Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Deer Hunting Queen Charlotte Islands deer hunt (picture heavy)

Well we are back from our vacation, which also included some deer hunting. This was my third trip to the Queen Charlotte Islands, although the last trip was 14 years ago. My wife had never been, so we decided to make it into a vacation/exploration trip more so than a hunting trip.

The Queen Charlotte Islands are about 70 miles off the coast of British Columbia and, combined are just over 3900 square miles. The islands offer incredible scenery, and an amazing bounty from the ocean and land.

The ferry leaves from Prince Rupert, which is a 430 mile drive for me. The drive goes through some spectacular scenery (and great fishing/hunting spots). This is a narrow section of the Morice River,just north-west of Smithers, where natives use long dip nets to catch salmon:




The road leads West along the beautiful Skeena River. The Skeena is the second longest river in BC at about 350 miles and is also the second largest Sockeye salmon river in Canada. The river is well known for excellent fishing for all 5 species of Pacific salmon and Steelhead. The mountains along the Skeena also hold some excellent Mountain Goat hunting, but the terrain is trecherous, especially when it is raining (which is often). Here is a view of the river just west of Terrace:





We arrived in Prince Rupert and had the day to look around this charming little town.I have to say that Dolly's restaurant, which is a tiny little place that seats barely 20 people, had the most amazing fish and chips I have ever eaten. Battered just right, crispy batter and delicate, moist fish without being greasy...you have to try it if you are in Prince Rupert. I guess having Ling Cod and Halibut fresh off the boat a mere 100 yards away helps too! They also served a fantastic clam chowder (I had the New England style) that, interestingly, has seaweed in it too. Historic Cow Bay in Prince Rupert:




That evening we loaded onto the ferry (remember that reservations are required) and went to our cabin for the +8 hour trip.
Map:


We were gently rocked to sleep in our basic, but comfortable cabin:



We woke up, had a fresh cup of coffee and were ready go. Our dog, a 7 month old Airedale pup nearly blew an o-ring when we let her out of her crate. BC Ferries rules say the dogs must stay on the vehicle deck so she "slept" in her over-sized crate in the back of the truck. It was the longest she has ever been alone.

Here is a view of the mountains and some Oceanic Alpine looking West from Skidigate (which is where the ferry lands):


Continued....

Can't wait for the rest. Would love to hunt there sometime.

Have spent a bit of time in Rupert and love the section between Terrace and Rupert.

Well since this is a hunting forum, here is a picture of a Sitka Blacktail - I didn't shoot this one...



There are lots of things to see and do on the islands - much more than we ended up doing. On the North Shore, in Naikoon Park, you have access to an amazing Razor Clam and Dungeness crab fishery. You can drive onto the beach, park your truck above the high tide line and dig for Razor clams along +20 miles of beach. You are allowed 50 clams per day and can be in possesion of 100 total. For crabs, just take a dipnet, or use your hands if you are quick, go into the water at low tide and scoop them up. Imagine making a nice fire on the beach, with drift-wood furniture, and having a nice meal of clams and crabs while smelling the ocean breeze and listening to the waves...this is what North Beach looks like, right near Tow Hill...


Ruby digging for clams...


North beach is about a 1 1/2 hour drive from the ferry landing. Remember to get your license at the Info Centre in Queen Charlotte City.

About 20 miles North of the ferry landing you will cross over the Tlell River. There is a road right before the bridge - take it and drive along the river until you hit the end of the road. park your vehicle, get out, grab your fishing gear. Put a 3" Buzz Bomb, green, orange or pink, on your line - remember, single barbless hooks - and walk along the path that winds along the river until you find a spot that pleases you. Then starting fishing on one of the best Coho rivers in BC. Pretty soon you will be taking a picture like this:



It was a bit early, as the Coho action really starts going in mid September. Even so there were a few +20 pound fish caught. Mine wasn't as big - maybe 12 pounds - but boy was it good eating. My boy is 5 and he manned the net. I can't type the words to describe how excited and happy he was to catch that fish.

After you are done you really should go to the Haida House, which is right on the river. The food is 1st class and very reasonable. We ate there twice - the pan seared Black Cod in a leek sauce was unbelievable. The white Spring Salmon baked in parchment paper was nothing to sneeze at either!

continued...

You can find a huge variety of birds on the islands, and it is a popular spot for bird watchers. Unfortunately at some point racoons were introduced and as you can imagine they wreack havoc on certain nesting birds, such as the Ancient Murrelet. This particular racoons raiding days ended rather abruptly with the bark of a 7mm RM. Perhaps not surprisingly a 175gr Partition is adequate for Racoons.



