Kingfisher Archives - Page 5 of 6 - Queen Charlotte Lodge

After a very productive week of fishing with the last group of guests topping their boxes up nicely, we celebrated Canada Day with a keen group of new guests, mostly veterans of previous QCL fishing adventures. Tons of bait scattered throughout the fishing grounds is providing pretty steady action at any of a number of favourite fishing spots. Cape Edenshaw remains quite productive with teen-sized feeder Springs and the odd Tyee lurking in the weeds.

While Cape Naden continues to produce more than its share of salmon action it’s the north shore that’s been coming to life lately. The humpbacks have moved a little offshore and out of the calm backwaters they’ve been busy in these past weeks. That’s a sure sign that there’s more baitfish moving through the deeper water and savvy anglers have trolled on out there to join them. The reward… a whole new mass of brilliant silver salmon – a mixture of Chinook and Coho – pursuing shoals of needlefish and immature herring. Anchovies fished over dummy flashers are most successful.

Last summer the guides denoted “east bay Parker” as a new favourite fishing hole which was a steady producer all summer long. Strangely it’s been slow to come to life so far this season. That may have changed over the weekend as our 3^rd 50-pounder-plus fish was recorded on Friday. Wondering if he’s onto something, veteran QCL guide Jackson Jane worked his magic at east bay Parker and teased out his second giant of the summer! Returning lodge guest Jared D set the hook and played a stunning big Chinook to the boat with Jackson and fishing partner Ryan cheering him on.

A quick measurement scored the beauty at 52 pounds before they carefully returned the fish to the water and Jackson coaxed it back to vigorously swim away. Congratulations Jared! Well done guys! It’s really nice to see these very special Tyees revived and released in such good shape!

Wow! It’s our 10^th trip of the season already! Canada Day is coming on Friday! And things are really rockin’ up here at The Lodge! Our Edmonton-Direct guests returned home today with full boxes of fish and hopefully memories full of wonderful moments from their weekend here in Haida Gwaii! We noted a whole new group of fish had arrived in the past few days, distinctly silver, husky fish that tested the mettle of every angler. The average size is getting into the twenties with this crowd and, most excitingly, there are some BIG fish in the mix!

Following up on the stunning 42 and 54 pound releases last week, QCL guests found some more where those came from! Recording our largest salmon catch of the 2016 season to date, Greg P hooked and landed a big beauty that taped out to 61 pounds on Sunday! Just setting the gear along the edge of the kelp off Yatze, his guide Isaiah Dahl had not yet placed the rod in the holder when the chrome giant crashed the anchovy and tore off, luckily, away from the kelp! It was Greg’s turn on the rod and he handled it masterfully, bringing fish to boat in good time. When Isaiah finally slipped the net beneath it, the guys gulped a big breath as they finally got a good look. A call out to Shooter for some photos, a quick measurement, and they were able to release the big beauty in perfect shape. Well done fellas! That’s a great fish and thanks for sending her back!

Around the same time a similar situation played out just north in the gap between Klashwun Pt. and Shag Rock. With lots of current and unpredictable upwelling this can be a tough place to fish. But it is productive and so discovered Rick S when he hooked into a heavy Chinook that put up a serious battle before finally coming to the net. With no intention of keeping it, Rick and his fishing partners quickly taped the prize out to 39 pounds before reviving and sending it back. Wonderful work guys!

Meanwhile over on “the dark side” at Cape Edenshaw, Jay R was doing battle with yet another mighty Chinook from the boat of guide Ryan Winger! The waters off “Piggy Bay” have been particularly productive lately and that’s where “Horseshoe” was working his ‘chovy when the rod lurched beneath the surface and Jay leaped to action. The determined salmon took some serious work to boat but the guys were over the top when they finally had it in the net. Ryan had already started reviving the fish alongside his Grady when they got a call from another, alerting of an approaching sea lion! With some quick thinking, they lifted the salmon back into the boat for safety. Ryan jammed the boat into gear and they sped off to elude the hungry mammal. Safe from the sea lion, they resumed the revival until the huge Tyee swam away with strong strokes. Scoring out to 42 pounds, this big Chinook will hopefully find its way back home to keep the strain alive in the future! Fantastic fishing boys! Thanks for going the extra mile!

QCL guests enjoyed some fine weather on the water this week with a total stunner on Wednesday… flat water, bright sunshine and loads of crazy looking clouds on the horizon! And the fishing wasn’t too bad either! Those flat water days see everybody heading offshore to their favorite halibut haunts. The result were telling! Lots of awesome “overs” in the 84–133 cm class (16 to 70 lb) came to the dock as our guides continue to hone their bottom-fishing skills! Of course there were a bunch of fish that were turned back, giant females too big for retention! Max Z released a 104 pounder, Jeremiah F a 94 and a 250 lb. barn door! Rick W tangled with a big fish that taped out to 121 and John F released a 150 pounder. It’s always exciting to hear the stories and watch the “phone videos” of these events! There’s no shortage of adventure on the halibut grounds!

