Hippa Island: Helijets, Huge Chinook & Coho! Leave a reply
One of the enduring charms of hunting and fishing, one of the things that keeps you coming back year after year is that every now and then you experience something that is completely unexpected, out of the ordinary and inspiring. Now, if you have a trip that provides you one of the aforementioned experiences each day of the excursion… then you my friend have had the trip of a lifetime. If all this happens in a luxury destination and your wife happens to be with you… Well, before I wear you out with superlatives, let me tell you the story.
Any fishing trip that starts with a smiling spouse in a Helijet is off to a great start and my wife Kathy is already enjoying herself and we haven’t even lifted off yet!
…and what a flight it would be. British Columbia’s Queen Charlotte Islands are a largely untouched wilderness and the view from WestCoast Resorts Helijet is beyond description so… you’ll have to make do with this shot…
Once we got to Hippa Island and met the lodge staff and Fishing Instructors, we couldn’t wait to get down to the boats that are all rigged and ready to fish!
On our first trip from Hippa Island out to the grounds, we were greeted by a group of Risso’s Dolphins. Think of a Harbor (or more correctly Dahl’s) Porpoise on steroids and you’re getting close. I’ve never seen a group of these flying in “formation” like this before and it was a very unexpected treat!
I’m guessing the same baitfish that attracted those dolphin were the same critters that held these jumbo coho and we caught and released several before we kept these three on our first afternoon.
Back at the lodge… Ok, back at the bar at the lodge, we can watch the other guests come in while we enjoy a beverage…or two…
The next morning, we had just got the gear down and BOOM! Kathy was into a big one that took some blistering runs and would not let us see him for a good ten minutes!
When we did see him, I knew at once that Kathy had her first tyee on and I couldn’t get that slab in the net fast enough!
Kathy’s first ever tyee pulled the lodge scale down to the 31 pound mark and we both knew that we were in the middle of a very special trip!
How about a pair of 15 pound coho for a morning bite? The Canadian non-resident possession limit is four chinook and four coho in addition to two halibut, six lings and a pile of rockfish which adds up to a whole bunch of fish to bring home!
When you add all that fish up multiplied by the 40 guests in the lodge…
…and get it loaded in the Helijet for the trip back to the airport, it’s one impressive sight!
Once the morning mist burns off, we lift off the helipad…
…and are treated to our last look at WestCoast Resorts Hippa Island lodge, fishing instructors and staff who have attended to our every need for the entire trip! Truly a special group of people that enjoy what they do and appreciate the very special place they get to do to work and live.
When you consider the remote locations of WestCoast Resorts Haida Gwaii operations, the fact that the lodges, specially built on barges spend the winter in the Frasier River and are towed up to Hippa Island and Englefield Bay fully refurbished and re-stocked each spring, you begin to gain a grasp of the scope of this massive annual undertaking. Add to that the fact that each lodge is a stand alone luxury hotel, restaurant, bar and fish processing facility that is only accessable by boat or helicopter and now, hopefully you see what a special place this truly is.
WestCoast Resorts has created a opportunity that only exists for three months a year and will provide you with a four day experience that will provide a feast of seafood and a lifetime of memories. Here’s hoping you’ll consider joining us on our next trip to this piscatorial paradise
Tom Nelson
The Outdoor Line
710 ESPN Seattle
www.theoutdoorline.com