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Guide’s Life | Neil


I am often asked what it’s like being a fishing guide. 

Every day starts the same. Your alarm goes off at 4am. You get up immediately, resisting the temptation to hit the snooze button. That’s one of your rules.

You head to the Cook Shack to pick up coffee and have your breakfast while looking over the updated weather forecast for the morning. After analyzing the wind and tide patterns, you formulate your strategy for the day. 

After ten days of strong sustained Northwest wind, today is the first time you’ve checked the weather and saw the three most amazing words in the English language: “light variables wind”. That, combined with the tide change at 7am can only mean one thing: the potential for the first bonafide Haida Gwaii Hog tide of the season.

You head down to the dock to meet your guests. Like most QCL guests, they are repeat customers who have had the same goal each season: to both successfully hook, land, and release a trophy-class Chinook salmon.

Earlier in the trip, the first two parts of that goal were accomplished. After a half hour battle, a huge Chinook was caught and the entire boat was excited to get the tape measure around the massive beast of a fish when we noticed a key piece of information that made our hearts immediately sink: both of the hooks from the cut plug herring rig were piped down the chinook’s stomach.  There was no way this fish would have survived a release. 

You are left with no choice but to harvest this Chinook for your guest, which ended up tipping the scales at 41 pounds back at the dock.  The celebration with your guests at the Bell Ringer was somewhat muted, because the ultimate goal of releasing the fish wasn’t realized. As you part ways for the evening, you convince your guests to get up early the next morning, because there are 40 pound hogs swimming around and the job wasn’t done yet.

Fast forward to the next morning. It’s 5:30am. You are the first boat off the dock. Not because you have to, but because you need to. That’s another one of your rules. Everyone knows the first boat out of the breakwater in the morning at QCL is the first one to get their lines in the water.  If nobody else is fishing, then guess what? That fish of a lifetime has no other choice. It has to take your bait. 

The morning’s fog is lifting. You throw off your bow line, throw off your stern. As you pull out of the breakwater and accelerate to 5000 RPM and make the turn around George Point and the Dolphin out of Naden Harbour, a brief thought runs through your mind. After 24 seasons, the morning commute hasn’t changed, but it will never get old. What a privilege it is to fish in these waters.

As the first boat on the grounds, you have first pick of several legendary fishing spots. Cape Naden, Bird Rock, Klashwun, and Green Point are all enticing options, but something seems particularly fishy about Parker Point this morning.  As you setup your kicker engine for your initial troll and test the slow roll of your first cut plug herring, you look at your guests and say the same line you’ve been using since your rookie guiding season at Naden Harbour in 2001: “Keep an eye on those rod tips, fellas…  your next bite could be the fish of a lifetime.”

You drop your riggers down to 29 and 43 feet, and your weighted rod to 7 pulls off the back of the boat. “Prime numbers for prime fish”, you remind your guests. You take a glance at the fish finder, and can’t help but notice that it’s stuffed with bait.  As you go to take a sip of your coffee, you become aware of a subtle change in the water… it has just switched from the ebb to the flood. As a seasoned veteran, you know that the first push of the flood tide in the early morning is often your best chance at hooking a special fish in these waters.

The hair on the back of your neck stands up with anticipation. These are the moments you live for as a fishing guide. You work your boat into the hog tack, tight into the kelp on the west side of Parker Point. As if on queue, your inside rod gets hit so hard that it nearly gets pulled out of the holder.  The rod nearly buckles in two and goes three eyes deep into the water before screaming line out at a breakneck pace. “We’ve got a freight train!” Your guest exclaims, as he calming lets the fish peel off line, not daring to touch the reel until it finishes its initial run. 

Once all the other rods are cleared, you realize a potential problem: the fish is still swimming straight for Alaska at an alarming pace and your guest has nearly had his Islander reel completely spooled out of line! You quickly fire up the main engine and begin chasing the fish down.

Suddenly, as if on queue, the massive Chinook salmon on the end of the line has apparently sensed that it’s been hooked, and in order to relieve the pressure starts swimming straight back towards the boat at full speed. Your guest tries reeling as fast as he can, but it’s impossible to keep up with a fish this fast and powerful. You and your guests can clearly see the massive dorsal fin penetrate the surface of the water as it barreled towards us like a torpedo.  

