Hey all.

Shooting the bull with a buddy yesterday and we got to thinking that there HAS to be a way from Nanaimo to target all of those sox heading to the Fraser without the big open water run to Vancouver and without the big drive to Brown's Bay!!!

Does anyone have any ideas/experience about this:
Launch at Schooner Cove, cruise to Ballenas then pin it over to Sangster (done this run many times and it only takes 20min across open water). Once there...where are the sox???

I'm thinking that they must run down Texada or Lasqueti???

Smiley.

I had same thots, I have asked ex-commie as to where. gillnetters used to like top of sabine channel. He figures if not sabine, then they usually move down east side of texada and come along sunshine coast.
I am watching for jumpers as I head over to iona area. As an extroller, he didn't think we would have much luck close to ananimo.

Around 1990, a commerical troller taught me how to catch socks, up to that time it was just luck while fishing for pinks. He also told me that not all socks bite, but those that do, do not bite once past Campbell River, till they get to Texada, then not again till off the Fraser. Hope this may be of help to you?........BB

Cheers All,

We spent 6 hours yesterday checking for Sockeye out from Entrance Island/Entrance Reef to Thrasher Rock to 5 miles off Thrasher to Porlier Pass to Black Rock to Miami Reef and never saw one sockeye and nothing on the sounder.

Have double charters on Friday and, depending on how we do, will make up my mind on Friday night whether to make the run to Vancovouver.

I used to commercially them at the top (north) end of Sabine Channel in the late '80s. Would troll for 3 hours with nothing, and then all hell would break loose. Would have 40 sox on 60 lines at once. Might be a good bet with this many fish heading down.....

Was over at Jedediah island last week for a few days. Had a look at the sabine and it was boiling with sockeye last thursday and nobody fishing including myself. No jumpers on the Ballenas island side on the way over or back. Would be worth a try and if the socks are not there then there's always spring fishing at sangster.

Checked plotting program:
Schooner Cove to east end of Ballenas ~ 8km (10-20 minutes)
Ballenas to Sangster ~ 8km
Sangster to south end of Sabine ~8km
Sabine Channel is about 5km long so if sox aren't at south end then it is a very quick run to the north end; also the east side of Texada is only 5km away.
Hmmm, I've caught prawns over there as well, and the Thormanbys are nice, plus you aren't far from Pender Harbour for refreshments - might be a plan for the next nice day...

Any more news on the sox over there recently???

Thanks.

Smiley.