Pre-Fishing Trip Rituals: Vancouver Escape Room

By Thomas Quine (Vancouver Dawn Panorama) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

It’s hard not to get overly excited as the days get crossed off the calendar. And no—I’m not talking about counting down to the holidays. I’m talking about marking X’s as my fishing trip with Escott Sportsfishing gets nearer and nearer.

Before my four days at Escott Lodge with my friends begin, I also always make sure to get in some quality time with the family. It used to be enough to take the kids for an afternoon at Granville Island’s Kids Market, but now that they’re getting older, it’s time to kick the pre–fishing trip tradition up several notches.

The best thing I’ve found for this year is a session at a Vancouver escape room—the latest entertainment craze. Since my kids are well into the scary stuff (just like the old man), it’s got to be Krakit Escape Game for us.

Located right by Lougheed Town Centre Skytrain station, Krakit offers rotating horror-themed escape rooms, including the Zombie Apocalypse, the Asylum, and the Saw Room (and they’re happy to adjust the scare level, if any little ones aren’t up to full fright level yet).

The only bad part about playing an escape game with the kids is facing the fact they might solve the puzzles before I do. But being outwitted by a nine-year-old is well worth it when it means we all get to jump into an experience together—in a way a movie night just can’t provide.

By adding a pre-trip tradition to my yearly fishing trip, I get to make some serious memories both with my friends as we haul in salmon after salmon, and at the same time I get to cement some special moments with the family as well. (And it’s certainly makes them as excited for my annual trip to Escott Sportfishing as I am.)

Before I know it, the boys will be old enough to take part in both parts of the tradition: the pre-trip family time and the fishing adventure in beautiful Haida Gwaii.

You can learn more about Krakit Vancouver Escape Game here.

Memories of Summer Fishing: Sunshine, Salmon, and Smooth Sailing

Escott blog—WK 5 (Jan 31, 2016)

Memories of Summer Fishing: Sunshine, Salmon, and Smooth Sailing

As we’ve started to dig into our vacuum-pack salmon stores from last summer, it’s gotten us reminiscing about the stellar summer season we had last year at Escott Sportfishing.

Who else has dipped into their vacuum-pack salmon from last summer? #salmon #salmonfishing #fishingtrips #haidagwaii #haidagwaiifishing #escottsportfishing #escottlodge

A photo posted by Escott Sportfishing (@escottsportfishing) on Jan 14, 2016 at 4:00pm PST

While there’s never a bad time to take a Haida Gwaii fishing trip, there’s an undeniable pull toward those long days of summer, when the Chinooks are plentiful and so are the sun’s rays.

Haida Gwaii and Graham Island, where Escott Lodge is located, have some of the best salmon fishing in the world throughout the summer months. So, while we trudge our way through February, we’ll whet our appetites for the great season that’s to come by remembering some of last summer’s best moments.

Two 50's / 46 / 42 / 32 ..... 1 tide change / 5 hog hunters / 12 guests / 1000 memories / Escottsportfishing!

A photo posted by Escott Sportfishing (@escottsportfishing) on Jul 24, 2015 at 8:49pm PDT

It’s hard not to grin from ear to ear when you get a haul like this one. You’re looking at five Tyees—that is, salmon weighing over 30 lbs—caught during one amazing fishing trip. An epic haul, to say the least.

Pod of #killerwhales Photo Guy Kimola #localwildlife #lovewhereyoulive #explorebc #HaidaGwaii

A photo posted by Escott Sportfishing (@escottsportfishing) on Jul 17, 2015 at 10:27am PDT

Courtesy of one of our favourite photographers, Guy Kimola, this photo shows off some of the undeniably spectacular wildlife that swarms the British Columbia coast. The orcas were particularly active in Haida Gwaii in the summer of 2015. Here’s hoping they return for 2016.

When you book a salmon fishing trip with Escott Sportfishing, you get to swap your office view for ours. Not bad, eh?

Just getting started this am..... Great view from the office! #adventurehaidagwaii #mostbeautifulplaceonearth #EscottLodge

A photo posted by Escott Sportfishing (@escottsportfishing) on Jun 27, 2015 at 10:35pm PDT

There’s nothing like pulling in your first salmon, as this smile shows. Watching kids have the time of their lives on our fishing trips is definitely one of the best parts of summer.

