Kingfisher Archives - Page 6 of 6 - Queen Charlotte Lodge

As we fish well into the month of August, big Chinooks are a pretty constant presence on the fishing grounds! QCL anglers are doing very, very well. Parker Point, Cape Naden and the Mazzaredo Islands seem to be producing most consistently, perhaps because that’s where most people are fishing! We’re getting them on both sides of the tides and at depths ranging from 70 feet on the rigger to 8 pulls on the back rod! Herring and anchovies have been producing equally well and we have guides who only fish with spoons outfishing lots of others!

While we’re generally picking up beautiful 20-25 pound Chinooks and 8-10 lb coho for the fish box we’ve seen a marked increase in the number of really big fish in recent weeks and we’re pleased to say that most of these have been released. Those heavy giants over 40 pounds are really something special and we saw another 16 of them recorded this past week… plus 5 more over 50! Hawaiian teenager Julian K, up for the first time with his dad, was fishing with QCL guide Leon Shaw when Julian reeled in the fish of the week, a stunning big Chinook that taped out to 60 pounds before Leon carefully revived and released it! What a start to your Haida Gwaii fishing resume Julian!

Fishing with guide Alistair Bryce last week, Gavin P released 35 and 55 pounders and his buddy Jake G turned back a nice 42 pound Tyee! On Saturday Tony C released a hefty Chinook at Klashwun Point that measured to 54 pounds. And it was the fishing day of a lifetime for Dillon M, out with guide Tegan Baxter, who landed not one, but two fish over 50 pounds on the same day! About an hour after releasing a huge Chinook that taped out to 50 pounds, they hooked another, even larger fish. This one scored 55 pounds and placed Dillon in the record books as one of a select few to have done so well. Congratulations to all QCL anglers who have seen some of their fishing dreams come true!

The weekend weather forecast looks like light winds out of the west to northwest and mixed skies. Tides will be moderately large with swings of around 12 feet.

The weather on the fishing grounds has continued to be impressive, the winds have been minimal, and the seas have been flat. This calm water has given us all the opportunity to experience good fishing and witness impressive wildlife displays.

As I was driving out to the halibut grounds the other day, I noticed something odd in the tide line, and quickly came to realize that it was a Humboldt Squid. I turned the boat around and we got a better look at the dead creature; it was in good shape so we scooped it up with my net. This thing was huge!! We could barely fit it in the net. It took 2 of us to lift it into the boat. After analyzing the fascinating carcass we cut out the beak and tentacles, then discarded the rest back into the tide line. The tentacles worked awesome for halibut bait, and the beak will dry out and be a good keepsake.

The baitfish have continued to be plentiful, and the Humpbacks continue to cruise the inshore fishing grounds feeding. Lately, I have found myself following the whales around, as the Humpbacks follow the bait, there are usually fish in the area as well. The entire west bay of Bird Rock 2 up into Yatze bay was stacked full of bait today. This led a couple of our boats to experience some pretty consistent fishing and some good whale shows. There is now only one month left of this season, and me and my friends up here start to enjoy each day more and more as the count towards the end of another great season slowly comes to an end.

Thank you all!  Luke “Skywalker”

Can you say 78 pounds! What a fish!
Getting up early to fish that 6:30 tide paid off big time for Trevor and Brad, out with Robbie C this morning at Parker Point. A beautiful fish, well played and carefully released, is a joy to behold! Well done guys! and Congratulations Trevor!
It’s a great day for fishing… at QCL Haida Gwaii!

Fishing derbies can often bring out a secretive and overly competitive nature in many anglers regardless of what grand prizes are at stake. Here at Queen Charlotte Lodge we host a few derbies each year which often include both guided as well as unguided guests and we try to eliminate these negative aspects about the sport.

Our most popular event is the annual Kingfisher Derby. The Kingfisher Derby has a large emphasis on catch and release of large Chinook salmon. Every year our guide team has a derby amongst themselves for the single largest Chinook guided into during the entire season, whether it is caught and released or retained. This derby includes a small cash buy in but the emphasis for us involved is to have fun, continue to always work as a team, to always think about sharing information as the guest experience comes first and again to have fun. The winner has bragging rights until next season.

Currently QCL is hosting the North American Fishing Classic. Today we wrapped up day two and guests and guides alike are grinding the kelp beds hard, searching for those monster hogs to take the daily prize for largest Chinook caught. There have been some beauties caught on both days so far with several in the 30 and 40 pound class. Spirits are high as there are still two days left.

Today a non-derby angler, guided by QCL guide Coady D, caught and released a beauty 51 pounder – a stunning gold pin winning, 5 Bell Ringer, solid silver slab of a fish! Well done guys, thanks for putting it back! Fishing is supposed to be an enjoyable and relaxing sport shared by friends and family alike. But sometimes a little well-intended competition never hurts to bring out the positive and hopeful passion of an angler!

