CH Report: Big Bites and Fogust Nights – July 20, 2026

Strong northwest winds and the first signs of Fogust are now here at Langara Island. Strong high pressure on the North Coast and across much of British Columbia often results in this weather pattern. The good news is zero forest fire smoke, lol, the cleanest of air, and, of course, the fishing is now on.

July has brought us some nice Chinook in the twenties and a million Chinook bites. Today, off Cohoe Point, the bite lasted all day. Most of these Chinook are in the teens, but, as always, we see lots of 18- to 22-pounders. Reports included three tyee in the low thirties out of Boulder Bay. The guided tyee this trip have all been carefully released. If you have a Chinook at 40 inches long and close to a 24.5-inch girth, you have a fish that comes in at about 30 lbs.

The west side has been wild and windy, but one or two of us have snuck out to the Bowl depending on the guests’ experience and patience levels. The bites come at a much slower pace, but that one bite could be a 52-pounder! Brent found that fish with his guests a week back. The picture below is of the top fish thus far this season at the Clubhouse.

I was out there yesterday, the 20th, and found a 31-pounder with Alexander S. on the rod. We were solo out there and, three passes in, were rewarded with the fish pictured below.

Earlier in July, I fished with the Kelletts for the week, and we had lots of fun fishing with Lucy in the boat cheering us on. Between the many orca encounters, humpback whales, sharks, and, of course, the fishing, what a great time. We trolled up some very nice halibut, caught Chinook from 18 to 25 lbs., and spent many late nights in the Clubhouse, lol. Below is a pic of Cinde and her 25 lb. fish caught off Boulder Bay.

We found some life at an old favourite spot, MacPherson Point, or, as some recall, Rat Bay. Here, we had some busy days, shallow and deep. I had Dana and her mother out one afternoon, and no sooner had we lowered the cutplug to 80 feet than, clunk, off the clip came a screaming tyee. Below is a nice pic of that fish, safely returned to the water after being revived in the tank.

Overall, July has been steady, if not very good. Out west has been hindered by the winds of late; in fact, my window is rattling as we speak. The fog has come in thick tonight, so tomorrow will be a day to travel with the running lights on, at a reduced speed, while using the GPS and watching the sounder and compass. Of course, we’ll also be watching the rod tips…they are moving lots.

Goodnight from the Clubhouse,

Mike Tonnesen
Head Guide, Screamer

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