Ebb & Flow Week 6 | July 19, 2019

Hotter Than July

By Deepwater DonJust when you think it can’t get any better, it does.Or so it appears, not only in the waters off Langara Island where the action appeared to get even hotter than last week, but also down at Port Louis, which is where we begin. My friend Tony Adrian wired in a couple of times this week from a comfortable leather wingback at The Outpost to report on what has turned out to be a particularly eventful trip for him and his brother-in-law, Dick Welton.

Clubhouse guests were treated to humpback shows all around the island. Tony has made numerous forays up north from his Oregon home as a guest of The Club, and so when he says the fishing is on fire, you can rest assured it is. On one of their first shifts, Tony and Dick fished off the lighthouse where they doubled up at regular intervals. When they were able to pause long enough to see how the other four boats in the area were faring, they noted that everybody was experiencing the same thing, catching and releasing chinook salmon in the high teens to low twenties with plenty of scrappy coho to boot.After being temporarily sidelined with an acute inner ear issue, Tony returned bright and early on Thursday morning for what he described as “an epic day at Tian Head – 40-plus salmon before noon.” Shortly thereafter they worked the short rods and in no time coaxed take-home sized halibut off the bottom to round out another memorable adventure in the marine wilderness.

Long-time guest, Tony Adrian back in action under sunny skies off Tian Head with a 23.

Outpost guest, Jeffrey Oh with his 31lb tyee, caught and released with the help of guide Brook Speed. North Island Lodge had a successful couple of trips with father-son duo Paul and Jay Craviotto leading the pack with 34 & 35-pound models, guided by Bryce Belyea, while Doug Cheyne tied for second with a 34-pound tyee as well. Head over to North Island Lodge guide, Macgregor Johnston's report for the full update.

Guide Bryce Belyea and Paul Craviotto with a beautiful 34.2lb release at Channel Reef.

Guide Bryce and Jay Craviotto with a 35lb tyee at Boulder Bay.Meanwhile at The Clubhouse, a total of eight tyees were recorded since we last spoke. The Charles brothers, long-time friends of The Club, were back at it last trip – both on the water and during the cooking demos by Chef David Hawksworth and friends, who were on hand for the annual culinary adventure. Not sure how the brothers made out unleashing their inner chefs but they both mixed it up with plenty of chinook salmon, including a tyee each – a 31 and change for Brian Charles and an even 30 for Jack.

Culinary guest chefs, Phil Scarfone and Adam Pegg with some nice take-homes on a sunny afternoon. Geoffrey Dawe bumped up the season record to date in the coho category with a 14 while Michael Golka said hello and goodbye to a monster halibut judged to be about 200 pounds. And here is something we rarely see – perhaps for the best, I don’t know – a 100-pound salmon shark for Janey Winters. Needless to say Janey complied with the toothy creature’s request for a return to duty in the depths.And while the annual David Hawksworth and Friends Culinary Adventure has long been a marquis event, this year’s extravaganza was an off-the-charts success according to The Club’s own Stephanie Hansen who was among the full house of foody fishers this week. It really is quite extraordinary to pull off something of this magnitude so very far off the grid. Nowhere else in the entire sport-fishing industry has anybody ever managed to combine cooking demonstrations and evening meals conducted by some of North America’s most renowned chefs with the world’s best Pacific salmon fishing. Hats off to the entire staff of The Clubhouse for truly superb work once again.

David Hawksworth leading guests through his "Slow baked spring salmon" recipe.

Guest chef and sommelier, Dino Renaerts crafting up some "summery" cocktails for guests.

The setting for Top Chef Canada runner up, Phil Scarfone's cooking demo. Guests made Phil's famous pizza recipe. Highlights from earlier in the week around Langara Island include a 35-pound chinook salmon each for Kyle Knight and Kristin Johnson. Frank Roque and Bill Udy picked also picked up a matching pair with 34-pound models, followed by Bud Frarer with a 32 and Carl Novak with an even 30.Not much else to tell you friends, except to say that if you are looking forward to an upcoming trip to one of the lodges later in this banner season, you just may be in for a bit of excitement. Fingers crossed for more to come as we roll along in 2019.Until next week, stay safe and well friends.Tight Lines!Deepwater Don