Ryan Orr Lodge Manager, Hippa Island
This past week we certainly experienced opposite extremes here at Hippa. The first part of the week we had great weather and exceptional fishing which resulted in our most productive trip of the season thus far. In the second half of the week we had horrible weather and although some very nice fish continued to come in, it was definitely our toughest trip of the season so far. Thankfully it looks like the brutal weather is behind us and we are hoping to pick up where we left off.
When we were able to get on the outside this past week, the spring salmon fishing continued to very productive. The hotspot on the outside was The Lighthouse with some decent action off The Shipwreck as well. Most of the springs on the outside were in the 17-23 lb range with a good number in the mid to high 20’s as well. When the weather forced us to the inside of Hippa Island the overall salmon numbers certainly decreased although the average size increased considerably. Even during the toughest weather, the inside produced a large number of tyees. Springs were caught in The Coves, Diver’s Den, and at a brand new spot on the inside, now known as Troll Island. Although not a lot of fish, Troll Island produced an impressive number of big fish, including a 38, a 40, and the largest of the season so far, a beautiful 45 lb spring caught by Shannon Vetsch and guided by her parents Ken and Mariann Kjosness. What a great family effort and nice work Shannon!
The early part of the last week also produced the best halibut fishing we have seen all season. Although we had managed to find halibut prior to this past week, we struggled to find the bigger halibut in decent numbers. This all changed early last week as 40+ lb halibut began to hit the dock on a regular basis. The hotspots seemed to be all over. Some of our old hotspots at Freeman Rocks, Sadler Island, and the Turkey Bowl turned on for us. We also discovered a new (and yet to be named) spot midway between Hippa Island and Freeman Rocks. It was this spot that produced the largest halibut of the season so far, a 90 lber caught by Vinny Svy. Good job Vinny! On the inside we also managed to find some nice halis off The Beach and into the South Passage. As you might expect we also found the usual assortment of lingcod, red snapper and other rockfish at various spots on the outside.
As I have already mentioned, we experienced the full spectrum of Haida Gwaii weather this past week. We started off the week with relatively calm seas and not much in the way of wind. As the week progressed the weather changed drastically. It started off with a rare NW gale and then shifted to back-to-back SE gales which brought heavy rain and powerful wind gusts. Despite the tough conditions, our guests continued to tough it out and we did see some very nice fish come out of it. The weather looks to be improving in the coming days and we are looking forward to once again spreading out and finding the best of what this place has to offer.
If you have recently visited Hippa, thank you for joining us and we hope to see you again. For those of you who have a trip planned to Hippa in the near future, the staff and I look forward to your arrival. If you have any questions or comments feel free to e-mail me at rorr@westcoastresorts.com.
Ryan Orr
Lodge Manager, Hippa Island
Ryan and crew
My first time at Hippa, I hope to be back when I can. Myself and my brother Gord were impressed from the time we boarded Hawk Air’s Dash 8 in Edmonton, till we got off 4 days later.
I have been fishing lots in my time, but it was Gord’s first experience.
A lot of credit to the management and all the way down the line to each staff, no matter what their position. You folks run a well organized, enjoyable for the guests, and first class fishing/holiday experience for all.
I am not an overly critical personality, however if something that is out of sorts for a hospitality operation such as yours, I always feel it is best the management sould kinow about it. There is little I think you can do differently and improve much. I thought I would like to use the excersize room, however had no time as I want as much fishing as possible, therfore no aerobic workouts this time. What I saw looked small but adequate for the few that use it. If I were to improve it I would get a device that really works well, it is a water rower and when on the floor takes up about 8′ X 30″ wide, but then racks up standing in a spot 2′ X 3′.
The weather introduced me to sea sickness, however my next trip may be better.
Thanks again for a fantastic trip for myself and my brother Gord.
Ivan
Hey Ryan and all….
Little late on this response, but better late than never!
Nice to see you mention my bosses (Vinny) fish, and yeah, next time at the airport we’re putting him thru the metal detector to get all the horseshoes he smuggled in. All in all a great weekend of fishing.
Great weather, great fishing, great hosts….hope we were ok guests!
You guys do it worldclass…nothing but compliments from the guys in our group.
Only complaint i have is really, someone should put me to bed earlier than four a.m……ha ha! Goodtimes!
Cant waut for next year! And tell Dave the Chef my dominican coffee showed up…so will send him a couple pounds when i get a chance. He’ll know what i mean!
thanks again for four of the best days of my year….cant wait till next season!
Jared Norton
Hippa 2010