On the salmon front we saw our first 50 Pounder of the 2016 season! Fishing with his roomy Ian and veteran guide Jackson Jane, Phillip B successfully brought a stunning fish to the boat at Cape Naden on Friday. After carefully taping it out to 54 pounds the big Chinook swam away directly after some revival from Jackson. What a beauty Phillip! Thanks for letting that big one go! And welcome to becoming the first member of the 50-Pounder Club for 2016!

Just 2 days earlier another splendid release was celebrated by Selena G and Denis B when their guide Isaiah Dahl carefully let a big chrome beauty back to swim away; this one measured at 42 pounds! Fantastic fish folks! And again, we really enjoy seeing these 40-plus pounders getting a chance to return to the spawning streams! Thanks again! Look forward to more great fish stories in the days to come!

Persistent westerly winds have been pushing tons of bait into the fishing grounds this week and with the bait comes all forms of sea life! Humpback whales are a constant presence in the quiet coves between the Mazzaredo Islands and Green Point. It’s amazing to watch them work their massive bodies around the rocky outcrops, doing headstands underwater, their broad tails waving at us as they corner schools of needlefish against the rocky walls below. They go about their business patiently, moving back and forth along the shore for hours. Savvy anglers recognize the feeding whale as a good sign that the salmon will also be there to get their share. Many a good salmon catch has come right from the whale’s dining room!

Cape Naden continues to be the most productive spot on our grounds, partly because it’s seen the most boats but also because the bait is hanging in that area. Parker Point, Bird 2 and Yatze have all produced decent action at some time during the day. While we haven’t had much problem with sea lions this summer, there were a couple of busy ones at Cape Naden and Bird 2 on Sunday, helping themselves to the odd Chinook. With the approaching full moon the flood tides have been more productive than the ebbs and the slack periods are brief but rewarding for those who get their timing right!

We’ve seen some nice big Chinooks come to the scale in the past few days – 35, 35, 36 on Tuesday, 30, 31, 37, 38, 46 on Wednesday, and 32, 38, 38, 43 on Thursday. It promised big things for the weekend Kingfisher Derby, our 14^th annual. But the action slowed considerably and derby participants worked very hard to find Tyee-class salmon for our popular Catch & Release event. A handful of Tyees were recorded but no one was able to best Steve Rule’s catch on Saturday that taped out to 33.3 pounds, winning him the $40,000 top prize. Miles D boated the largest salmon of the weekend with a beautiful 37 pounder on Sunday afternoon, but he wasn’t in the derby! (shades of 2015 when Russ B weighed in a 50-pounder to not win the derby for the same reason!) Congratulations go out to Steve and his Denver team who did very very well in the overall scoring!

We’ve just completed our first week of the new season and the atmosphere at the Bell Ringer has been anything but dull! From slinky lingcod to silver tails, many guests are arriving at the dock with a fish box full of oceanic goodies! Guests are being selective about the salmon they bring in, choosing to keep Chinook averaging 10-12 lbs, as well as a great variety of bottom-dwelling creatures including rockfish and some medium-sized halibut. A great 6-pound Black Rockfish (Bomber) arrived at the dock yesterday – stay tuned to find out why this is an amazing catch!

Guests come to QCL because they want to fish, but the excitement doesn’t end when the fishing day is done! Bell Ringer chef Brad has been sizzling up some crispy appetizers for the onrush of arriving guests, who can be seen with a cold drink in hand, swapping fish stories (let’s be honest – we’ve all caught the biggest salmon in Haida Gwaii), and relaxing after a full day’s work. From the comfort of the heated patio, guests have been enjoying the scenic views of the harbour and its many inhabitants – mainly otters, seals, and eagles!

The Red Boot Team has been full of energy this week, excited to start the season off well and working hard to accommodate all guests’ personal and fishing needs! Have you tried Candied Salmon? Sablefish? Ask a Red Boot Team member (that’s me!) about how you can try Haida Gwaii seafood with “A Taste of B-Sea” – you’ve never had Albacore tuna this fresh!

There’s no doubt that the Bell Ringer has got all of your “apres peche” (after fishing) excitement and amenities, come and check out the fishiest Bar in Haida Gwaii for yourself! We can’t wait to see you here!

Jessica – Fish Services Supervisor

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!

As we button up the lodge for the long wet winter months ahead, it’s time to take stock of our 25^th season in Naden Harbour. It was indeed exceptional in many ways. Several weeks of warm dry weather from mid-May thru late June was cause for some concern as much of the province was under water restrictions and fire watch. It was a reminder that even up here in the “misty isles” we can’t take anything for granted. While the staff were thrilled at the beautiful summer conditions, the return to “normal” in July provided welcome relief for the operations department.

