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[Nick78]

Was wondering if Flounder and Herring can be caught in the inlet - will go out this weekend with my neighbour for crabbing with the boat. Any ideas?

[lucky]

Although its been awhile since I've fished that area I have caught flounder this time of year. In the winter I usually fish deeper for them around 40-70ft of water. Herring can be hit or miss this time of year, but it doesnt hurt to carry a herring jig in case you mark schools of bait on the fish finder.

Best to check the regs before you head out,  with all the new rockfish conservation areas there are alot of spots that are closed to fishing.

good luck

[Nick78]

Thanks for the answer lucky! So what bait and rig did you use ? Fished for those tasty guys in Norway and pieces of Herring worked very well but the best bait was Sandorm kind of a lub or rockworm that lives in the sand. Here are some pictures of what i used up there.

[lucky]

Nice looking mess of fish!

For bait Ive had the best success using pieces of uncooked shrimp, fished with a sliding sinker rig with about a foot and a half between your weight and hook. The sliding weight works great because when you feel a hit you can give slack and let the fish take the bait for a bit. In the past I have found that if a flounder hits and feels tension on the line alot of times they will spit the bait out.

[troutbreath]

The flounder will hit a Buzz Bomb too.

[NFM]

For best results that I have found fishing the gulf Islands in the summer time for flounder/sole on a regular bacis is squid, you can purchase it at most grocery stores , i found safeway is a hit or miss but superstore ALWAYS has it instock, they come in a box and are very cheap to buy. Use a basic mooching set up, a 10oz -16 oz weight works best pending on how fast the tide is moving, heavier the better when its really moving because you want to make sure you are rite on the bottom. 1-2 ft below your weight have your hook, or if permited in your area use 2 hooks for the double headers  .Fishy a sandy bottom and you should hit your limit of 8 in no time. Hope it all works out any other questions feel free to ask

[Nick78]

Thanx again guys!
Gonna buy buzz bombs, shrimp, and squid tomorrow Sounds very promising! Sandy bottom is a must for flatfish like anywhere else. Fished a small bay of Pender Island five years ago using the meat of seashells cause i got no other bait... damn dogfish bit my leader through a couple of times but finally managed to land one and two flatfish. Does someone know what exactly i've caught - looked like two different species of flatfish. hopefully nothing forbidden to retain

[dereke]

 If the fish you catch is unknown or cannot be identified it should not be retained, hopefully its all good. Just a suggestion for the future. 

[Nick78]

You are right dereke and I agree with that 100%. It was my first time fishing BC saltwater. Went out with an older Guy from Pender Island. We fished from his Sailboat and he told me I can keep them. Thaught and still think he's right cause he fished there for so long.

[Rodney]

Flounders and soles are managed as one population. There are no specific daily quotas or closures for each species. The daily quota for flounders and soles is 8 fish per day in all waters of BC (unless fishing is prohibited, such as in rockfish conservation areas). Daily quotas of finfish species other than salmon can be found on this page:

http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/recfish/Species/fintable_e.htm

Nick, those look like starry flounders, not entirely sure. How did they taste?

[NFM]

Top-Dogfish
Left - English sole
Right-  ? ? ?some sort of a flounder?

[lucky]

Those fish are, spiny dogfish, pacific sanddab "which is a member of he flounder family" and starry flounder.

English sole are found in our waters but have much smoother skin and slightly narrower body than the sanddab flounders.

[Nick78]

Thanx for the information guys! Yes, they tasted good - smoked all 3. Surprisingly the dogfish was the best as my wife and some others said. Found that too but when I wanted to have a bit for my plate it was already gone...

[obie1fish]

On the right- no scales? Then my guess is it's a flounder. The sole looks tasty. I grew up on the North Shore, and caught some pretty good bottomfish as a boy at Ambleside and John Lawson parks. Ambleside had more sand near the drive-in entrance, so that's where most of the sole were. Just used garden or sea worms (Neres). The flounder would be from the Cap estuary- good sand worms there- as well as John Lawson. Rock and kelp greenling were the tastiest of them all. I even caught sea-run cutthroat and a coho while using worms! Got the coho in, but the cutthroat straightened the fine wire hook in the current Lots of Portugese guys would cast their smelt nets during the season as well. Any way you looked at it, it was a beautiful way to spend time as a youth on the seashore.

When I return to visit West Van once in a while, I drop by if I can for a walk. Some of the places close to these areas seem to be fished a lot from shore, by both fin and crab fishermen. Saw some true pole fishermen (Asian) last time, and learned some cute tricks just watching them. Anyone go there recently to fish? This walk down memory lane's got me winsome.