Season’s Greetings!

Season’s greetings!

From all of us at King Pacific Lodge, we wanted to wish all of you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Towards the end of each fishing season it seems we’re already looking forward to the next. It is also at this time of year our seasonal crew, service suppliers and guests all share time together and talk about the years experiences and big fish stories. We are fortunate to help shape these tales and look forward to many more in 2019!

We have been busy re-booking and communicating with new guests for 2019 and planning a minor upgrades around the lodge. The never ending repair and maintenance of floating lodge barges and fishing boats has us busy nearly year round!  Fun updates on the fishing fleet include new bluetooth stereos for each of the boats and we’re currently evaluating the replacement of all of our bottom-fishing reels.

Our crew stays in contact with us over the winter months and we are very pleased many will be returning for 2019. Every season we are pleased to have some new smiles on our team and we are looking forward to introducing everyone in 2019.

As always, we invite ideas from our guests on how to improve our fishing and adventure packages. If there is something you believe would add to the KPL experience in 2019 please let us know.

 

George Cuthbert

 

 

A great 2018 season!

Our last group of guests for 2018 have now departed and we have finished the King Pacific Lodge fishing season.

Calm September evenings on the water

And what a great time we have had… Wonderful guests, incredible scenery, action packed days of fishing, kayaking, wildlife viewing and oh, so restful nights! It seems like yesterday we were setting up, meeting all of our new crew and getting things well organized for the season.

June brought us silver bright Chinook. July and August provided a very nice combination of Chinook and Coho.  Milbanke Sound was alive! Never have we seen such an abundance of different bait-fish and wildlife. Herring, needlefish, squid and hake were all on the salmon’s menu this summer.

Stephanie and Sophie with some beautiful Coho salmon

The very last trip of the season, well into September, was really producing. While not as abundant as previous years, Coho entertained the guests on the water and the Chinook kept rolling in.  Danny and George, two new guests to King Pacific Lodge, commented this was the most productive trip in over 20 years of fishing various lodge areas on the coast of BC. As for myself, I had the pleasure of having my parents Jim and Clara on the water in recent days. Four hours of fishing produced four beautiful Chinook!

Clara, George and Jim with an afternoon catch

On the water during our last trip, the Blanchard family had a great time. Children, Sophia and Nico were in awe as Coho after Coho splashed on the line. We’re sure the big fish stories will be a hit at school!

Reflecting on the season, we’d like to express our sincere appreciation to all of our repeat and new guests who fished with us in 2018. Its always a pleasure to see so many smiling and familiar faces.

And, to our valuable crew and suppliers – Thank You for helping us create the very best remote fishing lodge experience on the West Coast! You are the best!

For 2019, we will be changing to Thursday / Sunday changeover days and a slightly later first day check-in time of 9am.

Should you wish to inquire into our 2019 fishing program please contact us anytime.

 

Kindest Regards,

George Cuthbert

george@kingpacificlodge.com

778 384 3474

 

 

 

 

 

The “Coho Kid”

Most fish stories are about the one that got away. Caleb’s big Coho certainly did not!

 

Caleb receiving a KPL Tyee pin for his amazing catch

Caleb has had the chance to fish at King Pacific Lodge for a few years now and he has become quite the successful angler. His whopping 23 pound Coho salmon is now the largest ever landed at the lodge! Coho are typically about 12-15 pounds at the peak of their life and toward the end of September will sometimes get to 20 pounds. Caleb’s great fish earned him the coveted “Tyee” pin – usually reserved for Chinook over 30 pounds. For comparison, a 23lb Coho is about the same as landing a 65 pound Chinook.

Caleb and his 23 pound Coho

As we approach the end of August the fishing continues to be very good.

Our regular hot spots have all been producing and a new favourite is the north side of Cape Swain. This little stretch of shoreline provides nice shelter from westerly winds, holds bait well and several “Tyee” over 30 pounds have been taken here in the past week.

People really love the fish they catch!

The weather at Milbanke Sound has been excellent!  The westerly winds have combined with little rain over the past 45 days. We are only now starting to see a little sprinkle of rain and expect the dry spell to continue into September. This can be great for not only fishing conditions – for actual fishing as well. Salmon usually start to move towards natal rivers at the first heavy fall rains. During a season like this, they will ocean feed well into mid September. We expect the great fishing to continue.

