Never Again

(Will I Catch As Many Fish)

Doug Hollett - Richmond, B.C.

778-837-4777

I had never gone salmon fishing before, so I was looking forward to a great time out on the water and catching lots of fish. Between the four of us, we each took home three 25+ lbs Springs and ¼ of a 50lbs Halibut. I’ve now ended up giving most of my catch away as there is no way that I can eat all of this fish.

It all started out by my doing some website work for a friend of a friend who runs a charter business on the west coast of Vancouver Island. I work in the computer business, I try to enjoy the outdoors as much as possible, but I am a typical big-city kind of guy.

On the other hand, my parents, Ed and Mary, are avid salmon fishers that go twice a year and it is always a big event for them. After talking with the fellow who runs the charter business while working on his website, he got me hooked on the idea of going out with him to try our luck.

We arranged for a 2-day trip in mid August during a reasonable stretch of good weather in Vancouver. Our destination was Tahsis, a small town on the edge of civilization, at the end of Esperansa Inlet, just above Nooka Sound. Getting there involved a trip on the Nanaimo ferry, a very scenic drive up the Island Highway to Campbell River, and an hour’s drive on a dirt road to Tahsis. The town is very small; perhaps 400 people live there. All the basics are there, two restaurants, a general store, pub, crumbling remains of the wood mill.

Our guide on the water was Mark Fanslau of Sentry Charters. If you looked up ‘fishing guide’ in the dictionary, you would see a photo of this fellow. He’s been at it for a while and really knows his stuff.

We arrived around 6:00pm on Sunday and got settled in. We picked up some provisions for breakfasts and lunches (on the boat) and went to bed early to be ready for the 4:30am start time.

I was surprised at how cool it was in the morning considering it was mid August. I don’t recall the exact temperature, but a sturdy coat was required. Our guide had by far the best boat in the marina and we were able to quickly blast out from the town to Ferrer Point, where the action was. His boat has a unique propeller system that causes a large rooster tail out the back, quite the sight from a distance, I’m sure.

We had two lines out the back, one a standard large spinning unit, the other a classic ‘knuckle-buster’. We had our choice of what type of gear we wanted out and the two old hands (my Dad and uncle Frank) chose the free spinner for the nostalgia.

Here’s the first fish into the boat, not more than 20 minutes into the day. You can see the ‘knuckle-buster’ reel on that side and the ‘fish bonker’ (large rubber mallet). I wouldn’t recommend using this type of reel if you want to get all of them to the boat; it fouled on a couple of the fish as we were playing them.

The lines were out not very far to my thinking, perhaps 30 feet on the downrigger. We were using a variety of spoons behind flashers, a pretty standard salmon set up. I believe that part of the secret was the ‘juice’ that Mark put on the lures. He had something in a small squeeze bottle that he put on the lure each time it went out. Don’t know if it was something he mixed up himself or whether he just took it out of the original bottle to disguise it.

The total the first day was five large 20+ pound Springs with at least three times as many lost fish. The largest fish was a very nice 37 pounder caught by my uncle Frank.

The great fishing was complemented as much by the beautiful surroundings of the area. Gorgeous all green (inward) or blue (outward) views straight out to Japan. The weather was great as well; we started a little gloomy (but spectacular) in the mornings and changed to a clear, flat day in the afternoon.

The fishing was brisk at times; there were a couple of double-header that kept us jumping. A typical fight would last 10 to 15 minutes with several screaming runs by the Springs. There were some very large fish out there as well, one monster that broke off the line at the flasher when he hit after taking half the reel. Another guide boat said they saw what must have been a 50-pounder swim by with a red flasher trailing behind it.

The picture at the beginning of the story shows the first day’s catch, the smallest being around 20 pounds and the largest, the 37-pounder. The second day was equally productive, with four large Springs, a Ling, and a Coho. The day was topped off by a large 50 lb halibut that we caught while trolling that felt like a small car on the end of the line. It took a substantial amount of ‘persuasion’ to subdue him once he was flopping around in the boat.

Of course, everything was taken care of for us. We jumped on the boat in the morning, reeled in the fish, jumped off the boat when we were done, and our fish appeared packed in ice a couple of hours later.

We didn’t see any of the wildlife that apparently frequents the area, but we were so happy with the fishing, we didn’t care. Black bears are a common sight in the morning, scouring the beaches at dawn for a quick meal. As well, a bald eagle or two can be brought down to the boat with a coarse fish on the surface.

Adding everything up: the fish, the weather, the scenery, I can’t imagine a better fishing trip could be enjoyed.