Part Hardy trip and the Island

[SNAPFisher]

Just got back from a week on the Island. Easy travelling. Ferry was a full operating. Did Hardy for 4 days - 2 days of guided fishing out of BearCove. Went to Telegraph Cove for a day. Looked around a lot at the entire area. Then spent two days down in Qualicum and Parksville. Fantastic trip!

I would have to say that BC is taking Covid lighter than AB. Saw almost zero masks and finally stopped wearing my own after sticking out more by wearing one. There are zero issues for anyone travelling from AB to the Island. The earlier reports were way overblown, no surprise. Just be respectful and smart about your choices...common sense is all you need.
Qualicum and Parksville was busy with tourists. Some of the business owners I spoke too really have not seen a slow down. Certainly not now. Then there are those that you can't speak too because they are closed. We did our site seeing in the morning and then spent time on Rathtrevor and other places in the afternoons so we could stay out of crowds. Probably not necessary but seemed like the right thing to do.

Weather was next to perfect. Hardy was like glass on the days we fishing and on the days we didn't. I'm sure Dave from Serengeti will be reporting soon on how flat calm it has been this last week.

Got into some smaller spring salmon right away. As in 12-14 lbs. The wife hooked up with something bigger and it was a nice 18 lb spring. Good fight! A bit later she got something heavy that didn’t fight much. Guide knew it was a halibut. She reeled in a 30 lb halibut that we trolled up. She was a total convert at that point given the awesome fishing and flat weather.

https://i.postimg.cc/x16zXfG6/IMG-1555.jpg (https://postimg.cc/TKWwSX4b)

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The wife trolled up a nice hali!
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I've taken the wife out on some rough ocean trips. It took years to convince her to try again. Thank fully the weather was awesome. I think I have a new ocean fishing convert :)
https://i.postimg.cc/9fS1qtPg/IMG-1580.jpg (https://postimg.cc/3yX2sGc2)

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Day 2 was flatter than day 1. Clam the entire way out. We went way up north to fish off the Main land. First time I've fished that area. Long way but you have all species in the close proximity. Didn't get any lingcod but also didn't really try for them. Lost a few good ones on the troll though. Salmon were bigger day 2. Biggest of the trip was just shy of 20 lbs. Got some cohos and pinks as well. Lots of rock fish. Took the fly rod with me. Didn't get any coho on it but landed all the black rock fish on it. Fished a kelp bed and could see the black rock fish come up from 30 FOW water to take the fly just under the surface. I could have done that all day.

https://i.postimg.cc/RVr8Y9Hp/IMG-1620.jpg (https://postimg.cc/fkKB3G5Y)

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Filled the freezer I brought right to the top. Two days in Hardy can net you a lot of fish! I bought some new Interstate batteries this year. Their larger and more capacity ones. Two in parallel ran the freezer for a day and a half straight. I had 3 sets or 6 batteries. That means I really have enough battery power to run the freezer for 5 days. A great way to bring fish back but also do some sight seeing. And, lots of places to plug in or recharge batteries. Didn't need to on this trip but good to know for future trips.

Spent some time at the Marina near BearCove. Just walked down each day. The owners would take the fish parts at the end of each day and feed the eagles. Made for an interesting spectacle to watch.

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[SNAPFisher]

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Back at the cabin and Bear Cove
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View from the cabin I never got tired of waking up to
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Entire area was this calm
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Sunset shots from the hotel in Qualicum
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Also visited Fench Creek fish shop. Had planned to pick up some whole albacore tuna. Ended up just taking one for now to see how hard they are to clean and how fresh. If anyone is interested, the price of a whole tuna is $4.50 per lb. The price filletted is about $13-$14 per lb, on average. So if you don't mind cleaning a whole tuna, this is they way to go....other than catching them fresh yourself. And they are whole as in head on and guts in. I talked to the owner and they catch them sport fishing, get them on ice right away. Then flash feeze the whole fish. That is what you are buying if you get one. The one I bought was 15 lbs and change.

Got home and looked up some videos on how to fillet them. It is dead easy. Was a bit worried about tuna and unthawing them to fillet but it was fine. They are softer so you have to have some finesse.

Here is the video I followed. Worked out pretty much as it did for the Capt! :)

https://youtu.be/PVTSSysK_Gg

Cat wanted a piece
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Picked up a seafood medley of shrimp, squid, clams, etc. Made up some Jambalya and added the seafood. Holy crap good! Also cooked up some salmon with a new maple rub I picked up. And, had to try some tuna steaks. This tuna has more fat than any I've had before. Simplly the best tuna I've ever had! Cooked with just lemon pepper. The fat will carmalize nicely. Just seared each side and let them cook on the BBQ for about 5 min.

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What a great trip!

[58thecat]

great write up!!!!!

[Smoky buck]

Port hardy is my favorite part of the island

Rockfish on the fly can be a blast and if you rig your self up to go deep you will pick up more the black rockfish. If you really put in the effort you can catch lingcod on the fly rod

Thanks for sharing

[goose]

I heard Bear cove resort is pretty good, care to comment on that part of your trip ?
Goose :sHa_shakeshout:

[Brandonkop]

That's awesome. Did you go up to Cape Sutil on the north portion of the island the first day? Amazing weather. I hope we get some nice weather up there in august. My wife needs that calm stuff. I think just the thought of the ocean makes her queezy.

