coho Archives - Page 4 of 5 - Queen Charlotte Lodge

“Fish on!”

A common phrase in the QCL anglers’ vocabulary, defining the past trip here at QCL.

It’s halfway through the season and we’re seeing consistent action on the water. There has been plenty of opportunity to land Chinook, the majority ranging in size from 9-16 pounds. Complementing the fishing, we’ve seen tons of wildlife on the grounds. Nothing beats watching a whale show in-between bites!

Recently, our days have started with a windy ride through Virago Sound and these higher winds pushed plenty of bait in! A familiar tack amongst the guides is to cruise our way up to Klashwun Point, and do the “Haida Drift”, working points down to the Mazerrado Islands.

Starting our day with a trip up to a favourite of mine, Parker Point, we were met by a few other boats aiming for a release worthy fish like us. We began on the top side of Parker, worked our way on the inside tack, in about 50 feet of water, with lines set to 27 & 37 ft. Immediately we received a hit on the anchovy. This seemed to be a multi species tool, landing plenty of Coho, Chinook and the odd Chum or Pink. We later set off from Parker to the shores of “B1”, where there was consistent action with Chinooks (10-15 pounds). Within a short 5 hours on the water, we found ourselves limited out for salmon, occasionally even trolling up the odd Halibut within Cape Naden. With large unpredictable tides, bottom fishing and finding bait can be difficult in the beginning but is manageable as you stick it out.

Just as quickly as the day started, the bite slowed signally the time to head back to the Bell Ringer to swap stories with a cocktail in hand. Another good day of fishing in the Gwaii, with plenty more to come.

Guide, Wyatt Fulthorpe

^{These past few days of fishing have been fantastic.}

^{With fish being caught at every point by both anglers, mammals, and birds alike. The waters, still calming down from the rough seas a week before, were rife with bait as the wind and currents pushed schools of herring, needlefish, and clouds of krill onto our grounds. In the distance tail slaps rang out as Humpbacks and Gray whales celebrated full bellies at the surface, and Eagles could be seen swooping down between boats saving daring Coho from anglers’ lines. Towards the end of day, on Sunday, a pod of Orcas was spotted moving into our grounds, off of the face of Bird 2, along with several Humpback whales that were bubble feeding; making it tough for all to leave the grounds despite the chop that was being whipped up by the strong gusts of winds, still swirling off the coast as a new pressure systems pushed its way in.}

^{Despite challenging waters, and large tides, giant sea creatures of all shapes and sizes were being pulled up from the depths, with several large Halibut releases being called out over the radio as well as more than a few large Lingcod brought to the dock. For those that stuck it out onshore, battling through the constant flood of coho, and smaller chinook, large chrome hogs could be found from 20-40 feet on the downrigger.}

^{Suffice to say that there were a few extra dents added to the bell hanging in the Bell Ringer this past trip.}

^{Towards the end of day Sunday, with multiple hook ups on every pass, one such hog named Walter would bless the end of my line, off of Cape Naden, as we tucked our bow behind the point, right in the strike zone. Peeling out line, he raced against the rushing flood, out towards Bird One, only to be expertly brought near the boat several times. Full of energy, this continued for nearly twenty minutes until the fish decided he had had enough of teasing us, poked its head up out of the water, looked us in the eye, and spat our hooks directly back into the boat as if to remind us why we call it fishing, and not catching. While the pain of losing such a fish is palpable, witnessing it’s beauty and knowing it is still swimming out there to be caught tomorrow has me counting down the minutes until I can get back off the dock tomorrow.}

^{Tight Lines!}

^{Guide, Jaxon Jones}

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!

After an opening week with classic summer northwesterlies, QCL guests have enjoyed the last 10 days with mostly light winds from all around the compass. That’s given us full opportunities to explore the fishing grounds and our guests have certainly taken advantage of that!

Salmon hunters have been really spoiled – they never have to wander more than a few metres from the beach! Through all of July we’ve seen huge volumes of feeding Coho and Chinooks inshore, from the eastern boundary to the west. Many QCL guests have their own favourite spots to fish and these days they’re happily hanging out, being productive, in their favourite waters. With so many salmon in the area, there is a healthy mix of teen-sized feeder Chinooks swimming with the more mature, migratory stocks on their journey towards the river. Anglers are pleased to land those 16-20-pounders that provide the ultimate filet for the dinner table. And there are enough of the beautiful big Tyees in the area to get a serious chance at one of those. The big fish this weekend was a gorgeous Chinook that taped out to 47 pounds for veteran QCL angler Roy J, fishing with his guide Clint, over at Cape Edenshaw. Our guides are making an extra effort to handle the fish as little as possible if their guest wants to release it. Guest Kyle B chose to release his big Chinook that was taped out to 37 lb by his guide Tegan and self-guided anglers Jordan and Tara elected to release their chrome silver Tyee that scored 34 pounds at the Mazzaredo Islands. It’s great to see some of these awesome fish get a second chance. On the Coho front, the numbers in the area are substantial with the average size currently around 6-8 pounds. We’re seeing some 9’s and 10’s so that number will climb quickly in the coming weeks.

