Author: douganddeb

Welcome back Norm and his wife Arlene, it’s been a couple of seasons too long but great to have you back aboard. Accompanied by Arlene’s brother Pat and son Justin we set out in sunny weather to find those fiery Coho. A nice cruise out followed by a little practise fishing put us in a good position for the morning bite. Fish On, and on and on. Whew what action we had as mix of Coho and pinks attacked out lures. Over , under jumping and twisting we fought and landed enough for one day. Topped off with a little hali fishing by the light house, a calm sunny anchorage and a great meal, life is good. The next two days followed suit and the nice weather continued allowing us to try a few spots we don’t usually get too. The result was some giant snappers and cod. We hope that you eat your fish every day so that we get to see you back sooner then later. All the best Norm and Arlene.

August already, unbelievable how fast the time is going. We have had some guest that have been on the Thunder for many years but no one longer than George and Russ. After much reminiscing the count is close to 26 years of fishing together on the West Coast of which 22 years have been aboard the Thunder 1. Not sure that record will ever be broken. This trip saw George bring four of his son in laws, Ray, Craig, Rob and Scott. With residences scattered from Tennessee to Calgary to Vernon to Langley it was quite a feat to bring them all together. We could not have asked for a better trip to showcase our fishing or coast. I can only describe the fishing as electric as many times we could not get two rods in the water before being ripped by a big Coho or a Pink. Double headers, triple headers, jumpers, slashers, reels zinging what fishing we had. The final tally is irrelevant , the most important part was good humour, good company and good memories. Thanks to George for bringing the gang and to his brother Russ for managing the chaos on the back deck with his years of experience. Oh did I mention we got some great hali’s as well. Safe travels gentlemen, I hope we can make it 23!!

We were looking forward to Syl, Gayle and her sister as a small group would be almost a holiday. Unfortunately Gayle’s sister had to cancel last minute so the small group became smaller. Needless to say lots of room on the fishing deck with just the four of us aboard so we made the most of it and cruised the calm waters of the Moffat Islands catching an array of shiny salmon, rock fish and halibut. Quiet anchorages, sunny weather, some friendly Humpbacks, a visit from our eagle friends all added up to a great experience on the beautiful waters of our North Coast. Gayle had a knack for hooking up the hali’s and with a little help from the crew after we put some nice ones aboard. Nice to meet you both, enjoy your fish this winter!!! 

Back again, Kerry his wife Sue and this time with his three sons Micah, Robin and John. Great to have you back and awesome that you could get your sons aboard to show them that it is always sunny in Prince Rupert. Having endured some trips where the sun forgot where we lived it was nice to see it shine on our group for this trip especially. The anticipation was high as last year Sue notched two Tyee pins with fish over 30 lbs, what could the boys do to top that. Well Sue is still the Queen however the boys put on a good show and Micah did land a beautiful 31 lb Tyee. It was joined by some other beautiful hard fighting springs and Coho as well as a full array of rock fish, dog fish, (ouch) and just about every other critter you can imagine off the bottom. Robin is still smarting after his giant Spring dashed into the kelp and snapped off his chance to where a pin, at least for this year. Once again Kerry thank you for joining us , looking forward to next year already.

It is something we always wanted to say when you live in Prince Rupert. Plagued by nice weather, but darn it there we were. Sunny, calm seas, lines in the water, no life like it. Just ask Hector, Jean and group. New to some of the saltwater fishing our group worked together to put some nice fish on the boat. Hector was a great help as was his wife Jean in hooking up the fish and organising the fish deck thanks to you both. The Spring salmon also helped as they continued there late run and gave us some great fights. We can only hope that summer is here to stay.

Welcome aboard to our new guests and friends from Red Deer. Lee, Darcy, Pete and Bob. What summer weather we had! Quick on the gear the fellas jumped right in to help every turn of the way. Starting the morning with a bucket of fresh prawns we then set the salmon gear and eagerly watched for the strike. Zing!! of went the reel and Lee jumped on it displaying great form as it was clear that this was a big fish. Just how big became apparent when it it jumped in the air 5 ft from the boat. A collective gasp left the group as it hit the water running and tore off another 80yards of line. 35 minutes later after some awesome angling the big buck slid into the net exhausted, and I don’t mean Lee. 46 lb Spring, first salmon for lee, what a fight!! Hard to top that but we did our best and had some great action and great weather for the remainder of the trip. Some big snapper filled the bin and Bob wrestled with a good size yellow eye only to find his team had snookered him with the carcass of an earlier fish. You will get even next time Bob. Great trip, great guests, hope to see you in the future.

Welcome back Jeff, Pete, Wayne and Gary. A group that has been with us from day one and literally owns the July long weekend slot. The weather was awesome, even off shore the sea settled to glassy smooth. Nothing could stop us now. We started day 1 with a great hall of prawns and then proceeded to the Brain to do some salmon trolling. With a couple of small Coho in the box we took advantage of the calm weather and headed off shore for some hali fishing. What day, the lines hit the bottom and the hali’s hit the lines. Great action with Pete latching on to a 100 lber that stripped his reel to the bottom two or three times. Nice job Pete!! The next day broke clear again and we jumped on the salmon fishing, or the salmon jumped on us. The action was non stop with some nice springs and some great fighting Coho. Wayne’s rotation proved lucky as he landed a 31lb spring, nice fish!!

