Fishing in the Queen Charlotte Islands

When you are deciding to go on a vacation, there are many things to consider. Do you go somewhere hot, cold, in Canada, out of Canada, somewhere with beaches, no beaches, lots of trees, blah blah, blah. 

Well…..last year we were invited to go on a fishing trip. When I first heard “fishing trip” I thought, (you gotta be kidding me, fishing). I was not a fan of fishing. Gord wasn’t really either. Then we heard it was ocean fishing in the Queen Charlotte Islands. Now maybe that would be interesting. If anything, the guys could go fishing and I could go shopping. We phoned the lodge and asked if I could just come for the week as a tourist and not do the fishing thing and they were more than happy to accommodate. They must have been chuckling on the other end of the phone. Who comes to the Queen Charlotte’s on a fishing trip and doesn’t go fishing??? 

So we get to Grande Prairie and get all loaded on the plane and begin our flight to Sandspit. It was a beautiful day and you could see the snow on the mountains in BC still (this is the middle of June). We landed in Sandspit at about 7:30 am. They told us that they were taking us to the lodge where a big breakfast was waiting and then we were off fishing. Great!!!! Well I guess I was going fishing. 

Once we had breakfast and were orientated, we were off to the harbor to get on our boat. 

The Harbor

 

There were guides and boats waiting. Our guide was a lady named Mandy. I was impressed! A female fishing guide. WOW!. So we had a boat orientation and stuff and away we went. I had my gravol patch on and was hoping I wouldn’t be sick. 

The next three days we were on the boats at 7 am and back in for supper around 6 pm. We spent the entire day on the boat and we fished. It was AMAZING! Who ever thought fishing could be fun? Our guide was awesome. She not only took us fishing but she was a great tour guide. She told us all about Haida history and culture (being a Haida herself). She showed us some of her favorite places on the coast. She made sure we got lots of beautiful pictures. She made sure we got to see the whales and orcas and such. It was the best time. I never dreamed that fishing could be like this.

On the last day, our fishing limits were filled so the lodge arranged for us to have a sightseeing day. We took the ferry to across to Queen Charlotte City and did some touring around the coast. We visited the Haida museum and got to see them carving totem poles and building large canoes. It was a great cultural experience. 

We are booked to go again this year in June. This could become a yearly event. Who knew!!!! 

Here are some the shots from our trip. Hope you enjoy them 

Heading Out

 

Navigating the Channel

 

The Scenery

 

The Deep Dive

 

Hang On

 

The Watcher

 

Tufted Puffins

 

School of Orcas passed by us

 

The Bragging Board. Show all the fish caught and weight by each person in the group

 

The Big Catch

 

Just as big a catch

 

The Haida Gwaii Museum

 

Raven Totem

 

Canoe Building Shed

 

Carving a Totem

 

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