Prince Rupert

Prince Rupert is known as the water, land and air transportation hub of the North Coast in British Columbia. It is a port city and presently hosts a population of roughly 12,815 individuals.

Prince George is about 718 km from the city of Prince Rupert, whilst the Alaskan border is 48 kms north, and Terrace is east approximately 143 kms away. It could be conveniently reached by taking the Yellowhead Highway 16 down to northwest coast of British Columbia.

The very first settlement in the area dates as far back as 10,000 years ago. Before European contact, First Nations peoples established settlements in the region, as the inner harbour was one of the most densely inhabited regions north of Mexico City. The Tsimshian Nation, the original territory of the ingenious First Nation tribe, reached from Kitasoo all the way to the mouth of the Nass River in the North to the Skeena River in the East, which is situated just past the city of Terrace.

Prince Rupert's founder, Charles Melville Hays, wished to establish a port for marine trade, in addition to rail and sea travel around the area. He was the president of the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway Company.

The local economy rapidly grew as the city of Prince Rupert established it's two main export terminals. Along with economic prosperity came an influx of culture and tourists. Prince Rupert is considered the Gateway to the North and is located on Kaien Island, that was unoccupied until around a century ago. It has access to several of the globe's most wonderful scenery.

Each and every year, there are a lot of ocean-going freighters which pass through the deepwater harbour. Cargoes of grain, lumber, pulp, mineral ore, coal and sulphur are shipped worldwide from the city of Prince Rupert, and as the Pacific Rim trade grows the port's importance would increase as well.

During most months, people can participate in ocean sport fishing, with seasons running from about latter part of April until latter part of September. Peak times for Chinook salmon fishing goes up until early part of August, the largest of these salmon reach 60lb. From middle part of July up to mid-October is the prime time to catch Coho salmon, that are smaller then the Chinook but fierce fighters. Pink salmon could be found from middle part of July to late August. In 1995 the biggest chum salmon within the globe, weighing in at 35 lb., was caught. Halibut are likewise common here, as are Rockfish. Another famous activity is crabbing for Dungeness crab.

Nearby rivers and lakes offer fantastic freshwater angling. Amongst these rivers is the Skeena River, that offers Cutthroat, Dolly Vardan and Rainbow. The best time stretches from early July until mid-September.