Tucked away inside Princess Royal Island deep in Great Bear Rainforest, Klemtu is home to the Kitasoo/Xai’xais First Nation and some of the most amazing coastal wildlife…anywhere!
All five species of Pacific Salmon run right by Klemtu’s doorstep, and a slate of apex predators help make these near magic lands come alive. From jumbo-sized coastal Grizzly Bears to Killer and Humpback Whales and on to majestic bald eagles, this is serious frontier wildlife. Klemtu is also the main driver behind the Spirit Bear Conservancy and is one of the only places on Earth to view a Spirit (Kermode) Bear.
With our new home base on Denny Island at Bella Bella Cannery, Big Coast has been super fortunate over the years to spend a great deal of time up in K2, as it’s affectionately known among those in the know. It’s a quick 2-hour run from Bella out the Seaforth Channel and across Milbanke Sound on a good weather day. When the swell and winds are up, there’s a beauty backdoor option around the Ivory Lighthouse and around the Matheson Channel. This route has saved my bacon on more than one occasion as Milbanke is prone to occasional nastiness.
I had some great fishing up around Klemtu this past summer, literally right out in front of the ferry dock and village. It was some of the nicest Chinook fishing I had all summer, releasing a solid Tryee and putting a number of other 20-somethings on the Bridgeview BV30 deck. I even brought a couple Chinook into K2 for my buddy Steve…which was cool!
I did manage some stellar boating and fishing and even fished the Klemtu SEAS derby with local kids in the stewardship program. We actually hooked the biggest fish I got into all season but I handed the rod off to one of the kids and there was no waaayyyyyy…we were going to land that Grande Tyee.
As much as the community loves to fish, like most Coastal First Nations, Klemtu isn’t just about salmon. It’s really about stewardship and taking care of traditional territory. I’ve been lucky for the past decade to work with Spirit Bear Lodge and Vern Brown of the Kitasoo/Xai’xais Stewardship Program and this past season spent a number of days creek walking and counting pink and chum salmon. On one of the earlier trips in the season we startled a Spirit Bear, which quickly made a startled climb up a tree to safety!
It was a wild moment. The kind of thing most people don’t ever get a chance to witness. We watched and filmed the Kermode for a few minutes then slowly backed off to let it relax and ultimately come down from its perch. It was an amazing wildlife scene playing out in real time, witnessed in waders deep in the heart of Princess Royal Island literally up a creek.
Big thanks to Vern and Ben for the day and Mack and Wheeler for some fine sunny summer trolling. Klemtu will always hold a special place…on the Big Coast!
