Fishing Reports & Fish Stories For Haida Gwaii

Today was another sunny day on the fishing grounds with low to mid teen knot winds blowing from the northwest. In the morning the fleet of QCL boats either headed offshore to the 120-150 foot line searching for Coho and Chinook salmon or stayed close to shore, hitting the major points working the tide change searching for those larger Chinook lurking in the depths. The lighter morning winds allowed for calmer seas to hit the deeper depths for hali fishing as well.

Grady 114 and its crew decided to start the day off by hitting Cape Naden, looking for a chance at a few larger Chinooks. This seemed to be a common thought as quite a few other boats came to join the party. After all was said and done we had a bright chrome 21 pound Spring hit the deck for the morning tide. We were hoping for a couple more but with few hook ups seen or heard of, we gladly took what the fishing gods gave us!

My guests and I rounded out the day with a tote of a couple of halibut, several nice Coho, another mid-teen Chinook and we let a few other feeders go to grow up! Not a bad day overall up here in this special part of the province. High fives, lots of laughs and positive energy at the Bell Ringer capped off another memorable day up here at QCL.

‘Til next time,

Keep your tip up, line tight and hang on for the ride!

Jeff ‘Smurf’ Smirfitt

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As we enter the middle days of July, (and of the season!) we’re happy to report that things are cooking along just fine. Fishing has been exceptional lately with incredible amounts of bait and salmon showing throughout the fishing grounds. Herring, in particular, has been the common denominator that draws so much life around it. Besides the extraordinary volume of salmon in the area, Humpback whales, white-sided dolphins and Dall’s porpoise are regular attendees at the party. Anglers who find themselves in the midst of all this excitement return home with stories and memories to share for years.

While the bulk of this bounty is found offshore in what would traditionally have been called the “halibut grounds” it’s nice to see that the inshore fishery is back on track. Regular catches of 20-pound-plus Chinook salmon around the shoreline structure and kelp beds are the preferred pastime of many anglers and they’re happy too. The Tyee bell has been ringing nightly, reporting nice catches of those larger fish in the 30-plus range. Parker Point, Bird 2 and Green Point have been productive lately around the tide changes. Veteran QCL angler John V released a big beauty last weekend that taped out to 39-pounds and yesterday Timothy M brought a big chrome beauty back to the Bell Ringer that tipped the scale at 39 as well. Those are stunning fish guys! Congratulations!

Halibut are completely distributed throughout Virago Sound and we catch them absolutely everywhere. The regular flow of the tides in and out of Naden Harbour push the needlefish around and halibut love to come inshore to feed on them, providing exceptional opportunities to catch giant halibut in shallow water. Many a giant has been played off the deck of the MV Driftwood as she’s anchored up in 40-feet of water at the Mazzaredo Islands. Of course, when you drop your halibut bait to the bottom in search of the perfect 30-pounder you never know what you might find! Such was the case for Sharon & Ward M yesterday when they hooked up with a heavy fish just east of “the Mazz” in 50-feet of water. The excitement of pulling a big halibut up alongside the boat is soon accentuated by the anxiety of how to deal with it! Thankfully in this case, QCL Dock Manager Ryan Ashton was in the area and jumped aboard to help out. Sometimes the fish cooperates and a quick measurement is possible before an uneventful release. Not this time. They did manage to come up with a length of about 60-inches and they were able to remove the hook from the giant’s lip – but at a price! Getting up close and personal to attend to business got Ryan well doused, repeatedly, and he returned to the lodge completely soaked, eager for a warm shower! But the estimated 109-pounder was safely back on the bottom and Sharon & Ward had to drop down and try again for the perfect take home model. Great job – well done!

The life of a fishing guide in Haida Gwaii is pretty great! But it’s been an absolute pleasure to be fishing up here the past couple days. The weekend was filled with lots of fish and the most picture perfect water you could imagine. That magic combination makes everyone enjoy their time up here that much more.

