Merry Christmas everyone! May your Holidays be bright!
Chinook fishing is very good off the North side of Entrance Reef. Try bottom bouncing the 200 to 220 foot depths with Mongoose or Killy MaGee spoons. Most of the fish here are legal sized, 6 to 12 pounds. The Grande to Whalebone area has plenty of Chinook, but they are 90% undersized.
I was hoping D.F.O. would lift the pulse fishery for prawns this year at The Flat Tops. Instead, they are closing Area 17-10 from January 1st until April 1st. So, you have to go to Thrasher, Area 29-5, to prawn this winter. Prawning is very good off Entrance, but slow to mediocre at The Flat Tops. Both areas will close January 1st.
D.F.O. is closing the commercial herring roe fishery this year. Which is great news! However, if you read the announcement, it appears that the total take will be reduced to 10% of last years total. This is incorrect. Last year the allowable catch was 16,300 tons. This years allowable catch for The First Nations food fishery is 7,850 tons. D.F.O. has managed the fishery is the past by allowing 20% of the biomass to be harvested. Now, it is 10% of the biomass as total allowable catch, not 10% of last years total. 7,850 tons doesn’t sound like much, but it is 157,000,000 pounds. Or, 5 million herring. So, this is a great start! But, still nowhere close to where our herring stocks are being actually being protected. Let’s hope this moves the pendulum in a continuing forward manner.
Good fishing!