FISHING CLOSE TO HOME
LOCALS HAVE OPPORTUNITY TO VISIT WORLD-CLASS LODGES
For B.C. fishing resorts, 2020 was a disastrous year. With our borders closed to international visitors and travel restrictions in the province, a lot of resorts closed for the season.
For Brian Legg, president of the West Coast Fishing Club in Haida Gwaii, the challenges of being in a remote location were compounded.
“All supplies have to barged up based on expected volume and that has to happen pre-season, as well as having the contracts for fixed-wing airplanes and helicopters in place,” says Legg. “We lost a lot of money.”
Bookings that were made prior to the closing of the borders, some of them years in advance, have had to be carried forward to 2022.
“The resorts are normally packed with fishermen from all over the world,” says Owen Bird, executive director for the Sport Fishing Institute of B.C.
But he is quick to point out the opportunity for British Columbians to visit places that would normally be booked.
B.C. has world-class lodges and fishing waters that stretch the length of the province. In B.C. there are five species of Pacific salmon, ling cod and halibut along the coastline that circumnavigates more than 40,000 islands.
Most lodges opened with the lifting of COVID-related travel restrictions and the province moving into Phase 3 allowing recreational travel within Canada.
In Haida Gwaii, the West Coast Fishing Club lodge on Langara Island opened in the beginning of July to Canadians.
“For now it's business as usual but with only Canadians at the lodge,” says Legg. “For now it's a wait and see for American residents.”
Legg says there was a lot of pent up demand for British Columbians to get out and do something. The lodge offers premium quality service in a relaxed atmosphere combined with world-class salmon and halibut fishing.
“It's a fantastic lodge and we offer a great experience with ocean tours and seeing Haida Gwaii.”
Legg says their season normally runs late May to the end of August.
“The salt water season is underway and there's great fishing to be had,” says Bird.
Nootka Marine Adventures has opened two of its three lodges. Newton Cove Resort is not opening this season. Moutcha Bay Resort and Nootka Sound Resort are open and are seeing bookings from a lot of first-time visitors.
“Despite the short-term loss of our international guests and temporary closures, we've had the pleasure of welcoming many new local faces for the first time,” says Erin Brizard, the marketing coordinator for Nootka Marine Adventures. “From Victoria to Port Hardy, we've seen a large influx of local islander bookings this year.”
Moutcha Bay Resort is located two hours drive from Campbell River on the sheltered waters of Nootka Sound. Nootka Sound Resort is a floating lodge nestled in the calm waters of Galiano Bay.
Most fishing resorts aren't known for their dining, but Nootka is changing that with the partnering of B.C. chef William Lew (formerly of Notch8, Fairmont Hotel Vancouver and Ocean Wise). The resorts offer unexpected luxury with a four-course dinner served with wine every night.
Further north on Vancouver Island, the Bear Cove Cottages outside of Port Hardy stayed open last year targeting British Columbians. Bear Cove Cottages and Wicked Salmon Fishing Charters are owned by the husband and wife team of Wade and Shannon Dayley and provide an all-inclusive salmon fishing destination.
“It's been really good,” says Wade Dayley “We're seeing a lot of first time visitors, a lot of islanders, who have never been up to northern Vancouver Island. The beauty is an eye opener for them.”
Of course with the thousands of lakes, rivers and streams the fishing season in B.C. doesn't really end. There are 80 varieties of freshwater game fish which means the opportunity is here to fish year round, especially around Vancouver and Victoria.
FISHING HIGHWAY 24
The Fishing Highway 24 has the highest density of fishing resort and lodges in British Columbia. It offers a fishing vacation for every budget.
Large, powerful rainbow trout inhabit almost every lake along this beautiful, meandering highway. Among these lakes, the hallowed waters of Sheridan Lake provide some of the finest stillwater fly fishing found anywhere in the province.
The Fishing Highway 24 runs from Little Fort to 100 Mile House.
VANCOUVER ISLAND NORTH
The northern stretches of Vancouver Island are far less inhabited, yet cater perfectly to those seeking a multitude of West Coast experiences, with both salt and freshwater fishing being tourism front-runners.
