I'm going up to Tahsis for the first time and I would like some info. on the place. Do you know if there is fresh herring up there? I am going with some guys who have been there but they say they don't know of any. Anyone know what was the hot setup there last year? I'm going the weekend of the 20th of July.

That time of July will find most people fishing outside by the mouth of Esperanza or Nootka. That's about a 20 mile run from Tahsis. The water is usually calm in the am and lumpy in the pm. Most of the fish are caught on Anchovies or Sardines. I have used Herring Strip and done quite well at times. However, the bulk of all kings come on Anchovies. I've never seen fresh herring up there. Take flashers to fish in front of the anchovie and you should do fine. Most fish are caught in the top 30' of water. The road from Gold River to Tahsis is bumpy and dusty. Make sure you have a good spare for truck and trailer. Good Luck.

I do not know about Tahsis, but i was at Gold River last year and if we didn't bring it, it was not there.You can fish with more than one rod . so when i go again i will bring my herring jigs.The Road is really bumpy going in, something about the way they grade it, coming back out is not bad though. I would buy the herring the night before you leave and brine it in your favorite brine. We caught our fish on spoons behind flashers, nothing below 30 feet deep. colors were green and green splatter backs,one of them had a orange stripe. Good luck and let us all know how you did, would like to get back up there, but am having shoulder surgery, so we shall see, Fishy

I don't know Tahsis, but I fished Nootka last summer about the same time. The standard setup up is a hotspot flasher (green, blue, red) followed by a 6-7 foot leader and an anchovie in a hood fished 25-50 down. I saw a few fish caught on hootchies and coyote spoons too. I didn't see any fresh bait so followed the crowd by brining frozen anchovies overnight in rocksalt and water.

As noted the water is flat in the morning and lumpy in the afternoon (not dangerous unless outside in small boat). And although there are a fair number of people fishing the area it is remote so bring everything you think you might need and then some.

Last tip: if you are looking for eggs, bring your cure and make space in your cooler because the locals don't fish eggs (I think they're illegal in Canada?) and they are more than happy to give them away or throw them away. Last year I collected about 20 lbs before running out of space in the cooler.