Legacy Lodge at River's Inlet – Big Fish, Bright Waters

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 Legacy Lodge at River's Inlet – Big Fish, Bright Waters, by Dean Unger

From time to time - perhaps two or three times in a generation - the fates converge to produce a Picasso, a Modigliano, or a Hieronymous Bosch, who, in turn, produce works of artistic brilliance to share with the world. In geographic terms, River's Inlet, B.C., is quite possibly the perfect expression of natural forms - a convergence of land and water through which life thrives in abundance. All five of the Pacific salmon species exist here: Chinook (King), Coho (Silver), Pink, Chum and Sockeye. Other sport fish like ling cod, rock fish and halibut, dungeness and king crab, prawns, and yellow eye have all found nirvana in the waters that ply the Inlet coastline.

Frequent sightings of grey whales, bear, bald eagles, otters and dolphins lull you into a contemplative state and speaks of a simpler time. But River's Inlet provides grace not only to sport fisher's; the ebb and flow of the natural world - an ever-changing canvas that shifts with the seasons – provides amazing visual stimulation for the novice and pro-photographer alike.

There are a few areas of interest people often discuss about Legacy Lodge after returning home. It’s much more than a fishing trip, it’s an adventure. For the first time guest to the lodge, the moment they step off the plane they are taken back by the sheer beauty of their surroundings. The smell of cedar forests, the beauty and vitality of the ocean, and the profound sense of being in the deep wilderness. Then there's the fog laying in the lulls of the mountains as first light breaks in the morning; there's the  continuous parade of humpback whales that feed past our boats... The beauty of Pendleton Bay, the deep rich colours of the BC forest and the realization that they have finally arrived in that pristine place they have always dreamed about is priceless. But there is also the anticipation of the fishing still to come.

Under the calm, protected dark water eagerly awaits North America’s largest Chinook and Coho, and you’ll find yourself out on the dock at 3:00 AM checking your gear, testing your knots, looking for the perfect bait, and wondering how the adventure to come will play out.

"We fish dead calm and usually no further than 3-18 minutes from the lodge," says Phil. "Our guests receive a true wilderness experience as we fish away from other lodges; simply put, we can fish areas that others simply can’t reach. And here we fish differently, depending on conditions: on flood vs. ebb tides.

A geographic anomaly, the Inlet is located about 125 km southwest of Bella Coola and about 65 km north of the northern end of Vancouver Island. As though engineered exclusively to provide for and sustain all of the resident sea-life, River's Inlet reaches some 45 km back into the Coast Mountains. The sheltered central channel runs an average depth of around 1050 feet; lush, deep rainforests push down mountainsides and come to rest on wild ocean shores. The Kilbella, Chuckwalla, and the Wannock Rivers, all surge into the Inlet from mountain passes to the east. The Wannock itself is fed by the 50km long, Owikeno Lake, which in turn is supplied by the Tzeo, Sheemahant and Machmell Rivers. The head of Machmell - the largest of the three - is an outflow of the majestic Ha-Iltzuk Icefield.

The founders at Legacy Lodge aptly embrace the spirit and the beauty of the place, and visitors often leave feeling profoundly affected by their experience.

"Rivers Inlet is world renowned, it’s one of three places in the world where you can catch salmon of this calibre," says Phil Dawson, co-owner of the Lodge. “A lot of big fish were caught this year - I know of over 300 tyees taken form our waters, and there were record runs to the south (Victoria area). Climate changes, shifts in El Nino providing colder waters- provides more sandlance for developing smolts; along with the pacific salmon treaty appear to be helping. There are so many elements that play into it. Our job is to make sure that we stay at the top of our game.” For Phil and the Legacy team, this means staying informed and constantly scouting new and existing areas. “We watch closely to see what's happening: if there's changes in the flow of the rivers; changes in tides and currents and weather patterns... Overall, the fertile inlet holds an incredible amount of bait fish. If you find the bait fish you'll find the salmon staging on them. On one occasion, on the other side of the Inlet, in one weekend four of us fought over 200 salmon; that’s the advantage of the Scout Boats - our guests can fish where only the Humpback Whales intrude on their experience.  Generally, I put back the big ones and keep the smaller ones. “The larger Northern Coho’s are exceptional Sport Fish. If you put them back, they can reproduce and keep populations healthy and vibrant.”

Rivers Inlet has the third largest salmon run in BC. This healthy annual migration was at the heart of the Wuikinuxv First Nation culture that has called the area home for millennium. In the late 19th century, European settlers established a fishery that resulted in the birth of the cannery industry on the BC coast. In it's heyday, there were more than fifteen canneries in the River's Inlet area, all scrambling to keep up with the numbers of fish coming in. The tumultuous industry saw its swansong in the 1950s when the last factories closed for good.

During the late 1970s a commercial fishing boat pulled in a monster tyee at 126 lbs at the mouth of River's Inlet. Previous to this, it was another River's Inlet salmon that was caught in the early fifties, that held the distinction of world record, weighing in at 82.5 pounds. “Now,” Phil says, “more fifty to sixty pound Chinook salmon are caught in this inlet every year than in any other area of BC. These salmon can battle for hours, over incredible distances.”  

Dawson says visitors have the option of running their own boat or heading out with one of five Legacy professional guides. “Our guides are not your typical guides – they're instructors. Where a guide typically dominates the experience, our team is there to assist the guest with fishing techniques, with understanding tides, presentation and how to survive a Chinook ripping 100 yards of line off your reel in four seconds” Phil says, “the best possible experience is when the guests are doing this together; with over 47 years of combined experience on these waters, we know the best areas and what works, so we can assure our visitors the best possible experience.”

Chinook and Coho salmon fishing is available from mid-July through September; Halibut, Yellow Eye and Ling-cod can be caught throughout the summer months; you can heli-fish more than 100 miles of remote riverbed for wild steelhead up to 30 pounds in April and May, and for massive coho to over 20lbs during September and October.

Classy private accommodations match the calibre of the world-class cuisine served at Legacy Lodge. The two-story guest building was designed to offer amazing wilderness ocean views that define the character of the place. The executive chef prepares daily fare with local ingredients. Everything from happy hour (every evening), to fresh seafood entrees, to lunches delivered to the boat, are included. “Our executive chef, Courtney Burnham, crafts a menu every evening,” Phil says. “He's adamant about using local ingredients wherever possible and, of course, is gifted with delicacies like seafood appetizers, sweet prawns and dungeness crab and exceptional salmon and halibut dishes.”

Legacy boasts some of the best equipment in the business, providing a fleet of 17.5' Scout sportfishing boats, featuring centre consoles, 60 HP four-stroke smokeless outboard motors, the finest in advanced electronics, and rods and tackle. Staff expertly fillet, vacuum-pack and flash-freeze the daily catch for the trip home.

Understandably, Legacy Lodge is more than world class salmon & halibut fishing; it's about friends and families sharing the adventure of exploring North America's last wilderness; experiencing humpback whales, dolphins, eagles and a night sky full of stars so bright they'll keep you awake!

This year is expected to be another banner year for Legacy. Combine the intriguing contrast of remote Canadian wilderness with five-star dining, indelible scenery that many of us only see on television, and, where the fish are concerned, figuring when they won't bite as opposed to if they will, odds are you'll be hesitant to set your rod down for fear you'll miss the jarring first hit when the big one comes to call.