THE LURE OF B.C.’S FISHING RESORTS
Some resorts have no trouble baiting travellers with luxury packages, Jane Mundy writes.
A few decades ago, it was all about catching a big fish. Most visitors to remote fishing resorts and lodges were only hooked on fishing; accommodations and amenities were barely a thought. Nowadays people come for the experience. In fact, some guests don’t even care if they catch a fish. Being there, immersing yourself in nature is reward enough.
Some resorts have no trouble baiting travellers angling for luxury. After you’ve been out on the briny blue, celebrating over cocktails with your new fishing chums, immerse yourself in a hot tub, tuck into chef-prepared superb cuisine with fine wines and then drift off under plump duvets and sheets made of the finest Egyptian cotton next to your private bathroom. Several fishing lodges are landbased, where you can stroll pristine sandy beaches, hike through old growth forest. Or spend the afternoon watching wildlife — whale sightings are the norm.
However, there’s nothing like the thrill of reeling in a big fish. For beginning anglers, a good day’s fishing can be a crapshoot, but not in the waters surrounding these resorts. The rugged shoreline of the Central Coast, the west coast of Vancouver Island and Haida Gwaii provide ideal habitat for vast shoals of baitfish. There are countless nooks and crannies for salmon, as well as gravel banks and pinnacles for halibut, rockfish, and lingcod. Snagging a salmon is more the rule than the exception — the resort guides know exactly where ocean fish are biting.
There are fishing lodges and resorts throughout B.C. that can provide all-inclusive packages — including accommodation, meals, fishing gear and service — to meet most budgets.
Here are a few of B.C.’s finest.
QUEEN CHARLOTTE LODGE, HAIDA GWAII
This remote part of the world is a welcome escape from daily life, and Queen Charlotte Lodge (QCI), on the northern shores of Haida Gwaii in Naden Harbour, offers a unique mix of adventure and comfort, friendship and fun.
Once the site of an old whaling station, QCI sits on 20 acres, surrounded by old-growth forest and beachfront. It offers five different kinds of accommodation, from the main lodge with 24 rooms to private chalets with private chefs. While nowhere can guarantee that you’ll catch a fish, QCI guarantees you’ll never be hungry, and you’re spoiled for choice. For instance, the main dining room offers three appetizers, six entrées and three desserts, with a big barbecue buffet the night you arrive. Variety kicks in at other venues: Chef at the Buoy Teppanyaki House will prepare surf ’n’ turf at your table, or maybe you prefer to hang out at the Bell Ringer and pick a lobster from the live tank after enjoying just-prepared salmon and albacore tuna sushi (all Ocean Wise) at the Kingfisher lounge …
A typical day:
4.30 a.m. Full-on breakfast in the
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main lodge or if you need to be on the water before dawn, cappuccino and breakfast sandwich to go at the dock.
6 a.m.: Catch 20lb chinook salmon
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9 a.m.: Stop by the Driftwood
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(anchored on the fishing grounds) for a bathroom break, coffee and muffin.
11 a.m. -2 p.m.: barbecue lunch
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on the Driftwood, including salad bar, chowder and chili.
5 p.m.: Cocktails (go for the Twin
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Creek Smash) and pub snacks at the Bell Ringer, a social house with a weigh scale and excellent bartender. Here is where you tell stories and trade lies and your catch is weighed. Party central.
7 p.m.: Main lodge for dinner:
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Ponzu-cured Albacore or B.C. spot prawns followed by herb-crusted halibut and an extensive wine list.
9 p.m.: Kingfisher Lounge downstairs
■ with port and cheese or Irish Coffee around the fireplace.
Charters depart Fridays and Mondays from Vancouver to Masset for three- or four-night stays from June through August. Allinclusive fly-in fishing packages start at $4,895.
The “Duncanby Difference” has no set mealtimes: you decide when you’ve had enough fishing and activities, then relax with a complimentary beverage while the chef prepares your meal. “One of the coolest things about owning a fishing lodge is you get to be a part of so many special moments, both with guests and family,” says Sid Keay.
“The first time John and Darlene from California came here, she was nervous about fishing in a small boat. After four days, Darlene told me, teary-eyed, that this was the best trip she ever had with her husband.” They have returned to Duncanby about a dozen times.
