Salmon Fishing 2009

Well we are all booked in for the big trip.
In January 2008 I purchased a Fishing trip at the AHEIA Dinner. It is for 9 guys up in Prince Rupert. Surprisingly it only took a few days to sell all the trips. I have my dad, brother, cousin, 2 uncles and 3 others comming with us.

Should be a good trip, I have never been to PR before.
On a side note, I booked all the flights for everyone. I looked the next morning to see what everyone owed us and I find out Air Canada dropped the price by a huge chunk. I phone AC to complain and they tell me I have 24 hours to cancell the old reservation and then I can book at the new price. It ended up saveing a total of $807.. No small chunk to say the least.

We will be fishing with Salmon King adventures. The auctio was 3 to a boat, but we are trying to get a 4th boat just to give everyone a bit of elbow room.

This will be my first time not fishing with Oak Bay marine group. Should be different!

Jamie

[honda450]

Sounds like a good trip Grampa. Hook into one of them big Halibut or Springs you got your hands full. Prince Rupert is called The City of Rainbows, I just called it the city of rain. Its a busy little place when a season is on for commercial fishing. Boats from everywhere. I am sure you will have a blast. Try Smileys down by the docks, best place for fresh seafood in PR. Thats where all the workin fishermen go.

[Walleyes]

Sounds like fun Grampa Jim,, best of luck to you guys.. What time of the year are you headed up ??

Walleyes. Sorry its not "Jim".. Its Jamie.. I am on dads comp while the renos are takeing place.

We all leave end of May. I know it sounds early, but the guide swears up and down he has great fishing. even to the point of offering all 9 of us a trip if it sucks.
Gota trust the guide!!

Jamie

[dss44]

The end of May up in PR shouldn't be too bad...I'd be thinking June that far north..I know down our way July August is primetime, so May does sound a wee bit early...but ya never know. Def report back how it was.

[nube]

Jamie where are you flying into? I have to book some flights to Victoria for my August trip. I am headed to Port Renfrew for Halli and salmon with the wife and another couple.
Where is the best place to look for flights to get the cheapest?

[Donny Bear]

I will look forward to Pictures I am taking my son to the Unalakleet River in Alaska in August for Silvers Grayling and Char. I decided to add aHalibut Charter on the Keni Deep Creek J&J Smart Charters they come highly recomended. I have yet to fish the Charlottes so wonder if closer would be better Unalaklete is very remot and should have some great bears
Addison says he wants to beat his 2000 Alaskan Grayling on this trip AG&F aged this fish at 45 yrs old I will never kill another on purpose CPR only

Our actual dates are May 30-June 2.

Like I said he swears he has big Chin's and lots of them. He says he has found a area that has overly produced for the past 5 years at that time of year. He says he would stake his reputation on it...
Lots of "He says" in that paragraph. Man I hope he is right I have 8 guys that will beat the crap out me if he is wrong If he is right, I will sing it from the roof top!!


Nube best prices came from the Airlines themselfs. Expedia was approx $150 higher. Then AC also lowered prices the next day.
Remember WEST JET is your friend! We would have flow WJ but they dont fly to PR and I didnt want to change companys in Vancouver.

Donny.. I have fished Rivers Inlett, Langara island and the west coast of the charlottes. I liked the west coast of the charlottes the best so far.. Just watch out for the big water. Its not for everyone. They call it extreme fishing for a reason.

Jamie

[nube]

Thanks Jamie, I did some more looking and West Jet beat them all hands down. The problem I have is that the odd time I look at a last min. flight the flight is $79 one way but if I book in advance the price is 2-300$ more. I guess I should just suck it up and order the tickets

[muzzy]

Hey not to worry End of May early june has lots of good chinook in Rupert He will likely be taking you up to Dundas Should get some halibut too I hear they cut the hali limit down to 1
I may well be up there myself on 28th for a day trip

Gord

Muzzy..
YOU DA MAN!!
That’s what I needed to hear. Man I hate the pressure of not knowing what I am talking about and having these 8 guys trust me...
WHEW!!