With many laughs, great fishing and Deb cleaning up in cards the trip sadly had to end. You guys truly are the Salmon Snatchers, till next time safe travels and enjoy your fish.

Dave, Paul, Brett, Rob and Dave P. joined us to see if they could tip the scales and beat the previous group from Chris Page in some friendly inter Company fishing competition. Didn’t take long for Brett to get them on the board and it was game on with a nice 18lb spring in the box. I think his grin which lasted for days said it all. The other fellas were anxious to contribute and the next day saw some frantic halibut fishing with 2 and 3 rods bending at a time. What fun that was. The last morning saw the reel scream as Paul beautifully played a 22lb spring to the boat. No problem for Paul as he had spent many days guiding for lakers in his past. Nice job Paul. Rob added another nice one and Dave P notched 3 beauties to put their group solidly in first place. It may not last though as the gals from the office are coming in September and although billed as whale watching and cooking I think we are going to see some awesome northern Coho fishing and they might just surprise everyone. Looking forward to it. Thanks for joining us fellas, drive safe and have a great summer!! 

Sad to think the days are getting shorter already however we won’t let that get in the way of our new guests on the Thunder looking for some adventure. Although they had been to Rupert in the past they were new to the Thunder and I think pleasantly surprised that they could fish in such comfort and enjoy such fine dining. I think they were a little dissapointed I didn’t make them pull prawn traps at midnight or fuel and supply the boat however I could change it up next time. For Jennifer we had the chance to put her on her first halibut and she was thrilled. Almost as thrilled as the second and third and fourth. ( releasing the small ones of course!) Way to go Jenn. Norm and Mike as a father and son team brought great enthusiasum and we hope that we will see them again in the future. Great fishing in Gold River Mike.

Sometimes our turnaround days keep us so busy that we forget to smell the coffee. On this turn we did take a moment to apreciate what a special place we live and work in for the summer. Clear nights and awesome sunsets on the longest day of the year. The picture was taken at 11:45 pm on a beautiful summer evening.

Our group was eager to get going as all five had not fished on the coast before. The weather was awesome and the seas flat as we headed out in search of the fish. With the lines in and the guys getting a handle on the gear off went the rod and Chris jumped on a beautiful 18 lb spring in the first 10 minutes, what a start. That got the guys stoked and although we had to work hard for our fish after that all the guys managed a chance to feel the excitement. Hali fishing was busy with no giants except for the 50 lb skate that had us all pumped up. We let her go but the guys thought that was quite a thrill. Eagles, whales, sea lions, everything showed up to put on a show for our guys. For Dwight, Chris, Randy, Claude and Rainer we hope this first exposure to our beautiful coast would not be their last, cheers guys, have a great summer and drive safe!

Out at 7 am with Pat and Wayne for a short two day trip. Pat’s bucket list said halibut so we dropped the gear hoping he could scratch that off. Well didn’t take long to put a line through that one as the action was great and we kept two nice ones and released a host of others. Wayne claimed the big one for day one. The afternoons salmon fishing wasn’t furious but the first hit produced a hard fighting 17 lb Chinook that Pat handled nicely into the net. The second morning produced some awesome prawns and a little jigging resulted in Pat hooking up nice 28 lb halibut, no stopping Pat. Wayne worked hard to hook up that big spring but a nice ling beat them to the bait. A great short trip with awesome weather, thanks guys, have a safe trip home!!

Sunny and calm as we left on Trip 2 with some new west coast fishers aboard. The salmon would not elude us on this trip. A good start with lots of halibut action, grey cod and a mess of prawns in the the morning pots. The salmon action was quick to start and each of our guest had a ripper on their hands. We boated a beauty 20 lb spring but the other two managed to fight their way to freedom leaving some sore knuckles behind. We moved farther north and were follwed by some awesome weather. At the top of Dundas we were joined byt he orcas who brushed by us in search of their own salmon dinner. Spectacular animals! We rounded out the catch with a big ling cod and our guests had a good sampling of seafood for their freezer. Thanks guys have a great summer.

0700 and we left our berth for the first charter of the year. Joined by a new guest Chris, his sons Ryan and Dave and their friend Bruce. Day one looked good but mother nature promised some stiff SE winds for the next couple of days. We jumped on some halibut fishing and Ryan and Dave quickly scored a number of different bottom fish including their first halibut. With the weather looming we moved to the protected waters of Work Channel and Union Inlet. The salmon eluded us but the scenery and the company did not dissapoint and being away from work has equal rewards. With some great eagle shows and a mess of ground fish we said goodbye to our first guests of the season. We have a feeling we will be seeing them again. Thanks Chris.

Light rain on the boat, welcome to the north coast. Clear skies to the west as we slipped out of our quiet anchorage and made way for Prince Rupert. Past the mouth of the mighty Skeena River, the entrance to Port Edward, by the coal and grain terminals, and finally abeam the new container port and into Prince Rupert Harbour. I don’t know if we have had a nicer trip up the coast, not for weather or for the company. A wonderful chance for us to visit with my Aunt Pat, my Uncle Gerry and his wife my Aunt Betty, and their dear friend Norma. A chance to reminisce, share memories, laugh, and soak in the beauty of our wonderful BC coast line. I know my Dad would have enjoyed the trip and the Company, some how I think he was with us all the way. Our best wishes to our guests and family for joining us and sharing a trip aboard the Thunder up the Inside Passage. We hope to see you all soon.