Of course, these light variable winds give perfect opportunities for bottom bouncing and everyone is getting out there to jig up some tasty lingcod and halibut. While most anglers are picking up a pair of “unders” 12-19 lb, (do-able in one day, this season) there are always some who find those big “turkeys” in the 30-50 pound class. This weekend Paul T hauled up a 59-pounder, Roger R a 45, Derek S a 45 and Neil S released one that scored 48. Last week we got into some big ones with 5 halibut taping out to more than 140 pounds each… lots of excitement in those boats! The great mystery of bottom fishing is so appealing because you just never know what you’re going to pull up from the deep! But we do know that getting out on the ocean to enjoy the marine world and seeing all that it has to offer is something very special. And when we can get some tasty fish to bring home and share with family and friends, it’s an adventure that just can’t be beat! Thanks for coming up! We totally know where you’re coming from!

It’s been a long time coming but we’re finally ready to open the door for the 2020 season! We’re so excited about the excellent crew that we’ve assembled this summer. Training week has been a breeze with so many talented and enthusiastic young people looking forward to welcoming our guests. Last night our culinary team presented a delicious and varied new menu for the dining room that we’re sure will have you asking for some recipes!

Waterside, the action has been hot and heavy on the fishing grounds with plenty of bright chrome Chinook and Coho salmon in all the usual places… and yes, the Tyee bell has been ringing! Continuing our fleet replenishment, we have five brand new boats this year including the first three 21-footers which, I gotta say, are really sweet units!

All of our transportation this summer will be via direct fights between Prince Rupert and Naden Harbour. We have taken this extreme measure to ensure the safety and security of all the citizens of Haida Gwaii. In compliance with provincial regulations we’ve implemented protocols throughout the property to ensure everyone’s health and safety this summer.

The weekend weather is for light to moderate winds swinging between SE and SW with typical island weather… “a mix of sun and cloud with 40 percent chance of showers. High 15.” No matter how much things change, some things never do!

Now into the final third of the 2018 season, we’re thinking those northwesterly winds we were praising in late June can let up already! We’ve had 2 weeks of steady northwesterlies now and are ready for a change! Anglers and guides are looking forward to getting back offshore with easy access to the fantastic bottom-fishing and large schools of Coho passing through the area. This week we’ve seen excellent Coho action with the larger-sized fish we expect in August. Double-digit sizes are pretty common now with several fish in the low teens showing up. Paul C, fishing with guide Max Peiffer, picked up this stunning 16-pound Northern while trolling at 37-feet in front of Bird 2. Fish like this one are always on the bucket list of any salmon enthusiast!

It’s been an excellent Coho season for us with large numbers being found in the offshore waters, generally down 30 to 60 feet and hitting anything from anchovy set-ups thru spoons and hoochies. At the same time we’ve been quite successful throughout July finding considerable Chinook salmon in the same offshore areas, just deeper at 60 to 100 feet. And occasionally we get a surprise, like the 42-pound Tyee landed by Driftwood guest John C last week, while trolling for Coho in 220-feet off Shag Rock! It goes to show you have to be prepared for anything when fishing up here!

The weather is about to change for this weekend with winds shifting today around to southwest and then rising to southeast overnight. They’re forecasting some fairly breezy conditions for Friday and Saturday so we’ll be spending some time over at Cape Edenshaw this weekend. The upside is that those shorelines have seen very little fishing pressure with all the northwest so it could be very productive! Look for an update on Sunday. After the weekend it looks like we’ll enjoy a nice stretch of light variable winds right through the middle of the month! We’ll be ready for them!

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!

