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We are looking forward to opening the lodge in just a short time! June is just around the corner and we have been very busy. The lodge will be towed out to its seasonal location in two months and we couldn’t be happier.

Many guests have been calling and asking about the fishing. While we haven’t been out on the water fishing quite yet – the conditions are looking fantastic. As I write this, we are up at our winter moorage location near Bella Bella. The waters are cold, full of Herring baitfish, and the wildlife is spectacular. The whales and birds have been busy gorging themselves on hundreds of tons of Herring as they prepare their annual spawn. The kelp beds are prolific and create not only an incredible refuge for Herring, they actually spawn on the kelp on other structures. Rich in nutrients, the Herring eggs are laid upon kelp leaves, tree branches, shoreline rocks, and grasses. This annual event creates a much needed, rich source of energy for most coastal species including all types of marine life and terrestrial animals such as wolves and bears.  Hemlock branches covered in herring eggs are known as y̓ák̓a to the Heiltsuk People (Bella Bella) and is harvested as a rich food source.  And, rather than other commercial fisheries in Canada, which unfortunately kill the Herring, the Heiltsuk conserve the resource in their territory by letting them spawn, and live, rather than killing the resource for just the eggs. Many of our local Sport Fishing guides are from Bella Bella and participate in this annual, traditional fishery.

Learn more about this resource here:

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/heiltsuk-nation-sues-federal-government-over-ban-on-herring-spawn-fishery-1.7127820

https://hakaimagazine.com/features/of-roe-rights-and-reconciliation/

 

The rich baitfish populations of the Central Coast attract migrating salmon of all species! While many anglers visit King Pacific Lodge in hopes of the big “Tyee”, (Chinook over 30 pounds), the area is a rich feeding ground for fish heading as far south as California along with local rivers. We are anticipating a good return this summer and look forward to warm days and calm waters while anticipating the “bite” to come on.  On a recent excursion to inspect our summer moorage at Milbanke Sound, our crew reported heavy and healthy kelp beds along the shoreline. This is critical habitat to hold both migrating salmon and baitfish – kelp beds we are looking forward to trolling along!

 

 

As in previous seasons, our Chefs have been busy too with menu creations and preparing for all of our guests. Look forward to our excellent service both on the water and at the lodge! In speaking with so many, we have an updated vision of the culinary delights hungry Anglers are looking for. Want to stay out fishing? Not a problem. Our express dinner options and lunch on the water program is sure to please those wishing to make the best of the fishing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

In a continuing effort to improve the experience at King Pacific Lodge, we have been busy! An example of the investment this year, we have had three new Northwest Aluminum Craft boats being custom made in Victoria BC. This brings to a total of 16 22ft Northwests’ and 13 of our Ironwood boats. All have been meticulously maintained with upgrades such as engines, radios, paint and navigational/safety equipment.

Fisher Cuthbert had the opportunity to work with the great team at Northwest this winter and has personally welded components and structure within the boats. “Doug at Northwest builds an incredible boat and there are waitlists for people to get only one. We have sixteen!” Fisher says enthusiastically. “From my personal experience, these guys are building boats beyond any industry standard and we are lucky to have them”.  If you are in the market, and would like to learn more about these boats, contact Doug at (250) 478-0410

 

 

 

A new yet very familiar face is joining KPL! Many of our regular guests will recognize Terry Schultz from the former West Coast Resorts. Lisa, Lorna, Jennifer and myself plus many of our fishing guides previously worked with this company. Terry brings decades of remote Sport Fishing lodge guiding, sales and management experience to KPL and we are happy to have him. Terry and I guided together in Knights Inlet (North Pacific Springs) during 1991-1993 and were both starting careers in the lodge business. Prior to this he was guiding for Lake Trout in Canada’s north country. Guests can look forward to seeing Terry at the lodge this summer as our Host. He will be a valuable part of our sales team during the year and  you can contact Terry at terry@kingpacificlodge.com

Our starting month of June is just around the corner and there is plenty of time to book! Dates are still open in June and it is at this time of year we have excellent fishing for Chinook (Kings). Ocean bright fish will be rolling literally right past our doorstep and our guides will be ready! In 2024, we had three over 30 pounds the very first day! June also offers extensive fishing hours as the daylight fishing hours run from 5am to almost 10pm!

Anglers at Milbanke Sound and the Central Coast have enjoyed the excitement of great fishing. Limits for salmon remain unchanged for decades and guests may retain 8 salmon total for their trip. Chinook 2/day and 4 to take home | Other salmon also at 2/day and 4 to take home with a total of 8 total salmon in possession. Halibut has been reduced and each Angler may keep one for their trip up to about 30 pounds. Milbanke Sound is also great for Ling Cod and they are at 3/day and 6 to take home. As always, KPL custom processes your fish and vacuum packages each piece. This makes for incredible eating experience while remenicing about your favourite place to fish.

Contact us anytime should you have questions about your existing trip or are looking to plan a trip in 2025!

Kindest Regards

George

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thank You to all the amazing guests who fished with us in 2024!

We finished the 2024 season with beautiful weather and some amazing fishing. From our start in early June, our guests were experiencing excellent catches of Chinook/King salmon, Halibut and Ling Cod. As the season progressed, steady numbers of Coho/Silver salmon added to the mix making each day a success.

