The photo of the week shows a couple of Nimmo Bay Resort's "5 star" accommodation chalets. Craig Murray, owner of the resort, describes these two as in the "heart of the wilderness".
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Noel Gyger - Guided Fishing Adventures and Weekly Fishing Report
4012 Best Street, Terrace, B.C. V8G 5R8, Canada
Tel/Fax: (250) 635-2568
Cell: (250) 631-2678
E-mail: noel@noelgyger.ca
Home page: www.noelgyger.ca
Fishing Reports: www.noelgyger.ca/past-fishing-reports.htm
RECORD SALMON & STEELHEAD Spin or fly-fishing
RIVER, LAKE, STREAM or OCEAN!!!
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Noel Gyger - WEEKLY FISHING REPORT dated May 27 – June 3, 2007
Dear Fishing Friends:
It was briefly mentioned in last weeks report that my good friend Mr. Craig Murray and his staff at Nimmo Bay Resort were chosen number 1 in the world for helicopter tours by New York based Forbes Traveler magazine. I believe an award like this deserves a little more "air time". Below is a link to Gerry Bellett's article which appeared in the Vancouver Sun on Saturday, May 26, 2007:
http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=85378d86-16c6-4c9c-8683-f30f32d123cf&k=6347
From my experience, links to articles only work for so long, therefore the full article is shown below:
B.C. resort gets top billing
Influential U.S. travel site says Nimmo Bay Resort's helicopter tours are the world's best
Gerry Bellett, Vancouver Sun
Published: Saturday, May 26, 2007
New York-based Forbes Traveler ranks B.C.'s Nimmo Bay Resort as No. 1 in the world for helicopter tours into relatively inaccessible but visually stunning places.
"That's great news for British Columbia and great news for us," said Craig Murray, the resort's founder and owner, who was unaware of the Forbes Traveler assessment when contacted Friday.
Forbes listed 10 locations for the road-weary adventurer who wants to visit hard-to-see areas that can best be reached and appreciated from a helicopter.
Nimmo Bay is on the B.C. mainland at the head of Mackenzie Sound about 320 kilometers northwest of Vancouver in a vast area of wilderness.
The nearest large community is Port Hardy on the northeast coast of Vancouver Island.
Visitors arrive at Port Hardy and are then helicoptered to Nimmo Bay, where for $2,000 a day they stay at a lodge or in private, inter-tidal chalets.
Once there they can fish -- it's catch and release -- go whale-watching, whitewater rafting, kayak, hike, and descend into caves.
"People can also go beachcombing and go on first nations cultural tours.
"There's a whole range of adventures available to them across 30,000 square miles of pristine wilderness," said Murray, who created the resort 27 years ago.
"We fly people all over and visit everything from sea level to glaciers at 7,000 feet [2,100 metres]," he said.
The company uses B-2 A-Star helicopters supplied by West Coast Helicopter to ferry guests to remote spots up Knight Inlet or parts of the west coast of Vancouver Island.
"At any one time we'll have three or four helicopters available," he said.
About 600 visitors a year arrive at the resort, staying from three to seven days. The resort is only open from the middle of April to the end of October. It employs a staff of 16.
Most of the visitors are from the U.S. or other parts of the world.
On Friday, Murray was saying goodbye to a group from Chile and getting ready to receive visitors from the United States.
"We do have Canadian visitors but it's minimal. If Canadians want to spend a lot of dollars on vacations they like to do it outside the country, which is a pity because this area is so unique. We'd like more Canadians to come and see what's in their own backyard," he said.
The resort, which prides itself on being environmentally responsible, received the B.C. government's 1999 environmental award for industry, business and labour.
Murray said a proportion of the tourists are from corporations.
"If we have a whole group of CEOs the first thing they do is to book places for themselves and their families because they want their loved ones to experience it, too," he said.
gbellett@png.canwest.com
HOW THE REST OF THE WORLD COMPARES
The 10 top helicopter touring spots in the world, according to Forbes Traveler.
