Bell Ringer Archives - Queen Charlotte Lodge

The past few days we have seen light winds and the weather is supposed to remain consistent well into the week. Beautiful sunny skies, mixed with some rain are forecasted – After all, it is Haida Gwaii.

Coho numbers are up offshore and tend to be hitting up higher (37, 51) with a small spoon being most productive. Larger Chinooks have been found inshore all across the grounds, as well as many medium 10-15ib Chinooks being caught offshore deeper than the Cohos.

We were also very lucky to see the two largest Chinook salmon of the season, so far, weighing in at 39 and 41lbs. Seeing salmon like this brings an excitement to the Bell Ringer like no other fish. These two Tyees were found inshore using anchovies! It’s not always the herring bringing home the hogs.

Overall, the fishing seems to have picked up across the grounds and if you put in your time you might leave with a great story and the fish off a lifetime!

Safe travels and tight lines, looking forward to seeing you up here!

QCL Guide, Cor Van Stolk

We left at first light, heading out of the harbour with the morning sunrise peering up over the horizon.

A bit of fog laid over the fishing grounds as we ran out to the lighthouse to begin fishing for Chinook. We drop lines, begin to troll with the wind at our back and I turn on some tunes to set the vibe for the day. The first bite of the morning is a good one, taking line which then got everyone on the boat involved. I’ve got one guest holding the net and recording the fight on my GoPro while the other plays the fish. When we get it into the boat, high fives are shared all around. It’s a mid teener, a great start but we’re now looking for something bigger.

A few missed bites and some small fish released conclude the morning as we head to the Driftwood for lunch. I take the time while my guests are eating on the DW to clean the boat and plan the afternoon – We’re going bottom fishing for Halibut, Lingcod and Rockfish at the Pinnacles, where the fleet has had success recently. After getting the radio call that my guests are ready for pick up at the Driftwood, I swing by and we continue with our day!

We drop in and get a keeper Halibut right away, along with a ping pong paddle sized one we throw back. A couple of drifts later we have our two Halibut and are now focusing on Ling/Rockfish on the rocky shelf nearby.

The first drop doesn’t go as planned, with both guests hooking the rock I have to cut one of the lines while snapping the other. After a quick pep talk about what bottom feels like and how important it is to keep the lures off bottom when fishing a rocky outcropping, we start to have success. One Rockfish and a medium sized Ling were the result of some coaching and now my guests have a feel for it. We rinse and repeat 4 or 5 drifts and limit out on Lingcod, with a few Rockfish mixed in.

It’s time to finish the day offshore to find some Coho or Chum for the bonus salmon species but after two hours we’ve had enough and head in. Heads are held high knowing that we’re bringing an assortment of species back!

QCL Guide, Tommy G

This past trip was a rare Haida Gwaii Gem, filled with relatively calm waters, sun, and an accumulating abundance of grey whales, orcas and humpbacks as the large mammals make their migration north in anticipation of one of the largest herring runs in recent years.

Despite the ample conditions, estimated returning salmon and herring numbers, onshore fishing has been tough due to a fairly constant south easterly wind causing both epipelagic and mesopelagic life to be either blown offshore or to seek shelter in deep water rock structures to find relief from the currents. This has lead to the majority of the fleet fishing out by the pinnacles for all of their needs. Despite the atypical fishing conditions there are plenty of salmon to be caught in deeper waters, but it is most certainly a numbers game that must be played in order to get the fish you want to keep.

However, there is a silver lining. As early runs of Coho are also starting to show up in the myriad of species to be caught offshore, allowing guests seeking their full limits to achieve their goals as long as they put their hours in.

Coho and Pink seem to be more common in the upper regions of the water column while Chinook are being caught as low as 150ft on the downriggers. Beyond that and some extremely aggressive halibut start being tossed into the hodgepodge of fish to be seen at the other end of your line. Some days it feels like the 71cm Halibut is the biggest aggressor in the Pacific Ocean.

Another added bonus is deep water Lingcod seem to have realized the abundance of smaller life attempting to hide down low, and have also moved in closer to our grounds, with many boats finding their Lingcod limit, and several large 30-40lb lings being caught this past trip alone.

This upcoming trip the weather looks like it is turning in our favour, as on the 15th it is projected to swing and start coming from the northwest, and will continue to do so for a few days. This is a change we are eagerly anticipating so that larger migrational Chinook can be more efficiently targeted across our points.

