QCL guests experienced the full spectrum of fishing adventure over the weekend with some huge tides, glassy calm seas Saturday and then howling southeasterly winds on Sunday.  The big tides these days have created real up & down fishing cycles with some long quiet periods punctuated by crazy double-header style bites around the slack periods.  With these types of fishing days many guests tend to plan their weekend accordingly – some late night fun at the Bell Ringer and late starts in the morning are a common sign.  It is a holiday after all!  Speaking of holidays, we really enjoyed hosting a great 40^th Anniversary celebration for Jan & Ralph Ettles; their family and friends are surely a keen group of anglers!

Gorgeous glassy seas on Friday and Saturday had QCL fishing boats scattered widely over the fishing grounds, picking up a wide mix of Coho and Chinook salmon, halibut, lingcod and groundfish.  While we didn’t see many big fish there were lots to go around and most anglers returned to the dock with a nice box to weigh in.  Kevin Armon boated the largest coho of the season to date, a deep-sided 17 pounder and father / son team Greg and Tim Boshard managed a nice pair of Tyees at 32 and 31 pounds respectively – great work guys!

Sunday arrived with fairly strong southeasterly winds so all anglers were focused on the Cape Edenshaw side where the winds can blow hard but the water generally remains pretty comfortable, especially near the shore.  While the catch suggested a pretty slow day of fishing, anglers chose to stay out through the day and enjoyed the hospitality at “The Hook” grill aboard the Driftwood anchored right there inside “the Cape.”  Guests are really loving the newly renovated Driftwood where the fully enclosed upper deck provides the ultimate patio-lunch experience right on the fishing grounds.  Captain Ryan Horlyck and his crew have done a commendable job this summer of providing on-the-spot service to all QCL guests during their stay.

Looking at the current week, the southeasterly system will prevail through much of the time but the breeze has slackened off to allow guests access to the whole fishing grounds.  Hopefully the fishing continues to provide excitement for the final week of the 2013 season and we can finish it off with a flourish!  Stay tuned.

With less than 2 weeks left in the 2013 season we’re certainly happy to say that the fantastic fishery we’ve enjoyed all summer is still going strong!  Typically at this time of year we find that much of the best Chinook action moves slightly offshore; we’ll still find some of those big lunkers in along the kelp beds but the bulk of the catch happens in 120 to 200 feet of water at depths varying with conditions.  Some years we’ve fished into September and spent our most productive hours fishing tidelines 2 – 3 miles offshore!  While we’re not seeing the need to do that yet we’ve enjoyed some awesome salmon bites down 90 feet in depths of 130 – 150 these past 2 weeks.  The massive tides this week with 16 foot swings have generated serious bites off Shag Rock and off Klashwun Point in particular.  Mixed in with the Chinooks are those teen-sized Cohos that we really love to catch.  Several 13 to 15 pounders are showing up now from Green Point to Shag Rock.  Anchovies, spoons and hoochies are all producing well.

 A special toast goes out to a couple of QCL anglers releasing impressive Tyees this week.  On Tuesday evening Greg Ecker hooked up off Bird 2 while fishing with Maurice Winter and guide Ryan Winger.  The powerful fish stayed down deep and out of sight for almost an hour while it worked the anglers several hundred metres from where it was hooked.  The underwater dance continued until Ryan moved the boat off and led the salmon up top where Greg was able to bring it alongside to the net. A quick measurement and some photos were taken before the big Chinook swam away with a few broad sweeps of it tail.  The numbers worked out to 42 pounds and a silver C&R Tyee pin for Greg to celebrate this marvelous fish!  Well done guys! 

On Wednesday we fished Cape Edenshaw for the morning while a bit of snarly weather blew through.  Fishing the kelp beds off Slab Rock with guide Luke Wagner, Mark Butler teased a big one out to bite a white UV hoochie and the fun began.  After a solid battle they brought a nice Tyee to the net and taped it out to 38 pounds before reviving and releasing it.  Congratulations Mark – thanks for letting that big one go!

Looking ahead to the weekend the variable winds should continue with moderate northwest going southwest to southeast over the 3 days.  The tides have peaked now with last night’s “blue moon” and we should see moderating conditions over the next week.  Looking forward to some more great action this weekend!

Large volumes of bait, both needlefish and herring, have shown up on the fishing grounds in recent days. As a result, we are finding lots of great salmon action throughout the grounds from Cape Naden to Klashwun Point.  We’re seeing some really nice coho in the 12 to 15 pound class and the quantity of pink salmon seems to be decreasing noticeably.  The most productive water is generally in the 120 to 130 foot range with steady action on feeder springs throughout much of the day.  Fishing depths vary with time of day and tide but we are commonly fishing between 50 and 70 feet in the morning and often between 80 and 100 foot depths at mid day.  While many anglers are accustomed to fishing herring, many have discovered through our guides that anchovies and spoons are working as well or better in most instances.  Green Point has turned out the majority of large Coho so far but the waters off Bird 2 are starting to produce well just slightly offshore.

