Salmon Halibut Sturgeon. A true trip of a lifetime.. very pic heavy

[Meegs]

I’ve chased salmon almost my entire life. From 12 foot tinners to 40 foot charters, rivers throughout this beautiful province of Ontario and across borders to far off states, I’ve battled salmon through the ice, and watched the rods for hours on end just waiting for the next big rip. One of my fondest memories as a kid was a trip my father too me on to Hawkeye pass, Rivers inlet British Columbia. It was my first big trip and may have been one of the reasons why I have “issues” when it comes to fishing. It was the first day of august in 1989 around 530am in a 16 foot Boston whaler when my father caught Bill. Bill is the name my sister gave the 54 ½ lbs chinook salmon that dad brought in with just him and myself at the age of 11 that day. Bill currently resides in my basement over the fireplace.

I was 11 years old and part of the tyee club. Pretty happy kid let me tell you. Well lots of salmon have come and gone since then but none quite the same as the trip to British Columbia some 25 years ago now, so you can imagine my excitement when my father came to me last summer and asked if I could get away from work for a week and explained he wanted to do a “once in a lifetime trip” we mulled over ideas for a few weeks, and it was decided that we were going to go back to British Columbia! Only this time I’m a little bit bigger and a bit more experienced. We were booked for a 4 day excursion with Serengeti charters for salmon and halibut and a day on the Fraser River for white sturgeon. The year went by pretty quickly and soon enough we were on a flight to Vancouver airport. Rented a car and drove north to Chilliwack, had a few pints and took in the amazing views of the mountains in the background everywhere you looked. My head was full of thoughts of giant white sturgeon reaching lengths of 12 feet and over 1000lbs. I've caught sturgeon before here in Ontario but nothing of this calibre.

Our guide Dave from greatriveradventures.com is one of the only people that actually fish this river all year long and has been doing it and chasing these dinosaurs for the majority of his life. Between him and some of his fellow guides they have tagged over 35000 sturgeons the last number of years. The stats on these things are incredible. They grow one foot long every decade so some of these fish have potential to live 140 years old. We arrived at a beat up launch about 40 min north of Chilliwack and Dave dropped the boat in the water.

 

 

We were off on our adventure, Fraser River canyon, one of the most amazing sites I’ve ever seen, huge water with mountains etching the shores. Some 30 million salmon run up that river every year but we weren’t there for salmon. We were using salmon for bait! Full salmon heads and chunks of rotten salmon Dave found floating by a few days prior. We entered our first hole and started fishing. 3 rod spread, 2 stink baits and 1 full sized 7lbs salmon head. A few hours went by and though we saw fish jumping around us and 5 or 6 good bites that just wouldn’t commit we left down river to try another hole. 20 min later and it was my turn to hit the next strike. I watched the lines like a hawk and the second the tip of the rod started to bounce I sprang into action, grabbed the rod from the holder gave the fish a few feet of line and set the hook home. Wow. It became very apparent I want in Ontario anymore!

 

What power these fish have. 20 min and a few huge runs later we got it up to the boat.

 

6 feet long. 115 lbs. A new personal best for me! Then it was dads turn to get in on the action.

We would go on to land a total of 7 that day.

What a day. One I will remember for the rest of my life. Dave from greatriveradventures.com worked his tail off all day for us and sure knows his stuff. Can’t wait to go back one day. It’s on my list of things to do again for sure!

 

After our sturgeon adventure we spent the night in Chilliwack and got up early the following morning on route to Vancouver airport to hop on a small flight over to Comox on Vancouver Island. Rented our truck and did the 4 hour drive up the coast of the island to our salmon fishing destination. Port Hardy. Hardy is the most northern port of Vancouver Island. Our hosts Heather and Dave from Serengettifishingcharters.com wer4e there to greet us and had prepared an excellent meal for us and the other 6 guests they had staying with them.

Morning couldn’t come quick enough. I was up before the alarm and ready to go.

We went for a good rip up the coast of the island up to a productive salmon area and started to troll. A few hours later we still had no salmon and I was starting to get sea sick. Even with the patch on I started to go downhill. We fished until around 11 with no luck on the salmon so we decided to change it up and go for some fish and chips! Halibut! I had never caught a halibut before and even though my head was hurting I was pumped! Using whole skeletons of pink salmon, or entire salmon heads we set our lines in 280 fow right on bottom. Dad was jigging a 1 lbs crippled herring as I watched the still lines. It didn’t take long for the action to begin. Dad hit a good one on the jig… 40 lbs or so… then it was my turn to hammer on a 40 lber as well. Pretty cool. Kind of like trying to bring up a sheet of 4x8 plywood off the bottom. Dad hooked up with another shortly after then another rod started to bounce. I jumped up and set the hook… 20 min later I had a 75 lbs halibut in the boat. That was it for the day… I could hardly stand after that. We went and threw the lines in for salmon for another hour but ended up calling it a day and went back to prepare for a different area to fish the following day.

