NORTHERN BC
Nimmo Bay Resort Photos
Prince Rupert, Goble Point is a good place to motor-mooch or troll for coho, chum, and tyee-sized chinook – especially when big tidal flows form a powerful back eddy that concentrates both salmon and their prey in the slick current. Still further south, Douglas Channel, which wends its way inland to the town of Kitimat, along with nearby Whale Channel have excellent year-round fishing for Kitimat River chinook. Mature tyee have been recorded weighing more than 30 kilograms. Both deepwater channels offer great bottom-fishing for rockfish, ferocious lingcod, and sizeable halibut. While you're in the area, take some time to visit the North Pacific Historic Fishing Village, near Port Edward on the Skeena River. This national historic site preserves one of the last, mostly intact salmon canneries on the British Columbia coast. A charter boat tour to the Khutzamateen Grizzly Bear Sanctuary, north of Prince Rupert, will get you up-close-and-personal
74 The SPORT FISHING Guide 2012
with the magnificent Ursus arctos horribilis … an experience you’ll not soon forget.
Haida Gwaii From its remote perch on the western edge of the continental shelf, the Haida Gwaii archipelago — some 50 to 130 kilometres from the B.C. mainland — is a consistent producer of saltwater sport fish, both in numbers and in trophy sizes. The cold, nutrient-rich water of the North Pacific fosters bountiful schools of baitfish: herring, needlefish, krill, and squid. This abundant feed (which concentrates salmon and bottomfish within some of the very first angler-accessible shallows they encounter in the open Pacific), combined with the splendid isolation of Haida Gwaii, are two of the factors that make this fishing destination so special.
Brawny chinook averaging 10
kilograms are the rule here, not the exception. When done right, fishermen have an excellent chance of hooking into a tyee-grade chinook
weighing more than 13.6 kilograms. Trophy northern coho are notorious for peeling the line from the reel, and for almost instantaneous reversals of direction punctuated with impressive displays of airborne-leaping agility that will leave you breathless. Opportunistic pink or chum salmon will attack any dangling bait, even right beside your boat. Haida Gwaii’s deep offshore banks and numerous rocky shoals are a bottom-fisher’s dream. Every season, these areas produce monster “barn-door” halibut to more than 50 kilograms, in addition to “chicken halibut” (five- to 20-kilograms) that are more manageable in the kitchen. Don't underestimate the stalwart lingcod (a member of the greenling family). This fish is rapacious and known to pugnaciously attack almost any bait or lure, and even another hooked fish if it feels it can swallow it. Pacific yelloweye rockfish are also aggressive feeders, and will strike almost any lure or bait drifting within five metres of bottom. Anglers are encouraged to release really big lings and halibut, as these are usually female. Quickly vacate any rockfish haunts as well, since these fish are very susceptible to mortality after being caught, even when carefully returned to the water.
The most convenient and safe way to fish Haida Gwaii’s fabled waters is to hire an experienced charter boat out of Sandspit or Masset, or to book space in one of the land-based or floating resorts located near the most popular fishing spots. The kelp beds at the northern end of Graham Island – in shallow bays and deep rock crevices – provide game fishes’ perfect cover for shelter and ambush. Popular hot spots in this area include Cape Edenshaw at the entrance to Naden Harbour, in Virago Sound, and further west to the Bird Rocks.
When weather and sea
conditions permit, anglers can often experience fabulous salmon and
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