From massive chinook and plentiful coho to unique beachcombing finds, Hakai Pass is a destination for everyone.

The action starts like most hits by large chinook (king) salmon. A very slight pulling telegraphs up the line to tell the angler that the cut-plugged herring is being mouthed by a salmon. My wife Sandy simply whispers, “Fish,” as if her voice might frighten it away. Kevin Corneau, our guide, reaches over and rips several pulls of line from the reel before carefully slipping the rod from the holder. After five or six agonising seconds, he feels the weight of the salmon. Only then does he set the hook and hand the rod back to Sandy. She turns the handle only a few turns before the rod tip plunges into the cold waters of Hakai Passage, the reel handles spinning wildly. I can’t help smiling as I watch Sandy battle this heavy salmon. She keeps her rod tip high and never once lets the salmon have slack line. After 15 minutes, she carefully backs to the other side of the boat, allowing Kevin to net her fish headfirst. Over the past decade, she has learned the hard way that salmon can’t swim backward out of a net. Looking at the 20-pound salmon in the bottom of the boat, she grins from ear-to-ear and I give her a congratulatory kiss. It is the biggest fish that she has ever battled by herself.

Written by David C. Kimble