June fishing is distinguished by feisty feeder Chinooks but this year the numbers were outstanding! Lots of anglers had their butts kicked by 15-pound Chinooks and loved every minute of it! When you can catch & release 40 or 50 fish like that in a day, you’ve got some stories to tell!

Halibut… never have we seen better halibut fishing. There were no shortage of nice chickens for the fish box and for those seeking something heavier to haul up, we were always finding new bumps and ridges out in 220 to 330 feet that provided those larger fish in the 30-60 pound class. As for barn doors, best year ever by far! Fifty-two fish over 100 pounds, 10 of them over 200! The QCL record was broken twice this year with a 277 pounder for Dave Bossons and of course, we won’t forget the massive fish hauled up by Bruce, George and Kraig that taped out to 405!

While the early season Coho fishing was pretty standard we didn’t see the usual abundance of Coho in July & August. Whether that was a migration thing or some other issue, we’ll be anxious to hear from the DFO scientists’ reports this fall.

Chinook fishing, on the other hand, was pretty reliable. Adapting to tides and weather, we were always able to find them. The Tyee count was up noticeably from last year and so was the “big fish” count for those over 40. We saw more new members of the 50 Pounder Club this year, eight of these coming in August! Two fish over 60 were landed this summer and one beautiful giant was released by Trevor Malley on July 30^th that measured to 78 pounds! All in all, an incredible fishing season.

Sending out a huge THANK YOU to our QCL crew who did an outstanding job this year! It was our busiest season ever and this great team not only succeeded in sending our guests home happy… they flourished! What an awesome group of people to spend the summer with, it was truly a pleasure to share every day with you!

And to our guests, we hope you enjoyed it at least as much as we did! This is such an incredible part of the world and we’re blessed to be here. Sharing in your excitement and enthusiasm is why we’re here.

Thank you for choosing Queen Charlotte Lodge. We hope you came away with wonderful memories and amazing stories to share with friends and family as you enjoy those tasty meals of fish that you caught yourself! Of course we’ve already started preparing for next season so we’d like nothing better than to have you come back again! Until then, keep an eye on our website and social media for updates and all the latest news of what’s happening at QCL!

A very fortunate few here at the Lodge were up late enough to witness the rare appearance of the northern lights on Wednesday night.

QCL bartender (and avid photographer) Cole Yakimchuk captured the moment and assembled this absolutely stunning image to share with the rest of us! Thank you Cole!

Click on the small version to see the full panorama!

Another great day to be on the water! Glass calm waters and blue skies! Many guides and guests are sporting goggle tans after a scorcher like today. Fishing has continued to be steady! The 109 had 3 Chinooks on board today in the low to mid 20″s and released many fish in the teens. The Coho have been spotty lately with the odd one mixed in with the springs.

Halibut fishing was stellar today, as there were smaller tidal swings, which made keeping the lines on the bottom a cakewalk. This led to many beauty flatties at the Bell Ringer this evening. There are also still Tyees being hooked and landed at many of our points. The hotspots lately have been Parker Point and Eagle Rock. Hopefully this beauty weather and steady fishing continues for the rest of the season!

Tight lines, red decks and silver smiles,

“The Show”

A spectacular sunset yesterday added yet another superlative to the fantastic summer we’ve had up here at QCL. With only 9 fishing days left, we’re still pinching ourselves on how great this season has been!

Unusual northeasterly winds on Tuesday pulled everyone over to Cape Edenshaw where some large Chinooks were waiting. A number of Tyees were boated earlier in the morning at Parker Point and Bird One. Edenshaw didn’t disappoint during the few hours we spent over there, turning out several nice fish through lunchtime and the early afternoon. The big catch of the day went to Jim S, fishing with his wife and QCL guide Ryan Kelly, with beautiful Tyee that tipped the scales at just over 40 pounds.

On Monday John F landed a 41 pounder at Parker Point and Colton L chose to release a stunning big Chinook that taped out to 43 pounds. Add to that another 20 Tyees in the 30’s and it’s sure great to see this number of large salmon around in late August! Coho remain scattered and hard to find but we are finding some in the mix every day.

The windy conditions of the past couple days have slackened right off to provide nice flat water today so the halibut hunt will begin in earnest. The quantity of flatties over 30 pounds has diminished somewhat but there is no shortage of those tasty “chickens” under 20! This summer we’ve seen a higher number of less common groundfish come to the dock – tasty additions to the fishbox like Pacific Cod and Silver-Grey Bocaccio. One sure thing about bottom-fishing, you never know what you’re going to pull up!

Looking ahead to the weekend we expect cloudy skies and moderate winds out of the south to southwest, meaning nice flat water over most of the fishing grounds. It’s likely that any sunshine will come in its liquid form! The fish like that! Tides are building this week to a change of over 16 feet on Saturday, coincident with the full moon on Saturday night.

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Kingfisher Report | August 31, 2024