Swarms of migratory chinook salmon migrate down the inland coast each year, seeking homage in both local and distant tributaries.
From the coastal town of Campbell River, north to the quaint fishing town of Port Hardy, there are a rich list of unique coastal experiences.
KITIMAT
The Kitimat River is a meandering glacial-fed river that flows north, west and eventually
south before emptying into the Douglas Channel.
During the months of March and April, the Kitimat sees a plentiful return of spring-run steelhead.
The average steelhead entering the Kitimat weighs 8 to 12 pounds, with fish over 15 pounds not being uncommon. The Kitimat's fairly subtle gradient lends it perfectly to a swung fly presentation. These months also offer a wealth of opportunity to chase sea-run cutthroat with a single-handed fly rod.
As springtime progresses and the steelhead numbers begin to taper off, cue one of the Kitimat River's most appealing seasons for both fly and gear anglers.
Ocean fresh, dime bright chinook salmon enter Kitimat River, with some fish pushing the 40-pound mark.
CHILLIWACK
Chilliwack is a haven of freshwater fishing. The Fraser River is home to one of the last truly
wild populations of white sturgeon in the world. These impressive creatures can exceed 13 feet and weigh more than 1,500 pounds. White sturgeon have survived virtually unchanged for 65 million years and can live for close to 200 years.
CAMPBELL RIVER
Campbell River has long been considered by many to be the salmon capital of the world.
Campbell River is adjacent to some of the largest runs of passing salmon to be found anywhere on B.C.'s coast.
The area is also prime for big chinook salmon, as the ocean kings gather here to feed on bait fish.
NELSON AND KOOTENAY LAKE
Kootenay Lake is home to one of the largest subspecies of rainbow trout to be found anywhere — the Gerrard trout.
Gerrards have evolved over millennia in lock-step with
another of the lake's dominant species, the kokanee, which is a landlocked sockeye salmon.
The annual outflow of kokanee fry from the creeks and small rivers that flow into the lake gives Gerrards a prey base that allows them to grow to tremendous size, often in excess of 30 pounds. They are fish-eaters, and anglers will never forget a Gerard trout's fast, slashing assault on a streamer or spoon.
TOFINO
Tofino's sport fishing industry is largely based on coastal saltwater fishing for migratory and resident Pacific salmon, but there is so much more to be found along the coastline.
In a day, one could go fishing for rockfish, jigging for halibut, trolling for chinook salmon and catch a coho salmon on the fly along the kelp beds they travel alongside in search of herring and anchovies.
Summers in Tofino consist of warm, coastal breezes and ample opportunity at adult chinook salmon that travel the many migration highways that are accessed by a short boat ride.
In the latter parts of August, coho salmon become present and are readily available for both gear and fly anglers.
Fresh Pacific salmon, mussels, scallops, crabs and prawns are a regularity in their own seasons, adding just another aspect to fishing this vast area of Vancouver Island's West Coast.
KAMLOOPS
There aren't many places in B.C. that can claim its own species of trout, but Kamloops is one of them. The “Kamloops trout” is a recognized strain of rainbow trout with natural tendencies that make it a flyfisher's dream.
Kamloops trout are voracious insect eaters, targeting seasonal cycles of emerging surface and subsurface species.
QUESNEL
British Columbia's Cariboo and Chilcotin regions could be summed up easily as a freshwater fisherman's paradise. A sheer bounty of lakes and rivers form the provinces most prolific, and untarnished landscapes.
Among the plethora of the interior's fishing hubs, few rival the accessibility to quality trout fishing than that of Quesnel.
Offering a multitude of lake and river fishing opportunities for rainbow trout, bull trout, lake trout and a list of other species, the Quesnel area caters to both fly and gear anglers.
SQUAMISH
Year-round fishing opportunities make Squamish a mustvisit destination.
Anglers seeking contact with Pacific salmon can time their visits to coincide with runs in fresh and saltwater.
A favourite target species on the Squamish is the bountiful run of pink salmon that are readily caught on swung flies. There is also steelhead, the enigmatic trout able to make the transition from salt to freshwater and back again.