Umm, just seeing all this for the first time... sorry for the delay and lack of feedback! Been a crazy period in the life of underwater sea urchin feasting, lots of competition with eels and otters these days, so I have been preoccupied.
Anyhow, it sounds like you guys have a plan, but whether for this year or another trip I thought I would share my delayed response to the queries. First off, the closure to finfish in the area of Tahsis/Nootka Sound is a very specific closure. There would not be much excitement to fish in the locations specified anyhow, so it does not have a significant impact on any spearfishing adventure to the areas. The only discouraging part for myself in a minor way, is the end of the Tahsis Inlet towards Tahsis is where sometimes I used to get flounder. No big deal.
I have been diving on the open west coast not much more than 6 times. Each area giving very different experiences and none so far striking me as the eureka of spearfishing. They are always wonderful diving experiences just for the exploration, the experiences, the unknown, and the wilderness. Giovanni and I did a trip to the North end of Nootka Island and after a while came across a location with some of the black rockfish freeswimming by us, which I took a couple of. The lingcod were too small and as usual the greenling were in plenty everywhere. There is big fishing in and around the area though for lingcod and halibut so they have to be there. We did not explore for very long as we tried our hand at fishing first and used a significant amount of time up. Given a more intensive coverage with a dedicated skipper, or dedicated alternations of skippers, I am certain some prime spots would be found.
Besides the fishing interests, the area is incredible for viewing otters, whales, and the open west coast atmosphere. There are trails running down the whole coast of Nootka Island which are incredible and similar to the West Coast Trail, with one beach having falls pouring down onto the sandy beach. There are cabins that can be rented at the south end from the First Nations inhabitants, which I believe are fairly cheap. Or there is a surf camp operation that operates mid-way through the trail and has cabins.
If we were really adventurous there is just tons of coastline to explore north or south of Nootka, and maybe some way to camp and have a daily pickup and drop at new locations by a boat operator. However, with a good number of people and organized well it may not cost much more than what has been paid for the TC boat. The more I am saying this, the more excited I am getting about the concept. Going where nobody has dove before, camping where nobody has camped before, safety of daily boat attendance, and the west coast. MMMMMmmmm.
Anyhow, if you guys have any other information or perspective you wish about the west coast, let me know and I will try to assist, now that I am aware of the talk.
Cheers,
Ty