July 1st 2011 weekend salmon fishing was another exceptional month and year for fishing in Prince Rupert. However, two day stop to fish for big springs at the Sue channel out of Kitimat prove to be very fruitful. Peter Bruce from Terrace is where I store my boat when not fishing and so since he doesn’t charge me to park my boat at his house we go fishing for a few days to compensate for his generosity. Weather wise we couldn’t ask for better, 10 to 15 degrees c on the water was great, and to top it off I also have an Espar airtronic #4 heater which is an awesome heater to warm things up on cool days. After limiting both days with springs in the 40 to 50 pound range and some 10 to 12 lb Coho it was time to head to Rupert to meet some buddies from Leduc, Alberta.
Day one turned out to be great as we were catching our limit of coho in about one hour near Dundas Island which then gave us time to fish for Hali’s, red snappers and ling cod. After fishing on day one we had our supper at Smiles in Rupert and then did our vacuum packing and then into the freezer before the trip back home. Day two was pretty much the same as day one except we dropped our crab traps and prawn traps on the way to Dundas Island. After filleting the salmon while waiting for the halibut to bite we managed to catch an 8 foot long octopus a few limits of ling cod and a few hundred prawns and 8 Dungeness crabs which I cooked that night for supper.
Day three was again very good in that we caught our 16 salmon in about a few hours including a few big springs which pleased the guys to no end and another great catch of prawns and crab. In all the buds went home with their limits of salmon, ling cod and most of their halibut limit. A great time was had by all lots of humpback whales were seen as well as sea lions and eagles diving for salmon heads a trip my friends will remember for a long time.
As I was leaving Rupert I got a call from Dave Mackenzie that he was coming up to Prince Rupert to fish and for me to keep the same room we had last year if possible and he’d fly his plane and be there within 3 hours. See you later I said and picked him up around 5 pm and got ready to fish the next day. Dave and I flew water bombers for the Flying Fireman back in the 70?s so its always great when we get together because we always talk flying and about other pilots that were in our crew. The fishing was just as good as the previous days except we got some nice springs in the high 40?s and low 50?s. Day two we had to go up to the work channel because of southeast winds so we dropped our prawn traps on the way to the top of the channel and got some great jumbo’s as well as nice crabs. By day three we just needed a few coho and one big spring to finish our limit. Dave left Prince Rupert with some real nice fish and planned to return for the 2012 season.
My last trip was with my wife Janice and another flying buddy Bill Heinz and wife Mary-Ann . Bill was my second captain when we were with the Flying Fireman and this guy is just great to be around, his sense of humour is second to none and kept us laughing for the whole trip. Lots of salmon, halibut, ling cod and black sea bass were all part of our catch as well as crabs and prawns. I certainly am thankful to all my buddies that helped to make 2011 a great fishing season.
Tight lines everyone!
Courtesy of Sonny Covin from Sonny’s Fishing Friends
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