Recent salmon highlights are a 39 pound Chinook for Doug Quinn on the weekend, leading lots of thirty-something Tyees at the Bell Ringer through Sunday.  Tuesday was the lucky day for first timer Karen Denna.  While  fishing with her husband Smokey and guide Chelsea Sinitsin at Parker Point, Karen battled an awesome Chinook for 40 minutes before it came to the net.  Not surprising, considering it weighed in at 42 pounds.  That’s a great fish Karen!  And John Clough became the newest member of the 50 Pounder Club, aboard the FishFinder on Saturday, releasing a stunning fish that taped out to 51 pounds.  Awesome John and Welcome to the Club!

Looking ahead to the weekend, this moderate southeasterly system will continue to dominate our area, bringing mainly cloudy skies.  The tides are settling down now after peaking last Saturday so we could see the pattern change from the strong ebb tide bites we’re getting this week.

They say: Time flies when you’re having fun… Well that could explain why we suddenly see only 4 weeks left in the 2013 fishing season!  We sure have been having a lot of fun this summer!  The weather has been exceptional; maybe one gale warning in the past 70 days and certainly more sunshine that we ever expect to see.  The fishing, from Day One, has been amazing – if we tried to choose one word to describe it.  There may not have been as many “big” fish as we often see and we haven’t broken any records, but the action has been very steady. The fish, particularly the Chinooks, have been so strong and exciting to catch that anglers are often just exhausted when they return to the dock.  The 2013 crew here at the lodge and on the Driftwood have been a joy to work with – our guests love them!  Thank you.

So as we enter the first week of August we’re not surprised that QCL guests are catching all the fish they could want.  Saturday and Sunday afternoons this weekend produced excellent salmon bites from Klashwun Point to Cape Naden.  Last week’s northwesterly winds settled back to light southerlies, giving glassy smooth conditions Sunday and the halibut fishing really shone with lots of nice 20 to 50 pound flatties coming to the scale.  Anglers did find a few of those “too big to keep” halibut – spawning females that we’re happy to see going back – and they celebrated their success with lots of ringing at the Bell Ringer and presentation of our Halibut pins to mark the occasion.

Salmon highlights of the weekend had to be Adrian Neilson’s beautiful matched set of 36 pound Tyees – one taken close in to the kelp at Cape Naden and one on the Bird 2 to Parker Point drift.  Congratulations to Adrian and his guide Matt Burr – a derby winning effort to be sure!  And Brenda Smith pulled the big move in the final hour of the family fishing challenge on Sunday night – edging out her son Wyatt’s 35 pounder with a stunning big Tyee that guide Kerry Bueche taped out to 42 pounds!  Beautiful fish Brenda!  Thanks for letting that big one go!

 This week we’re enjoying light variable winds through to Thursday when moderate northwesterlies (and sunshine) return for the weekend.  The tide range is building again and will peak on Saturday with a 13 foot change.  It’s all shaping up to be another great week at The Lodge!

A few days of northwesterly wind has kept the fishing effort focused on the waters between Klashwun Point and the Mazzaredos.  The morning action has been best in close to the shore at depths of 40 to 60 feet.  Later in the day we’re moving off to the 140 foot line and fishing just off the bottom much of the time.  These efforts are producing steady action on Chinooks in the 18 to 30 pound range with a few Tyees thrown into the mix.  

Of course there are always some giants swimming out there amongst them.  First time guest Cheyenne Fontaine managed to find and land one of these on her first day!  Fishing with guide Dan Rainville and her father Larry, Cheyenne boated a beautiful 40 pounder to join the QCL Tyee Club.  Congratulations Cheyenne!  On Wednesday morning Steve Bowers was fishing the drift between Bird 2 and Parker Point with his father Dennis when a heavy fish slammed his anchovy at 55 feet.  After a terrific battle they brought it to the boat.  At the Bell Ringer that night the digital scale confirmed 47 pounds and the celebrations continued with 4 cracks of the bell.  That’s an awesome fish guys – worthy of serious celebration!

Normally these northwesterly systems are accompanied by big blue skies but a large fog bank sat just on the edge of the fishing grounds, leaving the Mazzaredos in warm sheltered sunshine and Klashwun Point in cool blustery clouds.  As we start into the long weekend we’re expecting the winds to settle down to light westerlies and light southerlies.  Tides are moderate this weekend and we should see some sunshine every day over the next week!