King Pacific Lodge – Fishing Report Aug 25
FISHING REPORT – AUG 25, 2025
Here we are, going into the last few trips of our 2025 season and the fishing is as strong as ever.
Shark bait! 32 lbs!
There are tons of coho around, and the big hooked nose northerns are starting to show as well. It’s tough sometimes to keep the coho off and let us concentrate on springs. We have had several tyees on each trip as well, including a nice 32 lber this morning.
Nice try!
A shark tried it’s best to take the fish away, but the fisherman prevailed!
The usual haunts are still producing, with most of the larger chinook coming from the Watering Hole and of course, the famous Cheney Pt. To try and limit the number of coho caught, in order to keep the lines in the water to find springs, we are primarily fishing large spoons, herring (both cut plug and holy rollers) and plugs. Anchovies and smaller spoons are still producing fish but also attract more coho. The pinks have seemed to pass through now with only the odd one being caught.
It doesn’t seem to matter how deep we go, the coho are everywhere…..anywhere from 15 ft to 90 ft and all depths in between!
Nice Northern Coho!
Fish’n’Chips!
MacGregor Bank seems to be the most consistent producer for halibut still, just drifting along the bottom with salmon bellies, but with the salmon fishing so good, not many are willing to take the time away from all the action and fun to chase those bottom feeders! Ling cod and rock fish are still plentiful as well for those wanting to round out their catch. Outside the south end of Wurtle Island seems to be a consistent spot for lings, anywhere from 80 to 300 ft. using mud rakers, copper jigs and just plain ole herring….
FEATURED EMPLOYEE OF THE WEEK – Tyonna Pootlass
Deckhand Extroadinaire!
Tyonna has been a fixture here at King Pacific Lodge for the past 4 years! Beginning in housekeeping, Tyonna moved to the outside and has been tirelessly working as a dockhand while still helping out with housekeeping on changeover days. Born and raised in Bella Coola, and of the Nuxalk First Nation, she has spent a fair bit of her life in Bella Bella (Heiltsuk territory). We sure hope she’ll make it back for a 5th season with us! (She might be a lifer!!)
Come Join us in September!
There is still some great fishing to be had this year. Join us for a fun Whiskey Tasting event from Sept 4 – 8 with our friends from Okanagan Spirits! There are a few spots left during the first week of September and you should really consider coming up to experience this epic fishing year! Coho are thick, runs of Chinook keep coming through for another month yet and of course the bottom fish are here all year so don’t delay…..Take advantage of a great opportunity and give Lisa a call at 778.984.3474 or shoot her an email at lisa@kingpacificlodge.com
You can always reach out to either me or Lorna up here at the lodge as well for an up to the minute report of what’s going on.
We’d love to hear from you and hopefully see you up here this year (or if it really has to be…..next year….hahaha!)
LIFE CYCLE OF A COHO SALMON
Did you know that once a coho salmon egg is fertilized in the water in the late fall, it will take 50 – 70 days, depending on water temperature, until it hatches in the early spring. The embryo will then develop in the gravel, as an alevin, consuming its attached yolk sac for 35 to 45 days while it works its way out of the gravel bed.
Once it works it way out of the gravel, it is called a “fry” and lives in pools and ponds and other quiet, calm areas in rivers and streams, while defending its territory. They hunt insects to survive.
Life Cycle of a Coho
Great Coho (Silver)!!
After living in the rivers and streams for about 16 months, they turn into smolts and start the smoltification process which allows them to transition from freshwater to saltwater. The begin their journey down river into the saltwater in March, peaking in May. In schools of 10 – 50 fish, they adapt to their new saltwater environment. They grow rapidly during their adult life, growing about one millimetre a day in their first year in the chuck as they feed on squid, crustaceans and small fish. They will remain in the ocean for about 16 – 18 months feeding voraciously until getting to a size of 6 – 9 lbs and up to 24 inches long. Then they begin their journey home to spawn and start the cycle all over again. During this journey, they feed heavily on primarily herring, anchovies and squid and can grow as much as a pound a week until they hit their home river! Imagine growing from a single egg to a mature salmon, sometimes reaching in excess of 20 lbs in only 3 or 4 short years! Once a coho spawns in the late fall, early winter, like all other Pacific Salmon, it dies, feeding the river and surrounding ecosystem of many essential nutrients.
The world saltwater record for coho still stands at 31 lbs, caught in Cowichan Bay, BC in 1947. There have been a couple of larger coho caught in freshwater, when a whopping 33 lb 4 oz fish was caught in the Salmon River in Pulaski, New York back in 1989.
Tight Lines!
Terry “Remington, The Mingler” Schultz
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