Ryan Orr Lodge Manager, Hippa Island
This past week at Hippa Island was a bit of a mixed bag. Some days were extremely productive for salmon fishing, other days were quite slow. The weather was also somewhat varied, although we did not see anything awful and we did not see anything fantastic. It was a middle of the road type of week and by the end of their trips most anglers managed to quite well.
As mentioned, there was a fair amount of variation in the salmon fishing over the past week. On some days the fishing was red hot, as it has been for most of the season, and boats were once again limited out by 8 am. On other days, the salmon bite really seemed to slow down and it could take the better part of a day to find a few springs. When the bite was on, Freeman Rocks was probably the top hotspot. At other times, the Shipwreck and the Lighthouse also produced strong salmon fishing. We also had a decent number of tyees this past trip with top honours going to Carl Mitchell for his 41 lb hog. Nice work Carl!
One thing that remained quite consistent this past week was the bottom fishing. While I wouldn’t call it red-hot, those guests who put in some time were typically always rewarded. Freeman Rocks was also a top producer for halibut as well as ling cod and red snapper. It is pretty nice to catch a limit of salmon and then, without even moving locations, drop down to the bottom to start hammering bottom fish. Sadler Island was also a top producer for halibut with sizes ranging from 15 lb chickens all the way up to 100+ lbs monsters. We certainly had a large number of those perfect 30-70 lb halibut and we also had our first few 100+ lbers this past week. The largest halibut of the past week, and the largest of the season so far, was a 168 lber caught by Tom Fox. Well done Tom. As for ling cod and red snapper, limits of these tasty critters were quite easily found in a number of different spots.
This past week we also experienced middle of the road type weather conditions. There was nothing too bad but we also did not have any really beautiful days. For the most part we experienced a sustained NW system which brought calm mornings and windy afternoons. Unlike typical NW systems which bring high pressure and sunny skies, this past week was overcast for pretty much the entire time. Looking ahead, we are currently expecting a bit of nasty weather and then it looks like it should calm down and hopefully allow us to continue fishing at all of the usual spots.
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
