2020-08 FISHOUT: Haa Nee Naa, Prince Rupert

[John Pierce]

DaveR Report:

Ron and I had reasonable week at Haa Nee Naa lodge near Prince Rupert.

Chinooks were scarce. Ron and I didn't land any but a couple were caught by others, none too big.

Coho were intermittent. Ron was not keeping, but managed to hook a few. He out fished me (I had 2 or 3 mooching rods going) for the first couple of days by dragging a very sparse silver needlefish pattern in the prop wash.

Tuesday and Thursday were bottom fishing days. I ended up with two hallies (80 & 87 cm).  Brought home 3 medium ling cod and Ron at least 2. There were some monsters caught by others at the lodge.

We caught and released tons of rockfish of several different species including a few yellow-eyes that needed descender release.

Oh and I managed to catch a prop Monday and almost a dock Thursday.

I came home with 2 hallies, 3 Ling's, 3 Coho (small medium and large ((10 lb)) and 1 black bomber.

Ron, with a full freezer at home, came back with 3 Ling and 1 salmon.

The accommodation and food at the lodge was first rate as usual as was the conversation with other guests.

Weather was mixed with Monday overcast with sprinkles, Tuesday partly overcast with a bit of wind, Wednesday and Thursday mostly clear with seas almost flat calm. Friday morning we didn't fish as it was pouring down and visibility too low to safely travel far in the skiffs.

Saw 2 humpbacks, one within 200 yards. Others saw porpoises and Orca. And we fed a couple of eagles with by catch.

Cheers
Dave

[John Pierce]

RonE Report @ 2020-08-15:

Yesterday I flew back from a few days fishing at Haa-Nee-Naa Lodge on Dundas Island which is about a 45-minute boat-ride from Prince Rupert.

Almost certainly I would not have gone on this trip without the inspiration and persistence of Dave Robinson and I am grateful to him for this. We travelled, roomed, ate and fished together on the trip and I recommend him as a fishing partner. I am hopeful that he had a good time too, despite fishing with me.

The sentiments that I am going to express will not likely be the same as his. I am a retired doctor and when I applied to medical school the selection process relied heavily on good marks and the most important character trait was a touch of obsessive-compulsive disorder, for patient safety. I am just slightly less OCD in my fishing as I was in my medical practice. Bear that in mind as you read the following:

Before I forget and ramble on about the fishing, I must express my shock about the flights on Air Canada. Masks are required as one enters the airport and signs are everywhere about physical distancing. Passengers are spaced in lineups at the ticket counter, going through security, and in the departure lounges seats are identified for sitting to create space.  When going through the departure gates everyone had to keep a certain distance apart from other passengers. But on the airplane, we were crammed in as usual - every seat was occupied. I flew down from Prince Rupert next to a woman who had just left Haida Gwaii where there were 3 new cases of Covid-19. On one leg of the trip, Dave had a man who had just come back from Mexico sitting behind him...Within 24 hours at the lodge, no one was wearing masks or gloves and this was despite being told in an email that this was going to be a requirement, even suggesting a new mask to be worn every day.

I wore a mask and a face shield in the airports and on the flights.

It is my belief that we are entering a dangerous phase of the pandemic here in BC and if anything, we should really tighten up. We should at a minimum adopt the same guidelines on aircraft as in restaurants or other indoor gatherings.

Back to fishing and maybe a bit more about me. My son who was a salt-water guide for 5 years took me aside when he learned that I was going on some guided trips. Basically, his lecture to me was that I shouldn't expect too much from guides, and certainly not to expect them to fish with the enthusiasm that he and I fish. He explained that it was possible that my guide might have already been fishing a month or more without a break and would as a consequence be suffering from a bit of fatigue. Definitely I wouldn't be taken out before daybreak and have gear in the water before the sun had truly risen for that magical first hour. Can you believe that I endured such a lecture from my own son! After all that I taught him about fishing too... I still don't understand that younger generation.  He didn't have to remind me that it would be tough on any fishing trip to follow what we had just enjoyed in Alert Bay. Anyway, I was looking forward to learning some new ways to catch fish, and maybe even try out some new equipment that the guide might have at his disposal. Fishing is all about new experiences and learning from them.