Highlights of the past week include several nice big Chinook with the largest being 50 pounds!

Typical baits and lures are all working the same. Spoons have been working particularly well and the white Hoochie has been a favourite. We have been fishing a little shallower at 30 and 40ft.

We’re looking forward to seeng many repeat and return guests in the coming week. Should you have any questions or require additional information about your trip please contact us anytime.

George Cuthbert

george@kingpacificlodge.com

The fish out-smarted them!

We usually start these posts with information about fishing and this one, well it starts with a fish story.

The evening “Bite”

Dave Drever, one of our long time guides here at KPL, is known for fish stories larger than life. This one actually has three witnesses: The two guests, Colin and Larry, who were fishing and evidently the largest fish of the season – that got away!

The trio were fishing Cheney 2, using flasher and anchovy trolled at 44ft. And, all of a sudden the inside rod pounds out of the down-rigger clip and hard into the water. Colin grabs the rod, and the fish makes incredibly long runs, deep dives and heads for the back of the boat. Back and forth, down and across the bottom of the boat the wise fish confused the situation and spat the hooks just out of netting reach. All three drop to the bottom of the boat in despair. “We thought it was a Tyee, then figured it was over 40, it came closer and we all thought it was over 50, at the distance it got away – there was no doubt. – This was easily a Chinook between 60 and 70 pounds!”  Pointing at the 60 pounder mounted on the wall at the lodge, Colin explains “That’s a teeny fish compared to the one we lost!”  We were all happy to know the fish was off on it’s own and hopefully spawning to create many more of these incredible fish.

Fisher paying a nice fish – Chloe on the net

Success!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

As far as fishing goes, this past week was simply excellent. Weather has been great, fishing has been very good for Chinook, Coho and bottom fish.  Several beautiful Tyee salmon (over 30 pounds) were taken including fish over 40 pounds.

Congratulations Lisa “T” on a nice Tyee

Popular areas continue to be Cheney Point, Cheney 2, Ivory Island and Cape Swain. Oddly enough, Cape Mark, our usual go to place has been pretty quiet.

Lures such as the KPL green and white spoon, flasher / anchovy and whole herring baits are all producing. Recently, the white “Hoochie” has also been producing.

On top of the great fishing, guests are reporting amazing wildlife. Over the past week we have enjoyed Humpback whales, Sea-Otter, River-Otter and now, exciting views of local wolves. One boat had the pleasure of a wolf swimming from island to island, right past their boat!

Our season has been an absolutely pleasure with so many new and repeat guests. We’re already looking forward to the 2019 season!

Should you have any questions or require additional information about our packages please contact us anytime.

 

George Cuthbert

george@kingapacificlodge.com

 

Tighter Lines

Beautiful morning at Cheney Point

Updated fleet perfect for fishing the hot spots

King Pacific Lodge guests have had a great time over the past week. Fishing, weather and sea conditions have all blended to make an unforgettable adventure!

Our fleet has been able to fish all the usual hot-spots including Cheney Point, Cheney 2 and Cape Swain. Interestingly enough, our usual producer – Cape Mark has been remarkably quiet for the past week.

All times of day have been producing a nice combination of Chinook (including many Tyee over 30 pounds) and Coho now up to a whopping 17 pounds.

A great afternoon!

Baitfish have been plentiful in the ocean and our guides have reported many more fish being caught on artificial lures such as 6inch spoons. Many are now switching over from Anchovy baits to Herring with good results. Two days ago I had the pleasure of “Mooching” large cut plug baits and 6oz weights resulting in 10 Chinook over a morning.

Bottom fish such as Ling, Halibut and Rockfish have been a regular catch. Generally the guides have been targeting salmon first light and then running off shore to try for these fish when sea conditions permit.

