Catching The Current with Haida Gold: A Herring Spawn Perspective From The Water

Some stories demand a new angle—this time, literally. The chance to get out on the Salish Sea with Mike from Haida Gold Ocean Adventures was too good to pass up. The weekend forecast was, in technical terms, “iffy,” but the only thing more unpredictable than the weather is the ocean’s sense of timing.

Fairwinds Marina is all salt air and bustle in the morning. Mike’s handshake sets the tone: quick, genuine, and slightly amused by anyone thinking they know what’s going to happen next. We launched quietly, coast fading, gear stowed, eyes already scanning for clues.

From water level, the world is bigger—bolder, wilder, and more chaotic. Drones from a boat are a stunt, but you work with what you have. Birds spun overhead in clouds, sea lions commandeered every available log or outcrop, and the last of Parksville’s spawn drifted by in translucent curtains. The drone dodged gulls and wind gusts to send back footage that made the coast look like a living map.

Then came North Bay—a congregation of sea lions on felled logs, massive, noisy, and totally unphased by our presence. There’s something oddly poetic about wild creatures making their home atop the leftovers of the logging industry, the boundary between natural and human blurred by a little luck and a lot of tide.

No orca this round, but the stories traded with Mike, the shifting light, and the sheer scale of life at water’s edge made it feel like a win. Some days, the best you collect aren’t trophies, but perspectives you can’t get standing on shore.