My guests were Jonathan and his 80-year old father Mike. Jonathan has fished with us many times and he brought his Dad up here for the first time. Over the course of the weekend Mike often said, “Wow am I ever lucky to experience this!” With consistent action offshore fishing for Chinook, coho and halibut there was no break on the rods. Whales, porpoises, birds everywhere… it was a fisherman’s dream. “The seas are as lively as I have ever seen them in the past several years,” I told them.

On the first day the fishing inshore was a little slow. So we ran out to 250 feet of water to try our luck there. Within minutes we were getting bites, but nothing was sticking for Mike. As a kid back in Ontario, he would cast with spoons in the lakes. He asked if I had any spoons he could try out here for salmon. I grabbed a little silver 4-inch Coyote spoon and threw that down. Within minutes Mike hooked up to a nice Chinook. It was a spunky fish and he fought it for around 15 minutes. Mike did a great job and was pretty pumped when it was finally in the net. Later when we arrived at the Bell Ringer it weighed in at 24 pounds. Needless to say we ran that spoon the rest of the trip! We joked all weekend that Mike was our lucky charm and I was pleased that he and Jonathan were having such a good time.

At the end of the trip we all were just thankful for the fantastic water, fishing, and good times that were shared. Trips like this are the reason I love my job… nothing but smiles.

Cole Guolo

It is the last day of June in Haida Gwaii. The morning sun is peeking through broken clouds and lighting up the glassy water while eagles call from the shore. The smell of fresh sea air wakes my excitement for another day of chasing trophy salmon in the most beautiful place on earth. After getting a full box of Coho and nice mid-sized Springs offshore on Day One, we are in a good spot to take a gamble and spend a day fishing in tight to shore, looking for a big one. And that’s what we decide to do.

My guests, Matthew and Daibidh and I are alive with anticipation when we drop in at Parker Point an hour before the morning tide; everything is setting up perfectly. After 5 hours without a touch I am starting to second guess whether we picked the right spot but we are determined to stick with the plan and stay optimistic. Then finally, after 6 hours, things start to pick up. So we work the east bay with a newfound enthusiasm and our luck really starts to change. On our next pass the inside rod goes off and Daibidh is into a good one! After the second tide comes to an end our work seems to have paid off and we are high fiving over two beautiful fish, a 23 and a 25 lb Chinook. But we decide to take one last lap to see if we can’t still find that monster we are really after, and then it all happens. Ten hours after we first set our gear the outside rod buckles and the reel starts to burn. “That’s the one!” I shout and start clearing the lines as Matthew takes the rod and the fish keeps accelerating towards Alaska. After the most nerve-racking 30 minutes we are marveling at a magnificent 32 lb Tyee Chinook, a real trophy! We take a few moments to take in its beauty as it regains its strength and then watch it swim off back into the depths. What a perfect way to end the day. There is no better feeling than to be rewarded for a hard day’s work. The level of excitement on the boat is unreal as we head back to the Bell Ringer, this was the perfect end to another amazing month in heaven!

Tristan “Youngblood”

It’s salmon season! Sure feels good! A shift in the winds may have been just the ticket about two weeks back, when large amounts of bait started to appear in Virago Sound. The food pyramid kicks into high gear and everybody gets to eat.

While we traditionally focus our salmon fishing efforts along the kelp beds and the rocks, we’re finding heavy traffic a bit offshore along the salmon highway! In waters where we typically target lingcod and halibut, QCL anglers are trolling bait and finding steady action on several species of salmon. Anchovies at 30-50 feet are productive on coho, chum and pink salmon while the Chinooks can be down a little deeper in the 70-100 foot zone. And when you’re tired of trolling it’s so easy just to stop over a patch of structure down below and you’re into halibut and lingcod at depths of 150-250 feet.

