We cruised the North Channel in August of last year. Although being a "cannuck" I'm quite familiar with black flies, we must have picked the perfect time of year as we had no bug problems. The water does get "skinny" and you can take great pcitures of boulders under the water (and your boat), we higly recommend not missing this beautiful creation of Mother Nature. It's best to take it slow, to take it all in and be safe. As in every place you visit some people wake up cranky but when you open your heart and put a smile on your face, we found people generally responded in kind. Mary Anne