written and photographed by Mary L. Peachin
Mar 2002, Vol. 6 No. 5
A departing guest, her baggage by her dockside murmured “I’m jealous, you’re arriving and we’re leaving.” As we warmed ourselves around the cozy fireplace, our attention drifted to the great mountain views surrounding Barnard Harbour, as General Manager, Regula Wipf, and her team of Wayne Boles, head fishing guide, Norm Hann, adventure guide, and assistant manager, Leaf Escaravage shared the many adventure activities we could experience during the following three days at King Pacific Lodge. The only semblance of civilization is the occasional cruise ship plying through Campania Sound headed for Alaska.
Six sleepy anglers had wandered down to the lobby of Vancouver’s airport Fairmont hotel crack of dawn in the lobby. We handed our 30-pound baggage allocation to a representative from the lodge then proceeded to our Air Canada flight. Several hours later we landed in Prince Rupert, a city close to the northern border of British Columbia. There, we were greeted by a driver who shuttled us a short distance to a dock to board a Harbour Air floatplane. An hour later, the pilot glided into the harbor idling his props as he taxied to the dock of the elegant resort, a converted (with no expense spared) former U.S. naval barge. Anchored to the bank of Princess Royal Island, an island designated as part of the Great Bear reserve, the lodge is located between the cities of Bella Bella and Prince Rupert’s, the land of the Tsimshian First Nation’s band.
Hideo ‘Joe’ Morita, a son of the founder of Sony, bought an existing lodge, converted it to staff housing, then built the adjacent luxury resort, all constructed of natural materials including wood beams and slate floors. The main room of the lodge features a massive two story stone fireplace, a sectioned dining room, video and game room, and a spa with hot tub and treadmill (offering massage therapy). The front porch leads to the dock facing the westerly view of the mountains surrounding the harbor. Upstairs 18 suite-size bedrooms have king-size duvet-covered beds. Wall to wall windows have views of the harbor or rainforest. Bathrooms offer a full shower plus large soaker tubs. A basket of amenities includes a nubby roller for sore fishing muscles.
An active/adventure destination, King Pacific Lodge offers interpretive hikes among 1000-year-old hemlocks, ocean kayaking through fiords and inlets, the opportunity to search for the indigenous Kermode “White Spirit” black bear. The bear carries a recessive gene, an anomaly sacred to the First Nations band. It is considered good luck to have a rare viewing experience.
All species (Chinook or spring, coho or silver, pink (“humpies”) and chum) of salmon run through the channels waters surrounding King Pacific Lodge. Chef Alex Rolland and his pastry chef Jenna Dashney make every meal a gourmet adventure. During meal times each guest is given the opportunity to decide whether they would like to go fishing on 17-foot guided Campion boats, kayaking, hiking, beachcombing, and searching for grizzlies and viewing glaciers from the lodges helicopter. Between smoked scallops and our entree of fresh salmon, we are asked if we’d like to see a river otter with four pups who sometimes hang out behind the floating lodge. The table is deserted as we all get a close up view of the otters.
Our first stop was the dry room where each of us would gear up in a bright red Mustang survival suit (for warmth and safety), and a pair of rubber boots. I’ve come to try my rod at salmon fishing but enroute to Eclipse Point, we make a detour to observe a rock occupied by stellar sea lions. The bulls roar as the boat approaches. Females, lying on a separate rock seem content to be defended by the males. The stench of their droppings– whew, we held our breath.
Guide Wyler Dundax is a member of the village of Hartley Bay (Gutga’ata) First Nations band. His small village is located at the entrance to Douglas Channel. He drops squid-looking “hoochies” on a downrigger to about 40 feet as we troll along the inlets and fiords near rainforest banks.
Suddenly a water spout appears. Humpback whales inhabit these waters gently swimming in the sound until sounding with a “tail up” It is a slow afternoon of fishing. We release two Chinook and one Coho. Soaring eagles and whale encounters have made the time fly.
Early the next morning, Guide Ronnie Ludvigson and I follow two humpbacks cruising the bank. “Smells like they ate rotten cabbage” as we get a whiff downwind from their spouting”. Whale halitosis travels a long way.
It’s been several weeks since larger Chinook have migrated through the area. We hooked into several 15 pounders. “This is a good sign that another school is coming. We also release several jumping coho and a pink “humpie.” Ronnie is watching “bait balls” on his fish finder as a Dept. of Ocean and Fisheries boat approaches. They are patrolling to check for fishing license, barbless hooks, and anglers exceeding their catching limits of two fish of each species. Identifying us as a King Pacific Lodge boat they continue on. “They know we follow the rules.” Betraying their majestic size, eagles chirped like songbirds. When we returned at noon, a rookie angler, Sarah English, has caught a 30-pound Chinook called a Tyee.
Taking a break from fishing, we again set out for some whale watching, searching for the kermode and black bear scavenging on beaches, and checked out a 50-year old tug boat wreck.
The north coast area near Prince Rupert experiences large, powerful tides, some which can rise 24-feet. There is a 4-foot change in water level every hour with two high and two low tides each day.
Our final day brings one of life’s biggest fishing thrills. Angler Carl Duncan and I climb into the lodge’s Bell 206 helicopter with pilot Paul Tosczak and head fishing guide Wayne Boles. Lifting off the dock we fly at an altitude of 1000 feet as we fly Whale Channel past Gill Island to the Quall River. The helicopter lands in a grassy meadow blooming with spring flowers. Pink salmon have just begun their spawn up the river. Using 8- weight fly rods with pink “show-girls” flies (pink fluff that, in water, resembles a leech.), we wade up to our waist in the sandy bottom of the river. A pink hits the first fly and circles around me in the clear water. He is a male with a big hump, sea lice are still attached to his scales indicating he is a recent migrate from the ocean, fresh and strong still for the battle up the river where he will spawn and die.
Several strands of grass float by me. Wayne nonchalantly says ‘guess we have a bear upstream.’ When the spawn is in full swing, bears head to this river to fish. We see only a few bear today. Wayne had his only Kermode bear sighting along the Quall. There are only about 6-8 on the entire island comprised of 325,0000 hectares, the four largest island in British Columbia.
The hooting of an owl above the rush of the stream is suddenly interrupted by the sound of a large crash. Is that thunder, I wondered on this glorious sunny day. “Just another avalanche” The higher peaks of the Coast range are still snow capped.
As we continue to fish, moving the helicopter to another location after significantly disturbing a school of salmon, Wayne tells me “these fish have never encountered an angler is this remote site. They aren’t really interested in feeding, they are just pissed off and snapping when we put the fly in front of them. Soon schools of coho will run the river.
This time a bear interrupts our fishing and we board the helicopter for a flight down Whale Channel past Hartley Bay. The time had passed two quickly before it was time to depart. Another option would have been to fish for cutthroat and rainbow native trout on the Lowe or Klewnuggett lakes, a 15-30 minute flight, but the time was late.
Rising early we kayaked around the banks of Barnard Harbour into Cameron cove. Small dungeness crabs scurried sideways along the rocky bottom newborn salmon along with schools of smolts in Eagles sat perched on the tops of fir trees. The distinctive cry of the loon echoed across the water. All too soon our floatplane arrived . Our adventure was over.
King Pacific Lodge 145 E. 15th St, Suite 202, North Vancouver, B. C. V7L 2P 7 (888) 592-5464, (604) 987-5472 fax or email [email protected] or go to www.rosewoodhotels.com