Ron Neitsch
Contributed
Fishing in Sooke waters has been spotty for spring and chinook salmon for the last couple of weeks which is normal for this time of year.
The reported catches still seem to be deep 120 to 150 feet on the downriggers on spoons, anchovy or hootchies trolled behind a variety of flashers, most popular being the newer guide series flashers from Gibbs in purple and green colours.
Currently a 16-pound chinook is on the leader board for May at the local tackle store. When salmon fishing is spotty, some trollers try fishing long trolls, maybe two or three miles before turning around and covering the area again.
This often produces at least a couple of fish when concentrations are low. Halibut fishing has been great. Last weekend the Sooke Halibut Derby, part of the Sooke Saltwater Series, was held at the Prestige Hotel in Sooke.
The two-day event had a total of 47 halibut weighed in, 10 of which were donated by participants to the Sooke Food Bank. The 70.1-pound winning fish was weighed in on day two by Mike Koff pushing Sean Hutchinson’s 65.82 halibut from day one into second place.
Congratulations to the top 10 halibut fishers and thank you to the many local sponsors, including the District of Sooke for supporting the Sooke Halibut Derby and the Sooke Saltwater Series.
The top 10 finishers: Mike Koff, 70.1; Sean Hutchinson, 65.82; Ed Hutchinson, 55.92; Matt Robinson, 51.08; Mike Thompson, 47.34; Bill Zaalberg, 45.74; Kevin Mckenna, 43.94; Peter Weldon 43.1; Neil Mallory 41.44 and Al Zaalberg 39.96.
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Ron Neitsch is the owner of 2 Reel Fishing Adventures, based in Sooke.