Offshore trolling is often productive but it’s not everybody’s favourite place to fish. Thankfully the bays and rocks that we’re so familiar with – Cape Naden, Parker Point, Bird 2 and Klashwun Pt. to name a few – are also holding bait and that’s where the lunkers prefer to hunt. These prime spots are turning out some really nice fish lately for anglers with the patience and knowledge of the tides to find them at feeding time! Herring, offered whole or in cut-plug form, is usually the bait of choice in here.

This past week the Tyee Bell has been getting a regular workout with new members joining the ranks every night. Maxime G weighed a nice 35-pounder only to be joined an hour later when his father Luc rolled in with a 32 lb. Tyee of his own! Most of the Tyee-class fish we’re seeing currently are in the low to mid-30’s but there have been some bigger fish around. Roger G found a stunning 40-pounder at Bird One, fishing with QCL guide Aaron Lomax and Jason H released one last week. The first 50-pounder of the season could certainly show up any day!

Northwesterly winds are forecast to continue this week and we’re hoping for a nice spell of sunshine – 2 or 3 days anyway – and that’ll put a smile on everyone’s face around here for sure! Stay tuned!

Nice to see the world trying to move to “normal”- around here at least! It’s amazing what a few days of wind can do. The arrival of considerable amounts of bait both inshore and off, has turned up the fish volume noticeably. We saw a half dozen Tyees on the weekend with the largest being a 40-pounder released at Klashwun Point by Jason H with his guide Cole Guolo. They attempted a replay on Saturday but unfortunately the 30-pound Chinook was not able to be revived. Nice work guys!

Offshore we’re finding more Coho, Pink & Chum salmon while running spoons and anchovies down 80 – 110 ft.. They’re typical 5-9 pounders this time of year but are providing some good sport and some variety in the fishbox. Every once in a while a nice bright Chum takes the bait and surprises the angler with a very determined battle! Pound for pound a Chum is one of the toughest fighters out there.

We’re accustomed to our guests encountering some massive Halibut during their stay and this year has been no exception! Fish over 100 pounds are reported every other day and many weeks we’ll hear about one over 200. But a couple of times each summer a QCL angler manages to haul up a fish of epic proportions, the proverbial “barn door halibut.” Such a fish came to the boat of Michel D , fishing with QCL guide Sam Johnstone. This one came up relatively quickly; it took Michel only 45-minutes to bring her to the boat. But when she came alongside Grady 110 on Wednesday afternoon, they were all in awe of this massive fish. With Denis M on the phone camera, Sam and Michel carefully measured the length before removing the jig and setting her free. At 84 inches in length this big female scored out to 323 pounds! It has all the makings of a fish story that will no doubt be shared through generations! Congratulations Michel !

You can feel the excitement throughout the entire lodge right now. The past few days have included some steady winds from the northwest, which has brought the entire fishing grounds to life. The birds are everywhere, having a hard time deciding which bait ball to dive on. Humpback whales are working together, scooping up massive mouthfuls of fish as they move across the grounds. On top of all this, the fishing has picked up significantly.

The past few days have seen some of the best chinook fishing of our season so far. It appears as though a new wave of fish has started to push its way across our grounds. Multiple Tyee’s are starting to be caught, and we just had the first 40 lb Chinook caught of the season. Fish are still being caught offshore in the deeper water, but the inshore fishing has really improved over the last couple of days. Most of the salmon are still being picked up around the slack tides; however, as the tidal differences continue to decrease, the fish seem to be biting a little more consistently throughout the day. On top of all this, the Coho have started to show up in little pockets scattered across the halibut grounds.

Halibut fishing has also been getting better and better. The smaller “chicken” halibut have been plentiful as always, but some absolutely massive halibut have been caught on the grounds as of late. Some of them have even been found in some pretty unexpected places. Last trip my guests and I were trolling around Cape Naden looking for a chinook. We were working in tight to the kelp bed when all of a sudden the back rod started to scream out line. It wasn’t long into the fight when my guests and I realized something fishy was going on. After the initial “run”, the fish just stayed down on bottom. Every time we gained a couple of yards of line, it took them right back with a single pull. Finally, after about a 30 minute fight, we got it to the surface. It measured out to a 100 lb halibut. The thrill of seeing a fish that big never gets old, and to reel it up on a salmon rod with 30 lb test makes it that much more impressive!

