North Island Lodge Pre-Season Outlook
By Todd McIntyre, North Island Lodge, West Coast Fishing Club
After our crew completed the long haul from its winter home on the Fraser River to Langara Island, North Island Lodge is now at anchor in Beale Cove and in the final stages of preparations for the first guests of the 2015 season. In addition to the work we do in the off-season every year to maintain high standards of comfort, returning guests will no doubt notice a change to our lounge area, which has been expanded and refurbished over the winter. And, as in every year, extraordinary food service remains sharply in focus. To that end, our new executive chef, Liam Paul, is looking forward to taking his most recent experience at the prestigious Long Beach Resort in Tofino and putting it to work for discerning guests in the northern-most region of Haida Gwaii. Although things feel a little different this year after the passing of our friend and charter executive chef, Walter Pelliccia, we are thrilled to have Liam on board. Walter himself would no doubt approve of such a talented young chef carrying his culinary legacy forward and keeping some of his signature old-world traditions alive.
I am also pleased to welcome back several returning guides from last season, including our head guide DJ Shinduke, who has also become an enduring fixture at North Island Lodge. The guides are already taking bets on everything from who is going to guide the first tyee to who is going to get the biggest fish of the season. It’s great fun to see the guide team so energized and eagerly awaiting the arrival of our first guests next week. I managed to get out on the water for a few hours these past few days and discovered a good number of jack spring Salmon in the 14-18 pound range just around the corner at Cohoe Point and other spots. Nothing substantial yet in terms of size, but we saw our first tyee of the season on opening day last year and I am confident we’ll see the same thing occur in the early going again this year. Not only that, but the weather has been tremendous with more long sunny days in the forecast, so hopefully this is a sign of things to come.
We will be kicking off a new tradition for the first guests of the season in the form of the Ultimate Grill Showdown. Each year the first trip will feature some of the most renowned barbecue chefs in North America. The Godfather of the Grill, Ted Reader and Memphis Blues co-owner Park Heffelfinger will be on hand for the inaugural extravaganza June 1-5. Our new Napoleon barbecue and Yoder Smoker are ready and waiting to be fired up on the helipad once our first guests disembark. I must admit that I am looking forward to this myself, and feel confident that this will be the start of another one of the special event traditions for which The West Coast Fishing Club is famous.
The all-star staff and I hope to see you soon at Beale Cove. It already feels like it’s going to be another summer to remember.
http://westcoastfishingclub.com/properties/north-island-lodge/