Kyuquot 2025 Fishing Outlook
After successive years of productive fishing, put simply the outlook for Kyuquot fishing in 2025 is more of the same. In January DFO released its 2025 Salmon Outlook for all the major stock groupings in the Pacific Region, and for those that contribute to the Kyuquot fishery all of them are predicted to return at some level of abundance.
The management regime for chinook on the west coast of Vancouver Island is likely to remain consistent with recent past years, with full limits along and inside the surfline all season long. For those wanting to travel offshore to places like the 50 fathom Line, retention will be closed until mid-July.
We know from an increasing period of years of bio-sampling retained catch to determine river of origin information that the large hatcheries on WCVI – Conuma River in Nootka Sound, Stamp River near Port Alberni and the Nitinat River further south – provide a large share of the chinook catch along the surfline at places like Spring Island and Thornton Islets (Highest). For 2025 all three are assessed as a category 4 or abundant, while other smaller but still important stocks such as the Tahsis, Gold and Burman rivers are assessed at category 3.
Consistent with past years the WCVI coho stock aggregate has been assessed at a category 3 or average abundance, which means that once again anglers can keep wild coho along and inside the management surfline. The big question is where the coho will settle in, to provide the kind of light tackle, surface oriented action Kyuquot Beach House is known for. Offshore, outside the surfline retention will be limited to hatchery origin coho once again because of the presence of stocks of concern from elsewhere.
Lingcod fishing is likely to be productive again, the only question is whether the fish will be found on the nearshore rockpiles or on the gravel banks at places like Kyuquot Reef. Trolling swimtail jigs became quite the thing last season, resulting in some great catches of lingcod.
Following this optimistic outlook for salmon and lingcod I have to finish by saying that things don’t look so rosy for halibut. Coastwide abundance continues to decline and one outcome of the recently concluded annual meeting of the Halibut Commission (Canada and US) is that the total allowable catch to Canada was reduced by 16% from last years TAC. This will inevitably have some implications for regulations in the recreational fishery. The SFAB/DFO Halibut working group have met to come up with a management package to best utilize the very small recfishery TAC. I/day,1/in possession, max length 102cm/41”, about a 30-32 pound fish, starting April 1st. This almost certainly will be implemented.
All the signs point to another great summer season of fishing near Kyuquot in 2025, hopefully you will choose to join the crew!