Kitimat Lodge April 1
Tracey John Hittel
Happy Easter and what a awesome weekend we had with our overnight group. Halibut fishing in the Douglas Channel was as good as it gets. We dusted the rods off from last year and headed out into the misty morning, porpoises greeting us with their signature surface dance.
The seas were flat calm and as the sun started to show in the East we deployed the Dungeness Crab traps and bolted over to the Halibut grounds. Anticipations were of course high and we told tales of last season and beyond, while we watched the rods like hawks.
About a hour into our set, rod 1 dipped, fish on! Then rod 2, double header. Ok boys bring them up, we're into two Halibut. At first we thought the two lines were snagged as this can happen when Halibut go crazy. It was a definite double header and a few minutes later we had our first two landed.
The spirits were now very high and the iPod tunes started pumping. A few dance moves on the back deck and Bam! Double header again. Come on boys,reel 'em in! The arms were as warm as the afternoon sun and we welcomed both. By days end we were getting a bit hungry so we filleted our smallest hally and put the BBQ on. Not sure if you have ever tried bacon wrapped halibut but I can tell you it's pretty damn good.
We intended to overnight at a local hot springs and just before dark we pulled up to the dock. The place was occupied by 3 vessels and we tied up alongside local fisherman from Kitimat, Mike Step. We cooked our catch of Crab and had a bathe in the hot pool. What a sweet wellness centre in the middle of coastal BC. We traded lies with the vessels moored on the dock, one vessel was from Rivers Inlet, some 150 miles down the coast. These fellas were on their way to Prince Rupert the next morning.
By midnight the clear sky was filled with the brilliance of stars and the shine off the waters surface was National Geographic all the way.
The next morning at first light, off we went back to the honey hole, again it produced and the morning was beginning to look like the day previous. The thing was, we had to be back for the Easter family celebration so we decided by noon we would depart back to Kitimat.
I've attached a number of pictures of our trip and hopefully the readers can imagine the smells, tastes, and the vision we received during this spectacular experience.
250 632-9880 hm.
250 639-4277 cell.
www.steelheadheaven.ca
www.kitimatlodge.com
tjhittel@telus.net
Skype Address: kitimat_lodge