2016 – An Excellent Season

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We have now concluded our 2016 King Pacific Lodge season and our floating lodge is now safely tied up in our winter anchorage.

A special Thank You to all of our guests and of course our seasonal staff who make the entire experience possible.

We’re so fortunate to have had a successful, safe season for and we appreciate the efforts of everyone to make this happen.

Overall, fishing was very consistent earlier and later in the season and some of our best fishing was during June and late August. June produced excellent catches of Chinook, July a nice mix of smaller Coho and Chinook and the very best part of August seemed during the fourth week and when we experienced the heaviest fish loads of the season.

Anchovy baits were the story of 2016. While the usual herring and flasher & hoochie combinations did work, the anchovy trolled behind flasher was by far the most productive. Gibbs Delta tackle gifted us a selection of their new Skinny G spoons and these also were very productive.

Northwest winds hampered our efforts during late July and August. Fortunately we were still able to fish most of the time at Cheney Point and at times into Louisa Cove. We haven’t lost a days fishing yet! During periods of strong westerlies we’ve also a new fishing location: Thompson Sound. Located just 20 minutes to the South East, Thompson sound provides flat calm fishing waters and the very first fish taken at this location was over forty pounds!

We’ve recently learned our neighbouring fishing lodge will be no longer operating at Milbanke Sound. This change will provide a much more exclusive and peaceful fishing experience for King Pacific Lodge anglers.

In the coming weeks we’ll be communicating with all of our 2016 guests. Our desire is to continually improve our operations and we look forward to learning more about this seasons experience at King Pacific Lodge. IMG_3021

Should you follow TripAdvisor, our page is King Pacific Lodge TripAdvisor

Our 2017 season is filling in nicely and we welcome all new and existing anglers to contact us anytime.

Kindest Regards,

George Cuthbert

george@westsportfishing.com

778 384 3474

September fish!

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We’ve entered the first week of September and we’re enjoying both excepting fishing and weather. The last week has gifted us with calm seas and great action out on the water.

A low pressure system recently brought a little rain, a bit of wind and plenty of fish! This was significantly different from the long, dry westerly winds of August.  Cheney Point and Cheney 2 have been the best producing areas and Flasher with Anchovy has been the overall winning combination. Herring trolled both whole or cut plug has been working as well as Flasher Anchovy. 47 and 57ft seem to be the lucky depth numbers and hugging the shoreline within 100ft of water.

As an example, three days ago, Fisher Cuthbert (10) played a 21, 25 and a whopping 32 pound Chinook.  Today, Al and Gail of Vancouver brought in their fifth Tyee (over 30 pounds) Chinook of the trip!

Nice Coho salmon have been coming in and while not as plentiful as previous years, highlights include six over 18 pounds. Most have been caught within the top thirty feet of water.

Our local wildlife has been providing entertainment as Humpback Whales enjoy the bounty of the smaller three inch herring bait schools. Killer Whales, Sea otters, Sea lions are also a regular appearance.

Should you be thinking of a trip for 2017 we’d look forward to communicating with you soon. Our available dates are already quite limited for the coming year.

Regards

George Cuthbert

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Chinook and Coho

ericscohoAs our fabulous 2016 season continues into the last part of August, we are experiencing excellent fishing and good catches.

Chinook and Coho salmon continue to increase in abundance and the weather is beautiful. This last week showed some amazing fish including a 46 pound Chinook and a 19 pound Coho. Generally the fishing overall has been slower than previous years and while we would always like to see our anglers into many for the sport of playing fish, the overall experience has been wonderful.

The Northwest winds which have hampered our efforts for a few days have subsided. We’re looking forward to some nice calm winds and sunny skies.

While adverse conditions can prove a challenge to fishing, it also forces us to think outside of the regular tackle box and mix things up. Last week as an example, the regular fishing along Cheney Point and Cheney II was a little slower and the cross winds a little more difficult. Several of our boats ventured to the south of the lodge and into Thompson Sound, about 25 minutes away. Here, we found calm water and within the first minutes of the first boat fishing – an amazing 40 pounder was landed. Hows’ that for a welcome to a new fishing area?

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The most popular bait this season by far has been Anchovies trolled at 35 to 55ft. Herring is the usual favourite and we’ve been noticing so much smaller baitfish this year over past.

As August winds down we’re having many inquiries into available dates for 2017. While most of our 2017 space will be occupied by repeat guests from 2016, we have multiple dates open and welcome an opportunity to introduce you to King Pacific Lodge. Should you haven any questions please contact us anytime.

Tight Lines

George Cuthbert

Fabulous August Fishing

August is here and its so wonderful to see so many of our regular guests; most who have been with us since our first season.

The weather has been excellent and allowing our fishing fleet to access all of our regular hot spots. This week, these spots included Cheney Point, Cheney 2, Cape Mark and Ivory Lighthouse.