Anchovies and smaller spoons, replicating sandlances, or other needlefish species, seem to be working the best, with hoochies and squid taking a close second. But if the contents of the stomachs of fish being brought up from deeper waters is an indicator of what is to come, herring will soon be the go to.

QCL Guide, Jaxon Jones

The excitement is palpable as the fishing season kicks into high gear, with reels spinning and guides cheering on anglers from all over. The first few weeks have been a whirlwind of activity, showcasing why we’re so passionate about our career.

The QCL fleet has been in the thick of the action, with flurries of fish making their presence known earlier in the week, especially during the serene early mornings. Chinook salmon have been the stars of the show, boasting healthy numbers and sizes ranging from 8 to 15 pounds. As May transitions into June, we welcome the varied weather conditions of sun, rain, and south easterly winds, adding an extra element of excitement to our fishing expeditions.

Despite a mid-week wind pushing us towards Cape Edenshaw for a brief period, the waters have since calmed, and the fishing remains excellent, particularly during the transition from the early ebb tide into the flood. Prime spots like Cape Naden, Cape Edenshaw, Bird Rock 2, Parker Point, and Yatze Bay continue to produce impressive results, with anglers of all skill levels reaping the rewards.

The Chinook action has been fun, with guests experiencing success at various locations around QCL. While the timing of the action has been somewhat unpredictable, sticking it out in a chosen spot has proven to be the key to success. Both herring and anchovies, along with smaller spoons and Kingcandy lures, have been effective at depths ranging from 25 to 55 feet.

As more guests arrive, the excitement only continues to build, promising even more memorable moments on the water. Stay tuned for further updates as we navigate the thrills and triumphs of the QCL fishing season!

QCL Guide, Karly Barker

We’re only a few weeks away from another season of first class fishing! Which means that soon enough you’ll be bringing your catch home to enjoy while sharing stories of your time on the water.

Prepare your Halibut with this Signature Series recipe before your trip, or after. Our chef’s have crafted this to enjoy at any point of the year, with your favourite side dishes.

Materials

4x 170g Halibut Fillets
2g Garlic Powder
2g Paprika
4g Salt
1g Ground Black Pepper
30ml Neutral Cooking Oil
225g Butter
1x Medium Lemon, cut in half

Method

Mix spices together and use to season halibut fillets
In large saute pan place halibut fillets down and sear both sides until both are golden brown, cook 2-4 minutes on each side.
Remove fish from pan once ready, add butter into the hot pan and melt.
Simmer butter for 1-2 minutes and then add juice of lemon.
Simmer sauce for 2-3 minutes while stirring often.
Plate the fish alongside your preferred sides and drizzle lemon butter over top of the Halibut.
Serve and enjoy!

Don’t worry if you’ve moved through your supply of QCL caught fish already, our Taste of B-Sea program runs year round. The finest quality fish and shellfish, these products are Ocean Wise and come from some of the most sustainable fisheries in the world using the most eco-friendly fishing methods.

To learn more and to place your order, contact us | 1-800-688-8959

The Holiday’s are quickly approaching and with them come the holiday get-togethers. Shake things up and wow your guests with this Salmon Dip recipe. It’s the perfect pairing for your holiday party.

Check out our signature Salmon Dip recipe below, and don’t forget to check back monthly as our chef’s create new recipes for you to enjoy your catch or Taste of B-Sea order.

MATERIALS

226g of room temperature cream cheese
125ml sour cream
15ml fresh squeezed lemon juice
2g fresh chopped dill
2g fresh chopped chives
5ml horseradish
120g of chopped smoked salmon
Salt + Pepper to taste

METHOD

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
Cream the cheese using a mixer.
Once smooth, add in sour cream, lemon juice, herbs, and horseradish and combine.
Finally, add smoked salmon to the mixture. Taste and season to your liking.
Place mixture into an oven safe dish, place in oven for 15-20 minutes or until dish reaches an internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit.
Serve with crudité, crostini, or naan bread.
Enjoy!

Don’t worry if you’ve moved through your delicious catch already, our Taste of B-Sea program runs year round. The finest quality fish and shellfish, these products are Ocean Wise and come from some of the most sustainable fisheries in the world using the most eco-friendly fishing methods.