Sometimes it seemed the fish wanted to book in at the lodge as well! Some of our best fishing of the year was within the bay the lodge is moored. Many boats chose to fish Reginald Island which is less than a minute from the lodge. The usual hot spots of Cheney Point, Cape Mark and Cape Swaine were steady producers. We noticed the local environment to be very healthy with amazing schools of baitfish such as mature Herring and Needlefish.

We have had many inquiries as to the fishing limits in British Columbia. We always recommend reviewing the regulations when you purchase your fishing licence online here. Salmon fishing limits in the productive waters around King Pacific Lodge haven’t changed materially in decades. A total of 8 salmon may be kept during your trip including 4 Chinook/King (2/day) and 4 other salmon.

It was such a pleasure to see so many of our returning guests including couples, family, friends and corporate. In speaking with so many, King Pacific Lodge continues to be a favourite annual experience into the beautiful Heiltsuk territory (Central Coast of British Columbia).

We are already planning for 2025. If you are looking for the best experience of the summer, connect with us today!

We are having a great time at Milbanke Sound!

The past couple of trips have produced some great fishing and some amazing times. The weather has been very nice with long stretches of sunshine. This typically results in flat calm mornings and a little more wind in the afternoon. The forecast is great for the next 10 days with light to moderate winds and fair weather. This allows excellent access to all of our favourite fishing spots.

Fishing has been a little slower during the times we have the afternoon chop. Fortunately we have flat calm Louisa Cove and Thompson bay to fish during the westerlies and these areas have really produced. Our regular fishing areas along Cheney Point, Cheney 2, Cape Swaine and Ivory Island have all been producing good numbers of Chinook and Coho. The largest Chinook so far this group is in the low 30’s and we had two over 30 last trip as well. Most are running in the 15-20 pound range. Coho are starting to weigh above 10 pounds and most are in the 6-8 pound range.

We have had q

uite a number of guests interested in fishing the evening tides. I went out last night at 8:30 and had two fish on right away up to 20 pounds. Sunsets at Milbanke are incredible and if of interest, we have our express dinner option at 5:30 allowing a quick turn around to get back out there. Lunch on the water has also been a hit. Our Zodiac is available to deliver piping hot and tasty lunch meals to nearby fishing areas.

Life around the lodge is amazing. Shea, our Chef has been producing incredible meals. The wildlife has been abundant. Last night our group had the guitars around the fire pit and I couldn’t imagine a better place to be.

We are looking forward to seeing all of our new and regular guests in the coming weeks. Space is still available during our summer season! If you are trying to get away – this is the place to be!

 

 

Tight Lines

 

George

 

 

 

 

We are so excited our 2024 season has started! And with our opening, the very first fish landed was a beautiful 35 pound Tyee Chinook!

After our annual tow north and setting up the docks and infrastructure, our first guests arrived on the 9th of June. Fishing has been fantastic! The weather has been co-operating very nicely and all areas have been fishable.

 

Most Chinook have been in the 15-20 pound range with several in the mid 20’s. Fishing has been steady at Cape Mark, Cheney Point and Cape Swaine. It seems Anchovy and our regular green and white spoons have been the hot lures at 60ft.

Our crew is looking forward to seeing all of our regular guests and welcoming new comers to King Pacific Lodge. If you haven’t booked a trip yet it looks like this is going to be an excellent season! Contact us anytime!

 

Regards,

George

 

We hope this post finds you in good health and looking forward to Christmas and the New Year!

The 2023 season was filled with exciting times, great people and wonderful memories. Fishing stories are often the best when told around this time of year with friends and family. It is amazing how tall the tales become.

The fishing on BC’s Central Coast was very good this year. We feel fortunate to have such a productive fishing area and such generous limits of fish available for our guests. Our largest Chinook for 2023 was a whopping 48 pounds and the largest Coho weighed in at 18 pounds. The abundance fish, the great weather and overall experience at the lodge has resulted in fantastic bookings for 2024. Lisa has been doing her best to schedule both new and repeat guests into their favourite fishing times. We certainly appreciate the patience required to juggle everyones travel plans into this seasonal salmon migration.

We have been quite busy this fall. Mother Nature created some interesting weather conditions for towing the lodge this fall and we are now at winter moorage in Campbell River. Preparing for the 2024 season has already begun with the refurbishment of our 11 Ironwood boats. We have been stripping out the interiors for new paint, rewiring and installing new 150hp engines. In 2023 we upgraded the GPS/Fish Finders in half the fleet and will complete all the boats this spring. We are also upgrading the trolling engines to the Mercury Electronic Fuel Injection models.

On top of the regular maintenance each season, our team has also been working away on our new website. This should be up and running in the new year and we will do our best to keep it updated with all of the most recent information.

Many of our seasonal crew have been checking in and all seem to be doing well. After getting in some personal fall fishing, our guides in particular are all looking forward to getting back out on the water and seeing so many of our repeat guests.

In January, we will be welcoming Lorna Landry to our year-round team in Vancouver. Many of our long standing guests would remember Lorna from when Lisa and I worked at West Coast Resorts. Lorna will be working directly with Lisa to communicate with guests and to expedite booking and travel information. Lorna has years of experience with our industry and we are thrilled to have her aboard. She also knows how to fish! Here is a photo of Lorna, Chloe (Now our Lodge Concierge) and I at Cheney Point, Milbanke Sound when Chloe caught her very first Tyee Chinook at age 5.

We are well into booking out our 2024 season. Should you have specific dates you would like to fish or require additional information please contact us anytime.

In the meantime, we wish you a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

George