The main reason I went to Haa-Nee-Na was to catch some coho on gurglers, my current favourite fly. A few years ago, the late Norm Norlander ( the inventor of the Norvise and bobbin) had told me what a great trip he had experienced there using gurglers. Dave had also had some great trips to HNNL casting flies to cohos. 

Unfortunately, while we were at HNNL the cohos weren't to be found in any numbers or frequency or noticeably on top, and that was a disappointment to me. I didn't cast a gurgler once, because I don't like casting flies unless I think that I am casting to fish, possibly the one that I just saw porpoise. But I have been fishing before, and every year I have to accept that there are days when I might not have the fishing I was hoping for. That doesn't keep me from being optimistic that things won't turn around in 5 minutes.

What really stunned me about HNNL was that there were no GPS units on the unguided boats that Dave and I took out. Dave had confidence that he knew his way around as he has fished there for years. I can't imagine myself going out in the chuck without at least 2 functioning GPSs and extra batteries. I don't have a good sense of direction. I think if fog rolled in on my way back from our mailbox, I might not find my way home until it lifted. I have relied on Navionics GPS chips since they first became available. At Dundas Island fog is frequent. I should have taken 2 GPS units with me to HNN Lodge. Then I would have fished much closer to kelp and points of land and worried a great deal less about fishing in the rain or in the evenings. We didn't fish the last morning for fear of fog, which of course never materialized...

The next shock was that the Lodge uses almost exclusively cut plugs for salmon if they aren't taking flies. They refer to this as mooching - trolling isn't a word in the lexicon there. I hadn't used cut plug herring since about 1995. I used to have a little sign in my boat - "Just say NO to bait!". So now you know where I am coming from. Cut plug herring was last used by me when I took my young kids out fishing, and in those days, I could jig my herring on the way to the fishing grounds. As soon as downriggers became legal for recreational anglers, I bought a Scotty manual rigger and haven't used weights on the fishing line since. There is a reason why commercial fishermen use cannonballs.

At HNNL the cut plugs are cut at what I think is the chinook angle. Last century I used a Folbe cut plug mitre box that on one end had a coho setting and on the other a chinook one. The trolling at HNN is at that painfully slow chinook speed ( painful only when there are no chinooks around). My suspicion is that the Lodge is hoping that everyone will get into some chinooks by trolling that slowly, and if there are lots of cohos speed doesn't matter as inevitably the fishermen are going to get them as cohos aren't always fastidious about speed. Chinooks were caught every day on our trip so this may have worked as planned.

In the 1990s when I used bait, I usually cut it the night before and brined it overnight. I wouldn't leave the dock without having at least a half-dozen rigs with cut plugs already on them so that for a while at least I didn't have to cut bait while fishing. I could unsnap a leader with a damaged herring and snap on a rigged herring in seconds and have it in the water and fishing in less than a minute. There is a healthy population of rock cod about Dundas Island, and at all depths, that attacked our cut plug herring with gusto. So, we were constantly cutting and re-rigging bait and had no gear in the water while doing this. There were nearly as many small pinks that wasted bait too. A lot of time was spent re-rigging.

My son and I rarely have the boat motor out of forward gear even when playing a good fish because we might be over a school and hoped for at least a double-header. We would double back turning the opposite way to the angler playing his fish to cover the spot where the fish had struck. We would immediately change the depth of the gear that didn't have the fish to the setting that had been used for the fish that was being played. Because I have brought this up, I don't need to tell you what happened while guided at the Lodge

I was mindful of my son's lecture to me as to what to expect from guides... But it irked me to see the guide leaving the dock without a single herring cut or on hooks. One of my peeves about bait is that too much time is spent re-rigging, tuning the roll, checking the bait after a strike, discovering empty hooks that have been trolled for about 20 minutes, and having gear out of the water to do these tasks. I want to have as much gear in the water as possible at all times when I am fishing - I don't want to be wasting time doing the sundry things required while using bait. I dragged a fly behind the boat and for 2 days and caught as many or more salmon than 2 or 3 cut plug rigs that were being used at the same time. I think it was because my fly was in the water 95% of the time, and was immediately back in after a fish was released. Are you beginning to realize that I am a bit obsessive about actually fishing when at the fishing location?

