Saltwater Fly-fishing Excursions

The protected inshore waters of world famous Clayoquot Sound, along with the abundant schools of baitfish and vital underwater structure, create an ideal setting for this exciting growth fishery. Your pursuit of acrobatic Coho Salmon, Sea-Run Cutthroat Trout and various species of Bottom fish will test your skill with a fly rod and reel. Though we cater to all levels of experience, we provide only top quality equipment for these fully guided excursions aboard our custom 18-22 ft. flyboats.

Peak Seasons for this exciting fly fishery are June through October.

$90 per hour

Five-hour minimum

Full Day (10 hours) $800

Morning & afternoon departures available

2 person maximum

All flies and premium tackle included

5% GST, refreshments, personal fishing license(s) and optional gratuities not included.
Fuel surcharge may apply.

Article recently printed in the Hot Rod Profiles section of the “Salmon and Steelhead Journal”

Guide: Jay Mohl - Owner/Head Guide of Clayoquot Ventures Guide Service on the West Coast of Vancouver Island.

RESIDENCE: Tofino, British Columbia Canada

EXPERIENCE: Jay has been fishing British Columbia’s west coast for 25 years, of which the last 11 he’s been guiding full time. He owns Clayoquot Ventures Guide Service and runs Tofino’s only full-service fly and tackle store, Jay’s Fly and Tackle.

CONTACT INFORMATION: Call Jay at 1-888-534-7422 (888-5FISHBC) or log onto his website: www.tofinofishing.com

HOW TO BUCKTAIL: “Bucktailing is trolling a fly behind the boat in the prop wash. Coho, and sometimes Chinook, will follow the fly and strike at it on the surface. We do it two ways. The angler either sets the fly rod in the holder, or hangs onto it, pointing it directly behind the boat. You’re trolling the Bucktail on the surface, or subsurface, averaging 12 to 20 feet behind the boat. You want to make sure it’s in the rear of the prop wash. That allows for visual takes on the fly. You can see these salmon come up and hammer it, which adds a lot of excitement to the fishery.”

WHY BUCKTAILING: “Coho are very aggressive and they’ll chase down a fly and strike at it on the surface. Not only is it a very effective method to catch fish in the salt, but it’s also very exciting. You can actually see the fish take the fly on the surface. It is also a very effective searching method for locating schools of Coho. Once you locate them you can stop and cast instead of troll for them.”

MAKING THE DIFFERENCE: “We fish a tandem hook bucktail. Most bucktail flies are tied with a tandem hook configuration, but with our setup the forward hook is often cut at the shank, which allows the bucktail to track better in the water, also helping the fly to not lay on one side or the other. This also allows you to troll it over floating eel grass and other debris without it fouling as often.”

PRESENTATION: “Speed is very important. Ideally you want to troll between 5 and 8 knots. Sometimes it’s a good idea to trim your engine up which throws extra prop wash. A lot of times Coho will be attracted to the bubbles and the broken surface.”

KEY TO BUCKTAILING: “Trolling at the right speed, and having your drag set strong enough that it will ensure a hook set on a violent strike but it won’t pop the leader.

PICKING THE RIGHT WATER: “Ideally you want to find relatively shallow water along tidal seams/rips, or structure such as reefs, kelp beds or sand bars. Depth wise you want to look for water that’s between 15- to 40 feet. Here in Clayoquot Sound, we’ve got an area 10 or 15 minutes outside of Tofino that is really prime habitat. It has all the ingredients you need: plenty of migrating salmon, lots of baitfish and protected waters which makes it ideal for bucktailing. We have healthy populations of needlefish making it a prime feeding area for coho and chinook salmon. Not only are we targeting south-migrating salmon, but salmon that are en route to their natal streams. Put all that together and it makes for a dynamic fishery.”

TYING THE BUCKTAIL: “Polar bear is definitely the best material to use. It has great buoyancy, and it offers a natural presentation to the fly. Nor does the algae stick to polar bear material like it does to synthetic materials. (Shimmer and poly bear are good alternatives if polar bear is not available, or not allowed). When I tie my bucktail flies I start with my main hook (3/0 stainless, Mustad 34011). I use 20-pound monofilament, which is laid onto the back of the hook. Before I tie it off, I thread the mono through the eye of the stinger hook (size 1, short shank Mustad 92553S) and the hook is positioned upside down. Then I double over the mono, tie it off on the front hook and then cemented using head cement. Once that is secure, I add mylar, glo white flash-a-bou, or krystal flash to the shank of the lead hook. I then use the natural white polar bear material to form the belly, or underbody of the fly. With a second, and sometimes a third layer of colored material, I form the upper body of the fly, creating a natural looking color transition, simulating local baitfish such as Herring, Needlefish and Pacific Sardines. I then tie it off at the head of the hook using clear monofilament. If you want you can add stick on prismatic eyes. Finally, I’ll finish it off using epoxy or head cement.”

THE BUSINESS END: “I like to fish a 9 1/2 foot, fast action 8 weight fly rod, with Islander LX3.8 large arbor fly reels. Those are spooled with a 300-450 grainsink tip fly line. I use a 6-foot, 15-pound Maxima Ultra Green leader. The bucktail can be fished with or without a #2 or #3 Colorado spinner blade in front of the fly.”