 

 

 

Fisher Cuthbert and a 26lb Chinook

Some large fish are proving to be outwitting event the best of us! Several times over the past week Guests have reported huge salmon biting and heading straight into the kelp. Fisher Cuthbert had a beauty 40+ pound Chinook on a few days ago and it spat the hooks. Regardless of the the fish being right beside the boat and thrashing on the surface, it had run around the kelp and tangled the line against the shoreline. These are tricky situations because the angler has to decide to either palm the reel to slow a big fish down, risking a fish breaking the line, or to let it run. A later fish, weighing 26 pounds was reeled in to Fishers delight.

Sea Otter

As mentioned in many other posts, our guests often enjoy displays of wildlife along the shoreline. These sometimes include Black bear, Deer, Wolves and other localized animals like the Sea Otter. Yesterdays adventure yielded a massive Grizzly bear foraging along the shoreline!

 

 

 

We’re approaching mid August and are looking forward to the many groups and couples fishing with us. Should you have any questions about an upcoming trip or even next season, please contact us anytime.

 

 

 

Kindest Regards,

George Cuthbert

george@kingpacificlodge.com

 

 

 

August 2018 Fishing

King Pacific Lodge guests have enjoyed another week of excellent fishing!

Congratulations Ameer on your first Chinook salmon! Milbanke Sound is perfect for young anglers!

Hot spots have been Ivory Island, Cheney Point and Cheney 2. Chinook have been regularly caught at shallower depths as usual at 25-35ft. Flasher Anchovy has been producing along with a variety of different spoons and hoochie’s.

Anglers have been trying their luck at Cheney Point first thing in the AM with great success. Once the tide has turned to the ebb, the south side of Ivory Island has been a sure bet for nice Coho.  The afternoon and evening bites have been very good with two over 40 pounds last trip, both taken after dinner.

Yesterday afternoon was particularly good. After a quick changeover, guests were on the water by noon and catching fish until dinner time. Highlights include four “Tyee” over 30 pounds and an abundance of other Chinook, Coho and smiling faces.

A beautiful Milbanke Sound Tyee

A example of Chinook holding close to shore prior biting a lure.

Baitfish is showing well. Clouds of smaller three to four inch needlefish and herring are at all the regular fishing spots and are holding in these areas because of this abundance. Here, we have a photo taken by our fishing guide, Ronnie Gunn illustrating Chinook salmon on the fish-finder/GPS, in shallow water. Shortly after this photo was taken Ronnie’s boat hooked up with a double header of nice 20 pound Chinook.  Notice on the left of the photo Ronnie’s trail as he’s working the gear close to the shoreline and in fairly shallow water.

The weather has been cooperating nicely and the KPL fleet has been able to access all fishing areas. After great success on salmon, many guests chose to try for some halibut and other bottom fish. The rock piles south of our fishing area and McInnes Island have been producing well.

While King Pacific Lodge is well known for its excellent fishing, more guests are taking advantage of other amenities we offer. This includes Kayak trips, Rowboat fishing, Skeet Shooting and, more recently heli-tours which may be chartered with Hunter Helicopters. Visit remote beaches, mountaintops and stunning freshwater lakes.

We would like to Thank all of our new and repeat guests who have fished with us so far in 2018. We’ve enjoyed a truly remarkable season and are looking forward to many friends looking to visit during August and early September this season. Also, we’d like to remind everyone of our extended season for both Chinook and Coho running September 03-07, 2018.

Should you wish additional information about our exciting fishing packages please contact us anytime!

Regards,

George Cuthbert

King Pacific Lodge (george@kingpacificlodge.com)

Hunter Helicopters R44, Pilot Fabien and an excited crew prior to a birthday excursion

 

Some very nice fish

Chloe Cuthbert with a nice Chinook

King Pacific Lodge guests have been working hard for the fish this past week with great results. Highlights were a pair of “Tyee” taken just last night off Cheney Point by two guests fishing self guided! 33 and 31 pounds! Other notable fish were several other Tyee with the largest being 43 pounds! Coho are steadily increasing in abundance with the largest being 13 pounds to date.

 

King Pacific Lodge “Ironwood” 20ft

Rick and Rick were in early this AM with beautiful 34 and 28 pound Chinook. After a quick bite to eat, they headed right back out and we don’t expect to see them until well after dinner.

