Two buddies and myself just got back from a three day fishing charter out of Tahsis and Westview Marina fishing the waters around Esperanza Inlet. We have done a few one day charters out of Pedder Bay, but this was our first time fishing WCVI.
The experiences were almost as memorable as the fishing: humpback whales, sea otters floating on their backs, an ocean sunfish, catching a 5-6 ft salmon shark while anchored for halibut, giving the coho a working over while we trolled offshore amongst the commercial troll fleet, anchored for hali in 2+ metre seas and 30+ knot winds (thanks goodness for the patch and a 33 ft boat!), watching the marine fog roll in to surround us and the stunning beauty of the wild west coast and historic Nootka Island.
And our guide put us on fish: we came back with possession limits halibut, ling cod, salmon (mostly coho, as the chinook proved elusive. We caught 5 chinook with the two biggest in the low 20’s) and close to possession limits of various species of rockfish. I’ve never caught a ling or black sea bass or a canary rockfish so it was neat to see these fish up close and in person. Large numbers of coho out there. I’m looking forward to October!
And it was exhausting. Being on your feet for a large part of the day and fighting for balance is surprising tiring. Waking up at around 5 AM, breakfast at 5:30. Leave the dock 6:15’ish. Back to the dock at 5 PM. Wait while the mountains of fish are processed by the guide. Late supper and in bed by 8 or 9 pm. Repeat.
This is not an endorsement of Westview Marina. If you are interested in going there, feel free to reach out. Nor is this a bragging post. Without the guide’s large boat to handle the seas and his local knowledge, we would have been zeros, not heros 😊
Just a story of a very memorable trip.
Cheers.
Author
Topic: Fishing Esperanza Inlet, Aug 1-3 (Read 4124 times)