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David Wei
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David Wei
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David Wei
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David Wei
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Walters Cove Resort
By David Y. Wei & Suzanne L. Clouthier
Wild & Windy Kyuquot Sound’s Hot Fishing
The rod tip jiggled almost imperceptibly. I leapt to my feet, but by the time I got the rod out of the holder, the mainline had already popped free of its downrigger clip. With no flasher to impede it, my fish had smacked a brand-new five-inch Pesca spoon from a depth of 180 feet, and was running right toward our boat. I had a sinking feeling that I hadn’t hooked up, but continued to wind furiously.
Shawn Hanson, our guide, yelled, “Suzanne! You’ve got one, too!” I turned to see Suzanne fumbling to get a good, two-handed grip on her deeply bent Shimano mooching rod. Despite the tight drag, line peeled off her single-action Abel reel.
The slack line I was winding in became taut in an instant; my fingertips flew off the wildly spinning reel handles as my fish sped away.
Shawn had brought up the heavy cannonballs, and swung the Scotty downriggers out of the way. We struggled to keep our balance as Walters Cove Resort’s big Grady-White sportfisher corkscrewed in the offshore rollers of the open Pacific Ocean.
When I asked how she was doing, Suzanne turned to me and grinned broadly. Her heavy chinook pounded out another long, sizzling run. Yep, this was offshore fishing at Kyuquot Sound.
Kyuquot is the second-to-last sound from the northwestern tip of Vancouver Island, and stretches some 50 kilometres from Clerke Point on the west to Tatchu Point in the east. With only water- or air-access, relatively limited numbers of visiting anglers enjoy the sound’s vast saltwater sport fishery. Like many visitors to the lodges in the area, we parked our car at Fair Harbour on the Vancouver Island mainland, and arranged 30-minute water transport into Kyuquot.
Walters Cove Resort, on Walters Island, is just a short hop across the water from the settlement of the Kyuquot/Cheklesahht First Nation that now owns it. The resort’s guides are members of the local band, many of whom have commercially fished, and know these waters intimately. The luxurious lodge has 10 suites with a variety of configurations that accommodate singles (with twin beds), couples (with queen-sized beds), or small families (with double bunk beds and an additional single bed). Each room has its own three-piece ensuite bathroom, and warm robes to wear to the resort’s hot tub.
Three-course gourmet suppers, with complimentary wines, are served in the airy dining room. Chef David Lang dazzled us with stunning culinary creations that were a feast for the eyes as well as the taste buds. A platter of buttery cookies and pastries is always available in the lounge to augment generously filled lunch boxes for the boat. And to tide you over until supper, there are delicious appies to have with a drink from the bar in the lounge, or on the expansive sundeck.
The word Kyuquot means “land of many winds.” Lying so far to the northwest, and exposed to the open Pacific Ocean, the region can certainly live up to its name. However, Walters Cove Resort runs a fleet of four 23-foot Grady-White Gulfstreams powered by 300-hp four-stroke Suzuki outboards, with auxiliary kickers for trolling. These confidence-inspiring boats have the tough hulls and motor-muscle for almost every wind and sea condition.
The Barrier Islands form an east-west line of protective islands, islets, reefs, and shoals for almost the entire inshore portion of Kyuquot Sound. Good places to troll for salmon (and halibut) are from Sullivan Reefs to the west along 23- to 27-fathom depths past small islets with local names like “Flat top,” “Six-foot,” “Double Rock,” and “West Rock” to Brown Channel, between Lookout and Spring islands. Other hot spots are the Thornton Islands and, at the entrance to Kyuquot Channel, White Cliff Head and Rugged Point.
Shawn, like most guides in the area, prefers to fish offshore. Within 12 kilometres of Kyuquot, small 20-fathom-deep rock-piles and seamounts surrounded by deeper water are the perfect structure for baitfish, in turn attracting salmon and bottomfish. Anglers work the 23-fathom edges of spots known as the “Reef” or “Ridge” with one lure scraping bottom, and another between 60 and 120 feet. The sound’s many plateaus are also good places to drift-jig or anchor-fish for bottomfish.
About 16 to 20 kilometres offshore (roughly following the east-west 50-fathom bottom contour), the aptly named “Salmon Highway” marks an unofficial boundary between inshore waters and the albacore tuna fishing grounds beyond the continental shelf. Though distant and unprotected, this is probably the most popular destination to fish when marine conditions permit.
With a wary eye on already two-metre seas – forecast to build, with stronger winds, later in the afternoon – we trolled a variety of five- and six-inch spoons (Pesca RSG, Gibbs-Delta G-Force, and Tomic Honeycomb) at depths from 150 to 180 feet. Almost any lure seems to work at the “Highway,” but we knew we could always fall back on Shawn’s favourite flasher-and-hoochie combo.
Chinook salmon smacked our offerings with abandon, their wild, reel-squealing fights enhanced by the gnarly following swells. We could at times watch our fish making hard runs through towering incoming rollers – at our eye-level!
Packing up early with a fine box of fish, we were able to enjoy the region’s spectacular scenery, observe the pecking order within a noisy sea lion colony, watch the seriously cute antics of sea otters, and see an eagle swoop to snatch chunks of salmon-belly right off our transom – a mere metre from where we stood gaping. Best of all, since Walters Cove Resort is a federally certified fish-processing facility, our catch would be custom-cut, vacuum-packed, flash-frozen, and ready to put straight into the freezer back home.
Award Winner
This autumn, Walters Cove Resort won the Aboriginal Tourism Association of British Columbia’s prestigious Outdoor Adventures Award. At its annual forum held at the Musqueam Cultural Centre, more than 75 stakeholders joined vital partners like the Aboriginal Tourism Association of Canada, Destination BC, Aboriginal Affairs and Northern Development Canada, and Western Economic Diversification to celebrate and honour the best in our province’s Aboriginal tourism.
From our own experience, the resort is a worthy recipient. In addition to some of the most sensational sport fishing for salmon and bottomfish on the coast, we enjoyed well-maintained, luxurious accommodations and fine dining, with friendly, helpful management and staff who were always willing to go the extra mile to meet our wishes.
The resort’s Grady-White fishing cruisers, equipped with top-of-the-line fishing rods, reels, and gear, were immaculately clean every time we went fishing. Our guide, Shawn, knew the waters of the sound intimately and, most important of all, where to find fish. During our visit, Shawn and the other resort guides always had guests’ safety and comfort in mind, and erred on the side of caution whenever major winds with gnarly ocean conditions arose. And if we had to call it an early day, what a treat it was to have Shawn suggest visiting some favourite out-of-the-way place, or doing some unusual activity that makes Kyuquot Sound uniquely special.
If you are looking for that first-class, outdoor fishing adventure, Walters Cove Resort can deliver; it has the award to prove it!
Getting There
From the B.C. Ferries terminal at Departure Bay, it took us five hours to drive the 400 kilometres along Highway 19 North to Fair Harbour. The last 72 kilometres, from the main highway to Fair Harbour via Zeballos, is an active logging road, but in such good condition that our compact car handled it easily.
To ensure making the pickup time (around 1:00 p.m.) for transfer to Walters Island, it’s a good idea to make a reservation for the 6:20 a.m. sailing from Horseshoe Bay at: www.bcferries.com or call toll-free: 1-888-223-3779.
Book your Walters Cove Resort fishing adventure at http://walterscoveresort.com or call toll-free: 1-844-466-9453.