Trip 18: August 17 – 20
As August draws to a close and we head into the late stages of summer, one might expect ocean fishing to slow down. But up here, on the north tip of Haida Gwaii, the fishing continues to be excellent. In fact, on this, our final trip of the year, our guests retained an average of over 160 pounds of fish per person! Some of our guests even caught over 200 pounds of fish! These numbers are simply extraordinary.
The massive spring salmon that we are known for at Peregrine Lodge make up a lot of this weight. Bill and the 30-pounder that he retained on Monday, pictured below, are an example of the awesome chinook salmon that lurk in our waters.
Bill’s fish was far from the largest of the trip, however. That honour went to James, who caught and released a massive 41-pound spring right before burger day! Helped by guide Mikey, James did an outstanding job landing this giant fish. Steve came a close second, catching and releasing a beautiful 38-pounder on Wednesday with the help of guide Chris. Congrats gentlemen!
A number of big halibut helped round out the trip. Steve is shown below with a 59 pound hali.
Riley, below, on his first-ever salmon fishing trip, clearly didn’t take long to get the hang of things.
Finally, a number of massive coho were caught this trip. When these fish get up to sizes of 15 and 16 pounds, they fight like nothing else out there. Jessica is picture below with a hog 15-pound coho.
Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end. And so, we find ourselves at the end of the season, saying goodbye to our final group of guests. Staff, management, and ownership all do so with heavy hearts – it is always difficult to leave Naden Harbour, particularly after a season filled with so many big fish, close friends, and special memories. Yet, as we load our final chopper and start shutting things down, we are already getting excited for next year. If 2015 is anything like this past season, we are in for an exhilarating time. We can’t wait to share it with you – until then, tight lines and screaming reels!
