fishing Archives - Page 5 of 10 - Queen Charlotte Lodge

Nice to see the world trying to move to “normal”- around here at least! It’s amazing what a few days of wind can do. The arrival of considerable amounts of bait both inshore and off, has turned up the fish volume noticeably. We saw a half dozen Tyees on the weekend with the largest being a 40-pounder released at Klashwun Point by Jason H with his guide Cole Guolo. They attempted a replay on Saturday but unfortunately the 30-pound Chinook was not able to be revived. Nice work guys!

Offshore we’re finding more Coho, Pink & Chum salmon while running spoons and anchovies down 80 – 110 ft.. They’re typical 5-9 pounders this time of year but are providing some good sport and some variety in the fishbox. Every once in a while a nice bright Chum takes the bait and surprises the angler with a very determined battle! Pound for pound a Chum is one of the toughest fighters out there.

We’re accustomed to our guests encountering some massive Halibut during their stay and this year has been no exception! Fish over 100 pounds are reported every other day and many weeks we’ll hear about one over 200. But a couple of times each summer a QCL angler manages to haul up a fish of epic proportions, the proverbial “barn door halibut.” Such a fish came to the boat of Michel D , fishing with QCL guide Sam Johnstone. This one came up relatively quickly; it took Michel only 45-minutes to bring her to the boat. But when she came alongside Grady 110 on Wednesday afternoon, they were all in awe of this massive fish. With Denis M on the phone camera, Sam and Michel carefully measured the length before removing the jig and setting her free. At 84 inches in length this big female scored out to 323 pounds! It has all the makings of a fish story that will no doubt be shared through generations! Congratulations Michel !

With less than eight weeks to go before Opening Day there’s lots of excitement around here! Are you ready?

Every day on the water is an adventure at Queen Charlotte Lodge! It might the fishing, or the magnificent environment, the good friends on board or the crazy stories you shared. But it’s something we all treasure and we love to do it at QCL!

Last week we were talking about “special combo” fishing and the great variety of fishing experienceLast week we were talking about “special combo” fishing and the great variety of fishing experiences there are to be had up here. Well this week we had a father & son angling team at the lodge that really took it to heart! Ronald and Dan R not only found the variety but, with the help of their QCL guide Jake Harrach, they found the quality as well!

Over the past 4 days they managed to catch the largest fish of the trip in each of 3 species and the 2nd largest in a 4th! On Tuesday Dan caught and released the big halibut of the trip, a big slab that taped out to 163 pounds. On Wednesday Ron boated a nice big lingcod that tipped the scale at 35 pounds which, in most weeks would be the big one! But he came second to a 50-pounder landed by Lino P! That’s only 6 pounds short of the lodge record! Congrats Lino! On the same day Ronald caught the largest Coho of the week, coming in at 16-pounds – a beautiful fish for sure! Then on Thursday, making that famous “just one more pass” at Cape Naden on the way in, Dan hooked up with a big Chinook that really put him to the test. After a twenty-minute tussle, Jake slipped the net beneath the chrome beauty and they knew there would be some more Bell-ringing back at the dock that night! At 39-pounds, this big Tyee would add to Dan’s record of success as the largest Chinook of the trip. Congratulations guys! That’s an amazing catch report! It’s a good thing you’re going home for the weekend to get some rest!

The weekend forecast is for more southerly weather and calm seas (with a regular dose of liquid sunshine.) The inshore Chinook fishing has certainly picked up in the past week with the best action during the first and last hours of the day. Offshore the Coho catch remains strong and we’re seeing more of the larger Coho coming to the scale. Bottom fishing has been getting easier with the tidal range diminishing every day since Monday’s new moon. QCL anglers released 6 halibut over 100 pounds this trip and we’re still seeing nice 30-plus fish at the Bell Ringer every night. These are great days to be fishing at QCL!

After a really nice stretch of northwesterly weather – sunny skies and some lumpy seas – QCL guests have been enjoying some pretty fine fishing action this week. Both bait and salmon moved back in closer to shore where we’re accustomed to finding them and the results showed up on the catch board as very good numbers of chunky twenty-something Chinooks. While the Tyee bell hasn’t been ringing quite as often as usual, the fish boxes going home are nicely packed with those QCL portion-cut vac-pacs for our guests to share over the coming months!

Beautiful calm seas on Friday found many of our boats fishing offshore again in the 130-200-foot zone, and having a blast hooking up with lots of aggressive Coho mixed with enough Chinooks to keep them on their guard, all in the top 50 feet. Of course we’re starting to see the “silver princes of August” – those stunning teen-sized Coho that often smash the bait as soon as it hits the water. Some nice 14-15 pounders have shown up at the Bell Ringer to grab everyone’s attention! Of course we’re also weeding through a ton of Pink salmon as well this season – one way to ensure your bait is always fresh!

