August 3-7, 2022
Chairman: John Lavarias
24 SCTC members and families embarked on the first organized trip to Queen Charlotte Safaris fishing lodge located on Haida Gwaii Islands, British Columbia.
SCTC members attending were; Jeff Stone and daughter Lauren, Phil Capriccio and partner Jamie Aden, Joe & Eileen Vicic, Don Hudzietz and partner Barbara Royster, John Lavarias… Jane Lavarias was force to cancel last minute due to a medical issue, and last but certainly not least was John and Ginny Trapani and 13 of their family members, who traveled from as far as Ft Meyers FL.to join the trip.
The trip was highly successful with everyone catching their 4 fish limits of King (Chinook) Salmon, and near limits on big Ling Cod, Coho Salmon, and plenty of Chum Salmon, Halibut, and other Rock Fish totaling over 280 fish caught.
The group was divided into 5 groups and fished 4 to a boat for the next 3 days. Not all attendees fished each day. Some of the ladies opted for land excursions and hiking.
Each day began with full breakfast beginning at 5am, that included scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, potatoes, fruit, and oatmeal buffet, and eggs, pancakes, and waffles cooked to order. For lunch, the lodge packed sandwiches or wraps of our choosing, snacks, cookies, fruit, and beverages. We had hot soup waiting when we returned from fishing.
Dinners were all gourmet prepared by an award-winning Chef. We enjoyed Halibut, Lingcod, Salmon, Surf & Turf, all which started with a great salad, or appetizer or both. One night was all you could eat Dungeness Crab…we collected the crab from pots we pulled up on our way home from fishing. Each meal was finished with a fabulous desert.
provided entertained for the group with a sing-along session. He played his music on the only keyboard in Sandspit, borrowed from a neighbor
Early each morning it was off to the marina to board our assigned boats and head to the fishing grounds which was about 30 miles on the west side of Haida Gwaii Island. The ride through the Skidegate Narrows provided beautiful scenery of the forest covered mountains and where deer and bear were seen along the way.
Once on the grounds we started trolling for Salmon using knuckle buster outfits. Terminal tackle consisted of barbless hooks on a variety of lures or frozen herring. The baits were fished at various depts using heavy weighted down riggers. When the salmon fishing slowed, we moved to the Ling Cod & Halibut grounds and then back to the salmon area to finish the day.
The weather really cooperated during the 3 days of fishing with just an occasional light fog and a mist, partly sunny skies, light winds, mid-60s temperatures, and fairly calm seas. The ride to and from the fishing grounds was mostly flat making for a comfortable ride at 30-40 mph in our jet boats.
Our catch consisted of:
- King Salmon ranged from 18-41 lbs
- The Halibut ranged from 8-50 lbs
- Ling Cod ranged from 12- 40 lbs
- Coho and Chum Salmon ranged from 6-10 lbs
- A number of big 10-12lb Yellow Eye Rock fish were caught and released.
One evening Trapani’s nephew Johnny Greco, (of Dueling Pianos fame) provided great entertained for the group with a sing-along session. He played his music on the only keyboard in Sandspit, borrowed from a neighbor…what a hoot!
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