The family and I will be camping on the island in August, does anyone have a nice spot? I also want to fish several of those days so any help would be appreciated. I thought about taking the driftboat, until I looked at the ferry rates for oversized vehicles $575.00 to get to the island. It's a little too far to row and the electric will only get me part of the way!

Where would you be taking the ferry from? From Port Angeles its 2.50 per foot after the 18th foot. Not nearly 500 bucks...

$575 seems a little high. I'd wouldn't rule that out just yet. You might recheck your source.

Anyway, yea I've got a trip planned to the Fraser and Vancouver Island on Aug 7- 10. I've got a lot of questions about it too.

1) Will the Fraser be open for Sockeye then?
2) What runs are happining on the Island that time of year?
3) Are there any "protected water" salt fisheries in the area that time of year (for salmon) where Chum Eater could take his drift boat and I could take my 14 foot Gregor?

Thanks for any help.

Wade

Sounds like the ferry rates for the inside passage. BC ferry rates are significantly less.

Regarding places to camp there are quite a few private campgrounds on the island and several Provincial campgrounds. I'd recommending picking your destination then getting on the web and finding a few places.

There is a lot of sheltered salt water to fish in a small boat. Almost all of the water on the inside passage can be fished from a small boat. On the West side of the Island, I would have no problem fishing Nootka Sound in a 14 footer. I suspect the other sounds and inlets are similar. The usual caveat holds: watch the weather. On the West side of the island the wind picks up in the afternoon so I would recommend you plan on being off the water somewhere around noon. Although the more remote locations won't have boat rentals, Campbell River has a lot of them. For a day or two of fishing it might be less hassle to rent a boat for a day or two.

How far north are you going?
Middle August is prime time for pinks in rivers, can't remember for sure if they run in odd or even years up there.

If so, the lower stretches of many of the northern island streams offer great sport on light line for lotsa 4-6 lb humpies...

Trout, sockeye, and early kings and silvers, quite a smorgasbord.

P/S- salmon generally cannot be kept in fresh water.

I've got a feeling that "oversize" is referring to flatbed semi's and not to a pickup truck pulling a boat, you'd essentially be taking up the space of 2 cars.

We will be on the I sland the third week,fihing kings in berkerly sound,The ferry out of vancouver runs us with an crew cab 11.5 camper and a 21 foot boat about 70 bucks each way.

I will call the ferry service and verify the rates today. I could not believe the rates! Where do you go for the pinks, as I think they are on the same schedule as the Puget sound!

Pinks run on both odd and even years although I understand the odd year runs are larger.

I caught a pink last year in Nootka, but understand Campbell River has a good number of them coming through as does Port Hardy. I'm sure there are many other places...I just don't know about them.

According to my invaluable 1995 BC Fishing Atlas, most pinks run in even years up there, which corresponds to my memory of the last trip I took up there in 1998.

I lost track after 20 in the Nimpkish north of Woss approx. 1.5 miles where the power line crosses the highway and leads down to the river.

There is a nice campgound at the mouth of the Cluxewe R. north of Port McNeil, which offers a splendid pink fishery in mid-August. Also the Keough gets a large run.

The nice thing is that everyone is so focused on saltwater, freshwater opps are neglected by most anglers.

Went back and check my resource again....and apparently the timing of pink runs and run size depend on your location.

From an article by DC Reid.

"On the southern coast, the consequences of breeding true have been evident for 70 years. In the early 1920s, a major landslide at Hell's Gate , a treacherous obstacle on the Fraser River, prevented virtually all pink salmon from migrating to their short spawning streams. Since then, pink salmon have returned in catchable numbers only in odd-numbered years, swinging south around Vancouver Island on their approach from the open Pacific. In mid-island waters, pink return in both even- and odd-numbered years, while on the northern coast of British Columbia, pink return to short coastal streams in even-numbered years."

I tow a 27' boat to Vancouver Island several times every summer. My overall length with rig and boat is 52'. It cost me $110 american each way last summer.

Barkley, Clayoquot, Nootka and Esperanza Intlet are all excellent for Kings and Sockeye in August. You might want to check the regs though as they haven't yet stated what changes will be made to king and coho fishing on the west coast for the summer. They have imposed restrictions for the past six years and I expect some again this year. They should release these within the next two to three weeks. Here's the link to their web page for updates: http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/ops/fm/Sport/index.htm

I can attest to Esperanza and Nootka being excellent fisheries in August. Especially just outside of Esperanza on the pinicles off Catala Isl. Swing South to pick up the runs that hug the wall off of Ferrer Point. If the Salmon run seems a little off. Take a look through the binoculars and see if there are whales breaching 200-300 yards out. If that's the case it will shut the Salmon down like you turned off a light. In these instances take a look for the inlet with the largest number of streams dumping in close by to where you are. Head to the last point of recreationally fishable water. Tribal can fish all the way to the mouth of the streams so be aware of your surroundings. Failure to do so can be costly! Fish the shaded side if possible. This may yeild fish when everything else seems abismal.

Another thing is that fishing on the West side of the island around Esperanza is done in usually 25 to 60 feet of water. That's a lot different than the sound fisheries (generally speaking).

If Salmon just plain isn't happening there is a Halibut fishery about 3 to 5 miles out from Catala. The reefs around Catala are abundant with Cabezon, Black Sea Bass, and Ling.

If you start hitting large quantities of Mackeral, Keep a dozen in the live well and head to the kelp beds. String the Mackeral on with copule of oz. of lead and free spool a spinning reel while the Mackeral is forced to head for the bottom. When it starts to run like crazy, close the bale and hold on.

Hope that helps some.

Why not stick to the Sound for pinks? Seems a long why to go for cat food.