QCL guests have seen a full range of Haida Gwaii weather this past week with blue sky & calm water perfection giving way to gusty northwesterly seas breaking over the rocks at Cape Naden, then settling back to mild westerlies with those amazing ever-changing skies. Through it all we’ve had some awesome fishing with the Tyee bell ringing loudly every night.

Feeder Chinooks still dominate the salmon catch with lots of typical teen-sized beauties keeping anglers on their toes. Bigger fish are steadily increasing in number every day. Last week’s trip finished off with a flourish; lots of bell ringin’ going on! Keith Brown, fishing with guide Randy Zinck at Bird 2, landed the third fifty pounder of the season, releasing it after a careful measurement and revival. Well done guys! Lorne Kines boated a beautiful 39 pounder and Driftwood guest Morgan Schmidt weighed a stunning 44 lb Tyee on the swimgrid of the ship with his guide Nick Teichert. Those are fantastic fish guys! Bird 2, Parker Point and Cape Naden have all been particularly productive. The offshore drift at 50 / 70 feet in 120 ft of water from Yatze down to Parker has also been producing after the slack tide. Anchovies with and without flashers are working well. The star of the show right now is that “Tiger Prawn” spoon that just keeps tempting the tyees!

Halibut fishing continues to figure prominently with QCL guests, especially when they some hefty 40 pound plus fish hit the dock! Notable big catches were a 51 for Doug Astes, a 69 for Chad Werbowesky, a 53 for Mandy Clark, a 57 for Les Morris and an even 60 pounds for Ernie Tardiff! Jamie Tardiff pulled a bigger one up from 280 feet that taped out to 115 pounds. Now that’s a workout! Doug Nichiporik turned back a big slab at 108 pounds and Jordan Stang found a 70 pounder that fit just right!

The annual QCL Kingfisher Derby is in full swing this weekend with $50000 in prizes for big salmon catches, focusing mainly on Catch & Release fishing. Stay tuned for the exciting results!