I'm not a fisher...but I want to go!

[Mr. Friendly]

so none of my family hunt/fish, except my brother and I, to which we're inexperienced noobs. my brother doesn't fish (hates eating fish) whereas I don't mind it at all...only problem is, not raised, dunno how nor the means to go (at least drive with equipment to somewhere I can drop a line). I've always wanted to do some salmon and some halibut fishing (often is a nice deal in the Province for Uculet) but don't know who/what/where or when. I'm hoping some here may have some leads, tips, suggestions on guides or something of the sort where I can give this all a shot.

thanks for the recommendations, I appreciate that.

[BigBanger]

Canadian princess in Uculet is a good time. I try to go once a year and always have a blast.

[thunderheart]

best thing to do is call your self a fisherman .. and dont use the "new" political correct version "fisher" you are a man so you would be a fisherman right .. lol sorry Mr Friendly .. i commercial fished for many yrs .. vessel owner ..skipper ..woman that worked in the industry were Proud to call them selves fishermen .. fisher is put out there by some mamby pamby overpaid under worked angry special interest group that wants to homogenize human kind and the language we use ..

er uhm now to step off my soap box .. lol

there are alot of good guides out of uke .. or bamfield even port albernie .. i suggest that you go with a well equiped smaller operator so as you get real hands on opertunity to fish and learn ..

just my 2 cents

[pnbrock]

give ironnoggin a pm hes a guide out of ukee ,probably going to be more successful on more species than the puker boats.

[wolverine]

so none of my family hunt/fish, except my brother and I, to which we're inexperienced noobs. my brother doesn't fish (hates eating fish) whereas I don't mind it at all...only problem is, not raised, dunno how nor the means to go (at least drive with equipment to somewhere I can drop a line). I've always wanted to do some salmon and some halibut fishing (often is a nice deal in the Province for Uculet) but don't know who/what/where or when. I'm hoping some here may have some leads, tips, suggestions on guides or something of the sort where I can give this all a shot.

thanks for the recommendations, I appreciate that.

Of course you're not a "fisher" otherwise you would be a small fur bearing animal. You are probably not a "fisherman" either but you can change that. :mrgreen: Sorry, can't stand the "PC" term for one who fishes.:-|

[swamper]

I get so GD tired of all this new PC crap. Like Wolverine said, when did we become furry little animals. We don't catch squawfish anymore, we catch pike minnows. Make me mental.

Enough rant. Head out to the west coast of VL and go out with a guide for a couple of days and get a good feeling for what being a "fisherman" is really like. The feeling you get when you tangle with a 15 lb coho, or a 50 lb halibut is awesome. Pay attention to what they are doing and the equipment they use. You will be hooked.

[IronNoggin]

Mr. Friendly,

As pnbrock noted I guide on the saltwater for the summer months out of Ucluelet (and for big game in Alberta each fall). The fishing last year was amongst the best most of us have ever seen! Springs in excess of 30 pounds in MAY, and that trend continued right through to late August. Coho of unbelievable size in August, landed my personal best for a guided coho - just shy of 28 pounds! Sweet! Halibut and lings are pretty well available throughout the season.

This year is looking to be as good, or perhaps even slightly better than last year (if that's even possible!). The run projections for the fish we target on are even higher than last year, so we've got our fingers crossed they hold true!

Fishing the West Coast is a real Blast! While no-one can ever "guarantee" you'll catch fish, there are damn few that don't limit out. Ukee has quite the compliment of excellent and capable guides. Most are there to ensure you have FUN, and pride themselves on providing just that. Quite a few are getting well booked already (not surprisingly the news of last year, and the run projections of this have spurred a LOT of interest!). That said, there are certainly openings to be taken advantage of!

Going "guided" your first few times helps ensure you get to know the water, the fish, the gear and what you're looking at overall. Highly recommended, it is the way I started way back when.

Feel free to drop me a PM or Email any time. I would be happy to pass along some information regarding the area's better guides, timing, and anything else you might be wondering about...

Regardless of who you go with, this is quite likely to be an Adventure to Remember! ENJOY our back-yard, and remember to take lots of pictures for your report! :mrgreen:

Cheers,
Nog

[835]

Canadian Princess 100$ for 6hr
west coast fish about 600$
dont quote me it has been a while but these are approximate.

