Outlook for 2021

Posted on December 20, 2020 by Robyn Bertrand

It is always hard to predict or anticipate what the DFO regulations may be. Here is a quick look at what the upcoming season may have in store for us. For the most current information on DFO regulations click here:

Chinook

No management restrictions have been announced thus far for the 2021 season, which leaves us at 2 chinook per day, with 4 in possession. The last couple of years from mid-June to mid-July we have experienced an in-season reduction in daily limits for chinook to 1 per day, 2 in possession. I expect this trend to continue as the number of returning adult fish in the Skeena watershed are still of some concern. Hopefully they will start showing some signs of stability this next season with all the hard work on conservation the recreational industry has done. Skeena river fish make up a good percentage of our catch and when their numbers are low it stands to reason that our catch stats will be affected.

Coho

2021 regulations for coho are: 4 salmon per day with an aggregate limit of eight salmon. Nothing has been said about a regulation change to this point, but numbers have definitely been on the decline for our northern fish stocks.

Halibut

A bright spot for this upcoming season will be halibut. Halibut biomass and TAC (total allowable catch) has not decreased coast wide, this means regulations should remain the same as they were in 2020. The limits are currently 1 halibut per day, 2 total possession if both of your halibut are under 90cms. You may only possess 1 fish if it is between 90 and 123 cms. The Sport Fish Advisory Board is still strongly advocating for a daily retention of two and a possession limit of three, however unless the current biased allocation plan (which allocates 80% of the halibut catch to the commercial fishery and 20% to the recreational anglers) undergoes an overhaul this will not likely happen.

Lingcod & Rock Fish

Lingcod is also anticipated to remain at 2 per day and 4 in possession for the 2021 season.

Rockfish retention is anticipated to remain the same as 2020 with a daily retention of 3 and a possession limit of 6. You can only retain either 1 Quillback, 1 Tiger, or 1 China rockfish out of those 3 per day. Yellow-eye rockfish remain closed for retention in 2021.

Keep reading ….

One Tide Away from a Great Day!

Posted on June 19, 2016 by Danny Merth

During periods of tough fishing it is important to keep a positive attitude and to be optimistic. That is why the motto for the trip #3 was: We are just one tide away from a great day! Everyday on Dundas Island is a great day if you ask me. Any angler knows you will go through some slow periods, which makes catching a beautiful Chinook salmon all that more rewarding!

Guests on trip #2 and #3 had to work hard for their fish and made sure they were ready when that Chinook salmon bit. We had a few good flurries of action where multiple hook ups occurred in a short period of time. The weather made it especially difficult to travel around and fish some of our offshore spots, which usually hold good numbers of feeder Chinook salmon.

After 5 days of tough fishing, perhaps the highlight from that week was when the floatplanes could not make it to the lodge due to the 40-45 knot winds all afternoon and evening. For the first time in Lodge history the outbound guests had to stay overnight and the inbound guests got stuck for a night in Prince Rupert. So what do you do when you are stranded at Haa-Nee-Naa Lodge? Go fishing of course! The boats were loaded back up with guests and out everyone went for a bonus evening of fishing.

Hats-off to Jake Snorsky who had not landed a Chinook salmon during the trip, fate was on his side and during the bonus evening of fishing, the fish gods smiled down upon him and he was rewarded with his first Chinook of the trip! Good job Jake, perseverance pays off!

Our “One tide away from a great day” mantra proved itself to be true on trip #4. It always amazes me how quickly things change when it comes to salt water fishing. After missing the evening fish, the inbound group was rewarded the next morning by a large wave of hungry Chinook salmon. Everyone was into multiple fish and throughout the whole day pushes of Chinook salmon kept coming. Both the ebb and flood tide produced large numbers of fish. Everyone salmon fishing had no problem getting their limit and could be selective on which fish they decided to retain. 17-23lbs seemed to be the average size of fish caught with some larger ones mixed in.

The atmosphere at the lodge was electric and everyone was eager to get back out on the water!

Fishing remained very consistent for the following groups of guests with plenty of feisty Chinook circling the waters around Dundas Island. Congratulations go out to Jeff Lewis who until a few days ago had the biggest fish of the season, a beautiful 39lb slab! Dwayne took home 1^st place in the derby this past weekend with a 31lb dandy! Good work Dwayne.

Coho have started to show up in decent numbers and everyday seem to be getting more abundant. We have started to run into the odd larger pod of fish when a school of herring or needlefish is near. This often results in a flurry of Coho action with double and triple hook-ups. These silver bullets make for a great battle and usually end up tangling one or more of your lines if you are not quick to get things under control! Their acrobatic nature and agility make them a blast to target.

As always, bottom-fishing remains productive for those who wish to target cod and halibut. A few 50+ pound whoppers were caught this past week. Not exactly the easiest fish to bring up from 200+ feet…. Darn good eating though!

