The mixed up weather this week has given QCL guests the full spectrum of island conditions; ever changing with gusty squalls blowing though followed by brilliant sunshine and glassy flat water. Many anglers have taken advantage of the flat seas to go off in search for halibut. We catch many of our halibut incidentally; they come up and take your bait while trolling for salmon, which is convenient but some people love to see what they can jig off the bottom!
Our “halibut grounds” are extensive, the slope of the ocean floor gradually dropping away from the shoreline provides lots of good habitat relatively close to shore and many of the best spots are well tagged in the onboard GPS units of our boats. This week we’ve seen several anglers return to the dock with nice chunky halibut in the 30 to 60 pound class, pretty impressive catches when they show up at the Bell Ringer.
The best salmon action continues to be focused between Bird 2 and Cape Naden, with the action peaking through the tide change periods, especially on the early ebb. Fishing this week with his son Matt, a veteran QCL guide, David Burr has caught and released 4 Tyees in the mid-30’s already!
Looking ahead to the weekend we’re expecting light to moderate westerlies so the sun should make an appearance and the tides are moderate.