Salmon Fishing and Halibut Fishing Overview for Ucluelet, Vancouver Island, BC
As many may know, a trip salmon fishing in Ucluelet will probably change the way you view fishing. Many have experienced the long periods between bites. This doesn't happen very often in Ucluelet. Ucluelet is frequented by many anglers who come back year after year to experience some of the best salmon fishing in North America combined with great weather!
As a kid I mostly fished areas where the numbers of salmon were declining such as the east coast of Vancouer Island.. When I first came fishing in Ucluelet, my whole perception of salmon fishing changed. We caught between 30-40 salmon in the first few hours. We thought the bite was going to stop, but all that happened is that we had to quit because we had too many fish……..
Salmon fishing has taken new meaning to many who have fished with us as our salmon fishing trips are usually filled with screeming action. I should include here that halibut fishing is also very good here–you can often set down and get your halibut right away. Halibut fishing is not as much fun as salmon fishing though, so I will focus my story on salmon fishing. The Ucluelet fishing area covers a large amount of ocean, so you aren't stuck fishing salmon in one or two spots.
There are five main banks that hold salmon and bait. The Lighthouse bank(covering about 6 miles squared), Inside South bank(covering about 3 miles squared), Outside South Bank(covering about 4 miles squared), South west Corner(about 3 miles squared), the Wreck area(about 4 miles squared), La Perouse Bank which is divided up into areas we call the Shallows(about 3 miles squared), the Rats Nose, The Gullys (about 3 miles squared), the Stinky Hole(about 2 miles squared) and the Canary Hole. There are a few places that I have left out for the sake of writing. You get the point though, the areas we have available to catch salmon are very large. Salmon generally feed on Herring, Pilchards, Squid and Krill in these areas.
The main types of salmon that go through these areas are Chinook (King) salmon, Coho (Silver) salmon, and Sockeye salmon. We generally don't fish sockeye salmon in Ucluelet as these types of salmon bite better in the Port Alberni inlet. We do catch some though while fishing for Chinook once in a while.
The only thing that really hinders us from going out and catching our limit of salmon and halibut is the weather. Ucluelet is actually situated in one of the best areas for weather all up and down the coast. If you watch the weather forcasts for the west coast of Vancouver Island, you will usually see higher winds from the Queen Charlotte Islands right down to Nootka Sound which is just North of us and also just south of us around Port Renfrew and south. Even with the favorable weather, do remember that it is the west coast and we are subject to get the odd stormy day. On days when the weather is not as favorable offshore, we often fish in Barclay Sound in the protection from the wind. There are not as many salmon here, but you will enjoy some spectacular scenery!
I hope you have a good overview of salmon fishing in Ucluelet. I believe that salmon fishing here is some the best and most consistent in the world. We don't get the variability in salmon runs that other places get. We usually get consistent salmon fishing right from the end of May up to the end of September. Halibut fishing is also usually very good during that time period. This all means that you are in for some spectacular fishing that should provide memories for years to come.
