Ebb & Flow Week 5 | July 11, 2019

The Beat Goes On!

By Deepwater DonGreat news friends, I have nothing new to report.This is a good thing, because it means that the on-the-water action continues unabated at all three lodges of The West Coast Fishing Club and there is no reason to believe this will end anytime soon. In fact, at this rate, 2019 will go down in history as a legendary vintage year, kind of like what 2000 was for Bordeaux wines – never to be forgotten.

A peaceful morning for Glenn Held and his daughter, Olivia. Thanks for the photo, Glenn! Guests and guides are finding fish pretty much everywhere now - north shore of Graham Island, eastern points of Langara Island and up north between the lighthouse and Thrumb Islet. The only place that remains mysteriously quiet is around Lacey Rock, at least for salmon. But if halibut is on your agenda, then you can simply join the flotilla you’ll often see during slack tides about a kilometre to the west of Lacey. Lots of turkey-sized halibut of 25-50 pounds being lifted off the ocean floor out there, and in favourable weather to boot.

Always keep your eyes open for wildlife on land and sea! Size-wise, there are still lots of chinook salmon from the teens to upper twenties along with tyees at regular intervals. Here’s one that got my attention. You may recall me saying a couple weeks back that the unguided boats are getting waxed in the tyee category by guided boats. I am not sure if Clubhouse guest Shelley Cross read that report, but she proved me quite wrong with a 43-pound chinook caught on an unguided mission off Gunia Point a few days ago. Gunia continues to be the hog farm that it is long reputed to be, with a good number of larger fish picked up there in the past couple of weeks.I can’t say for certain where other guests of The Clubhouse picked up their tyees, but the other big guns this past week were David Kremser and Andy Fortino, each with 40-pound models; Gary Hayden and Marcellus Johnson with identical 33’s and Randy Gladstone with an even 30 – all caught, measured for length and girth, and all carefully released. Nice work everybody. Honourable mention goes out to Janet Rhodes for catching and releasing a fish just under 29 pounds.

David Kremser & guide Danny Snyder with a 40lb release. Congrats, David!

Guide Austin Soars and Andy Fortino with a beautiful 40lb release. Nice work guys!North Island Lodge manager Todd McIntyre wired in to say that his guests are still catching good numbers of chinook and lots of coho that are now routinely measuring 11-13 pounds. Gary Sawor was the leader with a 37-pound chinook guided by Macgregor Johnston, followed by Daniel Jackson with a 29. The North Island congregation has also been hot on the halibut hunt with several oversized beasts caught and sent back home. I am sending personal condolences to Kevin Nearly, who lived up to his name with a “nearly” legal halibut that turned out to be just a hair too long to keep, somewhere in the 65-pound range. I’m told that I should never commoditize while fishing, but I’m thinking that at roughly 30 bucks a pound in the finer seafood stores….oh, never mind…nice work Kevin. All 60 exhausting minutes of it.

Jason Michaels & Gary Sawor with a 37lb tyee release guided by Macgregor Johnston.

Gary Sawor on a successful trip with a "tryee" of 29lbs guided by Macgregor Johnston.A report is on the way from lodge manager, Jordan Knight at The Outpost. In the meantime, here's a preview of what they've been up to in Port Louis.

Guide Scotty B and Outpost guest, Dalan Garner with a 31lb released tyee!

Rick Woods with his 31lb tyee guided by Bradan James. Looking ahead, the 13th annual David Hawksworth & Friends Culinary Adventure begins this Sunday. The Club’s own Stephanie Hansen and Chris Dale will be releasing their inner chefs along with another full house of foody fishers, so stay tuned for a report on that. And for those of you who may also be looking for new ideas on how you can dazzle friends and neighbors around the dinner table, check out some of Clubhouse executive chef Rob Ratcliffe’s recipes on the Recipes section of our website! Click here to view salmon & halibut recipes.

The famous Clubhouse Seafood Chowder by Rob Ratcliffe. View recipes like this on the recipes section of our website.Until next week friends, stay safe and well.Tight Lines!Deepwater Don