As we run headlong into the final two weeks of the season the fishing action continues to bring lodge guests back to the dock with big smiles on their faces, almost every day.  There are still lulls through the day but for the most part we’re busy catching fish!  Chinook catches this past week have moved offshore a little, the drift from Shag Rock down to Cape Naden in 130-150 feet of water has been quite productive.  Fishing down 65-95 feet with either herring or anchovy, this stretch accounts for a lot of fish, mainly in the 18-25 pound class.  Fishing anything shallower yields Coho and pink salmon in considerable numbers!  Likewise offshore on the north side, off Green Point to Klashwun, is very productive for Chinooks and Cohos alike.  The Tyee is count is down a bit this week but the salmon volume is definitely there!  Big salmon catches this week include a 39 lb. Tyee release for Conrad Huber, edged out of the money by brother Willy with a 45 pounder that he sent back as well!  Brother Gerhart released a 32 for third place! Great job guys!  Glad you keep that family C&R tradition alive!  Out on the DW Kevin Wurmlinger boated 42 and 39 pound Chinooks – huge success!

We’re seeing some very impressive Coho among the huge schools that are pouring through the fishing grounds these days!  While the average size is in the 9-10 pound class, we thrill to see a few fish over 15 pounds every trip.  Larry Burian landed a 17 on Monday and Scott Carley an 18 – amazing fish these are! We’re seeing a few keen fly-casting anglers in the groups these days and they’re having a heyday teasing these silver bullets out of the kelp beds.  It’s such a rush to feel that line slip through wet fingers as they scream across the surface of the water like so many torpedoes! Ah yes… August.

Awarding QCL anglers for impressive Halibut catches is a major event each evening in the Bell Ringer and later in the dining room! We’ve never seen so many flatties over 30 pounds!  Of course the big kudos go to those anglers who release the big fish – door-sized halibut over 100 pounds!  Conrad Huber released a 102, Trevor Schable a 110, Wyndom Dixon a 102, Omar Gutierrez a 102 and father / son team of Travis and Griffin Sydow a 134 pound giant!  Nice to see those big catches and nice to know that they’re all still out there!  Well done gang!

Looking toward the weekend we’re expecting moderate northwest winds to continue with mainly sunny skies and warm 20-degree temperatures.  Tides are in a moderate phase right now but they will build slightly thru the weekend.  Look forward to more and larger Cohos and a continuing tendency to find larger numbers of salmon offshore.  But we know there are usually a few of those big lunkers hanging around the kelp beds in all the traditional spots, right into September!

Early August traditionally provides some of the most “summerlike” weather that we experience here and this past week was no exception.  Warm sunny days on mostly flat water have lots of appeal; guests and staff alike were soaking it up with almost giddy smiles!  Those clear full moon nights didn’t appear to affect the fishing so much either.  Chinook catches were distributed quite evenly through the day with some great fish taken in the mornings at Parker Point; Bird 1 was producing really well at mid-day Thursday and Bird 2 had decent action on Tuesday evening.  The big tides were certainly a factor for those anglers who prefer traditional power mooching with weighted rods – it can be tough to get your bait where it needs to be during a 17-foot flood!  But by Thursday afternoon most anglers were pretty relaxed in the knowledge that they had caught all the fish they needed and were content to just enjoy the gorgeous weather and the humpbacks feeding on baitfish throughout the fishing grounds.

Guests were treated to quite a show at Bird 2 on Tuesday evening when a young (30 foot long!) humpback performed an impressive display of acrobatics amidst a dozen or more boats fishing off the point.  After a series of 15-20 headstand / tail splashes the frisky whale finished of with 3 corkscrew breaches and headed on down the shoreline to the next kelp bed and more needlefish.  All the while a larger whale (maybe the mother) was content to continue surface feeding in the bay right beside the anchored Driftwood.  We never tire of the awesome presence of these incredible neighbours of ours!

The weekend weather looks like a mixed bag with light winds from the south and west and only a chance of a shower on Friday.  Tides are moderating now with small changes of 7-9 feet so QCL anglers should enjoy perfect conditions to explore the full fishing grounds and target all species wherever they want.

