By Don Daniels
It was a family and friends boat ride to Knight Inlet where many fishing adventures took place for the Mclean family in past years.
Former fishing guides Dave Ross, Bill Jones and Jordan McLean took a boat ride from Campbell River to Chatham Channel and they rented a cabin. Blair McLean flew by airplane to Glendale Cove the next day; this was the location of the fishing lodge that was owned by Blair which hey left in the 90s. The group journeyed up the inlet, jigging in some of the old fishing holes. The idea was not to catch fish but revisit, laugh, reminisce and enjoy the beauty of the area. The head of Hoeya Sound had plenty of bait but the bite was off. The reports from Minstrel Island were of good salmon fishing.
Jordan Mclean mentioned that any time spent in a boat with family and friends is worth taking. Glendale Cove has had a great reputation of salmon fishing and bear watching. My group of anglers had spent four days there in the early 80s and it would be a great adventure to get a boat ride in the future and see the changes over the years.
On my drive to Sayward last week, the highway traffic was certainly heavier with campers, boats moving up and down and traveling to fishing spots in Winter Harbour, Port Hardy and other coastal destinations and since travel is open, the traffic flow will be increasing this month and well into September. Many sport fishing lodges and operators will be extending their season longer this year to make up for some lost time because of COVID and non retention for chinook salmon. From the north, fishing has been good so far this year for coho, ling and halibut and some of the bigger chinook will show up this month and into September.
I am in the process of organizing winter fly-tying sessions for beginners and I will have confirmed dates and times in a few weeks. Sessions are free and we have lots of extra tools and supplies and let the beginners tie away and have some fun. A number of people have donated materials and flies and these will be given away at the sessions coming up in Campbell River.
When the weather gets hot, the trout go down in deeper water and bait fishing, at times, can be a challenge but it’s still getting out fishing and not catching. Early morning is the best time to get out and find the shade areas of any lake. Get out your jigs, spinners, spoons and flies and enjoy the day on the water.
On the local rivers the pinks are slowly arriving and pink spinners or flies are the key to catching a small, sporty fish. When the pinks are in, you will see anglers in the Campbell River and the good viewing area is from the bridge. The Sandy Pool is busy when the pinks are in.