Stewardship
“The fisherman’s enormous advantage in the matter of bag limits is that he can limit his killing without appreciably limiting his sport.”
- Roderick Haig-Brown, Fisherman’s Summer, 1951
Each season, Chinook salmon of 70 pounds and more return to Rivers Inlet. They are, on average, the largest strain on the B.C. coast and some of the biggest in the Pacific. From the first generations of Inlet fisherman, these giants have inspired awe, strained muscle, captured imaginations and become legend.
In 2007, some of our guests took that heritage to heart by starting their own catch and release competition. The gesture inspired us, and we repeated it throughout the season. This year, we’ll officially honor the leadership our guests have shown us by launching the Good Hope Catch & Release Initiative, and the Gary Stanton Stewardship Award.
The Gary Stanton Stewardship Award
In 30 seasons on the water, Gary has come to know the Rivers Inlet Chinook and their fisherman as few others do. We’ve all watched his boat working great fish and more often than not, have seen those fish released. Looking past his own rod tips, Gary sees every fish as a comment on the bigger picture, and he never misses an opportunity to offer timely encouragement to an angler or share his immense knowledge of Inlet life.
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In honor of Gary’s generosity toward fish and fishermen alike, Good Hope will present The Gary Stanton Stewardship Award to the fisherman who releases the largest fish of the season. A donation to the hatchery program in the angler’s name – and a free, week-long return trip on us – underlines our gratitude for your gesture, and will complement the trophy bearing your name, the date and weight of the fish you’ve freed.
After all, the only thing better than catching fish is coming back next year to catch more.
Catch and Release
Catch and release takes away none of the fun of the game of fishing. Once caught, the weight of the fish is duly noted and photos taken before it is sent back home to the water. Along with the satisfaction that comes from doing good, we’re offering a few material incentives to recognize the stewardship efforts of anglers who land and successfully release trophy fish.
For released Tyee of 30 and 40 pounds: each season, we will offer two framed sizes of an original Gyotaku print. Gyotaku (gyo is Japanese for fish and taku for print or rubbing) began as a way for fishermen to record the size of their catch: they’d ink one side of the fish, then press it onto rice paper or silk, creating an accurate – and striking – impression. The artform, over a century old, today is used to create prints of every species, and is practiced by artists around the world.
For released Chinook of 50 pounds: an Islander reel engraved with the angler’s name, the date and weight of the fish and our release logo will be offered, or a fibreglass replica mount based on the measurements of your fish and corresponding photo support.
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