Notable catches this week were 4 more halibut over 100 pounds – Derek Muirhead released a 109 and kept a 58 pounder, Paul McNeil released a 115 and Marco Fretes a 121 pound giant.  The big halibut for the trip was a 130 pounder for Bill Tucker.  That’s pretty exciting guys!  Betty Zuelke, fishing with her husband Paul and guide Sam Johnstone at Parker Point released a nice Tyee that taped out to 37 pounds.  First time salmon angler Lynda Grimmon boated a stunning 42 pound Chinook with guide Kingsley Bryce and the big salmon of the week was a husky 47 pounder for Luke Jessen, fishing with guide Brett Clarke.  Lots of smiles at the Bell Ringer this week!

While last week’s record catch volume wasn’t quite matched this weekend, it was impressive nonetheless!  A persistent easterly swell that came with southeasterly winds on Friday and Saturday sent anglers to “the topside” waters between Klashwun Point and Green Point.  Productive Coho action kept most boats busy through the day but the Chinooks seemed to come to life in the latter hours.  We enjoyed solid Chinook action off Klashwun and Eagle between 5 and 8 pm.  Several fish in the mid-30’s kept the Tyee bell ringing in the evenings but the highlight had to be two great Tyee releases – measured to 35 and 37 pounds – by Fred Pye on Friday, fishing with QCL guide Lucas Grayson.  Great job guys!

In halibut news the big catches just keep coming.  Last week’s fair weather saw lots of boats going offshore and enjoying some incredible bottom fishing.  Several anglers weighed in nice flatties in the 30 to 50 pound class, a real treat to take home.  There were also a number of anglers who’ll have their names added to the 100 Pound Halibut board with “barn-door-sized” catches that were measured and released.  Mark Baldwin turned back a 103, Brian Saucier a 120 and Brian Fiedler taped one out to 184 pounds before watching it swim back into the depths.  It’s quite a rush to see a fish that big alongside your boat!

It was only a few days ago that we celebrated Tim Freeman’s new lodge record halibut at 234 pounds.  Who would have imagined that his record would be nudged aside by an even bigger fish?  On Wednesday veteran QCL guide Derek Poitras headed out to deep water with anglers Donald Walker and Michael Stockton on board.  Great water conditions allowed them a nice straight drop to the structure 260 feet below.  Derek was first to see the distinctive tug on the line and after a little game of give and take they were solidly hooked onto something big.  The forty-five minute tug-of-war was shared between Donald and Michael but ultimately a massive grey-green shape rose from the deep and they tied it alongside the boat.  Derek’s standard 60-inch tape was nowhere near long enough but with the additional 18-inch measure the final length of 78 inches charts out to 254.7 pounds – a giant of a fish that any angler would be proud to have experienced!  And the cool thing with a lip-hooked halibut is they seem to swim away without a care.  Congratulations men!  Welcome to a very exclusive group who’ve even seen a halibut over 200 pounds!

Fishing started off well Tuesday morning with boats getting the early bite at Bird 1 and Parker Point. Action was steady for Chinook and coho through till late morning. The mid-day slowdown was broken up by fishing for some white fish, with easy catches of tasty chicken halibut and plentiful rock cod. Lots of fun on the light rods and jigs.  The afternoon salmon bite came on from Green Point through to Shag and action continued for several hours into the evening. Parker Point also gave up a good number of fish for the boats working the area.

It’s great to see so many young anglers enjoying time on the water with their families. First time salmon angler Nicholas Fisher has definitely got into it this week, catching his first two salmon ever.  It just so happened that each of his first salmon weighed 31 pounds!  Great job Nicholas!  The Tyee bell has seen lots of use this week with a healthy dose of beautiful Chinooks in the 30-35 pound class being recorded.  While we haven’t had any of the really big salmon so far this week, last weekend saw a 48 pounder released by Jared Politz and a 49 pounder turned back by Grant Benson. Jacob Trumbull boated a hefty 47 lb Chinook and Jason Hancock a 45.  Fantastic fish guys!  The 100 pounder Halibut board continues to fill up with some more giants caught and released:  Andrew Wong had a 134 pounder, Manuel Bussieres a 155 and Marty Van Drunen measured one giant out to 215 pounds before turning out the hook and watching it swim away!  Amazing catches all around!

Moderate northwesterly winds and those beautiful blue skies that come with them have been a treat for QCL guests and staff alike through much of the past week.  While northwesterlies can provide some fairly lumpy seas on parts of the fishing grounds, they also tend to be very productive, pushing the bait into Virago Sound, drawing more salmon in from offshore.  That could perhaps explain why the fishing has ramped up so nicely!  We’re seeing strong catches of Chinook and Coho salmon, particularly in close from Bird 2 down to the Mazzaredo Islands.  Springs in the low to mid 20’s are more prevalent now and there has been a nice bump in the quantity of big Tyees in the 40-plus class.