A photo posted by Escott Sportfishing (@escottsportfishing) on Jun 19, 2015 at 10:38pm PDT

As much as we like fishing for salmon, we’re also big fans of eating it. Just looking at this spread of salmon sashimi—freshly prepared by our chef at Escott Lodge—has got us drooling in anticipation of the good eats to come in summer 2016.

A photo posted by Escott Sportfishing (@escottsportfishing) on Jun 12, 2015 at 9:39am PDT

But most of all, we can’t wait to take our Escott guests out on the summer waters of Haida Gwaii, where you really will catch fish that are this big.

Escott captains with 3 beauties!

A photo posted by Escott Sportfishing (@escottsportfishing) on Jul 26, 2015 at 10:18pm PDT

Best Salmon Fishing Lodge in Haida Gwaii

There’s a good chance you’ve already noticed, but we’ve recently launched our brand new Escott Sportfishing website, which not only looks amazing but brings together all the information you need to have the best sport fishing trip possible.

Here you’ll find everything that’s offered as part of your Haida Gwaii fishing trip—from information on the salmon or halibut you’ll be reeling in, to the Grady Boats and Gamakatsu hooks we use, to all the mod cons offered at Escott Lodge.

Just as importantly, our new website gives you a preview of the experience that’s to come, including profiles on our captains—including the biggest Chinooks they’ve ever caught—as well as on our chef Mike Redinger. Plus, you’ll find our regularly updated Hog Blog, which covers every aspect of fishing you’ll ever need to know about.

Another huge feature of the revamped Escott site is the photography. Haida Gwaii is a stunning place and our fishing trips are true adventures—and it’s all been captured expertly in the photographs provided by Kyler Vos, Owen Perry, Guy Kimola, and Seann Einerssen. Special thanks goes out to them for their contribution to our new look.

Escott is proud to offer the best salmon fishing at the best salmon fishing lodge in Haida Gwaii, and now we’re proud to bring you one of the most user-friendly and informative sport fishing websites out there. Don’t forget, we’re also on Instagram at @escottsportfishing, where you’ll find more snaps of Escott-led fishing adventures.

Please take a look around, learn some salmon fishing facts, and explore the experience that awaits you at Escott Lodge.

Check out the new Escott website! Huge thanks goes out to Kyler Vos, Owen Perry, Guy Kimola & Seann Einerssen for providing the spectacular photos! #escottlodge #escottsportfishing #haidagwaii #charters #salmonfishing #halibutfishing #sportfishing #catch&release #explorebc

A video posted by Escott Sportfishing (@escottsportfishing) on Jan 19, 2016 at 12:17pm PST

Swimming with the Real Sharks: Corporate Retreats at Escott

The mere mention of a corporate retreat can be enough to make employees groan. But it doesn’t have to. Instead of bringing the office together in a sterile, forced-feeling retreat environment, there’s opportunity to make it a retreat in the true sense of the word—and still get all the necessary business accomplished.

Photo By Seann Einerssen

 Our fishing lodge is located only a two-hour flight from Vancouver, but feels days away mentally. Removed far from the hustle and bustle of the workaday life, Escott offers an environment that’s completely free of the usual distractions. Instead of sitting around the boardroom table, staff gathers on one of our top-of-the-line Grady White boats—a prospect that is sure to quell the “corporate retreat groans.”

Being out on the water, fishing pole in hand—and far from constant emails and ringing phones—allows for a corporate retreat that is as relaxed as it is effective. Company retreats are of course all about taking the time to work on a problem or accomplish a task that needs more focus than the office can provide. Fishing, as humankind has known for centuries, is an activity that rolls all of this—relaxation, focus, and bond-building—into one.

As much fun as it is to be out on the waters of Haida Gwaii, trying to reel the biggest salmon of the bunch, there still needs to be the chance to really get down to business (and open the yearly report, without it falling to the bottom of the ocean). That’s why Escott Lodge has plenty of space for your team to spread out, whether in the vaulted-ceiling sitting lounge or in one of our spacious suites.

Whether you’re company is convening for a problem-solving session or to launch into its Annual General Meeting, a retreat to Escott Sportfishing and the pristine environment of Haida Gwaii is guaranteed to get the think-tank into high gear.