This weekend we’re on the flipside of the weather with moderate southeast & southwest winds, along with the rainfall that usually comes with. The outlook for next week is light southerly winds going to moderate southwest by Thursday. Tides are moderating with changes of only 8-10 feet.

August has roared in with the welcome return of some northwesterly winds and it’s marvelous! What we generally think of as the prevailing summer winds have been strangely absent this year. Weeks of southerlies – swinging from southeast to southwest – have made for nice gentle seas and easy access to the expansive fishing grounds. But northwest winds serve to drive the bait to the northern shores of Haida Gwaii and into our home waters of Virago Sound in particular. And we all know that where there’s bait… there’s great fishing! Of course we won’t sneeze at the gorgeous sunshine and warm temperatures that are mighty uplifting for all of the staff around the lodge as well!

As a result we’re quite happy to report that the fishing has turned on quite nicely this week. Chinook action has moved back onshore and QCL anglers are finding lots of nice chunky salmon in all the traditional haunts – Bird 2 has seen some nice hot bites in recent days, the waters from Cape Naden to Bird 1 have produced some Tyee action and the kelp beds in front of Yatze bay are providing pretty steady results, especially on the flood tides. Derald W boated a stunning big Tyee while fishing with veteran QCL guide Ryan Winger on Tuesday. He always tries to release his big fish but unfortunately this one couldn’t be revived and at the Bell Ringer it tipped the scale at 42 pounds. We also saw several nice Tyees in the 30-plus range on the board this past week. We’ve been trolling up Coho all over the offshore waters recently but are now seeing decent numbers showing up closer to shore. The average size is still 7-9 pounds but we are getting some beauties over 10 pounds starting to appear, as we would expect for this point of the season.

The halibut fishing continues to be a nice reliable part of the experience and lodge guests have been happily picking up some nice “chickens” for the fish box while releasing a number of big females over 60 pounds. Andre C released a giant that taped out to just over 100 lb., Eric S. reeled up a 134 and Haydn S. got a serious workout pulling up an 82 pounder followed by a bigger one that taped out to 123! Lots of great fish stories go along with these catches to be sure.

Looking ahead, the northwesterlies are forecast to continue right through next week so we’ll keep the sunscreen on the table and be ready in the Bell Ringer to celebrate many more great catches! Stay tuned!

You never fully know what you are driving out to as you exit the harbour, heading for the fishing grounds, which always makes dropping your lines for the first time of the day exhilarating.

Today my guests and I started our morning off at Klashwun Point. The flat calm seas made for a quick drive and the blue skies had everyone smiling.

I had just finished explaining to my guests how to pop the line out of the downrigger clip when both lines started peeling. No need to pop the clip when fish hit that hard! My guests landed a beautiful 21 lb. and a 19 lb. double header, which was not a bad way to start the day! Following our exciting start we looked up and saw a boat getting pulled offshore as they fought a fish – this fight resulted in a Tyee release! The day continued with consistent Chinook action off the face of Klash, followed by some quick Coho bites in the tide lines around Shag Rock.

It’s exciting not fully knowing what’s coming down the pipe for tomorrow – I look forward to wetting the lines and finding out!

Ryan “Horsehoe” Winger

This past week the trend of calm seas continued, which made for an enjoyable week of fishing. So far this season we haven’t seen any particular spot out produce the rest, which has resulted in boats being distributed throughout the fishing grounds. On most days, the best successes often come by picking your favourite spot and sticking it out using the “stick, stay and make it pay” method of salmon fishing.

Much like last season, I have continued to spend many hours each day working the kelp beds around the waters of Cape Naden. This past week my guests and I chose to spend nearly our entire days working Naden, with the occasional break to do some bottom fishing. We all felt that it looked really “fishy” and at times we enjoyed some great Chinook fishing with the odd Coho in the mix. On Thursday afternoon we decided to mix it up and give Parker Point a try after lunch. Although there were a couple fish around at Parker, we decided it was only fitting to finish the trip back at Cape Naden. Upon returning to Naden we watched another boat hook up on a couple of fish, but not much was happening for us. With only a couple of passes left, my guest was telling a funny story as we were trolling past the kelp bed off the point. Out of the corner of my eye I saw the rod tip dip down and then yelled “fish, fish, fish!!”. My guest grabbed the rod, set the hook, and the battle was on! This was the fish we had been looking for at Naden all trip…a real sizzler! After a few lengthy runs we tired the fish out and finally managed to put this 38lb Tyee in the bag to conclude a week of fishing.

Back at the dock there were a couple of other Tyees that came in, with a 45lber being the largest of the day and of the trip. Let’s hope this trend continues and we continue to see some nice Chinook rolling through!

