Oak Bay Marine Group

Langara Fishing Update

The fishing at Langara has slowed down from its fever pitch of two weeks ago, but we still expect to see some major runs of Chinooks and Coho coming through. There can be a surge of activity at any time, as happened last night. After a hard day of searching for fish, we finally found bait and tide conditions that lead to a great evening bite at Andrews Point. Intense battles with Coho filled the air with the distinctive ring of our Shimano mooching reels. A few resident Chinooks were in the mix with the largest being in the high 20s. The Chum are starting to show up as well, and I am continually amazed at the fight they put up. Their strength-to-size ratio is the highest of all the tidal salmon, and if you decide to keep one, St. Jean’s Cannery makes great Indian Candy with the meat.

There was a nice joke at my expense three days ago. While I was leading a marginally successful bottom fishing trip off the lighthouse in 300 feet of water, Peter Raja, on his own initiative, dropped down in 90 feet of water east of Langara Rocks and bagged a 78 lb. halibut. I am often asked, “where are the big halibut?” While incidents like this leave an opening for a witty answer, the bottom line is that you can find halibut in the strangest places. Last year I caught a 40 pounder in the kelp beds west of Bruin Bay.

One entertaining spectacle that I think we would be happy to live without is a massive pod of Orcas that was hanging around the east side for the past few days. They were feeding heavily and their effect on the fishing was not good. Luckily I did not see them yesterday, so I wish them well as they move on.

Ken Beatty
Fishmaster, MV Marabell
Langara Island, Queen Charlotte Islands

Another stellar day

It was another fantastic weather day for MV Salmon Seeker guests. The sea was flat calm with light winds which made for perfect fishing conditions.

Two guests were awarded Master Fisherman status, receiving the MF hat, a pin, a bottle of Champagne and a certificate:

• Tony Campbell of VA — 165 lb. Halibut with guide Andy Doig
• Jim Taylor of CA — 114 lb. Halibut with guide Clay Johnson

The following guests were awarded Captain’s Club status:

• Steve Roche of CA — 39 lb. Chinook with guide Scott Beckett
• Ron Tannhauser of BC — 36 & 31 lb. Chinooks with guide Richard Johnson (he received 2 pins)
• Larry James of TX — 35 lb. Chinook with guide Dave Beaton
• Michael Loma of BC — 34 lb. Chinook with guide Dave Beaton
• Bob Wright of OR — 34 lb. Chinook with guide Clay Johnson
• Tony Campbell of VA — two 33 lb. Chinook with guide Andy Doig (He received two pins for CC and one for MF)
• Eric Patterson of CA — 32 & 30 lb. Chinook with guide Darren Dickenson (He received two pins)
• Bernard Roche of FL — 30 lb. Chinook with guide Scott Beckett

Captain Zak Farid
Master, MV Salmon Seeker
Queen Charlotte Islands

Queen Charlottes Fishing Update

Today's weather was fantastic to say the least. The sea was flat calm with light winds which made for superb fishing conditions. Today was a change-over day, when one group of guests flies out and another comes in. Our new guests were on the water by 2pm and thehe results were just unbelievable.

The results of our fishing day (or rather half day), was that seven guests were awarded Captain’s Club status, receiving a pin and a certificate. They are:

• Linda Peightal of WA — two Chinooks: 36 & 34 lbs. with guide Jeremy Swanson
• Willie Gapen of WA — 35 Chinook with guide Ron Panton
• Eric Patterson of CA — 32 lb. Chinook with guide Darren Dickenson
• Steve Roche of FL — 32 lb. Chinook with guide Scott Beckett
• Andy Tichelaar of ON — 32 lb. Chinook with guide Jim Granger
• Anthony Vanderkolff of ON — 32 lb. Chinook with guide Jim Granger
• Michael Bystrom of CO — 30 lb. Chinook with guide Shawn Count

Yesterday guest Rene Gaudet (BC) earned Master Fisherman status for catching a 136 lb. halibut with guide Andy Doig. The following anglers also made notable catches:

• David Rizk Jr.of TX — 30 lb. Chinook with guide Shan Count
• Doug Paul of OR — 35 lbs. Chinook with guide Tom Clinton-Baker (this was his third Captain's Club pin!)
• Bill Zielnski of BC — 31 lb. Chinook: with guide Darren Dickenson
• Rene Gaudet (again) of BC — 36 lb. Chinook with guide Andy Doig. He received his MF and CC in the same day.

Captain Zak Farid
Master, MV Salmon Seeker
Queen Charlotte Islands

Couples Derby

The first annual ‘Couples Fishing Derby’ here at King Salmon was held over the last four days and it had a very promising start.

With a variety of internationals represented, including Canadians, Scotsmen, New Zealanders and Australians, it was bound to be an interesting event. And even if only for the radio chatter, it was! Also included in the group was MV Charlotte Princess fishmaster Shawn “Cookie” Pennell, whose skills at finding fish helped get the derby rolling.

As predicted, the fish that showed up at the end of the last troop continued to grow in numbers. With two Chinooks (caught by Barb Hayward) and a hit of Cohos brought in by the group at The Wall on the first day, spirits were high and everyone was enthusiastic about hitting the water the next day to challenge Barb's leading big fish, a 23 lb. Chinook (King) salmon.

Unfortunately, the first fish we saw were a pod of Killer Whales, roaming the mouth of the inlet and clearing the water of any potential catches. In the end, Barb's fish remained the winner.

There is a bit of rain in the forecast, which is always good news in Rivers Inlet. Rain tends to bring the big fish into the inlet, so stay tuned.

Congratulations to all the anglers that competed in the derby. Hope to see you all back again soon. Until then, remember: keep your eyes on your tips and your lines tight.

Fishmaster Matt
King Salmon Resort, Rivers Inlet

King Salmon Trip #2 Report

It's change-over day and, once again, it’s sad saying goodbye to a great bunch of people and super enthusiastic anglers. They were all more than willing to rise extra early to make the morning tides at the mouth and then stay late to fish the 3rd tide in the evening. As our youngest guest (Joey Goodwin, age 11) said ‘it's all hard work and patience’.

Thanks to their dedication they were able to find the runs of Coho and Pinks that are coming in with the northern fish. The Wall was the favorite destination of the trip when the weather was good and it was producing Cohos and Pinks in the mornings. Then it was usually a bottom-fishing trip over to Calvert Island to escape the lunch time winds, finishing up with some more Cohos and Pinks at Darby Channel in the evening.

As we mentioned in the last report, highlights of the trip were Sherry Pitzel’s 35 pound Chinook caught at the Crow’s Nest and Logan Burbank’s 75 pound halibut caught at Calvert Island.

We’re still awaiting some rain to bring the runs up the inlet, but it’s good to be getting some action in bulk at the mouth even though the Chinooks are, for the most part, unseen.

The small salmon are definitely moving and I'm looking forward to seeing what the next trip produces. So tune in next time to hear how it goes.

Until then, keep your eyes on your tips and your lines tight.

Fishmaster Matt
King Salmon Resort, Rivers Inlet