It’s crazy to think that another fishing season is almost in the books. With that being said, fishing is still going strong here at QCL. Although there is still the odd Chinook being picked up inshore, most boats are now spending the majority of the day working “the salmon highway” along the 300-foot contour line. This has resulted in very consistent Coho fishing on a daily basis and on some days the Chinook fishing has been just as good out there, resulting in action-packed fishing days. In that mix of consistent Coho fishing there has been some real lunkers, with several nice mid-teen Cohos hitting the dock last trip. This photo features a gorgeous 17-pounder caught by Arnot T. Congratulations! With the calm waters that we have continued to see lately, many nice halibut continue to be caught on a daily basis. All in all, guests, guides, and everyone else involved seem to be very happy with how things are going out on the water!

Today we had a new group of guests arrive for our final weekend trip of the season. Again, the offshore fishing was very productive, especially on the ebb tide. Although the Chinook were fewer in number out there today, a fair number of Chum salmon were caught. These powerful fish often provide an acrobatic and unpredictable fight that our guests really seem to enjoy. With the Coho fishing remaining strong today, there were certainly some real beauties around. The highlight of our day was when one of my guests hooked into a nice fish that took a couple of lengthy runs. I figured that we for sure had a nice Chinook on the line, but to our pleasant surprise it ended up being a large 15 lb Coho. What a fish and what a day!

Tight lines everyone!

“Wacko Jacko”

Last week we were talking about “special combo” fishing and the great variety of fishing experienceLast week we were talking about “special combo” fishing and the great variety of fishing experiences there are to be had up here. Well this week we had a father & son angling team at the lodge that really took it to heart! Ronald and Dan R not only found the variety but, with the help of their QCL guide Jake Harrach, they found the quality as well!

Over the past 4 days they managed to catch the largest fish of the trip in each of 3 species and the 2nd largest in a 4th! On Tuesday Dan caught and released the big halibut of the trip, a big slab that taped out to 163 pounds. On Wednesday Ron boated a nice big lingcod that tipped the scale at 35 pounds which, in most weeks would be the big one! But he came second to a 50-pounder landed by Lino P! That’s only 6 pounds short of the lodge record! Congrats Lino! On the same day Ronald caught the largest Coho of the week, coming in at 16-pounds – a beautiful fish for sure! Then on Thursday, making that famous “just one more pass” at Cape Naden on the way in, Dan hooked up with a big Chinook that really put him to the test. After a twenty-minute tussle, Jake slipped the net beneath the chrome beauty and they knew there would be some more Bell-ringing back at the dock that night! At 39-pounds, this big Tyee would add to Dan’s record of success as the largest Chinook of the trip. Congratulations guys! That’s an amazing catch report! It’s a good thing you’re going home for the weekend to get some rest!

The weekend forecast is for more southerly weather and calm seas (with a regular dose of liquid sunshine.) The inshore Chinook fishing has certainly picked up in the past week with the best action during the first and last hours of the day. Offshore the Coho catch remains strong and we’re seeing more of the larger Coho coming to the scale. Bottom fishing has been getting easier with the tidal range diminishing every day since Monday’s new moon. QCL anglers released 6 halibut over 100 pounds this trip and we’re still seeing nice 30-plus fish at the Bell Ringer every night. These are great days to be fishing at QCL!

Well, this morning we said goodbye to our last group of guests for the 2016 season. It’s been a whirlwind for sure! Our busiest season ever and it was fantastic! Sure we had to work a little harder for the fish at times this summer but our guests and guides made the most of it. At the end of the day there were lots of fish to go around. On Sunday, our final fishing day was one for the books; greasy flat water with just a hint of breeze, bright overcast skies and fish catching opportunities all over the place.

The bulk of the action recently has been offshore and we’ve enjoyed exploring the tidelines and contours in the 200 to 500-foot zone. We’re finding loads of beautiful 10 – 15 pound Coho and the occasional Chinook out there, from the surface down 60 feet or so. And while we’re out there, we get lots of little surprises like random feeding humpbacks popping up alongside the boat or pods of Dall’s Porpoise zipping around below. We’re always discovering great underwater structure that harbours awesome lingcod, halibut and cod fishing opportunities. We set a new record for the number halibut over 100 pounds this season and with a little help from some enthusiastic jig anglers we’ve established a very healthy lingcod fishery. Even in this past week we saw halibut released scoring 102, 102, 115, 134, and 160 pounds with several nice ones in the 30 to 60 pound “keeper” class.

Inshore fishing for Chinook salmon turned on nicely this weekend with some snap bites coming on with the morning tide changes at Cape Naden and Parker Point. There weren’t a ton of them but certainly enough to get everybody interested, even a couple of nice Tyees in the mix! Now we crunch the numbers and we’ll be back with a bit of a summary very soon! Stay tuned.