A FISH STORY...
As we approach our 30th. season, we have been reflecting on so many great times and wonderful adventures at the Sportsman's Club over the years. Barbara has been sorting through old photos and came across this July 1989 photo. I remembered this day and that fish so clearly that it seems like it was just yesterday.

In the early days of the Rivers Inlet Sportsman's Club, most of us rarely went past the main fishing spot the Wall. We would sometimes venture out a bit further & head over to the nearby Dome Rock or Dowling Point but rarely. On July 14th, 1989, on a whim, the Trautweins & I headed out to the distant shores of Cranston Point just a short boat ride away. Not many boats ever fished there so it was a real adventure! We were mooching a herring on light tackle at shallow depth on a tight tack, with the inside rod tip almost brushing along the kelp beds looking for that BIG ONE lurking in the shallows. Suddenly, we saw that classic big chinook salmon hit, a gentle tap tap tap on the rod tip. Quickly feeding out line until the rod tip buried and then 'wham', the vigorous hook set and it was FISH ON! Screaming out line, the fish headed straight down in a dive and then screamed out some more line and fled into open water. Rapidly reeling in our other line, we followed the fish with the boat and tried to keep up. Then the jump, it cleared the water a few times and at that point we had a good idea of just how big it was. Heart stopping but spectacular action! Two hours later & after numerous dives, runs and jumps we had the BIG ONE next to the boat and in the net. We were all ecstatic. Ever since that day, Cranston Point has become one of our main fishing spots. With the spectacular scenery and great fishing, it's well worth the 15 minutes boat ride from the lodge at the ocean end of Rivers Inlet.

There is a great article in the latest addition of SOAR, Pacific Coastal Airlines' in-flight magazine that features lodge owner Barbara Kelly and her 30 years running the Lodge.