You really never know what you are going to see each and every day up here. We truly have the coolest office in the world.

Until next time – Keep your rod tip up!

Nick “Mighty Oak”

Walter and the Hare

Best described as a race between two creatures, this fable outlines the importance of patience and consistency in life. The season has been off to a great start, even though the salmon have not yet returned in the usual numbers that were seen in seasons past. As guests flock from all corners of the country and even world in search of the elusive Tyee salmon. Aptly named ‘Walter’ by those in the know.

The one thing that remains constant is the amenities and service that compliment pristine wildlife, and bottom fishing. Whether it’s a super pod of orca moving through Virago Sound hunting in a uniform line, Humpback whales feeding in 30 feet of water off Bird 1, or Dall’s porpoises breaching an arm’s reach from the boat. Mother Nature never ceases to amaze. All of these natural wonders come as a result of the patience and consistency that are required to locate and land Walter. There have been several sightings of him so far and as we remain hopeful that these newly arrived northwesterly winds will bring with it good fortune. The one thing that remains constant is experiencing fishing first class.

Hope to see you on the water soon.

Sean “Mayo”

All this blue sky is a little overwhelming to most of us up here! The temperature hit 21 degrees yesterday and we can hardly stand it! (But I’m sure we’ll adapt!) As we hoped and expected, the northwesterlies have been pushing bait into the sound and our salmon fishing is picking up noticeably every day. Although it’s been a slow start throughout the north coast of Haida Gwaii, we’re seeing an abundance of herring and needlefish and the Chinooks are coming along. Finding them is a test for many anglers though.

Today Parker Point lit up nicely during the early flood tide with some nice mid-twenties Chinooks picked up. But at the same time, guides are finding feeders offshore in 150-250 feet of water, fishing anchovies down 50-80 feet. Sporadic salmon action but usually productive for the persistent! A beautiful 28-pounder was released yesterday by Christopher D while fishing with guide Tristan O’Brian. That’s a nice fish boys, well done!

We’re starting to see all the other salmon species showing up now with some mid-teen-sized Chum hitting the dock and reports of Pinks and a couple of Sockeye. Every once in a while you get a surprise and that happened to day for guide Luke Wagner when his guest Nicole landed a stunning Coho that tipped the scale at 12-pounds! A nice big one for so early in the season!

Our 16^th Annual Kingfisher Derby wrapped up on Sunday with the usual suspense. With an additional 7 anglers signing on at the last minute the purse grew nicely and the grand prize for largest Chinook released bumped up to $55,000! Phil Mudge, fishing with guide Kevin Clough at Bird 2, was leading after Day 2 with a nice Tyee that scored 31.36. But we knew there were more Tyees hanging around out there. Sunday morning broke and around 0800 Randy Rognlin, fishing with guide Matt Burr at Cape Naden, registered a beauty that scored 32.91, taking the lead. Later in the morning a non-derby angler held up a nice big Tyee at Parker Point that was even bigger, just a reminder that no one was quitting before the final bell at 1900 on Sunday night.

In the end however, Randy’s Tyee held to take the top prize and the Bell Ringer was rocking! Derby Master Mike Reading presented cheques to all the winners with Phil Mudge getting $30000 with his 31.36, Chris Waters got $15000 for a 27.42 and 4^th prize of $7000 went to Mike Lane for a Chinook scoring 26.8. Interestingly the largest killed fish also scored 26.8 to take the $10000 prize for that category. Another $7000 was awarded in day prizes. A big thank you to all participants for coming up and we’re happy to hear that most of them are planning to return next year to try again! It’s always a fun and exciting weekend!