My wife and I were at Painters Lodge , Vancouver Island , east side . They advertised nooks , we ended up hauling 3 cases of sockeye home . Down riggers at 150 feet , the most boring fishing I have ever done . Expensive lesson learned . Research is key .

 

Funny thing here is the Canadians travel where ever there is a sockeye opening, That's the fish they like to load up on. Might be wrong but think you can only bring back 2 Springs and 2 Silvers this year with reduced limits.

Lot of people drifting pinks that time of year right in Campbell River not sure what else.

 

Copy that, at least u filled your freezer 👍

 

If you have a boat you can trailer, fish the WCVI not the East. Barkley Sound from Ucluelet, Bamfield, or Alberni Inlet, or Nootka, or Tahsis, or? You can start from the middle of June through September, with July and August our favorite. June and July fish are mostly Columbia and Frazer Chinook (Springs in Canadian) with August and September mostly terminal fisheries to Island streams. It's all downrigger fishing, but definitely not 150' or boring. Mostly 30' to maybe 100'. You can fish as many rods as you can control (we fish 4 stacked on two downriggers). Barkley and Nootka are huge Sounds with tons of islands and all protected water. We started fishing Alberni Inlet with occasional 20 mile runs to the upper end of Barkley Sound in a 14' aluminum with a 15hp main and 7.5hp kicker. 25 years later we've graduated to a 17' Whaler and can now fish anywhere. This year there is supposed to be a record return of Chinook to Alberni Inlet and middle to end of August into September should be epic. A stay at China Creek Marina allows you to start fishing as soon as you clear the breakwater (2 minutes!). Their run of Coho in September is really strong and 15# + fish are common.
All I can say is don't let a frustrating experience on the East side sour you to the Island. WCVI is a totally different world. The ferry has gotten rather expensive, but we wouldn't miss our yearly trip for anything. We leave for Ucluelet on the 7th and can't wait. jc Tuna Maru

 

Great info, thanks man!

 

The west coast of Vancouver Island is where more and more WA anglers go to catch WA origin Chinook these days. With only 5 days of Chinook fishing allowed in Puget Sound this year, it's hardly surprising. It's low-holing at its finest. I haven't done it and definitely have mixed feelings about doing so.

 

So you don’t approve of fisherman from Washington and Oregon traveling to another country up in Canada and dumping probably $1000 in their local economy and maybe taking home a couple fish, what gives?🤣

 

Leave the gun, take the cannoli. I believe is BC Fish Ministries official moto. They keep a few grand of my cash every fall in return I get to see how many steelhead I can swing up vs. how many kick my butt. Them BC fish have some shoulders on em. Worth the price to put a big grin on my face.[emoji2]


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I will be in Bamfield the last week of August, so looking forward to fishing kings in my boat.
Its a shame what has happened to Washington king fishing.
It wasn't that long ago we were seeing decent fishing.

 

So what rivers would you guys target in the next month or two for bank fishing?

 

A buddy of mine told me that I should go check out the Fraser River. Didn’t realize that it’s a lot closer than the Campbell River, I really know nothing about British Columbia fishing. Anybody ever fish the Fraser River or any of its tributaries?

 

Haven’t fished the Fraser but drive along it for a big stretch on the way up to Smithers. It is a pretty big River and looks like you need a boat for a lot of it along the Abbotsford area. But definitely looks fishy along the stretches you can see from the highway. I did see a lot of guys on the far shore from the highway during “pink” years but once you get to Hope, BC you enter the canyon. It is steep and big water that doesn’t look very accessible until you get up past Lytton.


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I have towed my boat up with the truck camper a few time over the 15 years. Some years good fishing, some not so,good. But always enjoyable. Fished Ucluelet one year. Wanted to try halibut on the outside, but outside weather was rough. Inside, is a huge protected region. Largest eel grass flats in the world I think. Coho and kings both. Mostly I have fished the inside region. Like the calm waters. Stayed at Salmon Point a couple times. Nice campground, reasonable marina with slips. Both salmon and rockfish. Stayed at Telegraph Cove one year. Seemed to get a lot of rockfish. Fished George’s Bank for halibut. Not a lot of luck. Small fish. 22-23”. Only bad part is the cost of the ferry from tasawan to the island. Expensive with 45’ of camper and trailer. Even if the fishing is in a slack time, still nice place to boat. Friends have a place at Tahsis. They do well on all fish and prawns. But 40 miles of gravel road. Thought of launching south of there, I think it is Gold River, and boating to a bring your own boat lodge.

 

Gold River is the town and the launch is a few miles away on the waters of Nootka Sound. It is a fairly long run from there to Tahsis and can be a bit dicey in late afternoon due to winds in the fjord. There are, however, several floating resort operations available to include Critter Cove Resort. Family owned and operated for years; good folks and pretty much full service with rooms, fuel and even a restaurant. Fishing inside Nootka can be finicky as Chinook are staging. Also, storage of vehicles and trailers is pretty much controlled by the local tribe.

 

I second the Barkley Sound program.
And agree Painters Lodge is a relic of the past.
They usually say they’re currently in between runs and then suggest a nice whale watching trip.

 

I fished Port Hardy a few years back.
Drove and chartered with the guy that owns Cod Fathers motel.
Definitely worth the drive!
Great room for cheap!
Limited on salmon, plus the guide’s limit, (not sure he was really a licensed guide)plus Hallies and Ling all in one day.
Never forget the third one in the boat. Kona, his German Shepherd - perfectly behaved and so excited to come along!

 

If you like remote trout fishing for 18-20" fish try Anaheim lake. Its big and you can motor up the feeder streams and see plenty of wild life even grizzly and moose. The fishing can be absolutely off the hook and if is not there is 100's of tea colored lakes to explore. You can also reach the salt if you keep going. It reminds me a lot of Alaska with all the bogs. Anaheim lake resort has docks with cabins , camp sites and boats and access to fly in fishing if you want to go big. There is also another fancy pants lodge across the lake called eagle nest. To get there Take a left at Williams lake and its about 200 miles down the road on the right. We used to do 90 mph after Williams lake most of the way till they paved it .