There are 3 new members of the QCL 50-Pounder club this week.   Fishing Klashwun Point with guide Jason Orr, Vince Profeta boated a 52 pounder, Brad Malley released a Tyee that taped out to 58 pounds with Rob Clough at Bird Rock 2 and Jason Clark turned back a perfect chrome 55 pound beauty that guide Andrew Simpson released off Bird 2.  Well done guys!  Awesome fish!

Now that we’re releasing all those big breeding female halibut over 133 cm., the good karma must be working because we’re finding more than we ever have!  New names on the 100 pounder board last week were Patrick Murphy at 141, Vince Kulpa at 121, Michael Galarneau at 101 and Corey Bruno at 120.  On the weekend QCL guide Emmo Scharnberg took his guests Tim and Kindahl Freeman offshore to try their luck at halibut hunting.  Jigging their bait at 275 feet certainly was a bit of work but not nearly so much work as Tim had to do, battling a proverbial giant to the surface that completely shattered our previous records for halibut!  Using the harpoon as a measuring stick rather than a weapon, Emmo determined that Tim’s fish was 76 inches long.  The reference chart from the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) determined that this fish was in the order of 234 pounds!  That’s an amazing catch Tim, it must have been very cool to experience and congratulations for raising the bar once again for the biggest fish at Queen Charlotte Lodge!

As we enter the first week of August, anglers will be treated to light variable winds, partly sunny skies and temperatures in the high teens – pretty much perfect conditions!  The tides are increasing in range now as we head toward the big “super-moon” next weekend.

Stories about big fish are creating quite the buzz around the lodge these days with super-sized salmon encounters happening almost every day!  Over the past few days we’ve welcomed 7 new members to the 50 Pounder Club and one to the Kingfisher Club with a 68 pounder.  On top of that there have been 18 big Chinooks over 40 pounds, many of which were released.  Klashwun Point has been the source for many of these catches, particularly early in the flood tide, fishing halfway down in 90 feet of water.  Herring, anchovies and spoons are producing equally well.  Parker Point and Bird 2 have also turned out some nice big salmon, more from out off the face than back inside the bay.

Paul Hautamaa started things off east of Klashwun with a big chrome beauty that taped out to 52 pounds before his guide Matt Brown carefully released it.  The next day saw four fish in the 50 pound class released.  At Parker Point Ted Wilson and his guide Brett Clarke released a big Tyee that scored 49.1 to be matched exactly by another fish for angler Brad Rieland, fishing with guide Nick Mercer at Klashwun Point.  Ralph Ettles and his son Greg turned back a hefty Chinook that scored 51 pounds only minutes earlier.  First thing in the morning Jan Ettles boated a 45 pounder and later that afternoon Thad Zipp released one the same size.  Almost unbelievably, Brad Rieland gave a repeat performance at Klashwun later in the day, catching and releasing a second huge Chinook that also taped out to 49 pounds!  Not to get left behind, Brad’s fishing partner Art Ducherer caught and released a 44 pounder on Thursday!  To cap it all off Driftwood angler Steve Plamondon sent back another big Tyee that measured out to 51 pounds.  Congratulations to all and a huge thank you goes out to all of those anglers and guides who chose to let these amazing big fish go!

While the big Chinooks created lots of excitement, the catch board filled up nicely with loads of Coho, Chinooks and Halibut.  It’s nice to see the average size of both species of salmon increasing steadily as the summer rolls along.

Last weekend’s trip carried on with a most excellent finish on Sunday. Light winds out of the northwest provided perfect conditions and the fish certainly cooperated.  The Tyee bell was pretty noisy Sunday evening with over a dozen big fish making an appearance at the weigh station.  Shawn Tracy enjoyed a fairly good day on the water, teaming up a 40 lb. halibut and a 49 lb. Chinook!  That’s a day he’ll not soon forget!   Dean Melnyk impressed with a max-sized 72 lb. halibut.  But the big stories were the fish that didn’t come to the dock!

Kirk Cottrell, with his guide Mike Langley, released his second big Tyee of the trip, this one taping out to 39 lb. Up at Klashwun Point Dan McHugh was fishing with guide Andrew Simpson where they spent some quality time with a big Chinook that they measured out to 52 pounds before releasing it.  Great job guys!  Veteran QCL angler Julian Mannix shared a similar experience with an even bigger fish while fishing with his Mom and QCL guide Oliver Massey.  Julian landed a stunning chrome Tyee that taped out to 54 pounds, a new personal best for angler and guide alike.  Well done and congratulations!

