Salmon & Halibut Fishing British Columbia's Hakai Pass with Hakai Lodge, B.C.'s Best Fly-In Fishing Resort.

By John L. Beath www.GoFishMagazine.com& www.Halibut.net 

Last summer I enjoyed one of British Columbia's best fishing spots – Hakai Pass British Columbia. The area's expansive central coast shoreline has hundreds of miles of untouched and pristine beaches bordering some of British Columbia's best saltwater fishing experiences. On the central coast you won't find crowds, roads or other forms of civilization that can ruin the fishing experience. What you will find is a unique area filled with eagles, seabirds, seals, deer, bear and many other animals. But most important you'll find Chinook, coho, pink and chum salmon as they pass through the area, gorging their chrome-sided bellies with baitfish before continuing on their spawning journey. The runs have improved over the past few years because the Canadian Government declared Chinook salmon off limits to commercial fishermen, giving precedence to the fish and sports anglers. The policy has brought obvious results in the form of more fish, more often. This coming season should be even better than last year's, with hopeful anglers mooching, trolling or jigging kelp beds or fishy looking points of land.

Hakai Pass has many well-known hotspots to catch salmon, halibut, lingcod and rockfish, but many areas still remain a mystery. With a seemingly endless mainland and island shorelines, Hakai Pass simply can't be explored by the limited amount of anglers fishing from the remote lodges of the area. Virtually any area along the central coast could provide world-class opportunities for Chinook salmon weighing between 20 and 75-pounds and halibut in the 30 to 150-pound class. Anglers need only bring their sense of adventure, lots of film and a willingness to enjoy one of the west coast's most beautiful areas.

Hakai Lodge at Hakai Pass offers anglers a unique opportunity to experience wilderness fishing close to the lodge. Anglers at Hakai Lodge get their own boat and don't have to adhere to a guide's schedule, which makes this a perfect salmon fishing vacation for anglers who love to fish all day. The Hakai Pass area continually produces world-class fishing year after year. Hakai Pass is the area between Calvert and Hunter Island. The pass attracts lots of salmon as each high and low tide flushes baitfish in and out, creating a natural fish-attracting area that's easy to fish. Anglers from around the world have experienced Hakai Pass and they continue to book their trips during the peak season, from July through August for chrome-sided Chinook or as Canadians call them, “Springs.”

Many knowledgeable anglers consider July and August as the prime months, a handful of others opt for the awesome fishing for mature hook-nosed coho salmon in late August through mid September. When the coho salmon arrive it's not uncommon to see every rod bend over double with coho jumping clear of the water in every direction. Fishing Hakai Pass in late June or early July you will no doubt discover top-notch halibut and lingcod fishing as well as great king salmon fishing. Don't bother searching for rockfish, these multi-colored, bite-anything fish will find you as soon as your bait or lure nears bottom.

Fishing is easy at Hakai Pass. A cut-plug herring on a two hook leader either mooched or slow trolled at the Gap, Odlom, Bayley or Kelpie Point with 4 to 10-ounces of weight. Anglers can also use 2 to 8 ounce Deep Stinger Jigs or Point Wilson Dart Jigsto catch salmon, halibut,lingcod and rockfish. Last summer, while fishing with Tom Stienstra, we caught 15 species of fish, including an 82-pound halibut, 30-pound lingcod, 25-pound Chinook salmon and lots of different species of rockfish. Several world-class lodges have located within easy range of these productive hotspots, making long runs only optional for anglers who want to go farther in search of salmon. While these few hotspots routinely yield the season's biggest Chinook, anglers looking for added adventure can explore the area and fish along shorelines that have seldom had anyone troll or mooch near them.

Getting to Hakai Lodge begins in Renton Washington, aboard aNorthwest Seaplane refurbished, highly maintained vintage de Havilland Beaver float planes. The flight takes off from the southern shores of Lake Washington and takes passengers over beautiful vistas of water and mountains. After two hours of flight time the planes land on the water at Fleming Spit in Campbell River to clear Canadian Customs and refuel. After clearing customs and refueling the planes travel 90 minutes north along the wilderness, scenic coast before landing in the small wilderness bay where Hakai Lodge sits on floats anchored to the shoreline.

For more information about Hakai Lodge visit their website at:  www.Hakai-Lodge.comor call them at: 1-800-538-3551

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