BC Spearing Trip: Round 3 (2008)

[IAM]

What area of B.C are you guys thinking?

 

[BatRay]

Generally it's at Telegraph Cove.

 

[IAM]

Cool, I might be willing to fly out, or maybe drive but its a long way.

 

[Erik]

What do you think about the last week of August? How does that work for everyone?

That works for me. And are we all agreed on the Charlottes? I'd like to see fish other than Greenling this time.

 

[BatRay]

Where are the Charlottes? Is it as nice a place as Telegraph Cove?

 

[Erik]

Queen Charlotte Islands, probably nicer, less tourists, more fish!

 

[BatRay]

Where is located in relation to Vancouver Island? I'm thinking of how it would be to travel there

 

[feign]

Group of islands North of Vancouver Island. It is relatively remote and underpopulated. It would be an experience to see it regardless of the diving.

 

[harbour seal]

Where is located in relation to Vancouver Island? I'm thinking of how it would be to travel there

the modern name for the islands is haida gwaii.

they lie approx 200km north of vancouver island and (at various points) approx 60 to 120 km off shore. basically, they are just below the southern border of bc and alaska.

i attached the bc ferries route map below. ferries run from port hardy (northern tip of vancouver island) to bella coola (northern bc) and prince rupert (even more northern bc) then to haida gwaii. the ferry trip is both long and fairly expensive (~ $150 return) but it sails through some of the most beautiful coast in the world and guaranteed to be unforgetable.

from vancouver you can also drive north (inland route only of course) to either bella coola (approx 10 hours from van) or prince rupert (16 hours) and then catch the ferry from there.

flying is also an option. i think there are daily flights from both vancouver and prince rupert to haida gwaii. for example, flying from vancouver to sandspit on air canada is approx $300. there are a few different airlines and destinations from which to choose.

Getting to Haida Gwaii, Queen Charlotte Islands, BC Ferries, Flights, Travel, BC, Canada

[ame="http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&geocode=&time=&date=&ttype=&q=haida+gwaii&sll=51.727028,-128.38623&sspn=6.493115,14.238281&ie=UTF8&t=h&om=1&ll=51.971346,-127.397461&spn=12.926807,28.476563&z=5"]haida gwaii - Google Maps[/ame]

cheers,
sean
vancouver, canada

 

[BatRay]

Sounds complicated.....

 

[harbour seal]

Sounds complicated.....

not complicated per se, just remote as previously mentioned; however, this has helped protect the local fish and wild life stocks.

the coast is georgeous up there and the fishing much better than it is further south. it is a magical place, can't imagine anyone going there being dissapointed.

when i was about eight or nine years old boating with my family up the north coast i caught a 70lb ling. we were mooching for salmon with live herring at the time. at first, my dad was convinced it was hooked on a log or something but i saw the initial strike and was convinced it was a fish. three hours later it finally started moving and when it came up and it was gigantic. i remember being somewhat horrified when the giant head fist appeared from out the depths. it it was much, much bigger than i was at the time. there was a surprise when we open the fish up. my wee little herring was chomped not by the ling but a 20 lb red snapper (yellow eye rockfish). the big ling then came along and ate the snapper. so i ended up catching two fish in one. the snapper was delicious but unfortunately the ling meat was full of worms (as often happens with older fish).


cheers,
sean

 

[harbour seal]

another very interesting thing about haida gwaii is the haida people themeselves. a little off the topic of spearing but perhaps interesting to some.

the haida were/are a culturally rich people with an amazing tradition of art. the islands are full of ancient village sites, some of which are unbelievable. one of the old villages (ninstints) was made a UNESCO world heritage site. artifacts have been found showing they have been there for over 9000 years.

found this link with a couple recent photo albums
Haida Gwaii Haanas National Park Queen Charlotte Islands

this is a presentation of historical paintings depicting haida villages as they were in the late 1800's (i love historic/cultural stuff)
Civilization.ca - Northwest Coast Native settings - Haida

one of gordon miller's paintings of ninstints circ 1870 (if the in-line photo is too big i can take it out )
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f394/theRealMacoy/nw cam11b.jpg

couple more links to a couple paintings from the presentation - enjoy.
http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f394/theRealMacoy/nwcam18b.jpg

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f394/theRealMacoy/nwcam02b.jpg

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f394/theRealMacoy/nwcam17b.jpg

http://i51.photobucket.com/albums/f394/theRealMacoy/nwcam05b.jpg


cheers,
sean
vancouver, canada

 

[Amphibious]

I'm in, working on some jobs that would put me back in the north have a midway crash pad for spearos in transit. even If I don't, I have a buddy that lives there with a couple spare rooms, he'll do anything for a case of beer (and I mean ANYTHING, it's scary really), so those driving can break the trip up. Prince George is 7hrs from the Prince Rupert ferry terminal. more or less a 1/2 way point for those comming from edmonton, calgary, or vancouver.

I feel the need to build a halibut cannon of this pans out.... mmmmm beer battered halibut....

anythoughts on Viz in August? it is the tail end of summer, time of the plankton blooms...

 

[Fondueset]

Sounds wonderful. I've been a fan of Haida art for a few years now.

 

[bcspearo]

Works for me!

 

[cdavis]

If I'm coming as far as BC, might as well go all the way to the QCIs. They sound great. August works for me. Is that the best weather, water temp?

Connor

 

[Erik]

Queen Charlotte Islands Visitor Information Centre

August and September are the best times for weather/vis at the north end of Vancouver Island, and I don't see why that would be different. Granted, I've seen 130' horizontal at 130' deep in winter, but that's not the best time for a holiday like this.
Plankton blooms always seemed worse the further south you went (ie:Gulf Islands), but even then they were just in the top 5 metres or so, usually opening up to great vis deeper.

 

[IAM]

Sounds like an awesome place to go fishing.

 

[cdavis]

For planning purposes, hurricanes make late August and September an iffy time for me, can't leave if a biggie is anywhere near my home. They are not usually much of a threat before then (knock on wood).
Connor

 

[Erik]

First week or two of August works too