Jamie

[thumper]

Be sure to let us know how you make out Jamie. I wouldn't mind doing a May/June trip in 2009. For this season we're booked with Joes Salmon Lodge in Hakai Pass for the last week of July. This'll be our 3rd year in a row there, and we'll be due for a change in '09.

[Jamie]

Haki is the only place I have left to hit. Tgives me the top 3 places in the world (traditional)
How do you find it there?
What can a guy resonably expect for fish? Both in quantity and quality
How is Joes?
Oak bay stoped going there 4 or 5 years ago. The reason they left was that more people wanted Langara.
I have heard it has tremendous Coho fishing.
Chinooks are great, but Coho is where the excitment is.

Jamie

[dss44]

Last year Hakai was horrible for most of the year. Friend of the family went up there for a week and didn't bring a SINGLE salmon back...only halibut. It seems like more and more salmon are taking the outside route....he may of been at Joe's...or Ole's...don't remember which...

[thumper]

My fishing partner and I were at Joes last year during the last week of July, and we did well. I managed a 30+ chinook, and caught coho on my fly rod - which is a blast. We both came back with limits of salmon, and a couple of halibuts. It wasn't non-stop action, but there were enough flurries of activity and doubles to keep us happy.

What I like about Joes Salmon Lodge is that
- you fly in and out on an authentic Grumann Goose!
- you can fish as long (or as little) as you want
- you're always in protected waters, so it's safe & easy fishing & you can easily navigate by sight
(exception is halibut fishing, which is a little rough in the 17ft open whalers)
- you can follow the 'fish master' around to the current hotspots, or take off on your own as you please
- meals are solid, accommodations are simple, boats, radios and tackle are strong and serviced, but not fancy - so you're not spending money on spa luxuries
- competitively priced

But I'd like to try an area with better halibut fishing, perhaps some crabbing or shrimping, and see some new country.

[Jamie]

Thunper, thanks for the report.
If you want Halis.. and I mean BIG halis. You must go to Oak Bays, Salmon Seeker. I really like that place. I have a pic of 4 big orange balls all attached to halis that were over 100 pounds each. They can reach over 200 pounds over there.
Its a guided trip, but well worth the extra cash. You use Islander reels for Salmon.

The goose is a fun ride, have you ever sat in the back and watched the water flowing over the windows as you land? Its not something I would recommend waking up to. Damn near gave me a heart attack.
I really don’t think I have ever heard a negative word about OAK BAY. Only one time did I have a issue with them, and they solved it the very next year.

Food at the Seeker is very good, perhaps a little high end for my taste, but just get rid of the crap on top and dig into some great food. Also the free wine is nice.
I like to say the first word out of everyone’s mouth at Oak Bay is YES!

Jamie

Myself and seven friends will be on the Salmon Seeker from July 14 to 18th.I have fished Rivers inlet previously with Oak Bay,and the staff and equipment are first rate.

[Jamie]

Stuble.. You lucky bugger!!!
Ok, this is what you need to do tomorrow. Phone up OAK bay and try and get the 2 rooms at the end of the top floor of the seeker. They have a private bathroom. (Perhaps even a private shower)
If that is not possible, make sure you are up on that floor or on the main deck away from the kitchen. (It is a separate building) You do not want to end up below deck...

This trip will make Rivers seem like floating on a mill pond. If anyone in your group is at all prone to sea sickness, get them started on the patch approx 3 days before you leave. I have seen it so rough out there, the guides were feeding the fish.
Most guides smoke, so a Carton of smokes is a good idea. Dont take your own Booze.. Its cheap on the boat.

Make sure you come back with a Picture of the charlotte Lady.
Oh yeah take your swim trunks. Its a nice Hot tub, and the boat just spins on its anchor its a wonderful view.
Order double meat on your sandwiches for lunch. They use Texas slices, so you need more meat. Also don’t be afraid to ask for 2 or 3 sandwiches or more chocolate bars ect ect. Most guys don’t start doing that till the final couple of days.