I have never liked having a weight on my line and they use 6-ounce Peetz-style banana weights at HNN Lodge. I don't even like flashers on my line and prefer to use dummy flashes or Farr-better flashers which release when a fish is hooked so that I am not playing the flasher plus the fish. I like a bare connection to the fish with no interference between me and the fish. That way I feel connected directly to what I am fighting.

There were no downriggers on any of the boats. I love downriggers. I can stack gear at different depths until I find the magical depth that the biting fish are at. I know what depth I am genuinely at as I can see the ball on my sounder. I believe the "45-degree angle rule" using a cut plug with weight has too many variables to reliably know what depth someone is fishing. I don't like that uncertainty.

There are depth sounders in the non-guided boats at HNN Lodge, and it is very frustrating to see fish arches below the standard 12 or 22 pulls length of line let out. I was stunned that those are the depths that all the guides used and all the time. The guides call to one another when a fish is caught, and also let everyone know where, but no "hot depth" is relayed as everyone uses the same depths, even when no one is catching fish. They didn't seem keen to experiment with different depths.

          I couldn't believe how many times we lost herring on strikes. In the old days, we attributed this to "tail biters" and set our hooks well back in the cut plugs to hook those fish, and often used a small second hook to do this. Sometimes we simply cut the tail off the herring which increases the roll rate of the herring - turning a chinook cut plug to a coho one in a few seconds. This can catch some fish when a coho is seen jumping ahead of the boat.

     While I seem thus far in this report preoccupied with the negative aspects of the trip, I will reluctantly bring up one more. I perceive that it is a Lodge dictum that all guests must return with fish. I did not wish to come home with any fish ( I already was fully loaded with coho and chinook in our freezers -note the plural) from my recent trip to Alert Bay.  But when I learned that large lings were available, I was OK with bringing some home. I don't know a place locally where I can catch large ling and so a couple of large ones would be fun to catch too. Through a bit of trickery, I came home with coho and chinook salmon, and even a black sea bass along with my ling in a big box. These were fish that I had caught but thought I was giving to someone else. Clay had said to me that he had a use for them as he simultaneously brought them aboard and bonked them. I had explicitly told people that I didn't need any fish but would take home some ling if I fished for them. Likely HNNL wishes to have a reputation that every guest comes home loaded with fish.

      Now for the good stuff. I have never slept in such luxurious accommodation on a fishing trip before. This would be luxurious almost anywhere. The food was to die for. The breakfasts were possibly a bit skimpy but we were delivered mid-morning and mid-afternoon snacks and drinks. The evening meals were gourmet dining. There was an overabundance of delicious food. We all were somewhat worried about gaining weight. There is a spacious lounge area with snacks available at all hours except after the generator shut down at about 11 PM. I don't think that a true saltwater fisherman should still be up at 11 PM ( unless he is still cleaning fish after an evening fishing), not even 2 nights before his trip.

The lodge is floating and there is a barely perceptible constant rising and falling motion. I don't get seasick so the only effect that this had on me was when I got up suddenly from eating the first supper. I attributed the brief unsteadiness on my feet to that second glass of wine that the beautiful young woman who served our table poured generously into my glass. But I did notice that some guests had anti-seasickness patches behind their ears for the entire trip.

The staffing is top-notch and at all times helpful. I must look older than I feel as I was assisted in and out of the boats any time I was near a dock. Several of the guests were in their late 70s (at least) and plan on coming back next year. Age is not an issue at HNNL.

Another negative (I am sorry) is that the throttles on some of the non-guided boats are devils to hold constant. The last day we did get one that was comfortable to use. The controls are at the tiller, no centre-console steering for the unguided boats. There is a definite class distinction in equipment between the guided and non-guided boats. Again, I am used to a centre-console boat where I can stand to be in the centre of the action and can scan the water for fish and hazards such as rocks or floating kelp. I don't like being at the stern handling the boat even if I can stand there. I usually only sit in a boat when it has a BC Ferries logo on the bow.

