M.V. Charlotte Princess, Langara Island - Queen Charlotte Islands

Fishmaster Ken's season recap

Early in the season, some of the best Chinook fishing was, weather permitting, at Lacy Island and McPherson Point. McPherson was particularly reliable, with virtually every pass at the 140 foot shelf yielding a fish. Lacy Island, while less consistent, produced overall, larger fish.

Through July the drift from No Name Point through Langara Rocks was the hot spot, giving us most of our 40 to 60 lbs Chinooks. The shelves at 170 and 250 feet were the key depths there. August was marked by great fishing at all locations, with the last light pass at Bruin Bay rewarding a few boats with nice Tyees, and the surprising arrival of huge runs of mature Northern Coho. The August fish seemed very scrappy, with both Chinooks and Cohos putting up epic battles.

Throughout the season, Cohoe Point and Andrews Point were great spots for people new to Langara to learn the system and for veterans to get back into the rhythm. This year’s solid Coho fishery helped fill the spaces between Chinook bites and at times they were so abundant that it was almost impossible to get bait down more that 5 pulls without hooking into one. As always, the key to enticing Chinooks was going dead slow and most salmon, regardless of species, were hooked with the boat out of gear. With rare exception, the best bait cut was a slow roll, with 25/25 degree angle close to the gill collar. Highlights of the salmon fishing season included Steve Scherling’s 60 lb. Chinook and Sean Mims 50 lb. Chinook. There were also over a dozen Chinooks in the 40 lb. range and at least 30 new members of the Marabell Tyee club.

Bottom fishing at Langara provided great sport this summer. Many halibut in the 50 to 80 pond range were boated, and Ryan McNally joined the Master Fisherman Club with his 135 lb, “barn door.” As well I would like to give my special thanks to those boats that came along and helped me when I got in over my head with halis that were too big to pull into the Zodiac (you know who you are!).

The early season saw some great fishing on the west side between Cox and Lacy, with the Lighthouse area coming on strong as we moved into July. We all breathed a sigh of relief when, at the end of July, the Chicken Ranch was re-discovered off Pillar Rock, 2 miles east of its old location.

The Ling cod fishery is still strong at Langara and I was quite pleased when many guests chose to release the large breeding stock of this species. A myriad of strange creatures inhabit the bottom at Langara and I was frequently called over to identify a Long-Nose Skate, Wolf Eel or Red Irish Lord.

I would like to thank all the guests who fished on the MV Marabell this summer. Your enthusiasm made my job easy and I hope you share the feeling that we learned from each other. I look forward to seeing you all again next year. Special thanks go to my Father, Fishmaster Senior Ed Beatty, for teaching me every thing I know about this sport.

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