Reel Reports
Get the latest BC fishing report with our online Reel Reports – news from the front-lines of the best British Columbia salmon fishing grounds.
We update our BC fishing reports whenever possible during the fishing season, so check back often and see the top catches and hottest locations for salmon fishing in British Columbia.
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To book a trip to one our exciting salmon fishing and halibut fishing resorts, contact one of our reservation coordinators today!
BC Sportfishing Outlook
Northern BC Fishing Resorts - May 5, 2008
Hey all you anxious anglers, Fishmaster Cookie here with the projections for this years salmon fishery for our Northern Resorts.
The science of predicting salmon returns is still only moderately accurate although great strides have been made in recent years. A lot of what you see in the media is only the bad reports. There are some great success stories for a lot of runs of salmon, especially here in B.C. where some rivers have rebounded from previously endangered status to stable and increasing. A great majority of Chinook runs in B.C. are at normal historical levels and some are receiving greater than average returns. Because of conservation measures taken in the last 10 years such as moratoriums, slot limits, and area closures, our Coho fishing in the north has been, and is expected to, be extraordinary this year.
The MV Marabell and MV Charlotte Princess up at Langara are expected to have excellent fishing right from the get go. All of the Queen Charlotte local runs and the masssive Skeena and Nass runs for Chinook are expected to be in abundance. That means we should see great numbers of those big 40 lb. plus Skeena and Kitimat fish with the early runs showing up in May. My personal fishing diary tells me it should be an excellent big fish year for Chinook. The Columbia River runs are going to be almost double what they were last year and those fish start to filter through Langara in June along with hundreds of other migratory runs that stop for a meal at Langara.
The Coho fishing is forecasted to be excellent and we should see some good numbers starting in the end of June. There should be an abundance of those big hook-nosed northern Coho in August as well.
The halibut and lingcod fishing was better last year than I have ever seen it. We have been actively researching this fishery so I expect that with all our expertise and the awesome new improvements on our gear and bait systems it will be the best bottom fishing year ever.
The MV Salmon Seeker in Kano Inlet is an easy one. They have had the best Chinook-per-angler ratio of any other spot on the coast for the last three years and the outlook looks even better for this year. The increase in the Columbia River run-size this year, as well as excellent returns to the Puget Sound-area rivers, should only improve an already first class fishery. Our guides deadly halibut techniques brought in more 100 lb. plus halibut last year than the Masterfisherman board could support. We expect these trends to continue.
King Salmon Resort in Rivers Inlet looks like it's in for some great fishing. The Chinook runs through the area are predicted to be at normal levels. I have an inside contact that has lived in the area for his entire life and works actively with the native hatchery program there. He expects an above average to excellent year for those giant Kilbella and Wonnock River fish. Hey, isn't King Salmon Resort right in front of the mouths of those 2 rivers?
One factor that works in our favour coast-wide is that La Nina has cooled down the ocean to premium salmon fishing temperatures. That means bait balls on the surface and 40 pounders running shallow and I can't wait.
Shawn “Cookie” Pennell
Fishmaster, MV Charlotte Princess
Langara Island, Queen Charlotte Islands
New Couples Derby in Rivers Inlet
Northern BC Fishing Resorts - May 2, 2008
Whether it’s the comfortable private cabins or the hot tub overlooking the beach, couples seem to flock to our trophy fishing lodge in Rivers Inlet: King Salmon Resort. After years of seeing couples battling big Chinook side by side we realized something. King Salmon Resort needs a couples derby.
This July we’ll be holding our inaugural King Salmon Resort Couples Derby, challenging couples to work together to land the biggest trophy Chinook of the trip. So grab your mate, sharpen your hooks and get ready for a trip to trophy-fishing paradise.
The derby runs from July 17-20, 2008. To get the derby started off right, we’re pleased to offer special derby pricing of just $2,200 pp.
