Moutcha Bay 2010 Report

Hi,

Headed up to Moutcha Bay for the tournament with the family and figured I give a report.  We headed out on Weds afternoon and took the ferry over to Nanaimo and spent the night at the Coast Hotel.  Thursday we drove the rest of the way to Moutcha Bay and set up camp as it started to rain.  On Friday it rained on and off which was good as there had been no rain in the area for weeks. Matt and the gang from Seattle showed up on Friday morning after driving all night and had the camp site next to ours. I set out with the family in our big kayak and did some jigging.  The fish were a bit late this year so most of the jumpers and fish caught were out by the big cliff and beyond the tournament boundary. In no time I had a fish on.

Picture 1
Misplaced my new net so I tried to use my dive bag to net the fish to no avail

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Used my dive stringer through the gills to bring the fish in.

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Administering the last rights with the "priest"

Picture 3

Showing off the 1st fish of the trip which weighed at about 14 lbs and was still in good shape.

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The local Black Bear came near the camp for a visit but stayed at a distance after some yelling hey bear!

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Between the rain showers we where treated to a double rainbow with a pot of Kings at its base.

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I went out Friday evening in my solo yak and caught another fish trolling.  This fish weighed in at 13 lbs.  Hit my daily limit so I headed back to camp for some beverages.
Headed out in the AM on Saturday to start the tournament.  The weather had cleared and the sun was out which proved to be not so good for fishing.  There were far less jumpers and the fish were deep and widely dispersed.  The boat trollers pulled a few fish in but no love for us yakkers.  Headed in for breakfast.  Headed back out again after lunch and tooled around with the family.  Fished for many hours with only one bite to keep me optimistic.  Headed back in at 6:00 for a quick bite and headed back at 7:30 for the dusk bite.  I set out my gear on the downrigger as I approached the big cliff and got hit immediately.  Pulled in a fish just shy of 10 lbs which turned out to be the 1st fish of the day and sadly the only and largest fish of the day.  There was one other big fish hooked by a guy who was part of a group making a video documenting several fishing Derbies on the Island.  Unfortunately while trying to net the fish he flipped his boat, broke his rod and lost the fish .  I think this group is associated with the website fishtactics.com.  On Sunday I set out at dawn and was treated to a beautiful Moutcha Bay Sunrise.

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The fish had moved in closer to the mouth of the river likely due to the flush of rain and there were many jumpers.  There were also huge numbers of herring which showed up as a false bottom on my fish finder.  Got several hits and lost a fish after a short fight.  I trolled through a school of herring right near the mouth of the river and had a fish on.  I quickly realized that although the fish was heavy it did not fight like a salmon.  To my surprise it turned out to be Mr. Dogfish which seems rather odd for this far inland estuarine area.  

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Unfortunately I had to head back to shore at 9:00 as we needed to get back to Seattle to work on Monday.  At that point another Yakker landed a 24 lb fish so my 9 lb shrimp was no longer the lead fish.  Hopefully Matt and the gang pulled in some fish later in the day after I left.  It was a great trip despite not catching a lunker Tyee but 3 fish and time with the family made the trip a success for me.  The new lodge is well under construction but due to permitting issues is a bit behind schedule.  They were hoping to have it completed and open some time next summer.  I was told the rooms will have small kitchens and will run in the $175-250.00 per night range.  A bit pricey but it will be a nice option especially for us with families and wives who don't like camping in the rain.  I think there were around 13 entries into the Derby which was less than last year for some reason.  There where a few familiar faces which was nice to see but also some folks missing who I expected to come.

Tomas

Nice Report. I have been wondering how you guys did. You did well i see!, no monster but sounds like a great time!