“I took my then 91-year-old grandmother fishing on my 26 ft. Boston Whaler. Driving back to Duncanby, she stood up and held onto the back of the seat so the wind could blow through her hair — my wife stood behind her, hanging on,” says Keay. “She was yelling, ‘Go faster Sid,’ and I revved the boat up to 40 m.p.h. She caught a lot of fish and still talks about that trip.”
Part of the package is getting away from it all; there is no WiFi, and no traffic here. “A lunatic gets off the plane freaking out because there’s no service,” says Keay, laughing. I put my arm on his shoulder and say, ‘We are gonna get you through this’ and almost always, within 12 hours he has stopped reaching for the phone. He only takes it out to take photos.
“And 40 people in the restaurant are chatting — nobody is texting or surfing the internet. Guests ask me never to give them Wi-Fi because it’s the only time they can disconnect. It’s good for your soul.”
The lodge has guided boats, selfguided craft and also has a 15-passenger boat for tours and superb wildlife-viewing, and a jet boat for river tours. Four-day, three-night self-guided and all-inclusive fishing packages start at $4,150 per person, including return airfare from Vancouver, professional instruction and care of catch.
HAKAI LAND AND SEA FISHING CLUB, HAKAI PASS
It’s both the journey and the destination that guests love. After a scenic two-hour float plane charter from Vancouver to Hakai Pass, at the edge of a stunning white sand beach in an old-growth coastal rainforest, this exclusive camp accommodates a maximum of 16 people who share meals and stories around one big dinner table. It comprises a kitchen, dining room, bunkhouse and staff quarters with a spectacular driftwood walkway joining the camp to the dock.
Back in 1970, a bunch of guys went fishing to Rivers Inlet but they didn’t catch much, so they continued up the coast. At Hakai Pass the fishing was so phenomenal they camped on the beach. Sitting around the campfire, the guys got the idea to apply for a land-based fishing camp. They got the permit and for the next two years built a rustic bunkhouse and cookhouse and used the camp as a fly-in fishing lodge. Today they are a non-profit society with 100 members.
With a such a small group, you’re bound to make new fishing friends. “People come here for the camaraderie. One of our oldest groups is called the Gloaters — 16 guys have been coming here every year for a few decades,” says Oscar Gustafson, a director on the board. Some staff have been here even longer. Gus Angus was the first to oversee the camp. His son Ben and grandson Cody now work here.
The camp doesn’t have guides, but staff teach newbies the ropes. “We fish exclusively with cut-plug herring and no deep-line (no power), a technique known as mooching,” explains Gustafson. “Mooching is kind of like fly-fishing; we think it’s more of an art form than using artificial lures.”
This unique fishing camp is located on the remote Central Coast of B.C., within the Hakai Lúxvbálís Conservancy’s marine protected area. You won’t get a posh, towelservice kind of resort, but you will get world-class fishing and spectacular scenery, and an experience unlike any other. The camp is less than 1 kilometre from open ocean and a mecca for humpback whales.
“This is the Serengeti of B.C.’s coast. Tons of killer whales and dolphins are feeding on the same baitfish as the salmon and a lot of people go whale watching with Ben. He’ll take you to a lot of cool places, with rivers and waterfalls and wildlife,” says Gustafson.
Trips start at $3,880 per person for four days and three nights. Included is your return flight from Vancouver, all meals, fishing gear, and boats.
PEREGRINE LODGE, GRAHAM ISLAND
This land-based boutique resort located on the northern coast of Graham Island in Haida Gwaii accommodates up to 42 guests, with a 1:1 staff to guest ratio. Talk about service. Everything from boats to booze is luxurious. This year marks Peregrine’s 30th anniversary and this former logging camp has undergone many changes. What hasn’t changed is the fishing, and they have always been fully-guided.
Fish come out of the North Pacific waters following baitfish and the first land mass is Haida Gwaii. Fish here are caught a long way from their spawning waters, and they put up a good fight. As well, many runs come by Peregrine Lodge’s doorstep: they don’t rely on one river system. Fish could be coming from the Columbia, Fraser or Thompson Rivers. From June to August, they all swim by here, so there’s more potential to catch a bigger fish.