[Smoky buck]

Bear cove has pretty cool cabins that they have taken care to decorate and maintain. My wife likes the cabins and she thinks they are the nicest cabins she has stayed in

If I go to port hardy that is where I stay

[HuyFishin]

What an awesome write up. I love the photos, Looks like you and your wife had a blast!

[Howard Hutchinson]

Fantastic trip you folks were on. Man, I'm green with envy and now hungry too!

Thank you for sharing your experience. Truly beautiful country and bounty.
>>

PS, kitty thinks he's gone to heaven I think?

[SNAPFisher]

Thanks all for the comments.

I heard Bear cove resort is pretty good, care to comment on that part of your trip ?
Goose :sHa_shakeshout:

This is my 2nd time to Bear Cove Cottages. Cannot say enough about Wade. He is truly salt of the earth. The cabins are great. They have a small half fridge, half coffee maker, microwave, stove, plates, cups, glasses, cutlery, etc. One king bed and one double bed - one room cottage with a bathroom. For the wives, bathrooms have either jet tubs or huge walk-in rain showers. Or both like ours had - i.e. big tub with jets and a huge shower head. Wife liked the tub! All cabins have a great view of hardy bay. Price is reasonable. If you want fully inclusive that gets you lunch on the boat and meal vouchers for all the good restaurants in town. Otherwise, bring a cooler and buy groceries and have at it. You can use the BBQs there but they are on the small side and busy at supper time.

We went out with Toby who guides for Wade. The boat is next to us at the dock with the twin Suzukis. Day 1 we had Wade's boat which maxed out at 26 knots. The 2nd day we had Toby's boat back and easily made 42 mph. Got us to the grounds first passing 6 boats on the way. That thing is fast!

They do a great job and the cabins are great for the wife if it is too rough for fishing.

That's awesome. Did you go up to Cape Sutil on the north portion of the island the first day? Amazing weather. I hope we get some nice weather up there in august. My wife needs that calm stuff. I think just the thought of the ocean makes her queezy.

We went just North of Bramham Island on the next 3 points. I know they have names but just can't find that map that has them yet. The final 3rd point is a great rock fish flat. Long way for sure. I was disappointed we didn't go down the inlet to the end. Love that area. We were told it was slow out that way... I'm not sold but could be. 5 boats total day 1 and only 3 boats out our way day 2. Pretty quiet for sure but the water has to be flat to cross that much open ocean. I know I was concerned when we started out for my wife. She is terrified of the ocean due to previous bad water experiences and she gets sea sickness. This was so flat though...everything the Dr. ordered. Now she is asking when we are going back and hoping to go for longer...
Next time I'll bring my boat and mix it up a bit.

[Brandonkop]

Yeah i have fished up that way a couple times. About 27 miles up that way. I talked to a guy who was there before you and did great with lots of guides in his pics around the north tip. The fish and guides move around though. Looks and sounds like you still ended up with a freezer full!

[Windsweptcoast]

It’s an awesome area for sure.

[RACKER]

That was a great post.Your pics told the whole story and i felt like i was there.Im always happy when others have a fantastic trip.Congrats to you and your wife on awesome adventure.P.S. I didnt see any whitefish on the deck.Lol

[Fishhunter]

Looks like a great time was had!!!! Thanks for the post.
How exactly are you using the batteries for your freezer. I assume an inverter.

[Positrac]

Sounds like a great trip!

I’ve been out the last three days fishing the Ebb tide in Campbell River. The Chinook fishing has been some of the best I’ve seen in years here. Biggest so far was in the low twenties With lots in the 12-18lb range.

[opto55]

Was there just 2 people on the boat?
Just wondering.

[SNAPFisher]

That was a great post.Your pics told the whole story and i felt like i was there.Im always happy when others have a fantastic trip.Congrats to you and your wife on awesome adventure.P.S. I didnt see any whitefish on the deck.Lol

Thanks! I appreciate that.

Lol, yeah. Slow whitefish year for me ;)
I might make a later trip to Talbot this year in Sept.


Sounds like a great trip!

I’ve been out the last three days fishing the Ebb tide in Campbell River. The Chinook fishing has been some of the best I’ve seen in years here. Biggest so far was in the low twenties With lots in the 12-18lb range.

Nice! I'm really wanting to get into shore fishing the central / inland coast. Stopped by Nile Creek fly shop and learned a lot about it. Fishing from a boat on that side has a lot of appeal as well. Glad to hear you are getting into them!

Was there just 2 people on the boat?
Just wondering.

2 of us and the guide for a total of 3.

[SNAPFisher]

Looks like a great time was had!!!! Thanks for the post.
How exactly are you using the batteries for your freezer. I assume an inverter.

Yes. I picked up a couple 1500W inverters from Canuck Tire last year when they were on sale. They are relatively cheap but do the job. Here is a pic of the setup I had from last year:

https://i.postimg.cc/DyfyPJjN/IMG-0697.jpg (https://postimg.cc/s18rVXRP)

Just had the freezer on the left this year and filled it. Had a couple of regular coolers for other stuff and the tuna.

[Fishhunter]

Nice!!! Thanks for the pic.:)