Differance is big though. The CP are the mcdonalds of fishing. I worked there for 6-7 years a few years back. Yes lots of people barf, yes they are not as productive as troll boats. But the service is just as good in most cases. We all try to catch fish and make people happy, it is why we do it. To make you happy.

troll boats are more "personal" if you get three or four guys you can get over the price, and more productive. If knowing what i do and i was in your shoes giving that money is not the motivator go with a troll boat.

but the cp is cheap and you will get on the water in good hands.
recomend West Coast fish

[vanislehunter1]

If you don't want to Vomit the whole time you are fishing, you could just drive a bit further, cut the amount of people in half, and have just as good (or better!) fishing in either Port McNeill, or Port Hardy. We were catching 20+ pound Coho in P.H last year in July and also big springs that we lost during that time. If you want the one of the best charter guys on the North Island, PM me and i'll let ya know ;)

[Johnnybear]

Canadian Princess 100$ for 6hr
west coast fish about 600$
dont quote me it has been a while but these are approximate.

Differance is big though. The CP are the mcdonalds of fishing. I worked there for 6-7 years a few years back. Yes lots of people barf, yes they are not as productive as troll boats. But the service is just as good in most cases. We all try to catch fish and make people happy, it is why we do it. To make you happy.

troll boats are more "personal" if you get three or four guys you can get over the price, and more productive. If knowing what i do and i was in your shoes giving that money is not the motivator go with a troll boat.

but the cp is cheap and you will get on the water in good hands.
recomend West Coast fish

This is good information. If you want to "experience" off shore fishing on a budget CP is the way to go. I know lots of folks that went that route. They are the big puker boats (commonly used name for them) and they have a fleet of them in Ucluelet.

Most guides that I know are around $100 bucks and hour. In the primo weeks of the summer a 4 hour charter will do you just fine as you will be into the fish non stop. I'd recommend Ucluelet or Tofino the last couple of weeks of July and the first two weeks of August.

Check out some of the fishing forums and read the reports to try to time your trip or just PM IronNoggin:wink:.

Oh yeah I'm not a fur bearing animal either just a mediocre fisherman:-D.

[Salty]

Lighten up guys we don't call ourselves huntermen do we? lol. But ya, it is correct to call a woman a fisherman.

Anyhoo mr Friendly there's good advice here. Another thing I'd add is it'll take a lot of time and huge bucks to learn how to fish strictly from guides. Ask around for some good fishing shops in your area. Consider buying a cheap spinning rod and going out to lakes and rivers in the LML. Not super productive, but super cheap and the best way to learn is to ask questions and do it yourself. Dicking around with light gear for trout and such is all good training for salt water and any other kind of fishing. ..

[Johnnybear]

Lighten up guys we don't call ourselves huntermen do we? lol. But ya, it is correct to call a woman a fisherman.

Anyhoo mr Friendly there's good advice here. Another thing I'd add is it'll take a lot of time and huge bucks to learn how to fish strictly from guides. Ask around for some good fishing shops in your area. Consider buying a cheap spinning rod and going out to lakes and rivers in the LML. Not super productive, but super cheap and the best way to learn is to ask questions and do it yourself. Dicking around with light gear for trout and such is all good training for salt water and any other kind of fishing. ..

Ok Ok major hijack here.......absent for a while Salty...........where are the steelhead on the fly posts or threads!!!!!!!!!:-D. Where have you been fisherman?

[Islander30]

I've fished Ucluelet for years and I can't rember the last time I was skunked, it's very central and if you have a general idea of where the fish will be at what time of year it's nearly always good.

I would definatly spend the money and go with someone like IronNoggin, nothing wrong with the princess boats but personally I don't think the other guides are really all that expensive for what you get...especially when I think about the price of my boat and all the money I've spent on gear over the years...lets just say my wife wasn't to thrilled to hear I'm taking up hunting now too :mrgreen:

[Salty]

Ok Ok major hijack here.......absent for awhile Salty...........where are the steelhead on the fly posts or threads!!!!!!!!!:-D.

Hey Johnny, how they hangin? Well first off I recomend not posting the question of why threads get locked here unless you want to get banned - that'll explain part of my absence :roll:, second off I was in Mexico for a spell, but I was out a few times for steelhead over a month ago but no glory yet. Well, there's the one that got away type stories or more like good hits, but nudda yet. Just got back home yesterday so hope to get out some more for steelies. :-D

[Johnnybear]

I've fished Ucluelet for years and I can't rember the last time I was skunked, it's very central and if you have a general idea of where the fish will be at what time of year it's nearly always good.

I would definatly spend the money and go with someone like IronNoggin, nothing wrong with the princess boats but personally I don't think the other guides are really all that expensive for what you get...especially when I think about the price of my boat and all the money I've spent on gear over the years...lets just say my wife wasn't to thrilled to hear I'm taking up hunting now too :mrgreen:

I've found the same thing about Ukky. I used to launch in Port and head out to the Bamfield and offshore areas but since the relocation closer to Ukky and the access etc. I find the fishing is alot better. If you think about it all the fish have to pass by there and then turn the corner. Oh yeah alot go by but really that is the key corner to all of Barkley Sound.