The Clubhouse Report: July 29, 2011

On a wet night here at Langara the tyee continue to blow in and bigger fish are being caught. Twelve tyee and counting for the trip , three over forty on the day, yes we are now into Golden Week!

Whitey continues on his roll with Jeff Kyle. I pulled into Gunia this am and thought I was hearing things. A distinct clapping and yahoo, much like the sound of a harbour seal smacking its flippers or a sea lion choking down a spring salmon. I then heard an high pitched owe! and knew that sound....Whitey celebrating another large Hippa in the net, this one 39.5. They had the chinook bagged and tagged before I had a line in, hmm this is two days in a row!

I had my work cut out for me, and dropped the gear and began working the triangle. Notta for two hours, Gunia was stiffing me. Finally a 22 lber committed suicide on my line, Tim Brown reeling in a scrappy 22 lber. We saw a few lucky guys grab one here, one there, but gee, kind of slow. On my second pink, I pulled the pin and headed west to the REEF. First pass a stern rod buckled, a head shake, and Tim Brown was on the rod again. Oh no....the dreaded birds nest, the reel overflowing with mono all tangled up , the spool was a mess, the Islander reel begging to be put down. I grabbed the rod, line stretched to the max and began chasing the fish half on step , rod corked over, lucky it is shallow in there, we could stay on the fish with a short leash. Tim followed instructions and reeled over the nest , managing to secure a hundred feet of line to now play the fish with maximum pressure. Tim was lucky, we won this battle, and had a tyee in the boat.

Three lucky anglers had over fortys, Andre Pajot a 45, Tim McClure a 42, and Gary Schieck a 41. These fish were taken at Gunia and one between the REEF and Cape Knox. The guides I am not sure about, but heard one was Buckshot, who took a swim yesterday...another story, Kui, and Jake. I heard Buckshot was using spoons, he will fill me in about it I am sure.

Coho are everywhere, strongest showing in years. There are two schools, the west side story averaging over ten lbs, east side eight lbs. Herring continues to be the big story on the west side, when it shows look out, kings everywhere, snapping like tuna, everything working.

Halibut are biting too, those going west with strong stomachs heavy hauling limits of 40 to 110 lbers with a bit of effort. A reminder, the 20 to 40,s are the eaters! There was halibut all over the dock today, the fillet team busy, with Shaun and Mona always putting on a clinic.

Tomorrow looks wet, but hey, it is tyee time here at Langara...I do not even notice rain with big fish around. Every half hour someone is calling in measurements, asking for charts, clapping and crowing, yes the excitement is all around langara. Stay tuned for another full report Saturday, goodnight from the Clubhouse.

Mike Tonnesen, Head Guide, Screamer