Langara Lodge
A True Fishing Getaway
by Pete Bowman
The Fish'n Canada show's latest adventure took us to the shores of British Columbia's Langara
Island, located at the top of the Queen Charlotte Islands. Our destination was Langara Fishing
Lodge (http://www.langara.com/pages/lfl.htm ) located on the south end of the island. From
Vancouver it's a 2-hour plane ride to the town of Masset and then a scenic 20-minute helicopter
ride to the lodge.
One of our favorite modes of transportation.
The scenic ride to the lodge.
Upon arrival at Langara, one notices right away that this is very much a fishing oriented lodge.
The hard working staff knows that the guests are raring to get out and drop that first line and they
definitely cater to that. People that want a luxurious vacation, which is not just about fishing,
should check out Langara Island Lodge, within site of the Langara Fishing Lodge. Both lodges
are outstanding, it's just a matter of what you want your trip to consist of.
Luxury, comfort and great fishing, what more could we ask for?
Langara has a multitude of boats to fit almost anybody's needs. There's small tiller rigs and
medium sized center consoles that guests can take out on their own (a regular option with most
BC lodges) or there's fully guided big boats for those who would prefer someone else at the
helm. All choices are very fishable.
A beautiful BC morning.
Mooching is the main mode of salmon seeking at Langara. Using 10 1/2 foot Shimano
Convergence mooching rods with Moocher Plus reels, we rigged an 8-ounce weight to the end of
the line and added a long, 2-hook leader to which a cut herring is added. Then you simply drop it
down to the desired depth, via "pulls" of line from the reel by hand and let the herring turn with
the troll. We ran 2 mooching rigs and 2 downrigger rigs to cover all depths.
It's pure fishing at Langara.
Chinook and Coho Salmon are the prime game species at Langara and are catchable from about
May to September. That's a very long fishing season in BC, considering some lodges only have
one month to work with. We started with a double header of Coho's within seconds of our first
troll. It was one of the fastest two fish hook-ups we've ever seen! We boated loads of Coho up to
15 pounds and 5 Chinook over 20 with Reno nailing a 34 as our biggest. Good job bud.
Reno and Victor with a 34 pound Tyee.
One thing that is always consistent when fishing in BC is the abundance of wildlife that you'll see.
We had at least 20 sightings of Humpback Whales. These majestic creatures kept all the boats
entertained between hook-ups.
Watch out for "Blondie", he's the ultimate pro angler!
Another bonus sighting was the local groups of Sea Lions. Don't let their innocent faces fool you
though, if they see a person fighting a fish, expect old "Blondie" to come charging for an easy
meal. He's stolen at least 9 juicy Salmon dinners so far.
Humpback Whale sightings are common here.
There's other species of fish besides Coho and Chinook salmon in the Queen Charlotte's,
including Pink Salmon, Halibut, Yellow Eyed Rockfish, Quillback Rockfish, Sea Bass and Ling
Cod and the list goes on.
The Ling Cod is a voracious eater!
During our stay, Reno and I had the pleasure of taking Jack Moxam, our newfound friend and
guest of the lodge from Vancouver, out for a half-day of fishing. Sea Bass was our choice for the
morning and what a morning it was. I can honestly say that this was one of the most fun days I've
spent on the water this year! No filming, just fishing. We had an absolute blast boating all kinds
of 1 to 4 pounders and listening to Jack's, "Whoa, whoa, whoa," every time a fish pulled his drag.
We smoked big stogie's and caught around 30 fish per hour... it doesn't get any better than that.
Reno and Jack with one of many Sea Bass taken at Langara.
Expect to see our Salmon and Sea Bass shows on the 2002 Fish'n Canada Series.
For more information on booking a trip to Langara Lodge, call:
Telephone:
(604) 232 - 5532
Fax:
(604) 232 - 5500
Toll Free:
(800) 668 - 7544 (North America)
Or visit their website at:
http://www.langara.com/
Pete Bowman