I packed too much clothing. Rain gear and boots are provided as well as modified Mae West style life jackets that are kept in a drying room. We had lots of good weather and I seemed to leave the dock overdressed every time.

I needn't have brought my fly rod as good fly gear was already there for guests to use.

Clay, the owner/manager of the Lodge took Dave and I out for a morning fish. I think Dave arranged this and again I am so thankful to him for doing this. Clay knows the area well and has years of local fishing experience. We were taken to an island about a 20-minute run in good weather from Dundas. We went there mainly to catch bottom fish and they were there in abundance. I have never caught lings that were legal size so quickly. There were halibut and lots of rock cod, and yellow-eyes that we sent back down with a $90 releaser. I released a few lings, hoping to catch some larger than I catch off Sombrio beach in my kayak, but this was wasting time so I kept a couple of nice sized ones so that we could go after some salmon.

Dave came home with what I believe were possession limits of halibut, salmon and ling. I think nearly every other guest did the same except possibly 2 who were dedicated fly fishermen and so didn't have bottom fish limits. The cohos didn't seem plentiful, but I did go out with the owner the last afternoon and he treated me to a bit of the fishing that I could appreciate. We had 4 lines down, all at different depths, and a fly rod ready to cast at any leapers or boilers. We discovered cohos at 7 pulls, especially using an orange-coloured banana sinker- the only one he had. I caught a chinook at 17 pulls and as usual a few pinks at every depth. He kept me hopping - I was running all over the boat chasing rods that were dancing in the rod holders.  I had salmon on every few minutes. I especially appreciated his suggesting different depths until we found the hot one. He called the other guide boats on a radio and a couple of them joined us. We went to a different spot so that they could get into some fish without us crowding them. They didn't do as well - likely because they were using traditional depths and didn't have the orange-coloured weight. I was surprised that he didn't tell them "7 pulls". After supper, Dave and I went back to catch a few more at 7 pulls.

So, in summary, I didn't learn any new techniques or use the latest gear. I didn't catch a coho on a gurgler. I was frustrated by the lack of GPS and downrigger. I had the pleasure of staying at a luxurious lodge and slept in a comfortable bed with an ensuite with all the mod cons. I fished with someone from the GRR who has contributed so much to the club with his flyting sessions. He is a great fishing companion. I met some interesting guests, most of whom knew anglers that I knew, etc. The fishing world is a small one. I caught lots of bottom fish and a few salmon. Most of the guests are repeat customers and will be returning next year- this is the best measure of guest satisfaction. I had a good time despite the frustrations noted.

Pros
Great staff
Lots of fish other than salmon and usually lots of salmon but not the week I fished. Guests can expect to be coming home with possession limits of several species of fish.
All fish are cleaned, flash frozen and packed for your return in boxes that keep them frozen
Luxurious accommodation
Fantastic food
Great guests - they will be there next year, as will David
Raingear available to guests
All fishing gear, including fly rods, are at the Lodge for you to use.
There is fly-tying equipment and materials for guests to use.
There is Wi-Fi at the Lodge
Elderly anglers are well looked after.
You should have a great time at Haa-Nee-Naa Lodge unless you have OCD

Cons
Don't expect to be casting flies to cohos on every trip.
Limited options for salmon fishing with regard to technique - last century cut plugging persists with the disadvantages I have noted above
No GPS available to guests in unguided boats - BRING YOUR OWN with a Navionics chip for the west coast.
Seasickness is a possibility. Although it is "inside passage" fishing it is a well-known bad weather area.
It is almost always cold and wet out on the water. David and I were really lucky in this regard to experience flat water and sunshine. None of the guides had suntans when we arrived.
You have to rely on Air Canada to get there and back. Do I need to say more?
You need some strength to carry your packed fish into the airport
Be prepared to have to pay for extra baggage because of baggage weight limits on the return flight. Even cleaned fish are heavy.
If you have OCD, double your medication before the trip.
Hang on tightly if Dave is docking the boat after an evening's fishing.

Cheers
Ron