Larger salmon are showing in good numbers. This recent trip has has seen our most Tyee of any trip totalling ten over 30 pounds. While not as many salmon compared to June and July, August typically sees these monsters hitting the dock. In the past week we’ve seen several in the high 40’s and two over 50 pounds. On angler yesterday caught a 46 and a 32 pound Chinook. Hows that for a dream day of fishing!

Coho are showing in reasonable numbers and the largest to date is 18 pound. These are super feisty fish caught while trolling along the shoreline or targeted a little further off shore. We’re starting to see these on the surface feeding as they grow quickly for their fall spawning event.

Popular fishing gear includes flasher hootchie, whole herring and flasher anchovie. First thing in the morning we’re finding action tight to the kelp beds and shallow; often only 30ft depth fishing. As the sun rises we’re moving a little further off shore and down as deep as 100ft.

Guests are often commenting on the quality of the fishing equipment and fishing boats. We’re pleased to provide the very best in angling equipment and we’re already working on an enhanced program for 2017.

As we wind up this report we’d like to thank all of our staff and guests for another safe summer of fishing. We’ve had excellent communication out on the water and have been having a great time.

2017 is already filling in quickly with more than 60% of our dates fully subscribed. Should you be looking for an adventure next summer and would like information please contact us as soon as possible.

George

 

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A new month – August!

The past week has provided some challenging wind and wave condition as heavy northwest winds have been blowing. While we enjoy warm sunny skies, the wind is a continual reminder of where we are – the wild west coast!

We’ve persevered and fortunately have a couple of spots close by and protected. Often under these conditions we can get to our regular fishing spots early in the AM and get a good tides fishing in before the weather heats and the winds start.

Some notable fish came in recently including our largest of the season at 53 pounds! Taken at Cheney 2, this incredible salmon took a herring trolled at 70ft. Other large fish include a 43 pounder taken yesterday and several others in the high 30’s.

Most of our guides are working with the tried and true whole herring rigs and / or anchovy trolled behind a rotating flasher. 70 ft during the day is evidently the right depth for some better sized fish.

Our forecast is predicting continued NW winds and we’re keeping our fingers crossed for some rain and Southerlies.

Should you have any questions please contact us anytime!

George
53pounder

July 23, 2016

DSC_5805smallGuests of King Pacific Lodge have been enjoying some excellent fishing and calm, predictable weather.

The month of July has provided exceptional fishing opportunities. There have been slower periods and our excellent fishing guides and a great selection tackle options have certainly helped create opportunity.

Our entire fishing range has been accessible and the hot spot of the season has been Cape Mark, 12 minutes fro the lodge.  This point, to the southern portion of our range is best fished at slack tide and/or on the ebb. Fishing close to the kelp beds on the western edge has been the most productive. Fish this area at 45-60ft and within 100ft of water. Anchovies fished behind a rotating flasher have been most productive. Herring baits fished either whole, or as a cut plug “mooching” have also been working well. Popular lures have been purple “Hoochies” and the Skinny “G” spoon by Gibbs.

Cheney Point, a mere 5 minutes away has been quite productive. Oddly, the area has been holding a lot of Chum salmon and sometimes a bit pesky when trying to keep the gear down for Chinook or Coho. These are excellent eating fish and great fighters.

Coho are starting to show again in good numbers. What appeared to be a great start to the Coho runs in June weakened and they have been less abundant until recently.

The largest Chinook of the past week have all been in the high 30’s and two over 40 pounds! 43 pounds has been the largest of the season and caught just two days ago.

We continue to experience a wide variety of amazing wildlife including Orca (Killer Whale), Humpback Whale, Sea Lions, Sea Otters, Seals and of course Eagles.  Many of our guests have been trying out our Kayak fleet for some after fishing fun and adventure. We now have 13 Kayaks which may be used by pairs of guests and small groups to explore this beautiful area.

The uploading of our fishing reports has been difficult from this remote location and we’re working on a fix for the uploading of recent images as well. Hopefully this will be resolved soon.

Should you have any questions or require additional information please contact us anytime!

George Cuthbert RonnieNW

 

 

 

Wonderful July fishing

 

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As we enter the fourth week of the 2016 season, King Pacific Lodge anglers continue to enjoy excellent catches.

The past week has gifted us with excellent weather and calm winds.  Soft south and  west are sharing both sunny skies and clouds with the odd downpour of rain.

Most salmon, both Chinook and Coho, have been caught using either spoons or anchovies – mostly run behind a rotating flasher. The “Skinny G” by Gibbs/Delta tackle has been the hot lure and producing.

Hot spots have been focused on the southern range of Milbanke Sound – along the shoreline of Cape Mark.  This mornings tide created awesome opportunity with one boat reporting over 12 salmon by 8am.

Bottom fish have been in good numbers. Ling cod, Halibut and  Rockfish have been showing in good numbers.

