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text
and photo
by Bruce Masterman
illustration: Robert Biron |
August - Pacific Salmon,
Nootka Sound, B.C.
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Nootka Sound
on the west-central coast of Vancouver Island offers some of
August’s hottest fishing for Pacific salmon. While chinook
averaging 25 to 40 pounds are the big draw as they return to
their natal rivers to spawn, there are also coho reaching 12
pounds. The best, albeit little known, jumping off point is
the village of Tahsis, about a half-hour boat ride from Nootka
Sound. A small, easy-to-miss sign hanging at a local lodge says
it all: Unofficial Salmon Fishing Capital. That’s a slight
dig at well-publicized Campbell River, on the island’s
east side, which bills itself as the “Salmon Capital of
the World.” But to folks like Cec Ballard of Coquitlam,
B.C., there’s no contest: Tahsis is the place to go. He’s
fished Nootka Sound every summer since 1956, and counts two
40-pound chinook among his many catches. The fishing can be
good in late July and early September, too, but take it from
me, August is tops—last year my family boated two chinook
(23 and 19 pounds) and two coho (nine and six pounds) in just
one outing (see photo). As Ballard says, “I can’t
imagine not being there in August.”
TACKLE
AND TECHNIQUE
| BEYOND
SALMON |
| Halibut
pushing 80 pounds and ling cod can be had in the
ocean near Tahsis each summer, as can rock cod and
red snapper. For freshwater action, the nearby Leiner
and Tahsis Rivers offer winter- and summer-run steelhead. |
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The norm
is an 8 1/2- or nine-foot heavy-action rod and a single-action
reel spooled with 40-pound monofilament or 100-pound woven line.
Use downriggers to troll green or silver flashers in front of
herring or anchovy baits in 20 to 40 feet of water. A windproof
jacket and raingear are recommended.
GETTING THERE
From Vancouver, take the ferry (www.bcferries.bc.ca)
across the Strait of Georgia to Nanaimo, then drive north on
Highway 19 for 153 kilometres to Campbell River. Follow Highway
28 west for 89 kilometres to Gold River, then take the winding,
64-kilometre-long gravel road to Tahsis.
BEYOND
NOOTKA SOUND
Looking
for more salmon hot spots? Also try:
•
Esperanza Inlet
•
Zeballos Inlet
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| BACK
TO HOT SPOTS |
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