Bird Two continues to produce some of the best opportunities on the coast for giant Chinook salmon, as Phil Goldsney discovered midday on Sunday.  Making the turn around the famous kelp hump on the corner of B2, guide Ryan Winger put the right bait in just the right place and Phil was ready when the big bang happened.  The 30-minute fight carried them offshore away from the safety of the kelp and when Ryan finally got the big salmon in the net they quickly did their measurements and grabbed a few photos.  The release went exceptionally well and the giant swam away from their Grady with ease.  At 58 pounds Phil’s big beauty capped off a stellar weekend of incredible salmon adventure at QCL Haida Gwaii.  A special thanks goes out to all these anglers who, without a second thought, chose to let these amazing big fish go in the hope that they will find their way safely to spawn in their natal streams, hundreds of kilometers away.

The Bell Ringer was really rockin’ this weekend as lodge guests celebrated a splendid fishing escape weekend at QCL Haida Gwaii.  Arriving on our 737 charter direct from Calgary, they got right down to business with great salmon action turning on at Parker Point and later, over at Green Point.  Chinook catches had been overshadowed by the plentiful numbers of Coho last week (and no one’s complaining about the action) but it was great to see the big fish come back to normal levels.  Adam Dufresne had it going on already on Wednesday when he and guide Luke Wagner taped out a big beauty to 47 pounds before carefully releasing it. We also saw our first 15 pound Cohos on the dock Wednesday with Janice Bratz and Charlie Peebles both tagging one of these spectacular silver bullets.

 Friday night saw several fish in the 30’s on the scale and some impressive releases reported.  Fred Mannix released a sleek 32 pounder and Kirk Cottrell returned a big salmon that taped out to 43 pounds!  Great work guys!  On Saturday, 2014 Kingfisher Derby winner Bruce Severson returned to Klashwun Point with his guide Kraig Coulter and fishing buddy George Best.  They hadn’t been on the water more than an hour when Bruce’s herring-rigged offering was slammed by a heavy fish.  After a 40-minute dance, Kraig slipped the net beneath the deep chrome body of a massive salmon and their cheers went up!  These guys have caught some big fish but this looked to be a new high – and it was.  After careful measurements and a patient revival, the huge Chinook drove away from the boat with strong sweeps of its broad tail.  The numbers worked out to a season high fish of 68 pounds. A fantastic catch and a marvellous release!  Thanks guys and congratulations Bruce on becoming the newest member of the exclusive Kingfisher Club at Queen Charlotte Lodge!

Stunning sunshine and magically flat water were a treat for lodge guests this past weekend as they sorted through schools of silver coho and Chinook salmon to find the perfect size for the barbeque.  The action this week continues to be dominated by a healthy mix of high-teen-sized Chinooks and a huge variety of cohos ranging 6 to 12 pounds, spread pretty evenly over the fishing grounds.  Down at the Bell Ringer we’re seeing enough of those legendary big Tyees to keep the bell chiming well into the evening!  Kevin Armon joined the ranks of the QCL 50 Pounder Club with our 7^th of the season, a brilliant 51 pounder taken at Parker Point on Friday with his guide Mark Callaghan.  Other big salmon highlights were Robert Shippy’s 42 lb. Tyee and Gerry Brandt’s 39.  Out on the Driftwood Bill Harris returned to the swimgrid with a hefty 40 pounder.  Rob Blackwell kept a nice 30 on Friday but chose to release an even bigger fish on Saturday after his guide Andrew Simpson taped it out to just over 39 pounds!  Well done guys!

The halibut fishing this summer continues to be simply outstanding.  We’ve always enjoyed reliable halibut catches but this year continues a trend to heavier fish overall and excellent opportunities for big fish at a variety of locations.  Many anglers are getting a crack at reeling up a giant over 100 pounds, then releasing it after some photos and usually a lot of splashing!  But along with the giants are coming many fish in the 30 to 70 pound class, which fall within the retention regulation, and are impressive both on the rod and on the plate!

We’ve just gone through the peak tide period this week with changes in the 16 foot range (and some incredible full moonrises!) Looking ahead to the weekend we’re anticipating light to moderate westerlies, giving comfortable access to the full fishing grounds and an even chance of showers after all this sunshine we’ve been having!