Keep your rods bent, nets ready and hang on for the ride!

Jeff “Smurf”

While the 2015 fishing season to this point has been a full-on flood of incredible feeder Chinooks, we’ve seen a dramatic shift to a more traditional fishery this week. There are still 15 to 20 pounders out there, but fewer of them. The arrival over the past 7 days of larger salmon, many of them Tyee-class, has really got a buzz goin’ on around here! It feels more “normal”!

The Tyee bell has been getting a good workout with beautiful salmon over 30 pounds coming to the dock every night and a number of nice ones reported as Catch and Release. We’ve recorded 20 Tyees over 40 pounds this week and 6 of those were over 50! Bird Two has turned out a good number of these fish, particularly for our guests staying right there aboard the Driftwood! John B, fishing unguided early Tuesday morning, brought a handsome 51 pounder to the scale about the same time that fellow DW guest Peter R was weighing in a nice 43 lb Tyee. Right after lunch Gerard B was fishing the east point of Bird Two with partner Norman C when he hooked up with heavy fish that set the bar for the season so far – a stunning big Chinook that tipped the scale at 58 pounds! Congratulations guys!

QCL guide Ryan Winger really had it goin’ on this week, putting his guests onto 3 giant salmon. Caleb S hooked up a monster Chinook on Monday which put up a huge fight but when it finally came to the boat, the hooks were down too deep and they were unable to release it. Ringing that bell 5 times for his 55 pound Tyee certainly set the tone for the rest of the trip! Fishing partner John R managed to release a beauty on Wednesday that taped out to 45 pounds and then on Thursday, topped that with a C&R 50 pounder! Not a bad week at the office Ryan! Great job guys!

On Wednesday Paul & Cyn were enjoying an afternoon fish with their granddaughters when Cyn set the hook on a solid Chinook at Bird 2. So accustomed to passing the rod off to her guests, Cyn was suddenly confronted with the prospect of playing a big Chinook herself! And of course she handled the fish masterfully, playing it to the net while their excited young passengers cheered her on! She and Paul did a quick measurement and released an awesome Tyee that taped out to 55 pounds! Congratulations Cyn! Welcome to the Club! (And, for those of you who know about the QCL tradition, she did complete the heart eating ceremony without a hitch! Albeit with a substitute heart!)

So much news to share and so little time! Stay tuned for the next chapter of QCL 2015!

August fishing up here at The Lodge is generally characterized by warmer weather, bigger Coho and the odd giant Chinook! While we haven’t seen too many giants this month we’re batting a thousand on the weather and the Coho. It doesn’t get much more exciting than to set the hook on a deep-sided Northern when it slams your polar bear bucktail and launches skyward in the twisting turning aerial frenzy that these silver princes are famous for! (a fly fisher’s bias I suppose!)

Salmon fishing continues to be very consistent as their migration to the home stream continues. The abundance of bait in the area has definitely helped keep fish in close to shore where weighted rod and downrigger anglers alike have found considerable success. The hallmark of this season has to be the 18-20 pound Chinook – there hasn’t been a day this summer when you couldn’t go out and catch a couple of these fantastic gamefish. They’re so strong and athletic that they’re always exciting to catch, heavy enough to test your skills and provide just the perfect size filet for the ultimate salmon dinner! And there are still lots of them out there.

Of course salmon anglers always want to get a chance at a Tyee and there’s plenty of opportunity in close to shore, working along the kelp beds. Keith Taylor boated a nice 38 pounder on Friday with guide Jeff Smirfitt, Pete Welly landed a 35 with guide Andrew Simpson and Jim Broadfoot released a 37 pound beauty with guide Greg Horton. Nice work guys! The big fish of the weekend was a stunning 44 pound Chinook caught by Wayne Lloyd at Bird Rock 2 on Sunday morning – what a great fish! In their annual fishing derby the Huber brothers duked it out, releasing several nice big Chinooks with Conrad emerging victorious on Sunday night with 35 and 36 pound released Tyees. Beautiful fishing guys!

For this week we’re looking at quite changeable weather with the winds swinging all around the compass and mainly cloudy skies interspersed with regular doses of rain and sunshine! Summer temperatures of around 18 degrees. Island weather to be sure!

Great fish stories continue to be written almost daily up here at The Lodge! Last week QCL guide Cody Johnstone got to drive the newest addition to our fleet of custom-built aluminum fishing boats, a beautiful 24-foot Broadwater built in Prince Rupert. He really enjoyed the many features of the vessel but he especially appreciated what it did for his fishing! Working the productive waters off the outside face of Bird 2 on Wednesday, veteran QCL guest Gary Nelson hooked up with a nice big Chinook and, after a solid battle, boated the 42 pounder. They returned to Bird 2 on Thursday and enjoyed a productive morning catching lots of coho and teen-sized Springs before Gary once again set the hook on a particularly heavy salmon. The big fish certainly gave them a workout but Cody finally slipped the net beneath it. This fish was definitely going to be released so after a quick measurement Cody revived it off the extended transom and away it went. The score – 48 pounds! Beauty fish boys!

