Reel Reports
Get the latest BC fishing report with our online Reel Reports – news from the front-lines of the best British Columbia salmon fishing grounds.
We update our BC fishing reports whenever possible during the fishing season, so check back often and see the top catches and hottest locations for salmon fishing in British Columbia.
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The fishing has been unreal...
Painter's Lodge - July 2, 2009The fishing has been unreal for the past four weeks. Our guides have been finding fish all around the south end of Quadra Island. During early June the was a large mass of Chinook around the Oyster River area. These fish have now moved in closer to us at Painter’s Lodge and April Point. This has meant great fishing closer to home.
In the last week we’ve seen record numbers of tyees hitting the dock. Notable mentions go to:
- Dan Oldham — 27 lbs
- Heather Richardson — 34 lbs
- Joe Murphy — 26 lbs
- Tanner Zelink — 30 lbs and 25 lbs
- Crutis koepke — 28 lb halibut
- John Rawe — 33 lbs
- Maralyn Butt — 33.7 lbs
- Ray Mattinson — 33 lbs
- Jim Jewitt — 30 lbs
With the great fishing has come weeks of beautiful skies. Its bright and sunny everyday, it seems, and the bite seems to continue everyday. In addition to great Chinook fishing, we’re looking forward to a very strong return of Pinks and Sockeye. We’re expecting Sockeye to open during the late part of July, and DFO should be letting us know very soon. These fish will be coming through the inside passage in the MILLIONS. I can hear the fish cooler staff screaming already…
Tight lines,
Dave Gosnell
Marine Operations Manager
Painter’s Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa
Women's Derby Wrap Up
Painter's Lodge - June 25, 2009Another year and another incredible Women's Derby at Painter's Lodge.
This year's grand prize winner is Marilyn Butt. She bagged a 33.7 lb. Chinook salmon and won a four day/three night fishing package at King Salmon Resort
There was a tie for second place this year. Annalisa Watters & Tina Murphy both landed 30.09 lb. Chinook salmon. Wow!
Sharon MacDonald rounded out the leaderboard with a 26.14 lb. Chinook.
Nice work, ladies!
Chantal at Painter's Lodge just sent down these photos.
Send to a FriendDoug and Sandi Moller at April Point
Painter's Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa - June 16, 2009
Doug Moller from Alberta just returned from a trip to April Point Resort & Spa, and took the time to write us the wonderful note:
Just wanted to drop you a quick note to say thank you for the extended weekend stay at April Point. From the start of the first night to the last it day it was the most relaxing time we could have ask for.
The first night was spent on the Wine and Cheese cruise, which was amazing and we met some great people too! The wild life tour was great, seeing plenty of scenery, eagles, seals, puffins, and sea lions. The spa was super with Sandi taking FULL advantage of the services!
And the fishing, although I was not expecting much, it turned out to be great with myself netting a pair of 21 ¼ lb. and 23 ½ lb. Chinooks.
Watching the sunset and enjoying some great wine on the deck was magical. It was interesting as we have sailed to Alaska before getting a different perspective of the cruise ships as they made the trip up and down Discovery Passage. And finally, cabin 23… WOW! It seemed we were the envy of all that heard we were in there.
Once again thank you for the wonderful time!
The bite goes on...
Painter's Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa - June 15, 2009
The Spring Fling Derby is officially over. Congrats Robert Myring who won the derby by a long shot with his 33 lb. Tyee. I hope you enjoy your prize, a trip to our northern BC fishing resorts!
David Nylund won second prize with a 29.6 lb. Chinook, and Lawerence Eade nabbed third place is a 29.5 pounder.
Derby or not, the bite goes on…the dock was full of 20 pound Chinook this weekend, and even another Tyee. David Nylund brought in a beautiful 30 pounder. Every boat that went out last night caught a fish, and our fish catch log is filling up!
The wildlife tours have been fantastic. They’ve been seeing humpbacks, loads of porpoises, tons of bears and thousands of eagles. They spotted a cinnamon bear on the beach the other day and watched him comb the beach for a snack. The humpback is always a treat to watch, as we don’t get to see one of the those everyday.
The Wine and Cheese tours have been going out regularly, too. Drinks, appetizers, ocean breeze and a beautiful sunset, could you think of a more perfect way to end the day?
That’s all for today, thanks for checkin’ in. Hope you have a wonderful day.
Megan Lane
Dock Supervisor
Painter’s Lodge
First Tyee
Painter's Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa - June 8, 2009This weekend was wonderful in so many ways! The weather was fabulous, the sun was out in full force and we have the sunglass tans to prove it!
The fishing really picked up this weekend. Lots of Chinooks coming in, averaging about 18 to 20 pounds. Plus, we got our first Tyee of the year! Robert Myring is now the Spring Fling Derby leader with a 33 pound Chinook. Way to go Robert! It’ll be hard to beat, but its worth a try, so come on up and try to out fish him.
