With winds shifting to southeast this week our guests spent more than half their time fishing the Cape Edenshaw side.  This proved to be very productive, particularly in the afternoons and evenings and along the kelp beds south to Inskip Point.  Tons of needlefish in these waters have attracted both salmon and halibut into less than 50 feet of water to provide some pretty exciting fishing!

While the fishing hasn’t been hot it’s pretty steady for teen-sized Chinooks and lots of chicken halibut.  Of course there are always exceptions and several lucky anglers have found fabulous opportunities to tangle with the potential “fish of a lifetime!”   Annie R celebrated the first Tyee release of the season with a nice 33 pounder on Thursday, fishing with her husband and guide Mark Kasumovich.  Nice work Annie!  Karen C boated the largest Chinook of the season so far with a beautiful 42 pounder, taken near the Driftwood anchored just inside Cape Edenshaw.  Guide Oliver M coached Karen to ultimate success – it’s always amazing to see those huge chrome Tyees!

Our early season halibut fishery is fantastic and we’re seeing lots of great fish being taken in close to the kelp as these big flatties come into the shallows chasing after needlefish.  Monte K started the trophy board off for 2016 when he released the largest halibut of the season so far with guide Torsten N – a feisty giant that taped out to 206 pounds!  That’s quite a fish Monte!  Lucky for Monte and his wife Olwyn, they managed to find a matched set to keep – 36 and 33 pounders that will look mighty fine vac-packed in 1-pound chunks for their freezer!  Other big releases this week… Glen L released an 87 pounder and Wendy and Dave T tag-teamed to let go an impressive 77 pound halibut.  Several people caught nice big halibut in the 30’s and 40’s, mainly taken in close to shore while trolling for salmon!

The weekend forecast is calling for light variable winds – a welcome respite from some unusually strong southerlies that tore up Naden Harbour all day today!  We’re also experiencing extreme tides over the weekend with changes in the 17-foot range!  There’s never a dull moment around here!