Ebb & Flow Week 4 | July 4, 2019

July is on!

By Deepwater DonLast Sunday at The Clubhouse I overheard a guest ask dining room manager Reesa Cullen if he could have an à la carte menu to take home. In a manner that suggested she had been asked the question numerous times before, she graciously assured him she would provide one. “What do you plan to do with it?” his friend asked, to which he replied, “I want to show people back home what an incredible place this is.”

Confit salmon, shrimp gyoza, smoked pork jowl.I agreed that the menu would be a pretty convincing exhibit. I have sat down to many dinners in that dining room overlooking Parry Pass, and it still amazes me, every time. There may be a restaurant with a better combination of gastronomy and outdoor scenery somewhere in British Columbia, but I’ve never seen it.

The Clubhouse dining room. And with that, we soon boarded our helicopters for the spectacular ride back to Masset, 48 guests all fully satiated for their experiences both on the water and in the lodge. You see friends, June has now come and gone, and it has been a month of awe and wonder at Langara Island, highlighted by great fishing – red hot at times - and jaw-dropping wildlife displays, followed by trademark service and comforts when the days were through. These are experiences from which the novelty never wears off.

Orca's gracefully passing by. A truly captivating experience. I am sure that guests of North Island Lodge would agree, especially those long-time friends from Mott Electric who took over the last few days and ramped up the tyee production. Jacklyn Payment led the charge among her colleagues with a 35-pound specimen guided by D.J. Shinduke. D.J. was also the guiding light on Matt Dearle’s 34 on day three of the trip. Susan Vaillant was the third star with a 31. Jamie Sparrow deserves honourable mention with a 58-pound halibut that was likely a hair’s breadth under the 126-centimetre limit. Lots of memorable dinners to come in that household.

Jenna Brewer with a nice take-home chinook.

Dance party on D.J.'s boat!

North Island Lodge guests riding off to the fishing grounds.

Susan Vaillant on a fish! Photo from NIL guest, Katherine Falk.By all appearances, the trend is the same down Port Louis way, where guests of The Outpost have seen similar action on the water, including a great number of June tyees. In addition to three plus-30s on the previous trip, Jordan Knight, Outpost Lodge Manager says, "The fishing on the west side this season has been unreal. We have had a multitude of days with 40+ fish with double, after double, after double." Seth Fishman (Seth may have the most appropriate surname in Club history) catching and releasing a 34 off Selvesson Reef under the guidance of Hanes Svub. You can read Jordan's full report here.

A 34 lb tyee caught and released by Seth Fishman.

Eduardo and Luis – the Martinez brother’s with a 39 lb tyee!

Son and Mother duo, Eduardo and Erika with a beautiful 28 lb chinook.

Guide Hanes and Kevin Foreman with a 36 lb released tyee!Having waxed poetic about mealtimes at The Clubhouse, I should also emphasize that guests of both North Island Lodge and The Outpost have also been treated to the finest of fare, and in settings that offer similarly spectacular vistas of both land and sea. If you’ve ever seen a pod of killer whales move through at eye level just a field goal’s length from North Island Lodge, or Brock Island silhouetted against a setting sun at Port Louis, you know what I mean.While the tyee train may have temporarily halted at The Clubhouse, there are yet ample supplies of chinook, coho and halibut in the offing. The leaders on the most recent excursion were Anand Sharma with a 26 and Mike Sobel, Bruce Harruff and Paul Harruff each taking home 24-pounders for the grill.And get this, a new season-high for coho at 13 pounds for Gianni Carnevale, not to mention an 11 for Eric Bedell. These fish are almost exclusively being caught out on the Highway between the lighthouse and McPherson Point. I fished that drift last week and found scads of coho, including a couple at just under 10 pounds and at every depth. They even hit in the propwash before I could attach the downrigger clip – great fun, especially as they get bigger with every passing week.

A beautiful eagle shot captured by North Island Lodge guest, Jenna Brewer.Last thing, a huge hello to our American friends and neighbors on this Fourth of July. I know there are a whole lot of you up north right now and on behalf of all of us at The Club, we hope you are having big fun and making lasting memories. Special shout-out to JB and Diane Rupert, longtime friends from Seattle, who were scheduled to join us last week as they have every year since 1989 but were conspicuous in their absence. We missed you and hope that JB’s next round of knee surgery gets him back up and out on the water very soon.Until next week friends, please do stay safe and well.Tight Lines!Deepwater Don