After lunch Cody moved on down to Parker Point to test the waters around Chuck’s Corner. Fishing his trademark anchovy at 35 feet they hit another good fish. This strike was for boat-mate Jeff Rimer, who lifted the rod from the holder and hung on 30 minutes for a real ride. When they finally had it to the boat they discovered that it was clearly even bigger than either of Gary’s 40-plus fish. Once again Cody carefully boated the fish and did the measurements to determine that this bright chrome beauty scored out to 59 pounds! No time for celebration as they got her back in the water and after 5 minutes of revival, the giant salmon swam back into the safety of the kelp. High-fives all around followed and a toast to a fabulous couple of days on the water! Well done guys! Congratulations and thanks for letting those incredible big fish go!

This week we’re seeing a shift to southerly winds after several days of northwesterlies. We may see some showers – it’s actually getting dusty around here – and QCL anglers should enjoy pretty calm seas for most of the week. The tides are peaking Tuesday with 17-foot changes so portions of the fishing grounds start to look like a giant river at certain times of the day. We’re looking forward to a fun night at the Bell Ringer as the boats start to return! More news coming soon!

Sunshine is the order of the week and QCL staff and guests alike are reveling in it. While the weather so far this season has been particularly fine, these warm temperatures are bringing out the sun tanning crowd and tempting the brave to go for a dip in the cool waters of Naden Harbour. It’s a treat to be sure.

Out on the fishing grounds the salmon action is pretty steady with the slack tides providing a definite bump in activity. The perennial favourite fishing hole at Bird Rock 2 has come through on both Tuesday and Wednesday mornings, yielding some stunning Tyees to the early anglers. Fishing with QCL guide Craig Coulter, Driftwood guest Kyle Shropshire became the newest inductee to the 50 Pounder Club with a beautiful big Chinook that taped out to 52 pounds. After a solid battle Kyle decided to let the big salmon return to the sea and after a few minutes of recovery they watched it swim to the safety of the kelp forest below. (They did the same with a nice 34 pounder just an hour later!) Great job Kyle!

The waters between Bird 2 and Bird 1 have been very productive with the fish moving through various depths with the changes in the tides and light levels. The traditional hiding spots along the kelp beds have produced very well but the bulk of the catch is coming from slightly deeper waters, generally along the 120 foot line all the way from Klashwun Point to Cape Naden. We’re still seeing lots of exciting feeder springs in the mix with larger Chinooks and coho in the 7-10 pound range. On Tuesday night, right at high slack, the action was hot well off the face of Bird 2. Several nice Chinooks were taken and Derald Walker, fishing with guide Jason Drury, hooked up a hot fish on the outside of the group. Some aggressive reeling and expert boatmanship combined to bring a beautiful big Tyee to the boat in short order. After a measurement and a quick photo Jason released the stunning chrome bar which taped out to 35 pounds. Great work guys! That was exciting to watch!

There is a bit of a buzz around that this is shaping up to be a big year for big fish… could be true! We’re certainly seeing lots of promise in 2013 so far! With several fish in the fifties caught in June we had our first indication that it might be an exceptional season. Nate Schwartz’s 66 pounder on June 25th got us pretty excited and now we’ve seen our second over-60 this summer.

Neil Lassesen and Paul Bell were fishing self-guided in 200 feet of water off Shag Rock yesterday, doing pretty well on feeder Chinooks, when Neil’s rod dipped hard off the rigger at the 80 foot depth. Neil jumped to the rod and tightened up just as Paul’s rod tip came to life. Double header. Paul made short work of his fish which turned out to be a pink salmon but Neil wasn’t playing a pink! He was into a serious battle with a heavy fish which stayed down deep and had the Islander reel working hard. When the big salmon first showed on the surface they got a glimpse of the broad tail and they knew this was one of “those fish” that most anglers wait a lifetime for.

A moderate northwesterly sea added to the challenge but eventually the guys brought the salmon and the boat close enough together to let Paul slip the net under the gleaming chrome Chinook. Since they knew all along that this fish was going back they were prepared and quickly had it measured, photographed and back in the water. It took both men to support the huge salmon alongside the boat as it eventually regained its strength. When the strong kick of the tail told them it was ready, they watched in wonder as it swam away from the boat and returned on its journey to the spawning gravel of its home stream. The calculations determined that this salmon was around 63 pounds and had a girth of 32 inches! What a beautiful specimen and thanks guys for letting it go! Just so happens Neil was celebrating his birthday too so what a present to receive! Congratulations Neil on joining the very exclusive Kingfisher Club at Queen Charlotte Lodge!

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Kingfisher Report – July 17th

Kingfisher Report for July 12th – 63 Pounder!

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