I wish I was going with you. Who was your booking agent?

Jamie

Jamie,I booked the trip through Brian Freisen the head of corporate bookings since our company is now a preferred customer with Oak Bay.Of course we receive a good discount as a result.I have already talked to Brian about the room assignments,and since I am the group organizer,I am hoping to land one of the preferred rooms for myself.We are prepared for sea sickness as we have already experienced heavy seas on the puke boats at Ucluelet.Four to five meter seas on those boats are worse than in a smaller boat in my opinion.I have a 59lb salmon on my wall from Rivers Inlet,so my goal on this trip is a big halibut.

[thumper]

I'm a little prone to do some serious 'chumming' in rough water - even on the patch or gravol, so you guys just talked me out of the Salmon Seeker!
I don't look good in green!!

[Jamie]

Originally Posted by stubblejumper

Jamie,I booked the trip through Brian Freisen the head of corporate bookings since our company is now a preferred customer with Oak Bay.Of course we receive a good discount as a result.I have already talked to Brian about the room assignments,and since I am the group organizer,I am hoping to land one of the preferred rooms for myself.We are prepared for sea sickness as we have already experienced heavy seas on the puke boats at Ucluelet.Four to five meter seas on those boats are worse than in a smaller boat in my opinion.I have a 59lb salmon on my wall from Rivers Inlet,so my goal on this trip is a big halibut.

Stubble. You must PM me the price you pay. I will send you back my best deal
I want to see if I am getting it as good as I can.
I haven’t been to Ucluelet.
A 59 pounder.. WHAT A HOG!! Even though I have been on 1/2 a dozen trips I have yet to put a Big Chin in the boat. In fact I haven’t toped the 30 pound mark But every trip I see 45 pounders + caught. Sigh.. some day.
Perhaps this trip to Prince Rupert will be the one I am looking for.
good luck on the Hali. My largest is 70-80 pounds But one of the guys we took with us caught a 150#er. I don’t know exactly what my Hali weighed.. Due to the fact my "Guide" tied it to the front of the boat and the waves tore it off Ohhh I was very impressed with him that day. He was ***** anyhow. But that was my one and only bad experience with guides up there. Everyone else has been STELLER! Well that and I am positive he threw back a 20 pound Coho.. He said it was a Chinook.. I say it was not. And the teeth were on my side.

Thumper.. you will most defiantly find big waves on the west side of the Charlottes.. There is nothing between there and Japan. We had a 20 foot wave crest into our boat one day.. Talk about wet.

Jamie

Jamie,I have been fortunate with the chinooks with a 59,48,47 and 32 lb fish on my two trips to Rivers Inlet.As to deals,the non prime dates can easily be had for 25% off and even much better if unsold at the last moment or for cancellations.The prime time dates can be purchased very reasonable if you are lucky enough to find a last minute cancellation,but to plan in advance,the prime dates are not discounted nearly as much.

[dss44]

Jamie...you haven't topped the 30lbs mark I'm pretty shocked by that. You seem to go fishing a lot and I always pictured you as a guy with a lot of luck (considering you are a Flames fan ). Ahh well...this year will be your year hopefully!! I think every group that came with us in July/August last year got one over 35 actually.

[Jamie]

DSS

SHUT UP!!



Me and Elk are the same way.
We had a guy go down with sea sickness and another who just wanted to sleep in and that opened up a boat, so my buddy and I both had some 1 on 1 guideing. (BTW the 2 guys who took a day off, one nailed a 150 pound hali and the other nailed 48 pound Chinook).. (Now where is the justice in that)
He threw back 4 that were around 35 pounds.. We were no more than a few hundred yards apart.

I like to think the fish gods are just waiting to give ma a nice fat 70 pounder.
I figgure I am owed. I put in my time and eventually I will get one.
I get out to the coast most years, but I havent been for 2 springs. This year will be my magic year.

Jamie