Kingfisher Report – June 14th
It’s hard to believe we’re already 2 weeks into the season! The crew has settled in nicely and we’re so pleased with the great job they’re doing! Ryan and Rob have assembled a crack team down on the dock to look after all things “fishing.” The guide team, all 35 of them, really have it going on the water! The Bell Ringer is a happening place with the RBT (Red Boot Team) ensuring that everybody loves weigh-in time! Up at the lodge Bre has the front-of-house crew working up a storm with both F&B and housekeeping. Executive Chef Ryan MacKay has returned “home” and teamed up with Jin to take our culinary program to a whole new level with a talented brigade of enthusiastic cooks. John and his operations crew have all systems GO and the property looking sharp! Mike “Bosko” Boscovich has returned to skipper the Driftwood with an excellent crew and Natalie and Joanne are super busy in the spa. We’re all tuned in for a banner 26th year in Naden Harbour!
The fishing so far this summer has been about on par with past seasons. The volume of feeder Springs – 14 to 18 pound Chinooks – at this point may be down a bit from last summer’s exceptional numbers but we’re seeing more fish in the 18-25 pound class. But guests are able to tangle with a few every day and get lots of nice salmon to take home. The Tyee count is on track with several fish in the 30’s and a couple of 40-plus fish coming to the boat in the past week. We always expect halibut fishing to be great in early June as many large fish come inshore to feed on needlefish emerging from the gravel and this season is no different! Many anglers have been able to get their 2 halibut while trolling for salmon. Those who love to go offshore to deeper water and hunt for a big one are not disappointed. Lots of stunning “overs” (halibut 20-60 lb.) have some to the scale. Already we’ve recorded 14 fish in the 100 lb. plus class including 2 fish over 200! Monte K tagged a 206 pounder in the first week of June and last week Denis C hauled up a giant that measured 78 inches in length for a calculated weight of 255 pounds! So no complaints about the fishing!
This week we’ve got very moderate tides with northwest winds to 20 knots but that’s to settle back to light variable winds for Thursday thru the weekend. Look for lots more news before then!