From tackle shops to outdoor clothing to boat repair, take your pick. Because this is truly a fishing town, everything you need to catch some fish is right here. The past and present is irrevocably linked to fish, from the deep connection of the Ts’msyen People to the bounty of the North Pacific, to the boom of the commercial fishing and canning industry in the early twentieth century. ![]() Prince Rupert was built on fishing and it has lost nothing of those humble origins today. For those who favour fishing in a freshwater environment, a drive inland along the Skeena River will get you to some great spots, and you might find some choice creeks closer still where the salmon are so fresh they still have sea lice on them when you reel them in. Snagging a juicy halibut can be as easy as dropping a line to the bottom, waiting a few seconds, and then reeling it back in. At the right time of year, bagging half a dozen big salmon takes just a few hours. The salmon fishing here is extraordinary. Salmon and halibut are the main fisheries that bring people to Prince Rupert. The north coast is often compared to a giant natural supermarket-everything you could ask for is right here, you just have to know what to look for. Well, there’s sea asparagus and seaweed, clams, mussels, scallops, crabs and prawns, the mighty salmon-including spring (aka Chinook or king), sockeye, coho, chum, and pink-there’s halibut, snapper, cod (yes, including black cod), tuna, eulachon, herring, octopus…and that’s just scratching the surface. So what seafood can you catch or gather here? The smell of fish being smoked fills the town. At the right time of year, you can see paper-thin salmon fillets being dried by the sun on backyard drying racks. Most locals keep a healthy stock of salmon, halibut, and crab in their freezers. By now, most of the crew’s collective sleepiness is cleaned away by the crisp air, and the day opens up its endless possibilities.Įveryone here has a great fishing story-including those of the “one that got away” variety-and the best spots to troll, anchor, and cast are spoken of in hushed tones. Stake out a likely trolling loop, bait up, and send the lines down into the ocean. What’s most important is hidden under the waves. ![]() Finally there’s not much to see other than ocean, islands, coastline. Little coves and bays reveal themselves on the islands, some housing remnants of past or present human use: the occasional old cabin, the tiny picturesque community of Crippen Cove, and the village of Metlakatla. As the boat skims across the glassy bay, the sky erupts in a cacophony of colour. Down at Rushbrook Docks, some friends sleepily and robotically go through the motions of getting a boat into the water and making sure the gear is all on board-rods, downriggers, lures, bait, coffee, lunch. There’s the smell of salt on a light breeze that barely stirs the trees.
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