Some guides have been here 20 years and they are largely responsible for repeat customers. Corporate guys now bring their kids and solo fishing has morphed into a social family event. It’s become a tradition. Everyone at the lodge heads out at 7 a.m. with a packed lunch and returns at the same time — 5.30 p.m. (in case you’re wondering, each boat has a washroom.) This makes for a very social atmosphere, especially at the bar on the dock, where guests share “the one that got away” stories.
And the bartender stays on duty until the last guest retires. You’ll wake every morning to freshbaked bread and pastries and the chef makes everything from scratch: fresh produce arrives on each flight. Wait, there’s more — part of that 1:1 staff to guest ratio includes a massage therapist. Apart from the main lodge, there’s a separate sports lounge, TV room, and gym, and what else but a pitchand-put golf course.
A four-day, three-night fishing package, including air transportation from Vancouver to Masset with Helijet transfer to the lodge, starts at $ 4,695.
SHEARWATER RESORT & MARINA, DENNY ISLAND
Shearwater is steeped in history. On this property was once a Second World War RCAF base that housed over 1,000 men with aircraft who were tasked with keeping the country safe from a possible Japanese invasion. A former officer of the RCAF was also a visionary: Andrew Widstein bought the property in 1947 and developed a marine services business. His son Craig built Shearwater into a company with over 100 employees and an exemplary tourist destination — First Nations culture and history and natural beauty help.
Nearby are glacial fjords, secluded beaches, remote hot springs and whales. And Shearwater Resort and Marina sits within B.C.’s Central Coast archipelago, known as the “Gateway to the Great Bear Rainforest.”
One reason why local millennials flock to Shearwater is the direct 90-minute flight from YVR to the island, and within two hours of touchdown they will have you fishing no matter the weather, thanks to being naturally sheltered.
Launching this year is “Funday Sunday.” Shearwater’s aircraft departs from Vancouver early morning and returns that night. You’ll have time for multiple activities: maybe visit the hot springs or simply sit back on the patio overlooking the marina, take in the scenery and not even go fishing. Funday Sunday airfare starts at $599.
Four-day, three-night packages start at $3,495 including airfare from Vancouver. Shearwater is also accessible by private boat and BC Ferries.
NOOTKA MARINE ADVENTURES, NOOTKA SOUND — ESPERANZA INLET
Kids go crazy for Nootka Marine Adventures at Moutcha Bay Resort — one of three resorts they operate on the west coast of Vancouver Island. Together with a marine biologist, they take a seine net from the beach and into the ocean to haul in invertebrates, then put all the little guys into buckets to study them and release them back into the ocean. As well, Nootka Marine Adventures hosts several school and youth group programs each year, with an emphasis on outdoor activities, wildlife awareness and our environmental impact.
There are wilderness retreats for everyone. How about yoga or beer brewing, or learn how to cook salmon over an open fire? Oh yes, and if you have time, there’s salmon fishing and halibut fishing charters.
The resorts also offer accommodations to suit everyone’s taste and budget, from serviced tent sites to high-end chalets and yurts. “Some people say they can’t sleep in a yurt, so they’ll opt for the main lodge, but once they have checked it out, those guests tend to book a yurt the following year,” says marketing manager James Fisher. Yurts can comfortably sleep up to six people, come with a full kitchen, bathtub and shower and 180 degree deck. And loft.
As well, Nootka Marine Adventures supports the local salmon enhancement and habitat restoration by raising funds for the Nootka Sound Watershed Society. They have implemented several operational best practices that meet — and in some cases exceed — environmental requirements. It’s good to know that the largest fishing resort operator in the province is doing good work.
A three-night stay at Moutcha Bay Resort — with two full and two half-days of fully guided fishing for a group of four, fish processing and luxury accommodations — starts at $1,516 per person.
A three-night stay at Nootka Sound Resort — with two full and two half-days of fully guided fishing for a group of four, fish-processing, transfers from Moutcha Bay Resort, luxury accommodations, breakfast, artisan lunch, appetizers and a four course gourmet dinner with fine wine — starts at $1,997 per person.
A three-night stay at Newton Cove Resort — with two full and two half-days of fully guided fishing for a group of four, fish processing, transfers from Moutcha Bay Resort, luxury accommodations, breakfast, artisan lunch, appetizers and a four course gourmet dinner with fine wines — starts at $2,552 per person.