Winds have been quite favourable and sometimes a little windy and choppy in the afternoon. Regardless of water conditions we have been fishing all areas within the Milbanke Sound area. Many boats have been venturing to Thompson Bay, 20 minutes to the south of our lodge location. Thompson provides flat calm conditions during westerly wind directions and is a beautiful place to fish.  Cheney Point and Cape Mark continue to be the go to locations for daybreak fishing. Coho and Chinook have been biting well on the tide changes regardless of location.

At the cleaning table, we’ve found the salmon are feeding on small needlefish and very small herring. Most boats are fishing a little deeper at 60-90ft and often the smaller baits such as anchovies, small spoons and white hooch’s are working well.

King Pacific Lodge 21ft “Northwest”

For those who are interested in bottom fish, we have been doing well on Halibut, Ling Cod and Rockfish both over at Thompson Bay and a longer run to McGinnes Island.

Around the lodge we’ve been having a great time. Many guests are finishing up on salmon, enjoying a Kayak trip, viewing wildlife and a little skeet shooting.

Should you be looking for information about this years fishing or interested in our schedule for 2019 please contact us anytime!

 

 

 

Regards,

 

George Cuthbert

george@kingpacificlodge.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sunny and…Windy

The past week has given us some exceptionally sunny and warm days at Milbanke Sound. And, with the sunny skies and high pressure, we experience heavier than usual North West winds. Our usual fishing spots along the west side of Athlone Island become a little too choppy to fish, particularly in the afternoon. At times like these we are thankful to be at this particular location as we have some options for calm water fishing!

Thompson Bay, to the South East of

Rebecca and Josh with a nice Milbanke Sound Chinook!

our lodge anchorage, is an incredible calm water location to fish during heavier than normal winds. Only 20 minutes away, our boats were prying a seldom fished area with excellent success. Access to this area is dependent on high enough tide water to travel safely through the ‘back door’ towards Cape Mark.  It’s simply a beautiful place to fish!

Ivory Island, to the North of our usual fishing areas has been producing and the East side of this island provides excellent fishing, calmer waters albeit a choppy ride back to the lodge.

Most Chinook we have been taking continue to be in the 14-20 pound range.  We are starting to see more in the mid 20’s and only yesterday a beautiful 32 pound “Tyee” was weighed in.  Coho continue to be increasing in both size and abundance. Favourite lures for both continue to be our Irish Cream spoon or a green and white Hoochie trolled behind our custom KPL flashers. Anchovies and Herring are all working well a little deeper, up to 90ft.

 

 

Guests at King Pacific Lodge always seem to enjoy an abundance of wildlife such as whales, porpoise, sea-lions etc. To our delight last week, a local Humpback whale stayed close to our anchorage and provided hours of aerobatic jumping, rolling and tail flopping.  Some suggested the whale was feeding and schooling bait, others thought it was trying to rid itself of barnacles. In the end we all decided it was just wanting to have fun!

Should you be looking for information regarding our packages please contact us anytime!

Kindest Regards,

George Cuthbert

george@kingpacificlodge.com

 

Feeling Lucky!

 

We have enjoyed another exciting fishing week here at King Pacific Lodge!

Congratulations to Noelle on an incredible forty pounder!

Our sixth group of guests for 2o18 flew in yesterday all with big smiles and happy to be out on the water. Many of which flew in from New York and even Alabama! While the fishing has slowed a little over the past 24 hours, we anticipate the great fishing and weather will continue.

Julie and Betty brought a tremendous amount of excitement to the lodge this weekend. Their lively spirit has brought them some good luck on the water!

Julie and Betty from Alabama – even the fish were wanting to join the excitement!

Last week ended with some truly remarkable catches. 11 large “Tyee” over 30 pounds hit the dock with the largest being a whopping 40 pounds! Hot spots continue to be Cape Mark and Cheney Point. Most Chinook are weighing in at 15-20 pounds and Coho, while less abundant have been starting their 2018 debut in the waters of Milbanke Sound. Baitfish continue to be abundant at all of our favourite spots and seem to be holding good populations of salmon at 40-70ft. Anchovy and flasher has been the favourite for most guides and self guided anglers. We’re seeing quite a few squid around the waters too.