 

Aside from the great fishing, the local wildlife population has been active and creating quite a stir. A pod of over 20 Orca (Killer Whales) has been back and forth every few days.  Today there were multiple breaches and sightings within five minutes of the lodge. Porpoise and Sea Otters were also common this week.

We’re appreciative of the guests who visit the lodge. Of note several international and domestic family groups from as far away as Brazil, Ecuador and all over the US and Canada.

Should you be thinking of a trip for 2017 or even towards the early September period of this year we’d welcome the opportunity to discuss options. Should you be booked in now for this year, and require additional information please contact us anytime.

Tight lines

George Cuthbert

 

 

 

Full swing of the season

DSC_5768King Pacific Lodge anglers have been enjoying excellent catches of Chinook salmon within minutes of the lodge.

Our last trip produced five ‘Tyee Chinook” over 30 pounds with the largest being 36 pounds. Most other Chinook were in the 15-20 pound range. Coho are here and there with the largest around 9 pounds.

Anchovie and Flasher seem to be the popular bait. Purple hoochie and UV Glow flashers are also working well.

Cheney Point, Cheney 2 and Cape Swain have been the hot spots. The bite has mainly been very early in the morning with fewer fish in the afternoons. We often see this pattern swing around and at times the afternoon tide is better than the morning.

For those interested in bottom fish, we’ve had good success with all species such as Ling, Halibut and Rockfish.

We are enjoying the lighter winds and while drizzly and cloudy – the fishing conditions have been near perfect.

Tight lines

George Cuthbert

 

 

Some great fish!

As King Pacific Lodge anglers enter the second week of fishing, we couldn’t be more pleased.

Beautiful Chinook are hitting the dock on a regular basis and this morning alone, three were weighed in over thirty pounds! Congratulations to Paul for the largest “Tyee” at 33 pounds.

33 pound "Tyee" Chinook

33 pound “Tyee” Chinook

Regular hot spots have been Cheney Point and Cape Mark. All baits and lures seem to be working and Anchovies were the popular meal on this mornings AM tide.

All aspects of the KPL experience are being enjoyed this week. Comfortable accommodation, fireplace lounge and most of all covered boats! Yes, the weather has been wet the past two days.

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KPL fish processing – the best

 

 

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A fine morning catch for two lucky anglers

 

 

 

Ralph, our fish cutter is enjoying working inside this year in our new fish processing room where we’ll be processing our guests catch into a fine finished product.

 

 

Stay tuned for additional updates on our fishing and weather. Again, should you have any questions or require information about an upcoming trip please contact us anytime.

George Cuthbert

2016 King Pacific Lodge season opening

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King Pacific Lodge being towed to summer anchorage

The iconic King Pacific Lodge is now safely moored at is summer location within St. Johns Harbour. Anglers are now out on the water and fishing our favourite fishing areas of Milbanke Sound!

Ocean bright Chinook and Coho salmon are being weighed in from 15 to 24 pounds. Here, fish-cutter Ralph Chamberlain shows off one of the first Chinook of the season.

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Fabulous June Chinook Salmon

The weather has been a little chilly and our anglers are enjoying the evening fireside lounge, incredible meals and warm comfort of the modern and comfortable King Pacific Lodge.

We’ve been working hard over the winter to refine our lodge and fishing program and are ready for an exciting season.

Most of our 2016 trip dates have been sold out for months however its never too late to inquire about current season availability.

Fishing highlights include:

The introduction of the new Able “Moocher” salmon fishing reels to our fully guided fishing program. These exceptional, custom reels will complement our inventory of the Islander “MR-2” across our entire fleet.

2016 22ft Northwest Aluminum craft – new for 2016

The addition of three new 22ft Northwest Aluminum craft boats. Typically run by our full time guides, these boats feature 150hp engines and plenty of room to fish. This adds to three others built for the 2015 season.

Abel “Moochers” for fully guided boats

Our entire fleet has been upgraded to the Lowrance 7inch “Chirp” Fish-Finder/GPS navigation system. These are easy to use and and extremely powerful tool to find the best fishing areas.

The 21ft Ironwood boats have been outfitted with new, custom anodized rod holders for both fishing and storing the quality rods provided by KPL and our guests personal rods.

Fish processing will now be completed within our new fishing processing room; located within our support barge. This Province of British Columbia licensed facility is now capable of cutting fish to smaller custom portions legally and within a controlled sanitary environment. As always, our custom fish processing is provided within the price of our trip packaging.  Our new freezer holds temperature below -25!

“Ravens Envy” by Steve Smith

 With our guests enjoyment in mind, we have refined our bar and lounge with some new artwork. Kwakwaka’wakw artist, Steve smith’s new piece “Ravens Envy” now towers within our fireside lounge.

Many new improvements at KPL

Should you be thinking of a trip to King Pacific Lodge and would like more information please contact us anytime. Most of our 2016 trip dates have been sold out for months however its never too late to inquire about current season availability.

George Cuthbert

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