What a difference a year makes…

2023: Rory & her staff derby prize winning 18 pounder.

This time last year we were preparing the Sportsman’s Club for the season after an almost three years pandemic break (September 2019 – July 2022). Apart from all the maintenance, our struggle was to teach the almost all ‘new to the lodge’ employees their jobs because most of our past employees had gone on to career jobs…This year, all the employees we invited back from the 2022 season are here at the Sportsman’s Club & have worked exceedingly hard to prepare for our first guests of the season to arrive soon.

It hasn’t been all work, all the employees have enjoyed personal fishing time along with all the tradesmen & other consultants who have been in the lodge to attend to the plumbing, sewage treatment plant, painting the building, water purification plant, motor technician, generators etc.  It’s not been without a few stumbling blocks, especially when there was a forest fire on Vancouver Island which closed the road for 17 days & 6 of our boats being transported by truck to Port Hardy from winter storage & maintenance in Port Boat House were stranded on the wrong side…

Here is a photo of the amazing June fishing and Rory, Simon’s daughter who is working in housekeeping this year to help pay for her university studies.  She won the staff derby which is not surprising since she has been fishing since she could hold a rod…