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[HKSR]

I've booked a few nights over the Labour Day weekend at Pacific Playgrounds.  Do any of you have any experience fishing there?  Any hints or pointers?

I'll be fly fishing. 

[clarki]

It's been many years since I fished there, but recommend fishing the beaches on the outside of the tidal lagoon, on the flood tide, for sea run cutthroat.  A word of caution...as the tide rises, keep an eye on your escape path.
I'm not plugged into the local beach salmon scene. However, I think Labour Day is a little late for pinks and a little on the early side for coho.

http://www.nilecreekflyshop.com/nilecreek_8126.html         

[RalphH]

If the dry weather continues there there should be some pinks off the mouth. I did stay there Labour Day week some years back and caught good numbers of pinks though they were mostly rather colored. As Clarki says sea runs should be ok. There could be some coho as more and more coho stay in the inside waters. Don't forget there are rivers up there. Be sure to check for regulation changes.

[sumasriver]

We used to troll for coho all around that area.   I remember using hootchies,  spoons, and action flash tails ... i think herring strip teasers too...   all behind flashers.   


So many great memories of that area.  Oyster river is beautiful.   I always wanted to fish the creeks flowing into the ocean near there for Sea runs....

[HKSR]

It's been many years since I fished there, but recommend fishing the beaches on the outside of the tidal lagoon, on the flood tide, for sea run cutthroat.  A word of caution...as the tide rises, keep an eye on your escape path.
I'm not plugged into the local beach salmon scene. However, I think Labour Day is a little late for pinks and a little on the early side for coho.

http://www.nilecreekflyshop.com/nilecreek_8126.html         

I've never specifically targetted sea runs before... I've always gone after the salmon.  Any tips on sea runs?

[HKSR]

If the dry weather continues there there should be some pinks off the mouth. I did stay there Labour Day week some years back and caught good numbers of pinks though they were mostly rather colored. As Clarki says sea runs should be ok. There could be some coho as more and more coho stay in the inside waters. Don't forget there are rivers up there. Be sure to check for regulation changes.

Thanks!  I'm hoping there will be some pinks to be had.  Nothing to keep, but more for fun as I want to introduce my 3yo daughter to what fly fishing is all about

[clarki]

I've never specifically targetted sea runs before... I've always gone after the salmon.  Any tips on sea runs?

I've written about them a'plenty on this site. Do a search for my handle and the terms "beach" cutthroat and you'll get lots of hits.
Full disclosure: 95% of my SRC fishing off the beach is with spinning gear but the strategies are still the same. Feel free to PM if you want to chat more.
The only time I fished off the mouth of the Oyster was Aug 17, 1997 on the evening flood tide . My journal notes what fish rich environment it was. There were a number of ct jumping and a larger one that swirled the water as he chased prey. I hooked 4 ct and landed 2, one wild and one hatchery. Both about 13-14" Also landed several juvenile chinook about 6" long. So perhaps the great great grandchildren of those ct are still there!
My one truism for beach ct is that a jumping ct is a catchable ct.  Always cast to a jumping ct. Case in point, that night at the Oyster, a ct jumped about 40 feet to my left. I hurried my retrieve and ripped a cast in his direction. He hit my spoon as it passed over where he had jumped moments before.                         

[RalphH]

I've never specifically targetted sea runs before... I've always gone after the salmon.  Any tips on sea runs?

Floating line, 10 to 12 foot leader, 2x to 4x tippets. Flies: rolled muddlers #8 to #12, Mickey Finn, small olive gammarus pattern. There are a variety of longer shank streamers with silver bodies and olive or green wings used to imitate needle fish or even small herring - no particular pattern has made the hit list but they all look more or less the same.

Tips: watch for rises, don't wade too deeply unless you are sure no fish are close to shore, vary your retrieve. Most of the cutties I caught off the Oyster were taken while fishing for pinks or in the river. Small coachmen style or professor style flies did well for in the later.

For your daughter try fishing perch off the boat dock at the marina. Sure worked with my kids back then.

[Old Blue]

I've booked a few nights over the Labour Day weekend at Pacific Playgrounds.  Do any of you have any experience fishing there?  Any hints or pointers?

I'll be fly fishing.

Post on the Sportfishing BC website, Waterwolf on there runs the store and seems like a pretty darn solid guy.

[HKSR]

Floating line, 10 to 12 foot leader, 2x to 4x tippets. Flies: rolled muddlers #8 to #12, Mickey Finn, small olive gammarus pattern. There are a variety of longer shank streamers with silver bodies and olive or green wings used to imitate needle fish or even small herring - no particular pattern has made the hit list but they all look more or less the same.

Tips: watch for rises, don't wade too deeply unless you are sure no fish are close to shore, vary your retrieve. Most of the cutties I caught off the Oyster were taken while fishing for pinks or in the river. Small coachmen style or professor style flies did well for in the later.

For your daughter try fishing perch off the boat dock at the marina. Sure worked with my kids back then.

Thanks for the tips!  I'll try the dock too, that sounds fun for her  

Time to hit the bench for some new patterns!

[HKSR]

Post on the Sportfishing BC website, Waterwolf on there runs the store and seems like a pretty darn solid guy.

Oh!  Thanks!  Now how do I track him down? LOL... does he frequent a specific forum more than the others?  Don't exactly want to spam the forums looking for Waterwolf there haha.

[HKSR]

Well, back from the trip and had a great time.  Fishing was relatively poor... there were a few schools moving about, but pretty tight lipped.  I had a couple bites on the Oyster, and also fished Miracle Beach.  Funny enough I had a helluva fun time just catching sculpin on the fly at Miracle Beach haha.  Must have landed 20+ in just over an hour. 

A nice little getaway for sure as it's only about an hour from where I live.  I really should do more exploring around my area for beach coho fishing