Cutthroat fishing

In the first moments of dawn in Haida Gwaii, there is a moment when the cedar trees shimmer mosaic earth-tone colors, and the ferns and alder hang low with the morning dew. It is springtime, and there is a distinct smell to this time of year. It can mean only one thing: it's time to go cutthroat fishing.  

Quietly walking through the trails while making our way to the estuaries, we always whistle while we walk so as to not spook the world's largest black bears that haunt our trails between dusk and dawn. Getting up before the sun and dodging bears is sometimes the price of hitting a good sea-run cutthroat trout beach at the right time during the right tide on Haida Gwaii. Actually, seeing one of the enormous Haida Gwaii black bears while fishing cutthroat is always a real treat. All the wildlife on the Queen Charlottes truly adds to the incredible fishing experience.

Fishing the beaches in the springtime, you will find the cutts range in size from 14 to 24 inches and stack up at the mouth of the river where it meets the ocean. The Masset Inlet offers the best sea-run cutty fishing on the Islands. The structure here is amazing with ancient logs cribbing and dropoffs looming as the falling tide turns the inlet into a river. Sea-runs feed on marine worms, fry and sculpins, and all the weird crustaceans that live in the Masset Inlet. Tidal currents wash this diverse menu to waiting fish.

When you know you are in the right place at the right time, you will see cutts swirling in the tiderip, the seam between fast and slow currents that form off a beach point. We typically start by casting the fly into the actual river and throw some extra line into the swing with mends to allow the fly to really sink. Once it catches the current of the tide the swing will triple its acceleration. This is when it's time to madly strip. These cutthroat will literally tear the line out from your hand and put a deep bend in your rod as they try to separate you from your rod.