Until next time,

“Wacko Jacko”

Rolling over into July, we’ve been very happy to see strong numbers of mid-sized Chinooks showing up along the kelp beds this week. They’re widespread, from Cape Edenshaw all the way to Green Point. Through June we’ve done the bulk of our salmon “catching” a little offshore, along the 130-foot line. Much of the current catch is coming from a little closer in, often from depths 18-28 feet. The Tyee Bell has been ringin’ for sure. Mark S boated a big 40-pounder at Cape Edenshaw with his guide Nick Mercer on Tuesday while Liam N released a barn door halibut that taped out to 104 pounds today. Long time lodge guest Jim B also landed a 40-pound Tyee, fishing self-guided with his partners Andrew and Jay. Veteran QCL guide Ryan Winger celebrated a career benchmark yesterday with his guests Greg and Chris. Green Point turned out some big fish for these boys and they didn’t waste the opportunity. Chris landed a pair of 31 pounders while Greg started with a 30 and capped it off with a stunning fish that tipped the scale at over 47 pounds! As if that wasn’t enough, they spent a beautiful calm afternoon offshore and boated 35 and 31-pound halibut! That’s an amazing day of fishing by any standard!

We’ve been spoiled by light variable winds this week and the offshore grounds have been the perfect spot to hang out and jig up some halibut and lingcod. Flatties in the 30-pound class have become pretty normal for us this year and QCL guests really appreciate the excellent GPS/Sounder units installed on every boat.

Between the offshore jigging and the inshore trolling we’re find increasing numbers of Coho spiced with the occasional Chum salmon. These early Coho are generally in the 5-8 pound range and they provide a nice compliment to all the other tasty treats in the box!

The weekend is shaping up really well with light winds from the west and moderate tides. We have a full slate of guides on the water this weekend so expect to see some great catches on the books! Will keep you posted!

The past few days have consisted of ideal water conditions, with calm seas being the norm. This has made for great days on the water, as whale spouts and other wildlife can be spotted from miles away. In addition, these conditions have also allowed us work the points and kelp beds extra hard in search of big Chinook salmon. Although not hot and heavy, each day has seen many nice Chinook taken on the afternoon ebb and low slack tide. This has resulted in a couple of Tyee-class fish being caught on a daily basis. On the other hand, boats have been getting into better numbers of teen-sized fish when working the offshore tack at Green Point and and the waters around Cape Edenshaw. There have also been some schools of Coho starting to show up off of some of the offshore pinnacles. With all of this in mind, there are certainly many salmon fishing options to choose from right now.

Today I had to thank fellow guide Ryan Winger for some helpful insight. After lunch, my guests and I went out to the Hali grounds and pulled up a couple nice chickens. We were then looking to head back to the salmon grounds to finish off the afternoon. I gave Winger a call on the radio and asked him if he has at Parker Point or Bird Rock 2. He replied that he was at Parker and that it might be worth a shot. I started my tack from “Chucks Corner” and worked in tight towards the Point. With my inside rod only a few feet away from the kelp it dipped down and we had a sizzler on the line. After two long runs, we bagged a nice 18 lb fish. After a few more tacks we managed to pull in one more, smaller Chinook that ended up concluding our awesome day!

Until next time,

Jackson “Wacko Jacko” Jane

After a few days of steady southeasterly winds that kept us around Cape Edenshaw on the east side of our fishing grounds, QCL guests were happy to get over to the west side and try something different! This morning they were scattered everywhere! Quite a few moved offshore to pick up halibut and lingcod while many others focused on their favourite salmon fishing holes. Salmon action has been most productive fishing a little offshore in 120-140 feet of water and running anchovies at 60-80 feet. While most of the salmon catch are those feisty early season feeders, we’ve seen the number of fish over 20 pounds increase steadily. Tyees aren’t common yet but it’s only a matter of time!

Descending Devices

If you’ve enjoyed catching Halibut before, you’ve probably caught some other scary looking fish from the bottom. One of these species is the Yelloweye Rockfish, sometimes incorrectly referred to as red snapper. When these fish are reeled up quickly from the bottom, their swim bladder expands and protrudes through their mouth. It kind of looks like a big tongue. Barotrauma is physical damage to body tissues caused by changes in air pressure and affects rockfish caught in deep water and brought to the surface. These old fish are declining in terms of population numbers and limits have been reduced this year. We are trying to preserve this species and help with conservation efforts. However, it is very difficult to release these fish and reverse the pressure effects. Each of our guides are now equipped with a descending device. A rockfish descending device is a tool intended to lower a fish back into the water at a slow rate in order for the swim bladder to decompress to a normal state. Our guides have already been able to test the devices and have seen great results. During your trip, you may be able to see the descending device in action and know that we are doing our part in conservation efforts for this species.

Fishmaster Chelsea

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