To learn more and to place your order, contact us | 1-800-688-8959

The mid-summer stretch is treating QCL guests to some really excellent fishing adventure these days! Very favourable weather conditions have added some icing on the cake – some of us are wearing t-shirts! We even had 3 guests go for a dip off the lodge beach before enjoying the hot tub! Life is good!

It was especially good for veteran anglers Joe H & Brad R as they first set their gear at Green Point Tuesday morning. Joe’s rod had the twitch before Brad even managed to get his in the water! But together these fellows would share an epic battle with a massive salmon that they’ll remember for a long time. Brad finally slipped the net below the big beauty and when they lifted it aboard, they were super thrilled! Finally returning to the dock last night, the scale at the Bell Ringer revealed a weight of 52 pounds! Cause for celebration for sure! Nice fish boys!

While big Tyees over 50 pounds aren’t as common as they used to be, we’ve certainly seen a nice bump in the big fish department recently with several Tyees kept or released. Jeff W released a 33-pounder on the weekend and Jason N boated a 38 on Saturday, followed by a 30 on Sunday! Zack J followed up with nice 31-pounder and Ryan O returned to the Bell Ringer with a stunning 14 lb Coho, the largest of the season so far! When we have the right tide and wind conditions the halibut grounds are a wonderland! On Saturday we saw lots of nice keepers land back on the dock but the Tyee Bell was ringing big-time with released giant halibut reports! Richard K released an 87-pounder, Janet B recorded a 69-inch halibut that scored 168 lb and Clint C turned back a full-on barn door that measured 75-inches to score 220 pounds! Amazing! Coho catches remain very strong with the average size creeping up around 8-pounds now so everyone is enjoying the awesome salmon action on the water.

Light to moderate winds wavering from southwest to northwest are to continue right into next week with very little precipitation and the odd sunny period – so we have pretty perfect conditions to look forward to. Peak tides will return around the 12th when we’ll see 17-foot swings, so hold on for that one! Stay tuned!

Light winds and light tides were the norm over the past week, providing optimal conditions for anglers testing the waters of Haida Gwaii. QCL guests made the most of it by exploring the offshore slopes and pinnacles for halibut and lingcod, trolling the 120-foot line for Coho and cruising inshore along points and kelp beds in search of those big Chinook!

Their efforts were rewarded with nice full fish boxes coming back to the Bell Ringer! Coho salmon have quickly displaced Chum and Pinks in the box with huge numbers of 6 to 8 pounders feeding heavily right now. We’ll see the average size increase steadily over the coming weeks! The large quantity of smaller “feeder Chinooks” that dominated our catch earlier in the season have given way to fewer, but certainly larger salmon. The proportion of fish over 20-pounds has come up quite nicely through July and most anglers are finding some real beauties to take home. The Tyee count is still lower than what we’d call “normal”but the Tyee Bell is getting a few good cracks every day.

Big celebrations on Friday night at the Bell Ringer marked the catch & release of a marvellous giant Chinook landed by Petr P at Cape Naden. It was taped out to 54-pounds before being skilfully released by veteran QCL guide Kylie T, captured beautifully on iPhone by fellow guides! Congratulations Petr and thanks for choosing to let that amazing fish carry on with its journey to the river! Petr’s efforts were echoed on Sunday with C&R Tyees for Tasha S who turned back a 34-pounder with guide Rob C and Matt M releasing a 37 with his guide Brett T. Well done!

It’s hard to believe but we are officially at the halfway point for the 2022 season up here at QCL! After an unseasonably late start to “summer” in June, the past 2-3 weeks have been pretty awesome! Lots of fish, better than average weather and so much fun on the water and back at the lodge. We’ve enjoyed very healthy numbers of what we’d call “feeder salmon” in recent weeks. Lots of Chinook salmon in the low-mid-teens and hungry Coho in the 6-8 pound class are keeping anglers busy throughout most of the fishing grounds. The presence of larger Chinook has been increasing steadily with regular catches of those stunning twenty-somethings, and the Tyee Bell is ringing every night now in celebration of Tyee-class fish either kept or released. Everything is feeling more like a “normal” fishing season, just a little later this year.

