Fishing with Rod Discussion Forum

Fishing in British Columbia => Fishing Reports => Members' Fishing Reports => Topic started by: RyanB on March 24, 2015, 10:53:55 PM

Title: Port Moody, March 22 2015
Post by: RyanB on March 24, 2015, 10:53:55 PM

I had some old salmon heads and pork bones in my freezer so I decided to go crab trapping.  My usual spot is in the Port Moody area. 

I got there about an hour after high tide.  My first traps brought in 2 crabs using pork bones and 5 crabs using salmon heads.  All crabs were dungeness.

I moved 20 feet over and got rid of the pork bones.  For the next hour and a half, the traps looked like this:
(http://i60.tinypic.com/2n7fj20.jpg)
(http://i57.tinypic.com/ippke1.jpg)

I would have five or six crabs in each trap but they were all undersized.  Another odd thing was that there was only one red rock crab all morning.  I usually have at least one or two red rocks per trap.

(http://i60.tinypic.com/30wbjup.jpg)

I decided to leave and pulled in my last trap.  As I was pulling it in, I saw a potential keeper.

(http://i58.tinypic.com/11b10uv.jpg)

One keeper.  I usually get my limit after a few hours, but it was a bit cold, early in the year and I had missed high tide by an hour.  I was happy I got something and headed home.

(http://i61.tinypic.com/352lkw9.jpg)

Title: Re: Port Moody, March 22 2015
Post by: RyanB on March 24, 2015, 11:03:07 PM

To kill time when I'm waiting for crab traps to fill, I do some fishing.  I usually go for bottom fish in this location.

I use a #6 Siwash hook with shrimp or prawn meat.  On the leader, I attach a tiny float.  You can get these small floats in packages of ten.  It lifts the bait a bit off the bottom.
(http://i58.tinypic.com/xo0hfl.jpg)

The leader is attached to a swivel and egg weight.  Toss it out, let it sink to the bottom.  Wait a bit (about 30 seconds).  Reel in three to six feet of line.  Wait a bit.  Reel in some more line.  Repeat.
(http://i62.tinypic.com/mm37fp.jpg)

I got only one teeny fish on this outing.  It's a Pacific sanddab.  He went right back in the water, of course. 
(http://i57.tinypic.com/augk7l.jpg)

I usually get lots of small flounder, sculpins and greenling.  I only keep bigger flounder and greenling.  I'll occasionally catch something unusual, like rockfish.  I've heard of a guy who catches small perch in the same location.

Title: Re: Port Moody, March 22 2015
Post by: Humpy on March 24, 2015, 11:33:07 PM

Nice report.
Thanks for sharing!

Title: Re: Port Moody, March 22 2015
Post by: firstlight on March 31, 2015, 08:45:25 PM

Thanks for the read.
Reminds me of when I used to fish and crab in that area.

Title: Re: Port Moody, March 22 2015
Post by: joshuag232 on April 01, 2015, 03:40:33 PM

Thanks for the awesome report  :)

Title: Re: Port Moody, March 22 2015
Post by: Bavarian Raven on April 06, 2015, 07:45:09 PM

Brings back memories of when I use to fish that area as a young 'um.  8)
Always caught interesting things there, from flounder and greenling, two types of perch, the odd searun cutthroat, and even a small ling cod once. Caught some nice flounder there in the 1-3 pound range at times. Doubt you'd get them that big anymore. :/

This makes me want to get my salt licence once more.  8)

Title: Re: Port Moody, March 22 2015
Post by: RyanB on April 06, 2015, 09:17:42 PM

Thanks guys, glad you found the report interesting.

Here's two pics from last year, same location.

White spotted greenling.  Largest I've caught at this location was 11-12" long.
(http://i59.tinypic.com/14e84gp.jpg)

Rockfish, not sure what type exactly.  About 10 inches long.  Took him out for a photo and popped him back into the water.  It put up a strange fight and I knew I had something different on the line before I saw it.
(http://i58.tinypic.com/r0uipv.jpg)

Title: Re: Port Moody, March 22 2015
Post by: Long_Cast on April 07, 2015, 12:18:13 AM

Great report!

Title: Re: Port Moody, March 22 2015
Post by: TimL on May 11, 2015, 04:49:42 PM

Nice report Ryan! From the details of the photos, this is also a spot where I regularly crab and fish! I've always had success with crabbing at this spot but the past few times I've been there, seals have been a problem- they go after both fish and chicken baits. I typically go for the striped perch and greenlings at this location. I've also caught both starry flounder and rock sole off this spot as well but they are usually fairly small..I've caught larger specimens at other locations close by. The rockfish can be quite abundant at times- the one you have there is a brown rockfish, pretty common at this location. Most I've seen are 10" and under but there was one caught last year that was around 11-12". I've also caught a few coppers but again all are small subadult fish. 

Title: Re: Port Moody, March 22 2015
Post by: islanddude on May 13, 2015, 01:12:24 PM

Looks like a copper rock cod.

Title: Re: Port Moody, March 22 2015
Post by: RyanB on May 15, 2015, 01:01:30 AM

Seals are often at this location but I usually don't use fish or chicken.  Turkey neck is one of my preferred baits (another type of bait I use is sometimes hard to find so I don't mention it).  Chicken is the worst for attracting seals.  I tried some old squid once and the seals eat that too.

The rockfish is the only one I've caught there.