Some nice eating Halibut, Ling and Rockfish have been regular catches and a favourite table fare for many. The “Coop”, “Mushroom” and reefs south of our regular salmon areas have been producing at depths up to 300 ft.

Our weather has been holding nicely and we’re looking for calm seas in the coming days. We will keep everyone updated.

The crew at King Pacific Lodge is looking forward to welcoming you this summer. We often have guests asking about our fishing guides/instructors and we thought of sharing some information. Look for continued updates on our guide roster in the coming weeks.

 

Stephen Stahley – King Pacific Lodge Sport Fishing Guide

Stephen Stahley is new this year to KPL and comes to us from a long family history of commercial fishing.  Recently, he retired from a teaching / vocational career on Vancouver island and brings energy and excitement to our instructor and guiding program. Having logged thousands of hours on the water and in the classroom, Stephen is proving to provide the perfect combination for our fishing team – “I love teaching people how to fish and this is the best place in the world to do so!”

 

 

 

Dave Drever “Double D” King Pacific Lodge Sport Fishing Guide

 

Dave Drever “Double D” is with us again this year and is a proven favourite with both guests and crew alike. His positive attitude, energy, knowledge of the Milbanke Sound water and weather conditions make him one of our most requested long term guides. He comes from a background in the wood products industries in BC. We’re dreaming up ways to store and save the energy he creates for the future of mankind! Dave’s favourite fishing spots include Cheney Point and Cape Mark.  He’s known for big fish, big smiles and the odd fish story we’d find hard to believe if it wasn’t told by Dave.

 

 

Conor Stookes – King Pacific Lodge Sport Fishing Guide

Conor Stookes comes to us from Vancouver Island, BC and his passion is fishing the wild West Coast. He’s spent five years guiding in Haida Gwaii and Vancouver Island waters and has caught on very quickly to the Central Coast and Milbanke Sound fisheries.

Prior to guiding, Conor worked on bulk freighters steering and working as a deckhand. His passion is fishing and works year round guiding for salmon and then for freshwater winter steelhead trout.

Conor’s enthusiasm and professional conduct is a pleasure to see. He has extensive ocean and river fishing experience and his commitment to safety led him to acquire a 60 ton master certificate.

 

 

 

 

Several dates are available during our exciting 2018 season. Contact us anytime for additional information.

Kindest Regards,

George Cuthbert

george@kingpacificlodge.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Excellent Fishing

Fishing continues to be very good at King Pacific Lodge! The weather has been fantastic and we have enjoyed calm seas and excellent catches.

Cape Mark and Cheney point have been the hot spots in the recent week. Anglers have also been fishing Ivory Island to the north with great results.  We’ve been experiencing some large tides recently and this usually results in a better bite on the high or low tide.

Our favourite spoon lure,  the Gibbs/Delta “Irish Cream” has been working very well trolled behind a red or green flasher. Anchovy baits have been producing with or without a flasher. We’ve had several guests working the tides and first thing in the morning “mooching’ cut plug herring and it seems no matter what we’re offering – the fish are biting.

Since opening on the 18th of June the Chinook have been plentiful and while most are in the high teens and low 20’s, we’ve had over a dozen “Tyee” (Chinook over 30 pounds).

Many of our guests have inquired into our salmon limits for 2018 and area 7 (Milbanke Sound) remains unchanged. Anglers may retain 4 Chinook salmon and 4 other salmon during their trip. Our professional fish processing crew is pleased to process this into any desired vacuum packaged size.

King Pacific Guests have also been enjoying the overall Milbanke Sound area’s other attributes. Kayaking amongst the sea otters was a hit with a family recently visiting from Switzerland. Viewing Killer Whales, Humpback Whales, Porpoise, wolves and bear have all been reported by our guests.

Several great dates remain in 2018. Please contact us for additional information.

Our 2019 calendar will be out soon. King Pacific Lodge will be changing to a Thursday / Sunday changeover schedule next summer. While many our dates will be filled with repeat anglers from this summer, we welcome the opportunity to review our schedule with new guests.

 

Kindest Regards,

 

George Cuthbert

George@kingpacificlodge.com

 

The evening bite! Guides Connor and Ronnie with a beautiful Milbanke Sound Tyee.