My bucket list includes going to a fishing resort . So for my 60th , my girlfriend gave me a b\day card saying ... Start looking for a place to go for both of us Damn I love that woman , I might have to keep her ..Now is the hard part , finding one ... I really want to go to Haida Gwaii but most of them are around $5k + ..What id really like is a place that offers a boat to use , food , and a place to stay ... I already know how to fish , so we don't really need a guide ... so any suggestions would be appreciated .Rivers Inlet , Bute , Shearwater ...
Fishing Resort
- Thread starter peetz
- Start date
trophywife
Crew Member
shearwater is a great central coast location, you get a flight "cool" and the somewhat fishing town atmosphere is a reel blast.. the pub is good too!!
scar tissue
Active Member
Duncanby lodge in rivers inlet is fantastic
peetz - I'd say this all depends on your expectations of the trip.
Both West Coast Fishing Club & West Coast Resorts in Haida Gwaii offer "last minute" deals on trips. I have been to both; there are probably other reports doing the same. I was at Hippa Lodge in late August & the lodge was not full. Salmon was a bit slow (last year was an oddball year) but we still came home with 4 springs 18-26, 4 coho 13-16, and Lings to 29, Hali to 20 & various rock fish. This was the second to last trip of the year at Hippa. No really large Chinook, but a trip of a lifetime for variety of catch. The guides at Hippa were into catching bottom fish. Standard package is guided half of each day, on your own the rest. GPS units are pre-loaded with fishing spots.
West Coast Fishing Club at North Island Lodge is their budget operation at Langara - you are either fully guided or fully unguided. I was here early June 2015 on a short notice trip. Focus is more on Salmon. Catch/release lot's of Salmon keeping 15-25 pounders. Too early for Coho. Caught some nice 30-50lb Hali, a few small Lings. There were spots where we fished for the big one, but we caught nothing in the way of Salmon at these spots. Other spots produced the "cookie cutters" 15-25 pounds.
The prices at these lodges are high because a Helicopter ride is required.
For the most part the vast majority of these "cookie cutter" Chinook are bound for the Columbia River in the US, which means places on the West Coast of Vancouver Island gets them as well. FYI Columbia River Chinook numbers are predicted to be down in 2017. These resorts are about half the price of the Haida Gwaii resorts.
Never been to Rivers inlet but I believe it much slower Salmon fishing.
FYI the Lodge at Hippa has DFO permission to put fish into 1 lb portion vacuum sealed bags. Probably my favorite part about going to a Lodge is that the fish are taken care of.
Both West Coast Fishing Club & West Coast Resorts in Haida Gwaii offer "last minute" deals on trips. I have been to both; there are probably other reports doing the same. I was at Hippa Lodge in late August & the lodge was not full. Salmon was a bit slow (last year was an oddball year) but we still came home with 4 springs 18-26, 4 coho 13-16, and Lings to 29, Hali to 20 & various rock fish. This was the second to last trip of the year at Hippa. No really large Chinook, but a trip of a lifetime for variety of catch. The guides at Hippa were into catching bottom fish. Standard package is guided half of each day, on your own the rest. GPS units are pre-loaded with fishing spots.
West Coast Fishing Club at North Island Lodge is their budget operation at Langara - you are either fully guided or fully unguided. I was here early June 2015 on a short notice trip. Focus is more on Salmon. Catch/release lot's of Salmon keeping 15-25 pounders. Too early for Coho. Caught some nice 30-50lb Hali, a few small Lings. There were spots where we fished for the big one, but we caught nothing in the way of Salmon at these spots. Other spots produced the "cookie cutters" 15-25 pounds.
The prices at these lodges are high because a Helicopter ride is required.
For the most part the vast majority of these "cookie cutter" Chinook are bound for the Columbia River in the US, which means places on the West Coast of Vancouver Island gets them as well. FYI Columbia River Chinook numbers are predicted to be down in 2017. These resorts are about half the price of the Haida Gwaii resorts.
Never been to Rivers inlet but I believe it much slower Salmon fishing.
FYI the Lodge at Hippa has DFO permission to put fish into 1 lb portion vacuum sealed bags. Probably my favorite part about going to a Lodge is that the fish are taken care of.
If I was going to a lodge for a bucket list trip while Haida Gwaii might seem like an obvious pick it wouldn't be mine. I've never been there but it is to close to a been there done that. Lots of fish but mostly the same fish that can be caught anywhere. I would go to Rivers and try for a fish of a lifetime on what might be your only lodge trip. There are more fish over 50-60-70 pounds taken at Rivers than anywhere else in BC. While there is no guarantee you will be one of the lucky few...just knowing they are down there would have me excited at daybreak each day I was there.
hippaisland
Well-Known Member
If you want to be able to fish on your own I'd recommend Englefield Bay - West Coast Resorts, they will still be offering the "instructed" fishing this year where you share a guide(whereas Hippa is going to Fully Guided only this season), and most are happy to stay at the lodge for a siesta if you want the whole day to yourself, but I can tell you it comes in handy especially for bottom fishing with grounds your not familiar with. As mentioned by Eric you can get your catch processed into 1lb portions which is way nicer than going home with big unmanageable slabs. (Costs 1$ a pound for portioning, so 20lb spring = $20, but worth it!) Otherwise fish are sided and quartered before being vacuum packed.
Edit: If your flexible on dates there are last minute deals that come available with WCR, I think they've got a "last minute club" email list type of deal. Worth checking out.
Edit: If your flexible on dates there are last minute deals that come available with WCR, I think they've got a "last minute club" email list type of deal. Worth checking out.
