THE FISH |
 The Chinook Salmon is the largest and most prized gamefish of the salmon family. They leave their natal streams and spend 3 to 6 years in the North Pacific, many ranging thousands of miles away from where they were hatched. When ready to return to their spawning grounds at maturity, they can weigh from 30 to more than 90 pounds. |
 The Chinook is distinguished by its lightly spotted blue-green back and a silver tail dotted with round or oval black spots. In BC the Chinook is often referred to as a Spring salmon while American anglers like to call them Kings. Those over 30 pounds are called Tyees. |
 The Chinook has black gums at the base of its teeth and its mouth is dark. In some areas it's known as "Blackmouth." The tail is generally silver covered with black spots but we do occasionally find them with very silver tails, rimmed with black and with very few spots. |
 The Coho Salmon is a favourite of many salmon anglers, particularly light tackle and flyfishers. Its tendency to travel in large schools and an agressive feeding style makes for great action. Coho usually live for 3 years and typically weigh from 8 to 20 pounds at maturity. |
 Coho have white gums, black tongues, only a very few spots on the upper portion of their bodies and silver coloured tails. |
 The Coho's white gums at the base of the teeth and its square silver tail behind a sturdy "wrist" are its main distinguishing features. At about the same size through its lifespan, the Chum Salmon is sometimes confused with the Coho but its jaw is narrow in comparison with dark gums, the black of the eye is large and prominent and the "wrist" of the tail is narrow. |
 The Pacific Halibut can provide plenty of excitement for the sportsfisher. In our waters they range from 10 to 200 pounds and you never know when you might hook up with the latter! Many Queen Charlotte Lodge anglers catch their limit of Halibut while mooching for salmon. |
 Halibut begin their life swimming "upright" like most species of fish but when they get to be just over an inch long, their body starts to change. Their left eye begins to migrate over to the right side of their head and their body gradually rolls over to "normalize" in a horizontal aspect. The upper side turns a dark olive grey-green while the lower side turns white. While they do spend much of their time near the ocean floor Halibut will pursue baitfish and move back and forth between the depths and waters as shallow as 25 feet. Pacific Halibut can grow to massive sizes - more than 400 pounds - but fish 10 to 50 pounds are much more common. |