The tide is ripping again, so the Rapids Tours are out in full force. They went out yesterday and had a blast splashing and bunching around.
The wildlife tours have been seeing lots of the wildlife. There have been several bear sightings. The eagles were out feeding by the hundreds on the hake, which gets pushed up from the bottom of the ocean to top when the tide is flooding.
That’s all for day. Thanks for checkin’ in. Hope you have a wonderful day.
Megan Lane
Dock Supervisor
Painter’s Lodge
Great day on the water
Painter's Lodge - May 30, 2009Fishing is getting better and better by the day. We had an excellent mid-day trip today and have some high expectations for the afternoon trip. Every boat was into a fish and most came back with one or two nice Chinook.
Congrats go to Dave Kitsch for his 24lb 3 oz Chinook, which is the second largest of the Spring derby. We also had several in the high teens and another half dozen Springs in the 9-10 lb range.
We’ve got a very busy weekend coming up, so I expect some more excitement on the dock.
Tight lines,
Dave Gosnell
Marine Operations Manager
Painter’s Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa
Painters at Painter's Weekend
Painter's Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa - May 26, 2009We’ve had another fabulous weekend had here at Painter’s Lodge. This weekend we held our 15th annual Painters and Painters. The weather was wonderful, the paintings were beautiful and the lodge was buzzing with people.
The brunches were sensational. They served everything imaginable, and some of it looked TOO good to eat!
A lone humpback graced us with its presence as it cruised through Discovery Passage, giving both Painter’s Lodge and April Point a show. Our wildlife tours have been seeing it all: whales, bears, Stellar sea lions and a variety of porpoises.
We are experiencing some major tidal action right now, dropping 14 feet in just under 8 hours. That’s a lot of water flowing though Discovery Passage and up at Seymour Narrows, which will make this afternoons rapids tour extra exciting!!
As for fishing, no one has beat out the 25 pounder yet, but Robert Carpenter was real close with a beautiful 22 pound Chinook. There’s still time to come and out fish Mr. Tolgyessy’s 25 pounder, so come and give it a try. They’ve been fishing off the south end of Quadra Island lately, and at Shelter Point as well. The bait of choice has been hoochies and spoons.
That’s all for today. Thanks for checkin’ in. Hope you have a wonderful day.
Megan Lane
Dock Supervisor
Painter’s Lodge
Stellar May Long Weekend
Painter's Lodge - May 19, 2009What a wonderful May Long Weekend we had here at Painter’s Lodge. The sun was shinning and the fish were biting.
We are currently having our annual Spring Fling Derby, every Chinook that are caught are entered into the derby. We have some great prizes. The first prize being a trip for two to the Charlotte Princess, the second prize is a three day getaway to Painters Lodge, and third prize is a three day fishing package to the Canadian Princess in Ucluelet.
As of right now Charles Tolgyessy is the leader in the derby with a 25 pound Chinook. Visit us and try to out fish him!
This weekend was extra special for me as my dad and his friend came here all the way from Quebec. I gave them the full Oak Bay experience. First we went off to the Canadian Princess in Ucluelet. They hooked us up with a great room, we then we had a delicious dinner at the Wickaninnish Restaurant.
When we got back to Painter's they went fishing, and then on the Wildlife Tour, which was a huge success. We saw everything, Dahl porpoises, seals, eagles, Stellar sea lions, harbour porpoises and best of all we saw a black bear! Just when we though it was going to run away, he plopped his bum down and sat and watched us.
To finish off our fun filled, exciting day, we had drinks at the Tyee Pub while relaxing and enjoying the beautiful view. All in all they had a wonderful time and they can’t wait to come back next year.
That’s all for today. Thanks for checkin’ in. Hope your have a wonderful day.
Megan Lane
Dock Supervisor
Painter’s Lodge
Weekend update
Painter's Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa - May 17, 2009We’ve just launched our new kids’ program at both Painter's Lodge and April Point.
Kids checking in now get a fun activity book with all sorts of nature trivia plus a bunch of fun goodies. We also picked up a bunch of small fishing rods and life jackets so kids can catch some fish right off our docks.
Looks like fun!
Last Saturday morning, around 6am, I watched approximately 40 eagles outside feeding on bait. When they finished, they all flew to the trees by the spa. If you look closely, you can see at least eight eagles in this tree.
Just another great day on Discovery Passage.
Michael O’Hara — Operations Manager
April Point Resort & Spa
Salmon smolt released into the wild
Painter's Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa - May 7, 2009The Chinook salmon smolt we talked about a few weeks back have just been released into the wild!
You can read about the benefits of this program in a recent article in the Courier-Islander newspaper. Needless to say, we're really pleased to be a part of it.
These photos are courtesy of Howard Fielding, one of our marina guests.
Michael O’Hara — Operations Manager
April Point Resort & Spa
