Prince Rupert is known as the air, water and land transportation hub of the North Coast in British Columbia. It is a port city and presently hosts a population of about 12,815 people.
Prince George is around 718 km from Prince Rupert, whilst the Alaskan border is 48 kms north, and Terrace is east around 143 kms away. It could be conveniently reached by taking the Yellowhead Highway 16 down to northwest coast of British Columbia.
The very first record of human settlement dates back more than 10,000 years. The area was originally established by the First Nation People and, before European contact, the inner harbor of the city of Prince Rupert was the most crowded area north of Mexico. The original territory of the indigenous First Nation tribe, the Tsimshian Nation, 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.
The founder of the city of Prince Rupert, Charles Melville Hays, dreamed of establishing the ideal port for marine trade, as well as sea and rail travel, on the island. 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 situated on Kaien Island, that was uninhabited until around a century ago. It has access to several of the most breathtaking landscape within the world.
A significant number of ocean-going freighters travel through the deepwater harbor every year. Cargoes of lumber, grain, pulp, mineral ore, sulphur and coal are shipped globally from the city of Prince Rupert, and when the Pacific Rim trade grows the port's significance will increase too.
For the majority of the months throughout the year the residents of the city of Prince Rupert participate in ocean sport fishing. The fishing season runs from latter part of April up to latter part of September, though huge Chinook salmon, up to 60 lb., can be found until early August. From mid-July to middle part of October is the prime time to catch Coho salmon, that are smaller then the Chinook but fierce fighters. Pink salmon can be found from mid-July to late August. During 1995 the biggest chum salmon in the world, weighing in at 35 lb., was caught. Halibut are also common here, as are Rockfish. Another popular activity is crabbing for Dungeness crab.
The numerous lakes and rivers within the area offer great freshwater angling. The Skeena River is amongst these, providing Cutthroat, Dolly Vardan and Rainbow. The best time stretches from early July to middle part of September.