You can get all the details on the couples derby web page or call us at 1-800-663-7090 to find out more.
Tight Lines,
The King Salmon Resort Crew
Hali tips and a new fishing map
Northern BC Fishing Resorts - January 7, 2008Are you getting excited about your 2008 fishing trip? We’ve got just the thing to tide you over during these long winter months…
With the help of our Langara Island fishmasters we’ve just updated our Langara Island fishing map for Google Earth.
We’ve added salmon fishing routes and depths, hali hunting hot spots and tips for fishing ebbing and flooding tides all around Langara Island.
As a companion piece to the map, we’ve also posted a great new article on halibut fishing at Langara Island which details various locations and techniques to help you catch the fish of a lifetime.
You can download our interactive map here.
Tight lines!
Season records
MV Salmon Seeker - August 27, 2007We are now on the final trip of the season here at Kano Inlet and the exceptional fishing that we have been providing for our guests shows no sign of slacking off.
2007 has been another great year and Captain Zak, Captain Ed and I have enjoyed bringing you these reports.
Although we still have a few days to go, for the statistically minded, our largest halibut this year was 256 lbs. and the largest salmon was a 46 lb. Chinook. This doesn’t include the 100 or so that “had to be way over 50 lbs.” that didn’t quite make it into the boat!
But big numbers aren’t what keep our guests returning. It’s the memories of fighting Tyee-size Chinook in the pristine environment of the west coast of the Queen Charlotte Islands. It has been a pleasure this year to welcome back so many guests from previous years. Many of them know the captains orientation speech better than I do—and some of them even tell me so! First timers and their reaction to what we offer at the MV Salmon Seeker are also a special pleasure and our guide team and inside staff make it their mission to turn them into veterans.
To all our guests, current and future, have a great winter and we hope to see you all next year.
Captain Ian
MV Salmon Seeker
Queen Charlotte Islands
Strong to the very end
MV Salmon Seeker - August 26, 2007As another great season is winding down at the MV Salmon Seeker the fishing is showing no signs of letting up. The Queen Charlotte Islands has treated us to some excellent salmon being landed during the last couple of days.
Tony Kennedy’s 45 ½ lb. Chinook is the leading contender for this trip’s trophy, although nobody is conceding at the moment. When the guides are recording fish weights in decimal places you know there is some serious derby action going on!
Weather conditions today are fairly good after a rough couple of days and hopefully that will extend into next week to allow our final group some quality time on the water.
Some great action today with Killer whales surrounding a group of our boats and putting on a fine display. No doubt they will be pleased to witness our departure so they can have all this great fishing to themselves!
Captain Ian
MV Salmon Seeker
Queen Charlotte Islands
40 pounders abound
MV Salmon Seeker - August 23, 2007This will be my last Reel Report of the season as my time here is finished tomorrow and Captain Zak will be back. The time went very quickly and I do hope to return next season.
Today’s fishing? It was another great day with some huge Chinooks in the mid-forties weighed-in. Any day soon we can expect to see someone break the elusive 50 lb. mark. Coho are almost at that 20 lb. mark and I would expect that to be reached in the next day or so, too.
All in all, it has been a great three weeks. The weather has been exceptional and the fishing has been awesome. I can’t imagine any other location on the coast that could surpass the experience of fishing Kano Inlet aboard the MV Salmon Seeker. Now is a good time to book for next year, plan your holidays to include a visit here with us. You won’t be disappointed.
Captain Ed McDonald
MV Salmon Seeker
Queen Charlotte Islands
Two MFs and 40 pounder in the lead
MV Salmon Seeker - August 22, 2007When filing a report form the Salmon Seeker, it is difficult not to be repetitious. As is the norm this season guests spent a full day on the water and the results were excellent.
We have two more Masterfishermen to report: Jerry Malone from Alberta with 110 lb. halibut and Errol Stewart from California with a 113 pounder. Nice work, anglers!
