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.

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.

Sport Fishing and the Art of Relaxation

Photo by Guy  Kimola

Every angler has their own reason for loving fishing, whether it’s the thrill of the chase, getting to be outdoors all day, or frying up the catch at home. But there’s another big reason that people head out onto the water: fishing is relaxing.

Although the word “relaxing” may seem at odds with the image of a fisherman fighting a massive Chinook salmon for an hour or two before getting it onto the boat, that is only one aspect of the sport. Because sportfishing takes you out on the water for hours at a time—often the whole day—there’s a lot of downtime between such battles.

These moments between tugs on the line are also what fishing is known for. In fact, the most common reason people fish is to relax, according to the American Sportfishing Association. 

Photo by Owen Perry

While waiting for the next battle, an angler can allow their mind to wander—but not too much, because you need to be able to react when the bite does come. This makes fishing an activity similar to mowing the lawn or painting a wall. That is, it engages part of your brain, but it doesn’t always engage all of it. You need to pay attention, but you don’t need to pay it all of your attention.

This makes fishing the perfect set up for letting your mind wander—and often the type of situation that gives rise to Eureka moments. 

Not only does fishing give you time with your own thoughts, but the constant casting and reeling means it’s a repetitive activity. Repetitive activities are stress busting. And diverting attention to repetition is not only mentally soothing, but actually releases physical tension too. 

Photo by Guy Kimola

Whether you're out with Escott Sportfishing trolling, mooching, or even saltwater fly fishing, you can expect the perfect mixture of excitement and relaxation—while soaking up the scenery of Haida Gwaii, which is always a relaxing thing.

The Fishing Seasons of Haida Gwaii

Beautiful Haida Gwaii is known for many things.

The undeniably stunning scenery, a decidedly relaxed way of life, the distinctive art of the Haida people, and its varied and lush wildlife. We’ve got humpback whales, bald eagles, harbour seals, and even spirit bears. But of most interest to Escott Sportfishing and our guests is—of course—the innumerable fish that populate its waters.

Haida Gwaii, formerly known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, is considered to have some of the best salmon fishing grounds in the world. Made up of over 150 islands and classed as a temperate rainforest zone, the Haida Gwaii, with its many protected bays and kelp beds, couldn’t be more welcoming to salmon, halibut, and other game fish that end up on the business end of our fishing poles.

Millions of Chinook and Coho swim through the island chain on runs that take them south from Alaska to their home waters to breed. Masset, where Escott’s Haida Gwaii fishing lodge is located, essentially sits in the middle of this fish superhighway. Different species of salmon run at different times of year, with the Haida Gwaii salmon season spanning all the way from May until September.

But Tyees aren’t the only giants that swim these waters. Halibut hang about Haida Gwaii all year long, usually choosing to stay in waters much deeper than the salmon. Still, Escott’s hali fishing grounds are located only a half-hour boat ride from the Lodge, where depths plunge as deep as 275 feet.

If you book your Haida Gwaii sportfishing trip for September, there’s also opportunity to catch yet another of the prized fish that call these waters home—steelhead, otherwise known as rainbow trout.

With different species of quality sport fish swimming these waters all year round, there is no question why Haida Gwaii is known as a fisherman’s paradise.