Rivers Inlet Sportsmans Club
Rivers Inlet Fishing Report 2017
Vicki T came in from her first fishing trip and proudly showed off her catch of this 27 lb. Chinook, with guide Jaymes.
Rivers Inlet Sportsman's Club
It was another great season of fishing and catching. Some guests fared better than others, but typically everyone went home with a box of fish (or 2). The Chinook/King salmon fishing was definitely consistent with lots of fish caught - some really big. The best trophy Chinook fishing was at the known hot-spots literally minutes from the Lodge. Kevin’s Corner, The Bluff/Muff and, as always, The Wall produced some of the largest fish. There were several Chinook caught in the 40’s & 50’s. Dave G. topped the Chinook catches with a 60 pounder. He caught it when he was fishing without a guide. He played this monster fish for more than two hours, and his “super host” Rod W. jumped in the boat “commando style” right near the end of the fight to net this trophy salmon.
The coho/silver salmon fishing was excellent this year. Sometimes we had to travel a bit further to get on the school of fish, which took some coordination, especially in variable weather conditions. Later in the season the coho were holding 30 minutes north of us at Addenbrook Lighthouse. One morning in particular sticks in my mind. With the aid of VHF radios, GPS and the professional boating skills of our guides and experienced guests, we managed to get most of the fleet safely up to Addenbrook in very limited visibility. The guests returned with their daily salmon limit and many fish were released. When the bite was ON there were stories of non-stop action, with double and triple-headers! During the season there were multiple coho caught over 20 lbs., with the largest tipping the scales at a whopping 22 lbs.
Those who tried their hand at bottom fishing were rewarded for their efforts. The halibut fishing was steady all summer. The best fishing was only minutes away from the lodge at the Kidney Bean and Paddle Rocks. There were lots of big ones with the largest of the season at 68 lbs. We saw more lingcod on the dock this summer than the past few years. Angler effort was up because as guests limited out on salmon and halibut later in their trip, they targeted these tasty critters. The largest of the season was 36 lbs. A lingcod like this is probably about 15 years old.
Why was the catching so good this year? It was the “perfect storm” of the runs of salmon congregating in our area, good weather and more intensive training and guest mentoring. None of our self-guided guests left the dock without a full inspection and interview by Simon and the dock staff of their tackle & technique. It was a simple equation, less lines broken = more lunkers on the scale. Steve S. said it best “I had some great catches of trophy salmon along with a big halibut. It’s amazing how much ‘luckier’ I was when I followed Simon’s fishing clinic instructions to the letter and paid attention to all the little details”.
Reservations for next season are already well ahead of pace. If you have not yet done so, contact us soon to plan your fishing adventure to get the dates that best suit your schedule. Call/text Simon and Stephanie at 604-938-3677, Cathy or Barbara at 1-800-663-2644 or any of us via email info@riversinlet.com.
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