For the past decade Big Coast in September has been synonymous with Pacific Albacore Tuna.
And one of my favourite things in all of boating and angling, is being a tuna captain and chasing long fin tuna each season in late August and September. For the past decade my big-time fishing buddy and partner in crime jes McFarlen and I have participated in the Bamfield Tuna Shootout. Except for that one year we did the Tofino Race For The Blue…and we all know what happened to that big derby effort. Or do we?
Anyway, Bamfield always represented the best in tuna fishing. The shootout was started as a local’s derby and place for West Coast guides to unwind at season’s end and do something a little different. And it’s remained true to its roots for all these years, with captains sharing intel and coordinates…and a few cold ones!
This past season I had the opportunity to make the big run to Sandpit from Bella Bella to compete in the inaugural Haida Gwaii Longfin Tuna Poke. The six-hour boat run from Bella to Haida Gwaii was a mission unto itself, crossing the nefarious Hecate Strait. But I had awesome conditions and a great co-pilot in my son JJ, along for his first Albacore experience.
The Haida Gwaii derby was being organized by the NorthWest Fishing Team and a bunch of North Coast beauties and we had an absolute blast. On the first day we got our asses handed to us in some chunky three-metre swell. Winds weren’t much better, clocking somewhere in the mid-twenties. We did put a few tuna on the deck, including JJ’s and Nick Romer’s very first.
The coolest thing about the Longfin Tuna Poke is just how damn close the Albacore come to Haida Gwaii’s West Coast. We’d heard the stories for years but had to experience it for ourselves. So after our first trip through the Skidegate Narrows we realized we really would be fishing tuna off an Island, looking at rocks and trees. We never, in fact, got more than eight miles offshore and caught tuna right off the rocks. Literally. Crazy.
Unfortunately Mother Nature had other ideas during derby week, and spanked us all with five-to-six metre seas and winds reaching 55 knots. We spent our days at Bridgeview Marine Sandspit, hunkering down with Deadliest Catch reruns and some frosty cold Lucky Lagers. You know, Island style.
Organizers extended the derby by one day just to ensure everyone would get a second day on the Albacore prowl. More tuna were caught and every crew had a great time in Haida Gwaii. Next year promises to be even bigger and better, with some serious cash on the line. And we will most definitely be back for Round 2.
Our exit from Haida Gwaii was well planned, hopping a plane from Sandspit to Vancouver for the Bridgeview Staff Retreat. A quick rip out to Harrison Lake and we got a chance to pull the rarest of fishing doubleheaders…back-to-back Haida Gwaii Albacore Tuna and Fraser River White Sturgeon. A couple days sturgeon fishing and some solid celebrating made for a great wrap to fishing season. And I couldn’t have asked for a better chance to hang with my son, the cool folk in Haida Gwaii and the whole Bridgeview Marine crew. So good!