Sometimes your entire season as a fishing guide boils down to one crazy moment. At that very second, with a massive trophy salmon coming straight at you with a hundred yards of slack line, you have nothing else to offer except pure reflex.  You stretch out the entire length of your body and the net beside the boat and by some miracle, are just barely able to get the body of the massive salmon into the net bag.

Fortunately, there’s only one hook in the side of the jaw, and the battle lasted less than ten minutes, so it was a perfect candidate for release. You hop on the back of the swim grid, tape the fish out, and have time for a couple of quick pictures from the Fishmaster before witnessing the most beautiful sight in the world: a trophy class salmon kicking off strong and heading for the spawning grounds to create future generations of massive fish that our children, and hopefully their children will have a chance to experience.  

You celebrate properly with your guests at the Bell Ringer this time, as the massive Chinook salmon taped out to an astounding 44 pounds. Mission accomplished, and a lifetime of memories created for both you and your guests.

You’re a fishing guide at QCL in Haida Gwaii. Is there a better job in the world? 

QCL Guide, Neil H.

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QCL TERMS & CONDITIONS

At QCL we strive to make every visit to our facility a truly enjoyable and memorable experience.  To enable all of our guests to enjoy their QCL experience to the fullest, we have terms and conditions which apply to all our guests and are aimed at ensuring that all our guests comport themselves in a way that is respectful of the lodge, our staff and their fellow quests.  By agreeing to participate in a trip with QCL, all guests will be deemed to have agreed to the following:

INAPPROPRIATE BEHAVIOUR

All of the staff and guests at QCL have the right to be treated with dignity and respect.  As a responsible employer and host, we believe that we have a duty to our staff and guests to protect them from inappropriate behaviour by any guest.  Inappropriate behaviour will include drunkenness, profanity, racial or discriminatory comments, unwelcome physical contact or innuendo, excess noise and any other behaviour which is rude, disrespectful, discriminatory or otherwise considered to be inappropriate by any member of QCL’s staff or any other guest.  Final decisions regarding inappropriate behavior and the appropriate consequences for the applicable party will rest with QCL’s Duty Manager.  The Lodge reserves the right to take such action regarding the party found to have acted inappropriately as the Lodge determines to be appropriate, which may include requiring the party to leave the Lodge immediately (all associated transportation costs being borne by the party found to have acted inappropriately) and where necessary involving the police or other appropriate outside agencies.  

RELEASE OF LIABILITY

QCL is a wilderness fishing lodge and guests are participating in sport fishing activities on the open ocean, all of which carry inherent risks.  All guests therefore use QCL’s lodge, boats and other facilities, as well as the aircraft and helicopters with which they travel to or from the Lodge, at their own risk, and all guests voluntarily assume all risks associated with their travel to and from the Lodge and all sport fishing activities, including all risks or personal injury, including the potential for serious injury or death, whether as a result of their own actions or the actions of QCL staff, guides, suppliers, contractors or other guests, or through other circumstances, including weather conditions.  

Therefore, all guests, by choosing to travel to and from QCL, stay at the QCL Lodge, use any QCL equipment or facilities, and/or participate in any sport fishing activities (collectively, the “Trip Activities”) and in consideration of QCL permitting them to do so:

  1. voluntarily assume all risks associated with participation in any Trip Activities, including all risks of physical injury, however caused;

  2. release Queen Charlotte Lodge Ltd. and its directors, officers, shareholders, employees and contractors (collectively, the “QCL Parties”) from any and all claims, liability or causes of action whatsoever which arise from or relate to any Trip Activities, from any cause whatsoever and whether or not caused or contributed to by any defect or other condition in the Lodge property or any dock, boat or other piece of equipment, or any act, omission or negligence of any QCL Party.  

SMOKING

In British Columbia, the Tobacco & Vapour Products Control Act prohibits smoking or vaping in any common areas of the Lodge such as lobbies, hallways, and restaurants.  QCL, as a matter of Lodge policy and because our buildings are wood frame and located in a remote area with limited firefighting facilities, also prohibits smoking or vaping within any guest rooms.  Smoking and vaping are permitted outside of Lodge buildings, as long as guests are more than six metres away from all doorways, open windows or air intakes around the Lodge.

