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Geoff Moore
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Shearwater Resort
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Geoff Moore
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Geoff Moore
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Geoff Moore
By Darcy Nybo
Come and experience Shearwater Resort, one of the most beautiful places in the world, located on Denny Island in the Inland Passage on BC's remote Central Coast. Here you’ll find thousands of interconnected saltwater bays, channels and estuaries protected from the big winds and swells of the Pacific Ocean by a chain of islands.
At Shearwater Resort you’ll find rugged steep mountains densely covered with cedar, fir and spruce trees that slant steeply up from the waters edge. It is one of the few places on earth where you can observe deer and bears on shore, while fighting salmon on your rod as Orca whales cruise by in the channel. There are five species of salmon, dozens of rockfish species and small baitfish and krill that initiate the food chain, all swimming just below the surface. A fishing trip to Shearwater Resort is an experience like no other.
Guest Paul J. Kneeland, and his group, loved their time at Shearwater. Their flight left from Vancouver a 1 p.m. They were at the resort by 4 p.m. and settled into their rooms at the lodge overlooking the bay.
“ We spent the next few days fishing with Capt. Mike Hall, a.k.a. Spoonman, on a beautiful 25 ft. Kingfisher aluminum boat with a nice enclosed cabin, powered by Yamaha engines,” said Kneeland. The first day we headed out around Denny Island to White Point under a clear blue sky. We started trolling a couple GibbsDelta G-Force spoons paired with Highliner flashers, the Scotty downriggers were set at 40 and 50 feet deep and we trolled at around three mph.”
“ We started hooking coho salmon immediately! Bridget was first up and she grabbed the 10 ft. Daiwa mooching rod as the line was fiercely jerked out of the downrigger and the fight was on! The reel screamed as a nice fish peeled out line and headed deep. After a spirited battle, Mike netted a beautiful 15 pound coho! In the 2½ hours we were out, we caught and released 11 coho and kept two chinook weighing 15 and 20 pounds.”
After a day on the boat, the group headed back to the lodge for a hearty family style dinner of baked chicken, pasta salads, green salad, fresh baked bread and homemade apple pie. The next morning, they were up and out on the water by 6:30 a.m.
“ We trolled for a while near Cheney Point with no luck,” said Kneeland. “The weather was picking up from the west with good-sized rollers and 20 mph wind so we headed southeast to Purple Bluff. We dropped the downriggers to between 90 and 110 ft. deep and caught fish immediately. It was a wide open bite for about 45 minutes! We had five double hookups and caught and released 20 coho!”
Back at the Shearwater Lodge, cocktails and dinner awaited the tired but happy group. They watched a sunset of shimmering gold, aqua and emerald, with the moored boats gleaming in the glow.
For the final day of their three-day package, Capt. Mike took them to his favourite spot – Cultus Sound. Cultus is where over 50 per cent of the large chinook he had guided were caught. The GibbsDelta G-Force spoon "Trap Shack" and the green and white hoochie behind GibbsDelta Highliner flashers were once again the lures of choice.
“ Bridget caught the first fish of the day – a strong fighting 17 lb. chinook. Ken and Bridget then hooked and landed a pair of identical 28lb chinooks – gorgeous fish that fought like the heavyweights they were! Finally, it was my turn,” said Kneeland. “The rod popped violently out of the downrigger and I was into a heavy fish. He took several runs before I was able to lead him toward the boat. Ken decided to grab the net, but the feisty chinook saw the net and took off, after several tense minutes and several more runs, I coerced him back to the boat, and Ken netted a bright 33 lb. chinook!”
Later that day the group fished for bottom fish and caught lots of rock cod, lingcod, snapper and halibut.
Your experience at Shearwater Resort will be unique to you, but there are common threads that weave through every fishing tale. One is the service. Whether you choose a guided or self-guided package, you’ll get great service and a positive attitude from all the staff. The other is the picture perfect setting at the lodge. There are 13 rooms that hold 30 guests, with rooms overlooking the marina and waters of the Inland Passage. The meals are prepared by executive chefs that go out of their way to provide any special food or preparation you like. Now is the time to book your fishing package and find out why Shearwater Resort guests, like Paul Kneeland, come back time and time again. Visit shearwater.ca today.