Don’t forget to get your fishing licences on-line before your visit this year. You can visit the licensing website here: Online Licencing to set up a profile for yourselves, purchase your fishing license and refresh your memories on catch limits.

Tight Lines,

Nugget

Cloudy, rainy days filled with chrome

Posted on March 7, 2016 by Robyn Bertrand

by Jason Bowers

After a long stormy day on the water a pod of chrome coho finally showed up at the Gnarlies – just as the dinner bell rang. The cold, wet afternoon was redeemed by a few hot coho at the 11th hour. We headed back to the lodge with our heads held high – no longer minding that we were being pounded by marble sized raindrops. Back at the dock as my fishing partners headed in for supper I couldn’t bring myself to take my gear off and head for shelter. I needed more!

After a quick turn around I headed back out solo. Dropping the anchor in the exact spot we had just left, the surface of the water in all directions came alive with fast and fierce swirling coho. They were aggressive – tossing water in all directions with each swirl. If you looked closely enough you could catch flashes of chrome as the coho devoured juvenile herring on the surface and quickly disappeared into the darkness of the depths below. Tossing a gurgler from the bow, the coho were so aggressive that you could see their white mouths open as they rocketed toward the surface devouring the fly. Cast after cast the increasingly tattered fly would disappear inside the mouth of a bright 8-11 pound coho as the fish turned, peeling off line well into my backing.

The current was unsettled and waffled from one direction to another. With every change in direction the surface action would settle. I would dash down to the stern where my wet line lay idle. Casting in all directions with no hits I wondered, “where had they all gone?”. Within minutes came an arm-pulling jerk from well below the surface and a frenzied coho cartwheeled into the raindrops trying to dislodge the hook. It was time to run back to the bow and continue throwing the dry line, again hooking fish after fish. After two hours of this routine and 20 plus coho to the boat, the tide swung and the current changed direction. The pods of chrome bullets disappeared back into the depths. Reeling up both fly lines I headed for home.

The stomachs of the 2 fish I harvested were completely empty – they were new arrivals to Dundas, showing up with empty bellies and voracious appetites. Back at the lodge taking off my gear I felt more than satisfied and almost in disbelief at what I had just experienced!

These moments can happen to anglers frequently this time of the season and we all hope to be one of the lucky ones – in the right place at the right time.

2015 Year in Review – Coho Fishing

Posted on March 4, 2016 by Robyn Bertrand

Coho Fishing

What a fantastic year for coho! Large numbers of coho arrived in early June holding strong through early August, and they were big! Many of these bright, blue-sided early coho were tipping the scales at well over 10 pounds. These fish were not likely returning to our northern rivers but rather were headed to the south or central coast – hence their early arrival. The strong early presence of these fish was a great indication of what was about to come in August.

August fly-fishing was outstanding! In the history of our fly-fishing program at HNNL it ranked among our top three seasons. Double-digit days were normal and not the exception in 2015. Some of our anglers were even lucky enough to tackle a Chinook on the cast fly! Although rare, such events do happen and when they do, watch out! Not nearly as abundant as previous years, our late season local coho seemed to follow a different pattern than usual. These fish weren’t found offshore chasing deep schools of herring but instead we found them regularly driving jack herring in amongst the kelp forests into very shallow water. While looking down you could often watch pods of coho cruising for feed. These fish seemed to really focus on surface presented flies. There were many days throughout August where anglers didn’t have to throw a wet line and could watch coho voraciously attack gurglers on the surface cast after cast.

Let the Good Times Roll…

Posted on June 21, 2015 by Robyn Bertrand

It has been an amazing first half of June here at the Lodge. Not only has the weather been great, but we also have been fortunate enough to experience some of the most consistent Chinook salmon fishing in recent years. The fish average 17-20 lbs and are very aggressive and pulling hard!Over the past week fishing has continued to get better and we are starting to see more and more large fish invade the surrounding waters. Last week the ladies dominated the fish board – with Dianne and Lynne tying for big fish of the trip with a couple of tyees weighing in at 31 lbs. June 20th saw the first 40+ fish on the dock with first-time guest, Gunn’s, Chinook tipping the scales at 47 lbs.

Coho have also started to show up in large numbers. The Coho are averaging 5-8 lbs in size with the occasional bigger one. A couple of these beauties were even caught trolling a buck-tail just below the surface on Friday!

Halibut fishing has been outstanding – Lodge records were broken today with 4 fish over 50 lbs and a total of 12 halibut over 100cm! DSCN0043

The abundance of Chinook salmon is also keeping the Orca’s well fed. It seems like every second day a pod of killer whales makes it’s way through the North end of Dundas, stopping at most of the fishing spots. They are magnificent creatures and have been putting on some great shows for us on the water.

DSCN0030 The fishing is a very exciting right now at the lodge and us guides can’t wait for sunrise and the 6:30am high slack that awaits us tomorrow morning.

Tight lines,

Nugget