, birds and fish into a concentrated area for the biggest feeding frenzy of the year. So if you want to stock up on bait, catch herring for the tasty roe, or just watch the show now is the time to get out there.
We have herring jigs (sabiki rigs) if you want to fish for them. I cast them out with a small weight on the end, once I feel one fish bite I wait for more to try to catch a few at once. I find this works well from a boat or shore, but when I really want to load up I use a dip or casting net. For a dip net I use a small fine mesh net like the small Beckman. This season I will try a throw net just to try it out. My coworker Nate swears by them and says he can fill a fish tub in one throw. So hopefully they will make their way down to Nanaimo this weekend.
If you want to know how I process my herring check out my herring article I wrote for Island Fisherman Magazine a few years ago.
For salmon fishing I has been a good week. French Creek fishermen continue to have the best sized Chinook, while Porlier Pass seems to have the most fish. Bigger spoons like Big-E in Aquaman and Plugs like RVP 727II have been getting the bigger fish. Fishermen running anchovies with chrome blue green mist teaser heads have caught the most fish.
Most of the Chinook are still deep, but the herring spawn should start to draw them in closer to shore. This means switching from glow gear to chrome lures when fishing shallower than 100 ft or so.
Tips up! steve@harbourchandler.ca
