The “Coho Kid”

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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!

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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

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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

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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