 

The next morning I was feeling much better. You could just tell it was going to be a better day. As we arrived to Port the eagles were waiting for us…. Hopefully so would be the salmon!

We did an hour and 40 min run up past the north tip of the island and another 14 miles out into the ocean. Salmon and Lingcod were the agenda for today. Our guide Ryan sure knew what he was doing as our arms were sore come the end of the day.

 

 

What a day. The cod fishing was pretty fun. Jigging in 250 fow and a fish on every drop! And when they hit… they smash it. Great fight! Day 3 ended up being much of the same as day 2. Lingcod and salmon.

 

We probably saw 40 humpback whales throughout the week. Lots of porpoises, seals, jellyfish, sea lions and an abundance of other aquatic life. Definitely stuff you don’t see fishing Lake Huron or Lake Ontario. We got our limit of cod and almost limited out on salmon that day. Lots of fish and it was proving to be a true trip of a lifetime.

We made it back to basecamp that evening and I had brought my waders with me so I decided to enjoy an ice cold bevy down by the water’s edge.

I sat there and watched a bald eagle came and grabbed a pink salmon from infront of me and take off 50 yards away to eat it. Only to be bothered by another bald eagle and a giant golden eagle that wanted the same meal.

 

It seemed as though there was an abundance of pink salmon around. I had a school of 20000 fish fill the estuary I was sitting in literally feet from me. Was quite the site and I wished I had brought my float rod and reel. Would have been a hoot!

Some of the boats in the commercial fleet were long liners. These guys will literally fish out a square mile area in a day or two. Thousands of hooks on the line and it stretches for miles. Weight on one end. Weight on the other, a marker on either end aswell. The amount of halibut and lingcod these guys take out in a single day is nuts!

 

 

The only issue I could possibly complain about was the lack of size on the salmon. I can catch 20 to 30 lbers an hour from my house. But the true chance of a giant tyee is out west. None of the big salmon have come in yet this year according to everyone at port. They think the water is too warm and the big mature kings in the 40 50 up to 80lbs class were just staying out in the ocean and not making their way to the rivers. Big fish in camp this year was just shy of 30lbs so far. Tonnes of cookie cutter 20 to 25lbs fish. We asked Ryan our guide for the last day of fishing to try and target an area with bigger fish. I didn’t care if we only had 1 hit all day if were a chance of a big fish. Day 4 arrived… last day of the trip. Off we went on another hour and half ride. We shot over to the mainland and was fishing an area called Gods pocket. As soon as we arrived I knew it looked good. Ryan told us how much he loved fishing this area. Some day’s u get good numbers but the big fish tend to come into feed here as well.

 

 

We knew the action wasn’t going to be fast and furious but that was ok. We got a few Coho and missed a few smaller hits. Then I saw my rod tip start to shoot down towards the water. Grabbed the rod, set the hook and I thought I was into bottom. Do a quick check of the rigger… 55 feet down. We were in 80 feet. So it wasn’t bottom. Figured I’d put the mooching gear to the test. The rod was loaded up to its max as I inched the fish closer and closer to the boat. It wasn’t fighting like any salmon I’ve ever caught before but I knew it had weight! Was this the giant I had been waiting for…..? No…. it wasn’t. But I’ll take it!!!!

40 lbs plus halibut on mooching gear. That was pretty cool! We set the lines back up and continued to fish. Couple more Coho one smaller chinook would be all the morning would cough up for us. Ryan said the best bit was going to be noon till 2 with the tide change. My hopes of seeing let alone getting a true king salmon to cap the trip off was starting to slip through our fingers, with only 3 hours left fishing time for our trip time was not on our side. It’s tough enough trying to get a big fish to hit. Let alone landing it. 95% of big fish hooked out there get off. So many factors have to align just right to land a big salmon. The kelp, single barbless hooks, seals that love a free meal. The guys the day before hooked into a 30 lbs plus fish only to be sealed 10 min into the fight.

I was still in aww of the scenery and just how much I had seen /witnessed and experienced the last 6 days, reminiscing of the day so many years ago when day caught Bill less than 30 miles from where we were fishing. And then it happened. My rod gives a bounce and I jumped on it. Cranked the reel down and let the fish have it setting the hook deep the fishes jaw. What happened next is an image that is burned into my head until the day I die. The rod was bent over tip to butt and the second I connected with this fish I knew it wasn’t small. A few headshakes and the line started to peel out. I’ve heard drag go before but this fish took the scream of a drag to an entirely different level! It peeled line for what seemed to be forever, Dad and Ryan cleared the lines and riggers, and the fish was still going. And at this rate I was starting to get a bit nervous as the line on the reel was dwindling fast. Ryan being the expert he is did an amazing job of turning the boat, getting line back on the reel and coaxing the giant out into the deep, away from the kelp and seals waiting near the shore. 20 min later the fish surfaced 50 yards from the boat. Al I could see was the dorsal and tail but it looked big. I kept the pressure on this fish as it was a battle for every inch. The fish made a run at the boat and truly showed itself for the first time. All I could think of was not to screw this on up. It was by far my biggest salmon I had stepped into the octagon with to do battle. The fish wasn’t done fighting but gave up just long enough that Ryan was able to get the net under it. I've caught a lot of fish in my lifetime, but I honestly don’t think any has ever given me a bigger smile or more excitement then this one.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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98cm long by 68cm girth… 42 lbs and my new personal best! Might not be as big as Bill… but I’m sure not complaining! I couldn’t have pictured a better ending to the trip. It’s the biggest fish currently landed in camp this year! It’s been 3 weeks now and my grin is still all over my face!

