Englefield Bay

Looking back on the last five years of my fishing life, nearly all of it has been spent fly fishing. I have had the chance to fish some awesome places with some awesome people. Of course it always helps when you catch fish or when you hook into a hog, but to be honest the company and experience is what its all about. This past week I had the chance to go on what I consider to be a fishing trip of a lifetime...and I never touched a fly rod.



We left early Sunday morning on a short flight from Vancouver to Sandspit; located on the Queen Charlotte Islands. Upon arrival we quickly slurped down a good-luck, spicy Ceasar cocktail and then hopped on a chopper for a short heli-ride to Englefield Bay. As if the heli-ride wasn't amazing enough, the sight of the floating fishing lodge made my jaw hit the floor. It was like nothing I had ever seen before. The lodge was tucked into a small bay to provide enough shelter from wicked weather that the west coast is know for. Somehow we managed to time our trip to perfection as we had sunshine and relatively little wind for 4 days straight. I'm still not sure how that happened.

The fishing was insane, although the guides claim that fishing has been better. The first day I was lucky enough to hook into a 30lb chinook. It almost made me forget about how sea sick I had gotten...almost. That was the only salmon that we landed the first day. The second day was our best day of fishing. We caught salmon, ling cod, halibut, red snapper, and some nasty looking little sea bass. The third day was about like the second, lots of fish, good company, cold beer, and beautiful weather.

It's hard to sum up such an incredible trip in so few of words. But if you've had the chance to go the Queen Charlotte Islands, you know what I'm talking about. If you haven't gone and you do get the opportunity, don't pass it up. It's worth every minute!

To see more pics from the trip, click here.