Every boat came in with something of everything and our leader in the largest Chinook category is now Thomas Johnson from Minnesota with a 40 lb. silver beauty.
The weather forecasts are still in our favour so more good fishing is anticipated. For all the ladies out there, if fishing is your game this is the place to be. Currently aboard are two young women who have both caught Tyees (Chinook over 30 lbs.), and halibut to 54lbs. This is not a sport reserved for the men only! (And the food is great, too!)
Good Fishing!
Captain Ed McDonald
MV Salmon Seeker
Queen Charlotte Islands
Don Gandrud, Gentleman Angler
MV Salmon Seeker - August 21, 2007The exceptional fishing here at the Salmon Seeker continues. The weather conditions have been near perfect for almost three weeks and this, more than anything, has allowed our guides to provide our guests with the ultimate fishing experience.
Our most recent group of guests wrapped up their mini tourney on Monday with a strong finish. The Coho are definitely increasing in weight, almost on a daily basis, due to the presence of an abundance of feed. Currently, we are going through some excellent halibut tides where the range is less than one foot. This will permit the bait to reach the bottom with very little drift or angle to the lines. Ideal for the big barn doors to swallow that jig and give you the fight of your life.
I’m glad that I waited until the end of the day to finish my report as today we are proud to inform you that guest Don Gandrud from Minnesota caught and released a halibut weighing approximately 200 lbs! We all recognize the fact that large halibut are females—so important to the survival of the species—and this gesture of Don’s will contribute to our continued good fishing. The catch was fully documented on still photos and video.
Don is joined by Don Hooge and Frank Pauls in the Masterfisherman awards ceremony—the both brought in halibut over 100 lbs.. Well Done!
Fishing on the whole was excellent with over 30 Chinook weighed in. The largest, and our trip leader to date, was a 33 lb. white Chinook. The season is indeed coming to an end but fishing continues to be strong.
Good Fishing.
Captain Ed McDonald
MV Salmon Seeker
Queen Charlotte Islands
Fishing Bonanza
MV Salmon Seeker - August 18, 2007Today was a very good day as guests were rewarded with smooth seas, calm winds and a bonanza of fish. Top of the board today was Gretchen O’Hara, who attained Masterfisherman(person) status when she landed a 108 lb. halibut. Congratulations Gretchen, she is the current leader in the on board derby in the halibut division. The leader in the coho category is Tyler Fitzwalter, with a 16 and one half pound Northern beauty. The Sound is alive with bait fish which will see these coho soon break the 20lb mark.
In the Chinook race, several fish in the thirties were weighed in today, including Russel Welton’s leading 34 lber. We saw some good returns of ling cod and yellow eye rock fish. to round out todays activity. Kano Inlet and in particular the MV Salmon Seeker, is the places to be for EXTREME FISHING, as we have it all!
How about next year? Book early and book soon, as spaces fill quickly, contact one of the reservation coordinators for further information, then join us for the fishing adventure dreams are made of.
Captain Ed McDonald
MV Salmon Seeker
Queen Charlotte Islands
Halibut capital of the QCI
MV Salmon Seeker - August 15, 2007From the halibut capital of the misty Queen Charlotte Islands comes another indication that the MV Salmon Seeker is the place to be.
Another day, another trio of Masterfishermen (and Masterfisher-women, too). Again, ideal weather conditions allowed for the guides to seek out their secret “hali holes” and the results were spectacular.
Today’s lucky trio were:
- Lorne Wikman (BC) — 218 lbs.
- Shelly Nouwens (BC) — 112 lbs.
- Dennis Zuccato (BC) — 105 lbs.
And in the salmon category, William Moyter from Alberta landing a whopping 41 lb. Chinook. The results continue to be amazing. If we want to join us for an end of season experience give us a call, there are very few spots left.
Good Fishing!
Captain Ed McDonald
MV Salmon Seeker
Queen Charlotte Islands
