PPS Destinations Report

Haa-Nee-Naa Lodge, Dundas Island, BC, Canada

Date:         July, 2007

Reported by Dr. Rodney Wentworth, WA, USA

It was like losing an old friend when we heard last April that Haa Nee Naa lodge had burned to the waterline during spring maintenance.  We were told that, although they would be starting the season late, a new lodge would await us at the end of July.  We wondered how they could replace the homey comfort and coziness of the old place.  What kind of place would they have to replace it.  We were told they were working nonstop to put something together for the current season.  What kind of facility would we find when we flew in from Prince Rupert for our annual salmon harvest.  Would there be half built walls?  Cots instead of Beds?  How many bathrooms would we have to share?  As we landed and taxied into the bay we looked to the familiar location that anchored Haa Nee Naa from May to September each year.    We were greeted by a beautiful wood paneled structure of two stories of living quarters with a third story octagonal observation deck and bar.  This was the Taj Mahal of fishing lodges.  Inside was all new furniture, a bathroom and shower with each room, professional kitchen and executive dining room with all the fixings.  Sure the upstairs bar was not quite done but the one in the main floor was just fine.  Clayton, Jen, Robyn and their friend’s hard work had really paid off!

Of course all the great accommodations and gourmet meals are just the percs.  The real draw is the fishing.  Our trip is scheduled as a tweener.  The peak of the Spring Chinook fishing has passed and the Coho are just starting to show.  There are also more thaen enough Pinks to keep your rods bent when you are after the other two species.  Cohos mean fly fishing and Dundas Island is one of the premier  salt water locations to get Coho on a fly.  We managed to cast to lots of Coho around the kelp beds and points on both wet and surface patterns.  Although the hookup rate is lower there is nothing like watching  a subsurface torpedo pushing a wall of water towards your fly as you wake it across the surface!

Those in our group that prefer to offer bait were up early jigging for herring the size of a nice river trout to entice a few springs to the boat  although not plentiful this time of year I think there was at least one king per person taken with the largest in the mid 30lb range.  All in all the fishing was typical for our group with limits taken by all that wanted them.  The new facility is anything but typical.  And I thought it couldn’t get any better on my original report!

http://www.haa-nee-naa.com/index.html

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