By Pete Gray

When I go to a destination resort and look forward to going back, it’s a winner. This was my fifth visit to Haida Gwaii Safaris (formally Queen Charlotte Safaris), and I am going back!  Owner Valerie Hoperich makes sure everyone has a great time and caters to need like no one I have ever seen.  She creates an atmosphere at the lodge that is special.  Valerie takes her job very personally and is really good a making sure her guests are getting the special experience they paid for.

Due to popular demand, we had three trips this year, the first hosted by Cory Sanden and the second hosted by Harold Davis and I hosted the third. All trips were great, but I will give you details on my experience.

It is super easy to get to Haida Gwaii Safaris.  You fly into Vancouver; British Columbia Canada then take a 1.5-hour flight to Sandspit. This year Valerie arranged a special charter flight, that she will offer most of her groups.  The advantages of the charter flight are many.  After an overnight trip in Vancouver, our group of 24 boarded the charter at about 9am and we were in Haida Gwaii by 11am, where we met Harolds group at the airport and they returned to Vancouver on the same plane.  With just 24 passengers on a 50-passenger plane, there was plenty of room to spread out! We had the afternoon to hike, play golf, relax and explore the island.   Upon our return, we were not charged extra for our fish boxes and luggage, and check-in was a breeze in a totally empty airport.  The extra charge for the charter is about $250 per person, but when you factor in the extra luggage charges and an extra night lodging in Vancouver (which is not necessary for most travelers), you are saving more than double that.

4 of us fished with Duncan on one of the Haida Gwaii Safaris comfortable 30-foot boats.  The skies were sunny and it was a beautiful day except for the wind.  I call it the “sunshine tax” When you are in Alaska or BC, overcast and drizzle generally means no wind. Even in the wind all the boats in our group did fantastic on big king salmon (many in the mid to upper 20’s and even one 30 pounder) and near limits of Coho salmon, that has recently moved into the fishing zone. All this great fishing happened in flat calm conditions in an area called “the wall”, which gets its name from the sheer cliff, covered in trees and dense forest above you.  You can be 10 feet from the cliff and be in 100 feet of water!  Truly a spectacular place to fish!  After a great day of fishing, we headed back to the lodge and enjoyed a fun evening with cocktails, fish stories and a spectacular dinner prepared by Chef John and the kitchen staff.

Day 2 the wind backed off a bit, and we were able to fish for salmon a offshore.  We had some big kings in the mid 20’s and a few incidental ling cod.  It was still a bit bumpy to effectively fish for ling cod, halibut and rockfish, although we certainly could have if we wanted to.  At the end of the day, we dropped a big load of king, sliver and a few lings at the processor on the way back to the lodge and another great evening of cocktails, stories, fun and food.

Day 3 the wind finally came down, and we were able to go south about 30 minutes to large bay with spectacular fishing.  We had our daily limit of 12 giant ling cod in less than 30 minutes.  We released several that were a bit smaller and had to drive away from the biting fish!  The big MC slug was the super star with a 12-ounce lead head in only 130 feet of water.  Such fun fishing!   We moved a short distance and had our limit of halibut in less than an hour, picking through several smaller fish to get as close to the 120cm size limit (about 40 pounds).  The boat next to us with the Fraiser family aboard caught and released a giant halibut estimated to be over 150 pounds!  We finished our day with some king and coho salmon and had another big load to drop at the processor.  On the way back through “the cut” , which is the passage from the east side of the islands to the west, we saw several black bears, deer, otters, bald eagles and other wildlife.

Haida Gwaii Safaris is truly a special place.  The natural beauty of the island, the wildlife and the incredible fishing.  The food is 5 stars, and the hospitality of the lodge staff is amazing.  The harvest you bring back is also fantastic.  All packages include processing your catch and boxed to bring back on the plane.  Almost everyone on the trip has at least 70 pounds of prime salmon, halibut, ling cod and rockfish filets.

One of the impressive things about Haida Gwaii Safaris is how many singles, couples and families it attracts.  Many of those people have re-booked for next year, so if you want to join us next year, check qcsafaris.com and book your spot now! Cory will host a trip June 23 to 28, Harold will host a trip July 30 to August 3, and I will host a trip August 3 to 7. Don’t wait to book if you want to come along!