1. Nimmo Bay, B.C.
2. Rotorua, New Zealand.
3. Iguazu Falls, Brazil.
4. Great Barrier Reef, Australia.
5. Juneau, Alaska.
6. Victoria Falls, Zambia.
7. Hawaii, various locations.
8. Grand Canyon, Ariz.
9. Sabah, Malaysia.
10. Montserrat, Spain.
Congratulations again to Craig and staff.
If I can be of service to find you the "best" guided fishing adventure let me know. Cast here to check out more of what I have to offer: http://noelgyger.ca/special-guided.htm
Be sure to check out my website at www.noelgyger.ca for more info on my history, Quality Waters Strategy, special guided fishing trips, video clips, scenic river photos, wildlife photos and others, comments from past guests, informational articles and archived fishing reports from 1996 through 2002. I hope it meets with your entire satisfaction.
FISHING GUIDE REPORTS FOR THIS WEEK ARE FROM:
Chad Black
Craig Murray
Ron Wakita
CURRENT REPORT and summary for Skeena and Tributaries:
TYPE OF FISH CAUGHT: Chinook (King) Salmon and Steelhead
Weather has been good all week with no rain but today is very hot. The predicted high is 31 degrees Celsius. This would be 10 degrees above normal. The mainstem Skeena River is not fishable due to extremely high water. This is normal for this time of year. The Kalum River is high but just clean enough to fish. We believe good numbers of Chinook are entering the river now in this high water but as a continued conservation measure, fishing for Chinook (King) Salmon above the lower canyon has closed as of May 24th. One may target them below the lower canyon (approx. 5 miles) and even then the BIG fish over 65cm are "catch and release" only until after July 1. The Kitimat River is clean enough to fish and producing good numbers of Chinook. They are coming in with the high tides.
Please avoid targeting Steelhead directly on any river, most now will be in the spawning mode and should be left alone. The next time we target Steelhead will be on the main stem Skeena River for "summer-runs" starting around early to mid August.
Thank you for using barbless hooks.
FISHING THIS WEEK:
POOR FAIR* GOOD EXCELLENT
LARGEST FISH OF THE WEEK: Specie: 40-pound Halibut Where: Douglas Channel Angler: Anita Oliveira
WEATHER: Sunny with cloudy periods. Highs to 31 degrees C. Region normal: Max. Temp. 19 degrees C. Min. Temp. 7 degrees C. Sunrise 5:05 am Sunset 10:01 pm
WEATHER REPORTS VIA TELEPHONE: Environment Canada taped messages constantly updated, giving current conditions and three day forecasts. Terrace 250-635-4192 Kitimat 250-632-7864 Prince Rupert 250-627-1155 Smithers 250-847-1958.
For current Terrace weather information please cast on:
http://www.theweathernetwork.com/weather/cities/can/pages/CABC0292.htm?ref=wxbtnold
WATER CONDITIONS: water has been on the rise all week.
CURRENT WATER HEIGHTS FOR:
SKEENA RIVER:
http://scitech.pyr.ec.gc.ca/waterweb/fullgraph.asp?stnid=08EF001
KITIMAT RIVER:
http://scitech.pyr.ec.gc.ca/waterweb/fullgraph.asp?stnid=08FF002
SKEENA RIVER: has been rising steadily and is not fishable. This is normal for this time of year. Even though the water is very high and dirty Chinook (King) Salmon are migrating through the system now.
KALUM RIVER: had an "excellent" run of Steelhead. Most Steelhead are in the spawning mode now. Chinook (King) Salmon are available in the lower section. The water is very high but is still clean, especially on the upper end.
This is a Classified River year round and can be guided from March 15 through October 15 only. The Steelhead record is 32-pounds. To see a photo of this fish cast to: http://noelgyger.ca/records/Record003.jpg The angler is Dennis Therrien.
KASIKS RIVER: It is now possible to fish for Chinook at the mouth, in the clean seam, where it joins the Skeena. Sometimes, the Chinook come out of the Skeena and into the clean water in search for scent of their home river.
EXCHAMSIKS RIVER: Same as above, it is now possible to fish for Chinook in the clean seam.
