Smiling, please!

Map of The Day: June 24, 2016

“They are back!” exclaims Lucy Archbold, resident, angler, and former owner of John Henry’s Marina in Pender Harbour. After several years of lacklustre fishing the salmon are back, and the signs are good that it will be a banner year. Earlier in 2015, the local Rotary club set up herring curtains at Bargain Harbour and Baker’s Beach, with great results. “The roe on kelp was really good, so hopefully that brings salmon back,” says Archbold. Pender Harbour and the Sunshine Coast offers great fishing all year. Ling cod, rock cod, snapper, mussels, oysters and clams are only a few of the fishing opportunities. Of course, salmon are one of the main draws. Migratory Chinook begin to make their appearance in late spring, and fish well through to the fall. There are “feeder” Chinook present even right through the winter. Coho salmon also fish well through the summer months, from June to September. Northern Coho are a fall fish, available in September and October. At the same time, Pink and Sockeye salmon will be around from mid-August to mid-September, and Chum in September and October. Anglers in Pender Harbour use a unique method of fishing for salmon. It’s called “mooching,” and as the name implies, it involves “mooching” off of the bait fish. BritishColumbia.com describes it this way: “we don’t use a cut plug or troll for the salmon...we mooch. This means that we locate the schooling bait fish off reefs and kelp beds with sounders, and anchor the vessel over the bait fish, using live herring, the natural food of the salmon.” There are a number of places that are popular fishing destinations in the area. Moochers can try Bargain Bay, Daniel Point Fearny Point and Agamemnon Channel at Sakinaw Lake. Bjerre Shoal and Quarry Shoals are known as very productive fishing grounds for trolling. The fishing in recent years has bounced back to the point where Archbold had to refurbish their cleaning table to support the influx of freshly caught fish. “We just let our fish table deteriote because there wasn’t any fish, [but] last year we had to revamp the fish cleaning table. There were quite a few [fish],” says Archbold, adding “there was a 20.5 pounder just caught.” A fun activity is to try your hand at spot prawning. Fishing charter companies can take you out to set, and later to pull, the prawn traps. Prawning can be a good way to learn about different types of fishing. As a bonus, you get to keep what you catch. One of the best parts about fishing Pender Harbour is that the area is relatively protected. You can fish on the ocean without some of the fog and high swells that the open ocean is subject to. No matter what type of fishing you’re after, it’s a really good idea to hire a guide or take a fishing charter. It’s easy to get lost on your own, and a guide can help your fishing time be as productive as possible. Pender Harbour is named after Daniel Pender, a Royal Navy Staff Commander who surveyed much of the coast between 1857 to 1870. The towns of Garden Bay, Medeira Park, Irvine’s Landing, and Kleindale make up Pender Harbour area. Before Eurpoeans arrived, the area was the primary winter home for the Shishalh Band. However a small pox epidemic in 1865 forced the surviving members to relocate to Sechelt. For more background on Pender Harbour history, visit www.penderharbourheritage.ca.