Any breach of these smoking rules is subject to a fine/additional fee of $200, on account of QCL’s costs associated with rectifying the affected environment.

DAMAGE TO LODGE PROPERTY

Guests will be charged for all costs and damages incurred by QCL, including the full cost of rectifying any damage to any Lodge property (including boats and motors, dock structures and any Lodge building), which such guest causes either deliberately or through negligence or recklessness.  Should this damage come to light after the guest has departed, the guest authorizes QCL to charge the full amount of such costs to the guest’s credit/debit card, or send an invoice for the amount due to the guest’s address in our records.  While QCL will take reasonable steps to keep the costs chargeable to the guest to a minimum, if the damage is such that a room or boat is rendered unusable for a period of time, the guest will be liable for any loss of revenue that the Lodge suffers while the room or boat is being repaired.

REMOVAL OF LODGE PROPERTY

Guests will be charged for all costs of replacing any items that are removed from the premises by the guest without QCL’s consent or which are so damaged or stained by the guest as to be unusable.  The charge will be the full replacement amount of the missing or damaged item, including any carriage charges.  Should the fact that the item is missing or damaged come to light after the guest has departed, the guest authorizes QCL to charge the full amount of such costs to the guest’s credit/debit card, or send an invoice for the amount due to the guest’s address in our records.

TAMPERING WITH FIRE DETECTION SYSTEMS AND FIRE FIGHTING EQUIPMENT

Tampering or interfering with any fire detection or fire suppression equipment at the Lodge is an extremely serious matter.  QCL reserves the right to take immediate action against any guest found to have tampered or interfered with any fire detection or suppression equipment throughout the Lodge, including detector heads in public areas and bedrooms, break glass points and fire extinguishers. Guests found to have tampered with any fire detection or fire fighting equipment will be charged for all costs incurred by the Lodge due to their actions and additionally may be asked to leave the Lodge. Depending on the severity of the guest actions, the Police may become involved at the Lodge’s discretion.  Should the fact that fire fighting or detection equipment had been tampered with come to light after the guest has departed, the guest authorizes QCL to charge the full amount of such costs to the guest’s credit/debit card, or send an invoice for the amount due to the guest’s address in our records.

LOSS OF PERSONAL ITEMS

None of the QCL Parties is liable or responsible for any loss of or damage to any guest’s personal property or valuables while the guest is staying at the Lodge. 

DIETARY OR ALLERGY CONSIDERATIONS

At QCL we do our very best to accommodate our guests with dietary requirements, food sensitivities, allergies and health conditions to the extent possible.  If a guest advises us in advance that they suffer from a food sensitivity or allergy or have other dietary requirements, we will endeavor to provide suitable menu or beverage options, such as gluten-free, vegetarian or vegan options.  However, QCL does not and cannot operate a gluten-, allergen- or meat or dairy-free kitchen, and cross-contamination from work surfaces, cooking utensils and other sources may occur.  Our cooking facilities and ingredients are not kosher or halal-compliant.  Many allergens such as nuts, gluten and shellfish may be present in our kitchen and we cannot ensure that cross-contamination or simple human errors will not occur.  Any guest with a food sensitivity, allergy or dietary requirement must discuss their needs with QCL staff prior to arrival at our Lodge, to determine whether we will be able to accommodate their needs appropriately.  QCL cannot accept any responsibility or liability for our guests’ food sensitivities, allergies or dietary requirements. 

FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY

Guests are responsible for, and will pay to QCL on demand:

  1. the full balance due under their account at the end of each trip, including amounts payable under any of the above terms and conditions as well as alcohol and other purchases and staff tips charged to the guest’s account; and

  2. where the guest has booked the trip on behalf of multiple persons in a single party (a “Group”), the full balance due under the account of each Group member, if such Group member has failed to pay all or any portion of their account, including any amounts payable by such Group member under any of the above terms and conditions as well as alcohol and other purchases and staff tips charged to the guest’s account.

Guests specifically authorize QCL to charge the full amount of such costs to the guest’s credit/debit card, or send an invoice for the amount due to the guest’s address in our records.

BREACH

Management of the Lodge reserves the right, in its absolute discretion, to ask any guest to leave the Lodge in the event of non-compliance with any of these terms and conditions (all associated transportation costs being borne by the non-complying guest).