My neighbor Glen and Laura Dunsmore went on a jet boat tour up the Exchamsiks River yesterday with our friend Rick Wallace. Here are a couple of photos they took. These and other "new" photos (full size) will be appearing soon on my webpage at: http://www.noelgyger.ca/photos-rivers/Exchamsiks-River-001-copy.jpg
EXTEW RIVER: Same as above, it is now possible to fish for Chinook in the clean seam.
Note: sadly, the above three rivers are closed to angling for Chinook except at the very lower end. Please check 2005 – 2007 BC Freshwater Salmon Supplement (fancy name for regulations) at: www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/recfish for details.
ZYMOETZ (COPPER) RIVER: Like other Skeena tributaries, the Chinook will start coming in now. The water is very high.
Nicholas Dean Lodge Fishing Report for the Week of May 27 to June 2, 2007
The Skeena Region continues to be undergoing high water conditions, and as a result, the fishing options have been a little fewer. However, there is still some fishing available in the Skeena Region – the near shore saltwater region near Prince Rupert and Kitimat is a good place to start for Chinook fishing, and there are many lakes near Terrace which have excellent fishing for Bull Trout, Cutthroat, and Rainbows.
Dustin and I are just returning from a trout fishing trip in Central Alberta, where we experienced good fishing for brown trout on the Red Deer River, a river that is very famous for its large fish and their affinity for surface flies. Needless to say, when we returned on Saturday night, the flooding in the Skeena was very evident – in the Bulkley and main channel Skeena – but also the road! A very large landslide had been triggered by the warm, snow melting conditions, which blocked access to Terrace until a few days ago. It was reported that over 5000 dump truck loads of sand and debris were transported in the slide. Currently, road crews have dug out a single lane of traffic but are only allowing traffic to pass through at certain times of day.
I will have a more in-depth report for you next week, but until then, tight lines and screaming reels!
Chad Black
Operations Manager
Nicholas Dean Lodge…where every cast is an adventure!
OCEAN FISHING PRINCE RUPERT:
A summary of what is available year round can be read in the Archived Fishing Report dated April 13, 1997. For a direct link cast here: http://noelgyger.ca/archived-fishing-reports/Old%20Fishing%20Reports%201997.doc
AREA RIVER RECORDS: Chinook Salmon: Skeena River, 92.5-pounds; Kalum River, 85-pounds; Kitimat River, 74-pounds; Steelhead: Skeena River, 45-pounds; Coho Salmon: Skeena River, 27-pounds.
CURRENT REPORT and summary for Northern Coastal Rivers:
KITIMAT RIVER:
The water level of the Kitimat River is high from the warm weather and snow melt but the Kitimat River remained fishable at certain times of the day on some of the days last week.
We record the height of the river daily as well as the time and height of the tide. This week we have been watching the river rise through the night from the warm weather of the preceding day. The level continues to rise until mid day depending on the time of the outflow tide and then drops into the evening.
For example, Tuesday, the river came up and was unfishable at 11:00 A.M. Through out the afternoon the river level dropped and the water visibility improved to 2 feet at 6:00 P.M. We also had an outflow tide which ebbed at 5:13 P.M which helped to flush and clean the system.
On the days when the temperature of the preceding day is exceptionally hot, the river will rise and stay unfishable all day such as Friday (June 1) and Saturday. Accordingly there was a 25lb. Chinook recorded at the Pump House Tuesday evening and there was also a Jack Spring caught on Thursday evening but nothing reported on Friday and Saturday. By recording and documenting the river heights we have discovered a way to maximize an angler's fishing time and still take advantage of the warmer weather to do the other things in life.
We are hoping that the weather will continue to stay warm to melt the bulk of the snow pack now before the main portion of the Chinook return later in the month. Stay tuned as only Mother Nature and time will tell how the record snow pack in the mountains will continue to effect our fishing season.
Report from Ron Wakita of Reliable Guide and Charters
OCEAN FISHING KITIMAT DOUGLAS CHANNEL:
Jason Bunn and his girl friend Anita Oliveira boated a 40lb. halibut and a 15lb halibut on Saturday (June 2) down the southern portion of Douglas Channel.