There is a commercial fish processing plant in port Hardy and they will package and clean and vacuum seal all your fish 4 u and get it ready for the plane ride home. What a great service. Everything was ready for us in the morning and it was a long day of travelling to get home. 17 hours later I arrived at my front door, 2 am fish in hand. What a trip, without question a true trip of a lifetime! A huge shout out to and thank you to serengetifishingcharters.com for the amazing time and great hospitality, Heathers homemade cooking was amazing, talking with the owner Dave was a real treat, all 3 guides worked there tails off and truly made for a great trip. If you ever want a true trip of a lifetime…. These guys can make it happen! And for the sturgeon fishing we were with Greatriveradventures.com awesome outfit.

Edited August 31, 2015 by Meegs

[Freshtrax]

My god, Tripp of a lifetime... Well done.

[adempsey]

Post is one big block of text for me =(

[Rodbender]

Post is one big block of text for me =(

Same here

[dave524]

Yes a big block now, it was fine before the edit at 11:51 cause I read a saw all the pics when it first went up. Definitely one of the best trips posted recently, hope it gets fixed.

[Meegs]

That's odd. I only edited 2 spelling mistakes. I'll repost the original shortly. See if that fixes it.

[Rodbender]

Just go it to it and click on HTML should straighten it up

 

Might have to go to full editor

Edited August 31, 2015 by Rodbender

[misfish]

What a friggn read dude. Thats one hell of a trip.

 

Thanks for taking the time to post this amazing adventure.

 

I like the first couple of pics. The only thing thats changed is age, you still got that kid face. LOL

 

Did ya make a super size meegs, for the ling cod ?

 

Again, thanks for taking the time James.

[Meegs]

Lol I guess the editing worked. Thanks Brian. That would be one heck of a super sized jig!!! 1 lbs crippled herring took long enough to hit bottom!

[ckewley]

Man what a amazing trip, adding another thing to the bucket list!

[Rodbender]

Lord thunderin think I'll re-read that may have missed some but what a trip nice pics too

[Ralph Field]

What an amazing trip to share with your dad.

[Gnote]

Wow, words dont do it justice! Trip of a lifetime indeed!

[spincast]

Awesome! Congrats on a great trip and the PB. Note to self - bookmark under "bucket list"

Love the way you put the story together too - great read

Edited August 31, 2015 by spincast

[Old Ironmaker]

Trip report of the year. Fish and chips for a lifetime. Your Dad is a keeper. I don't know if you realize how blessed you are to have a Father like that.

[woodenboater]

holy smoking hanna, you got into some serious beauties out on the left coast !

[Meegs]

Trip report of the year. Fish and chips for a lifetime. Your Dad is a keeper. I don't know if you realize how blessed you are to have a Father like that.

believe me I realize how fortunate I am to have him as a father. Trip wouldn't have happened without him!

[Sinker]

Awesome trip bud! At the top of my list!! Those halis and ling are awesome!!! Next year im going east, 2017 is west! Thanks for sharing, great report!!

 

S.

[akaShag]

Awesome trip, and an excellent report. I have fished out there (Port Alice, Alert Bay, Winter Harbour) but did NOT have success like you enjoyed. Well done, you!

Doug

[kenzy31]

WOW! What a great report buddy

Killer pics, great fishing, a couple PB's and time well spent with pops...what more can you ask for?!?! That's the trip of 2 or 3 lifetimes!

[blaque]

well that was different ..................and AWESOME!!!!

[Joeytier]

I can tell you were still vibrating with excitement when you typed out this report lol! awesome report man

[captpierre]

Incredible trip.

Can't get over how much boating was required.

And fuel used in those double 200s.

[Meegs]

Awesome trip, and an excellent report. I have fished out there (Port Alice, Alert Bay, Winter Harbour) but did NOT have success like you enjoyed. Well done, you!

Doug

Dad was in winter harbor last year and did not do very well either,our guide had guided winter harbor for 10 years and said he'd never go back. Has guided port hardy now the last 7 years and can't believe the difference in the weather and waves. Seams everyday in winter harbor it's 25nw wind. Biggest hali dad got last year was 30 lbs and did not get a limit of salmon... so this year was a MUCH better trip for Dad!

[Meegs]

Incredible trip.

Can't get over how much boating was required.

And fuel used in those double 200s.

Yea the gas we burned was insane... our boat had the twin 200's and the other 2 boats had twin 250's and they averaged 600 liters of gas a day!