There is a very liberal deer hunting season on QCI, it runs from the end of June until the end of February. The antlerles season runs from September 1st to the end of February. The bag limit is 15/season, but you may have "only" 5 in your possession. I don't have pictures of the 1st deer, as it was pouring rain and we were hurrying to get the work done. The shot was at a whopping 97 yards, right behind the shoulder. The deer dropped on the spot, flailed around a bit and that was pretty much it. The 175gr Partition made a neat entry and exit, with very little meat lost.

On the way out a little button buck crossed a logging road in front of us. He was up hill and 1/4 away. I placed the bullet behind his shoulder and it exited if front of the off-side shoulder. Again, there was hardly any blood shot meat at all. I sure do like the 7mm RM and 175gr Partition - it will get the job done on pretty much any big game animal in North America.

A couple of days later we headed over to the South island - Moresby. We drove down to Moresby Camp and it really is a beautiful spot. There are some camp sites and a good boat launch with a nice dock. It is about 45km from Sandspit on logging roads, but you could easily trailer a 25' boat in if you took it easy. This picture is from Moresby Camp at the mouth of the Pallant River, which is also excellent for Coho from Spetember on. From this point you have easy boat access to excellent salmon, prawn and rockfish action. The area is also well known for Chantrel mushrooms, which are ready to pick in early September. Looking Southeast


Looking West:




Not far from Moresby Camp we crossed the Copper River (the third excellent and famous Coho river on the QCI - although the Coho were not yet in this river as the water level was too low. You could, however, catch them from shore in Copper Bay). The river starts at a lake, and for the life of me I can't remember the name, which has very good cut-throat trout fishing. The lake is a few hundred yards upstream of this spot There are lots of Bald Eagles here):




Just past the spot of the previous picture a spike buck jumped up in some fairly tall grass, made a few bounds and then stopped to look back. The distance was maybe 25 yards and he peered through the tall grass. He fell to the shot. Ruby was really excited by now as she knew that there were good times waiting after the shot! She had her fill with scraps and bits after each kill.



There is a butcher in Sandspit who will cut, wrap and freeze the deer for $30 each.

That was it for the hunting as we spent the rest of the time doing nothing but relaxing, which felt pretty darn good!

I highly recommend a trip to the QCI. There is one hunting guide/outfitter, although the prices are a bit high. You can fish on your own, either on the rivers, from the shore or by boat. You can bring your own boat but should be aware that the tides/currents and weather can lead to dangerous situations, especially if you are not well prepared. There are dozens of fishing guides too, if you prefer to take that route. For clamming and crabbing, well you can do that on your own. There is an excellent Provincial campsite - Agate Beach Campground -where you can set up a beachside camp and enjoy the almost 60 miles of sandy beaches - including North Beach which is only a few miles away. The Moon Over Naikoon bakery is also nearby, so you can take a break and try some of their excellent, freshly baked date squares while relaxing in a hammock in an ancient forrest. You can hear the beach sounds while you eat.

There are also several beach cabins, but they are all off the grid.

At any rate, I hope some of you make the trip. It is much better in real life than reading about it.

That is freaking awesome country you visited and you did very well! Great seeing the kiddo! BTW....it's that a shaved Irish Terrier?
Awesome!

Fatjack34 - My son was pretty stoked and asked if he could shoot a deer too. He is going to have to wait a bit for that, plus I explained why his .22 LR is not sufficient. Although with the size of these deer a .223 would be more than adequate.

Ruby is a short-haired Airedale Terrier. She is 7 months old and 55 lbs. She should grow to be about 60-65 lbs or so. There is lots of great info on the Traditional Working Airedale Terrier forum. They are great dogs and the folks on the forum are pretty much all hunters who hunt with their Airedales.

Thanks man! Just freaking awesome!

Thanks for taking us along for the ride Arac. That's awesome country.
I have a cousin who lives in Port Albernie. Hopefully, I'll get a chance to make it out that way before I'm too old to enjoy it.

Wow, that looks like fun! Thanks for letting us share in the adventure with the pictures, gorgeous. Nice looking family too.

I just finished my first attempt at Salmon caviar, made from the roe in the above pictured Coho...it is surprisingly good. Shown here on crackers with cream cheese and dill. And a shot of Wybrowa vodka to clear the taste buds...

Beautiful pics, thanks for sharing.

Thanks very much. Great narrative & photos. Thanks for taking the Airedale along!

I'd move to that country in a second if it wasn't in Canada!

Thanks for sharing. GRF

Great photos and write up, beautiful place.

WOW, sounds like an amazing time.

Beautiful!

Great pics and story. Thanks, eye

Beautiful country! Memories like that are priceless.

Beautiful, made me hungry and envious. Need to go there as I have skipped past them before going from Vancouver to Juneau.

Thanks

Heck of a fun looking trip - fishing and hunting - nice!!!