Larry of Nautical West Charters landed two Chinook a 30lb and a 22lb and a 42lb halibut on Thursday. (May 31)
Wes Owen of Golden Adventures and his cousin Darrel Weran and his wife Susan boated a 23lb. chinook on Friday.
Trolling the Kitimat harbour for Chinook still remains a little spotty. I was out on a personal trip on Saturday morning and the fishing seemed to be "OFF". There was some conversation on the V.H.F that the killer whales may have been in the harbour.
We decided to focus on the crabbing and enjoy the other advantages of the Douglas Channel i.e. Wee Wanie Hot Springs. Wee Wanie is one of a number of natural hot springs on the Douglas Channel. It was built by a number of volunteers appropriately listed on a sign which hangs on the wall of the hot tub. We returned with 24 crab and well rested bodies massaged by therapeutic waters of the hot springs.
Although the Salmon fishing is spotty the anglers who have helped me report their results certainly appreciate their catch and there are so many other opportunities to enjoy on the waters of the Douglas Channels.
Thanks to all for helping with this report and congratulations on your catch. I would also like to acknowledge the "Shared appreciation of Douglas Channel" with those who experienced her incredible beauty in the past, present and those who will in the future.
Report and photo from Ron Wakita of Reliable Guide and Charters
CURRENT REPORT and summary for Central Coast/North Van Island Wilderness Rivers:
DFO Salmon forecast for 2007: Coho return is expected to be normal; Chinook were at or above average, so good fishing are anticipated; Chum are always strong; Pink returns are expected to be normal, which means very plentiful; Sockeye is not expected to be high.
May 30, 2007
Fishing report from Nimmo:
Man cannot live by FISH alone. A true shore lunch is an absolute necessity with any angling Odyssey. Time out to eat. Gourmet treats couple with wine, beer, coffee, tea, soft drinks and an undisturbed vista, become your only focus. Only at this particular point in time, when one is totally stuffed, completely satiated, a home crafted chocolate truffle is the only treat small enough to end up melting in one's mouth, while gazing towards Japan, across the wide Pacific Ocean.
The northwest end of Vancouver Island. The perfect shore Lunch - good food, good friends, no crowds.
Just before this splendid repas, the guests were fishing for Steelhead and Rainbow on a North Vancouver Island river. The simple life, a great life, at least for 4 days, and it should be experienced at least once in a person's life, if not on a regular occasion. Soon it's off to another river, to digest and to catch on.
Nimmo Bay Resort was just featured in a half page article on page 3 in the Vancouver Sun Front edition (Sat, May 26th) as being honoured by Forbes Traveler for being the number 1 Helicopter tour destination IN THE World to access places most beautiful. Best in the World is a really great third party accreditation, especially from Forbes. It has taken 27 years of flying and fishing with the collective professionalism of our staff, suppliers and marketing partners, to finally get world class recognition. It has been a great game and we have just started again as the second generation is taking over the operation. Fraser Murray, my oldest son, is now the General Manager and Marketing VP.
Dry line Fly fishing commences in a couple of weeks, as our winter Steelhead fishery has come to a close. The saga continues ....... Soon, the Salmon.
Craig Murray, Owner
Nimmo Bay Resort (est. 1980)
A Family Company
FISHING REGULATION WEBSITES:
2005/2007 BC tidal waters and freshwater Salmon fishing information:
http://www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/recfish
Effective April 1, 2005 to March 31, 2007
2006/2007 Freshwater Fishing Regulations Synopsis:
http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/fish/regulations/intro.html
Effective April 1, 2006 to March 31, 2007
NOTE: For In-season Regulation Changes posted on the web check the above URL's
CATCH & RELEASE FORMULA: Chinook: girth squared x length x 1.54 divided by 1000 (inches) Steelhead: girth squared x length x 1.33 divided by 1000 (inches)
To receive my WEEKLY FISHING REPORT and PHOTO via e-mail please send your name and e-mail address to: Noel Gyger noel@noelgyger.ca
GOOD LUCK and GOOD FISHING!
Yours sincerely,
Noel F. Gyger
Back to: http://noelgyger.ca/past-fishing-reports.htm
Home page: www.noelgyger.ca
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