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2009
The 2009 summer brought us not only beautiful sunny weather, but some great fishing as well and with yet again another outstanding solid bottom fish and coho season to go with it.
Midnight at EPL dock.
May 2009
Our season did start out a little slower than usual this May with our first two groups of the season having to really work hard for the fish they did manage to catch. After talking with other charter operators up and down the coast, this seemed to be the pattern everywhere, that the fish were just a little late showing up this spring.
Historically, we have excellent fishing right from our start-up in mid May, and we anticipate things to be back to normal for the upcoming season here in 2010. By the end of May, fishing was red hot with many fish in the mid to high twenties and low thirties being caught and harvested forthe table.
Our first fish taken over forty was caught by Blaine Usenik while on his first trip to EPL with the U of A Hospital auction group, the fish weighing in as a 45-pounder!
Roanne Dunbar with a fine feeder
spring caught at the wall.
Nancy Harris and Sue Hutchinson
trolling the wall.
June 2009
June stayed true to its reputation as being some of the best weather and hottest spring fishing our area has to offer. Right from the get-go, this month produced excellent fishing for both spring salmon and halibut, and every group this month took home tyees. The Langkowski group had outstanding fishing as it always does, taking home over 1,700 pounds of boxed fish, along with the second Dechant trip of the season enjoying the same luck departing with 1,585 pounds of boxed fish.
The Langkowski group with their day’s catch.
Congratulations go out to Mike Mason of the Langkowski group for his 48-pound spring and Don Mason who harvested a 71-pound hali on the same trip. Small coho in the 7 to 9-pound range started showing up in numbers by mid month and by the 25th were averaging in the 10-pound range consistently.
Eagle Pointe fleet at day break.
Carol Burns doing battle with a big one.
Dinner time at Eagle Pointe Lodge.
Back at the dock.
July 2009
July, as always, was the steady and consistent producer of all species of salmon, cod and halibut. This is really the month that has it all with all runs of salmon running at their peaks, coho being the only exception which peak around the 20th to 25th of August. Again every group that visited during the month of July took home tyees rounded out with full limits of salmon, cod and halibut. We, the staff of EPL have dubbed this family month as it really has become the month that many of the groups are full family trips, although this trend is spreading to some of the other months as well.
It is nice to sometimes see up to three generations of family sharing and building life-long memories at Eagle Pointe Lodge, and we look forward to many more to come.
Ron Joyce and guide Jason Peters with
Ron’s 46-pound spring.
JR Shaw playing a spring at Holiday Pass.
Tristan Ruszle and Ella Orcutt with
a 47-pound spring.
August 2009
August and September are truly the times for outstanding Coho fishing, this past season being no exception! We enjoyed once again some of the finest Coho angling on the entire coast as we are so fortunate with our unique location that we are able to intercept the fresh runs of migrating fish down the coast fresh from Alaskan waters before anyone else in B.C. even gets a crack at them.
Every single group that visited us from August 1st through to shutdown on September the 6th took home their full limits of these bright, tasty and hard-scrapping fresh fish.
Many bottom fish such as ling cod, rock cod, red snapper, and halibut helped round out the boxes of flash frozen fillets headed for our guests’ freezers and, ultimately, their tables. This truly was one of the finest well-rounded seasons with steady fishing and weather throughout our entire summer.
Rob Vodola and Justin Gyger with
a
fly-caught tyee in August.
Pat Elzinga with her 17-pound northern coho.
Grant Bartlett with a typical August coho salmon.
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Andy Mah with a 17-pound ling cod.
Aerial view of EPL.
I would like to mention that it is up to all of us to do our part to ensure that our great fishery continues to stay strong, not only for us on the north coast, but for the entire B.C. coast! I'm proud to tell you that many of our groups who have traditionally held salmon and halibut largest fish caught derbies are now going to hidden weights instead of trying to target the largest fish only. This helps to take the pressure off of harvesting the larger fish which is ultimately our future fishery as the largest fish are the strongest brood stock. Congratulations to those of you who recognize the importance of this fact and are already planning your group's derbies for next season around the hidden weight format. |
The ownership and staff at Eagle Pointe Lodge acknowledge the fact that large brood stock fish are the future of not only our industry, but the future of sport fishing as a whole for all our children and grandchildren. It is therefore up to us now at this time to do our part in preserving this great and wonderful natural resource that we have to enjoy each and every summer. We therefore have decided together that, starting the 2010 fishing season, it will be our Lodge’s policy to release all halibut over 90 pounds and all ling cod over 20 pounds. These large female fish are the future of their longevity, and if we do not ensure their survival, then we will become part of the blame. We appreciate your understanding in this new policy and ask for your co-operation moving forward. The size of the fish to be released will be up to your guides’ discretion.
Once again it is with great excitement that I am able to share with you the off-season changes and upgrades we will be undergoing during the winter and spring months. With the dedication the ownership has shown over the past three years by spending over 1.5 million dollars in capex upgrades to our facility, we will be continuing again this year to improve EPL docks and equipment so that everyone’s experience only becomes that much more comfortable and enjoyable. This year looks to be one of the largest single-season changes with a new concrete fish cleaning dock and facilities that will make all the competition green with envy!! We will also be adding some additional docks and walkways for space and comfort. We have also re-built and strengthened our breakwater which will help to protect all of our new dock systems and fleet of new boats that we all enjoy so much.
On behalf of the ownership and all the staff of Eagle Pointe Lodge, we thank you so much for being a part of what we take so much pride in being able to share and offer you. We again look forward to building and sharing great times and memories with your continued patronage for many years to come.
*Please watch for us on three new episodes of Sport Fishing B.C. hosted by Mark Penlington on your favorite outdoor networks airing this fall, winter, and next spring.
For bookings please call toll-free Denise Isaman: 1-888-988-8388.
*Or look us up on the web @ www.eaglepointelodge.com
Sincerely tight lines,
Gibran White,
Manager
Lodge manager Gibran White with a
28-pound spring to be released.
At the day’s end.
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