Yesterday I had the pleasure of taking our chief steward, Matt Park, out in the Zod for a little morning fishing. Matt has a sharp wit and is well read, so we enjoyed solving all the world’s problems. In passing, I asked Matt, a veteran of King Salmon Resort, if he had cut plug for salmon before. “Oh yeah,” he said casually. Suspicious, I watched him out of the corner of my eye. Without going into detail, I have never seen anyone rig a herring so completely backwards. I tried to make light of it. “You can go with that if you want, but you’ve chosen a hlibut leader, so we’re going to have crush the barbs.” At this point Matt conceded that I might be able to show him a trick or two. I assured Matt that I (probably) wouldn’t tell anyone. He blew all that out of the water this morning when, fishing by himself at my favorite McPherson Point spot, he landed a 36 pound Chinook, beating my best of the season by a good 10 pounds. My point here, besides embarrassing Matt and soothing my wounded pride, is that even the novice can quickly master the techniques we use here. I can’t wait to see what Matt does when I tell him about the Space Shuttle; he might end up leading the Mission to Mars.
We’re finally getting some relief from the Northwest Gale that has been blasting Langara for several days, so I took some boats out to the Lighthouse to chase halibut. Mike Houser got into a nice one and called me over to help him boat it. It was about 40 pounds and seemed fairly docile, so I poked it with the gaff and pulled it aboard. For the next two minutes all Mike and I could do was dodge desperately while this thing tried to have its revenge on us. The lesson here may be painfully obvious, but never underestimate the power of even a small halibut. If it’s well hooked try and give at least a stunning bonk while it’s still in the water.
Anyway, the bottom fishing went well, with lots Lingcod and mid-size halibut taken. We also got to witness a rare spectacle as a pair of Minke Whales moved in to feed a school of herring. The larger whale herded the fish into a tight ball while the junior pounded the surface of the water with its tail and body, presumably shocking the fish so they would be easy pickings. The awesome power they demonstrated inspired everyone to respect nature from a distance.
Salmon fishing continues to improve, with small Coho and Pinks starting to show up. The Chinook are coming on strong as well, with every boat getting into one or two each day. The average size for Chinooks is about 15 pounds right now, but enough Tyees are being caught that everyone feels they have a real shot at it.
Regards,
Ken Beatty
Fishmaster, MV Marabell
Langara Island, Queen Charlotte Islands