We started off this week’s trip with a bang on Monday night at the Bell Ringer with David H cracking the bell four times after releasing a big beautiful Tyee that taped out to 43-pounds before guide Alex K carefully returned it to the water. Roger P celebrated releasing a 30-pounder with his partner and their guide Colton M and Dan B was turning heads with an impressive 42 lb Chinook that came back to the dock with guide Dan R. We’ve been very fortunate to find solid salmon fishing off most every point of the fishing grounds, at the right stage of the tide, which have been especially large this week with ranges up to 18 feet!

However, nice calm seas on Monday thru Wednesday provided perfect conditions for any angler’s preference! Halibut fishing is very reliable on most days and this week was no different with many anglers finding impressive fish over 30-pounds and some tangling with the proverbial “barn doors” out on the grounds. Finding that magic number where it’s “not too little but not too big” is a challenge that definitely comes with fishing and Dan S pretty much maxed out his opportunity, bringing a 55-pounder back to the Bell Ringer! Lionel W turned back a 5-foot-long halibut that scored over 100 pounds and Matt C hauled up a 75-incher which scored 230-pounds! But the big catch this week went to Josh P who battled an 87-inch behemoth that would weigh about 273 pounds if you could get it in the boat! While not every angler wants to work that hard, there are endless possibilities out there for those who dream of catching a fish larger than themselves! Up here we seem to do that every week.

This weekend the large tides will start to diminish and we’re enjoying light winds and a comfortable mix of cloud and sunshine… with the occasional shower tossed in for good measure!

We’ve been treated to some stunning moonlit nights up here for a change! You don’t realize how seldom you see the moon until it just appears one night. We’ve sure enjoyed it, but the big tides that come along with a full moon have a more dramatic effect.

Late August salmon fishing is typically divided between hunting along the rocky shores and kelp beds for big Chinooks or exploring the offshore tidelines for schools of migrating Coho. The Chinooks prefer the protective cover and like to feed during the slack periods around tide changes or they’ll often cruise the current seams and tidelines picking off baitfish getting pushed around by strong tidal flows. Tide swings of up to 16 feet this week have definitely provided those conditions! But our guides and guests have been quite successful at finding them – the Tyee Bell has been fairly noisy in celebration! QCL guest Spencer A found a big beauty over at Slab Rock yesterday with guide Tristan O’Brian, who quickly taped the Tyee out to 43-pounds before releasing it to continue its journey to the river. Tim G landed a similar prize off Bird Rock 1 which tipped the scale at an even 40. Jeremy K released a 37-pounder at the Mazzaredos last week with guide Ryan Borschneck and Mike A boated a 35 with guide Colten Mochizuki off Parker Point. Nico B didn’t make any mistakes battling his first big salmon on the weekend and celebrated at the Bell Ringer with his friends and guide Logan Allen, joining the QCL Tyee Club with a stunning 42-pound Chinook.

Offshore fishing has been no less productive, though the large number of Pink salmon passing through lately has certainly kept anglers out of their seats! Coho have been found mainly out over the Pinnacles and on the halibut grounds. We’re finally starting to see some of those larger, chrome bright Cohos that many of us get so excited about! Bottom fishing times have to be carefully planned during these big tides and our guide team have that schedule very well dialed. Most everyone manages to get their limit of halibut, and many are finding some of the larger “overs” in the 25-50 pound class, which is quite a thrill, and a serious workout! We haven’t been finding as many “barn doors” in the past couple of weeks but that will change next week when tide swings mellow to just 6 to 7 feet.

With September just around the corner, keep in mind that we’ve extended our 2021 season by 2 trips – adding a Monday-Friday trip – September 6-10 and a final weekend trip September 10-13. There’s been so much demand this summer – everybody is loving the opportunity to escape and kick back up here at The Lodge! If you can find a way, you should seriously consider jumping on one of these September trips – it’s absolutely the best way to finish the summer!

Older Posts

Kingfisher Report | July 15, 2024

It’s a Guide’s Life

Kingfisher Report | June 16, 2024

Reeling in Success at QCL

QCL Signatures Series | Halibut with Lemon Butter Sauce

QCL Signatures Series | Salmon Dip

Kingfisher Report for August 3rd, 2022

Kingfisher Report – July 25th, 2022

Kingfisher Report for July 15th, 2022

Kingfisher Report for August 24th

QCL Signatures Series | Tom Yum Baked Lingcod

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Thank You | QCL Crew

A Wrap on 2024

Kingfisher Report | August 31, 2024