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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Out of this world
Painter's Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa - May 5, 2008The wildlife tours have been out of this world this week. They've seen it all: black Bears combing the beach, bald eagles feeding on the hake, porpoises playing in the wake. As for whales, they’ve been coming through the passage regularly. We had six or seven orca cruise by last night, there was a minke whale that swam pass April Point yesterday afternoon, plus two humpback whales in the passage about three days ago. The stellar sea lions are still here and can be seen sunbathing on the rocky beaches up and down the passage. Thanks to the full moon, the tides are ripping and rapids tours are in full force.
The fishing is starting to pick up. Our mechanics are hard at work preparing all the boats; it’s a pretty big job considering we employ the largest flee of Boston Whalers in all of North America. Keep up the good work boys!
The weather has been fantastic here. The wind has died down, the sun is shining and the rain has stopped. The sunrises have been fantastic the last couple of days, almost worth getting up at 4:30am to see them.
That’s all for today. Thanks for checkin’ in. Hope you have a wonderful day!
Megan Lane
Dock Supervisor
Painter’s Lodge
The Wonder of Whales
Painter's Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa - May 1, 2008We’ve just wrapped up this year’s Photographers at Painter’s weekend and had a great turn out; everywhere you looked people we snapping pictures!
On Sunday we had a wonderful surprise. Just as Sunday brunch was being served, and all the photographers were outside, a pod of transient whales cruised up the Discovery Passage, right past the Painter’s Lodge docks. The weird thing was that, for the first time all weekend, none of the photographers were taking pictures; they were just standing, in awe, enjoying the wonders of the West Coast.
As for fishing, Robert Zalik brought in a nice Chinook, beating out both his brother and father. I’m sure he’ll never let them live that one down, I sure wouldn’t!
That’s all for today, thanks for checkin’ in. Hope you have a wonderful day.
Megan Lane
Dock Supervisor
Painter’s Lodge
Stellar shows
Painter's Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa - April 15, 2008Wow! Only a few days into the season and we've already got two nice Chinook up on the catch board. Tim McLeary was the first to bring in a 9 lb. Chinook, and Karen Miller was the second of the season, landing a nice 14 lb. Chinook. Nice job both of you!
Wildlife tours have been setting out every day. There’s a huge colony of Stellar sea lions just off Jimmy Judd Island. Stellar sea lions are the largest member of seal family—adult females weigh an average of 600 pounds and males can get as big as 1200 lbs.
Our resident eagles are putting on quite the show. As the tide rises they eat the fish coming up, also known as hake. There were at least 50 of them swooping around, all looking for a bite to eat.
Megan Lane
Dock Supervisor
Painter’s Lodge
Wildlife welcome first guests of 2008
Painter's Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa - April 11, 2008The 2008 season is off to a GREAT start! Spring is here, the sun is shinning, the wildlife is teeming and the fishing has begun.
We've already had the pleasure of watching two transient Killer whales as they head south past the Painter’s dock. Did you know Killer whales are not actually whales? They are in fact part of the dolphin family.
Black bears are also out and about! One was spotted yesterday eating grubs on the shoreline just past Browns Bay. As for bald eagles, they’re everywhere. On a low tide you can watch them feeding on the sandbar right in front of Painter’s dock.
That's all for today, thanks for checkin' in. Hope you all have a wonderful day!
Megan Lane
Dock Supervisor
Painter’s Lodge
Winter upgrades to the Victoria wing
Painter's Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa - January 10, 2008
Even though it’s dark and dreary outside, we’re hard at work inside upgrading the rooms in the Victoria wing of Painter’s Lodge.
The Victoria wing, also known as the “500 building”, is the first building on your left when you drive in to Painter’s Lodge.
Much like the upgrades we undertook in the Cortez wing last year, rooms in this Victoria are being treated to new upholstery, beds, carpeting, and improved floor plans, while the whole exterior is getting a fresh coat of paint.
This renovation is just a small part of the extensive work we do every winter to make sure both Painter’s Lodge and April Point look their best for you. We hope you enjoy the fruits of our labour this spring!
The Painter’s Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa crew
Send to a FriendChum derby winner: Bruce Harrison!
Painter's Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa - October 9, 2007Our first Chum salmon fishing derby has drawn to a close. Congratulations to all anglers who took part and made the derby such a success. A strong Chum run made for great fishing opportunities and the derby was decided in the very final days of our season.
The winners are:
Grand prize: Bruce Harrison — 17 lb. 1 oz. Chum
Bruce won a week-long trip for two to Cape Santa Maria Beach Resort in the south Bahamas, including airfare from Vancouver, BC. Congratulations!!!
Second place: Jacob Dwhytie — 16 lb. 9 oz. Chum
Jacob won a four day all-inclusive fishing trip for two to King Salmon Resort in Rivers Inlet, BC. Nice work!
Third place: Moira Ryan — 16 lb. 4 oz. Chum
Moira won a three day drive-in fishing package for two at Painter’s Lodge.
Congratulations to our three winners! See you again next year!
Tiffany Goldney
Painter’s Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa
Chum derby update
Painter's Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa - October 8, 2007The latest catches from our Chum salmon derby are in. Here are the daily leaders.
October 5 — Bruce Harrison — 17 lb. 1 oz. Chum
October 6 — Russell Mellson — 16 lb. 0 oz. Chum
October 7 — Connie Walkins — 16 lb. 4 oz. Chum
October 8 — Moira Ryan — 16 lb. 4 oz. Chum
Nice catches everyone!
Tiffany Goldney
Painter’s Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa
Chum derby update
Painter's Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa - October 4, 2007Our first ever Chum salmon derby is still going strong. Here are some highlights:
Ocotober 1 — Glen Arthur — 13 lb. 8 oz. Chum
October 2 — Christine Pezel — 14 lb. 14 oz. Chum
Christine caught three Chum on her trip. She also nabbed a 13 lb. 2 oz. fish and 10 lb. 12 oz. pounder.
October 3 — Mike Lomax — 15 lb. 5 oz. Chum
Nice work, anglers!
Tiffany Goldney
Painter’s Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa
The Chum derby heats up
Painter's Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa - October 1, 2007
Our first ever Chum salmon derby is in full swing. As of this morning, here are the current leaders:
- Candice MacDougall — 15lb 10oz
- Nic Mazar — 14lb 0oz
- Ken Dakin — 13lb 11oz
- Brian Jerebic — 12lb 15oz
- Gordon Henrikson — 12lb 5oz
- Stuart Feninberg — 7lb 7oz
A hearty congratulations as well to John Deyoe for landing a beautiful 27 lb. Chinook in the pouring rain yesterday!
It’s been a real west coast fall this last week with some heavy rain and big winds on Saturday. October 1st seems to have calmed the weather somewhat. The seas are calm and we're looking for a bit of sun for some fantastic Chum fishing.
There are still seven fishing days left for you to win the grand prize trip to the Bahamas—see you soon!
Dave Gosnell
Marine Operations Manager
Painter’s Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa
Hot Fall Chinook Fishing
Painter's Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa - September 20, 2007Bright, sunny skies and bright silver fish! That’s what the last two weeks have been giving us at Painter’s Lodge and April Point.
Traditional Tyee fishing finished up on September 15th. So congratulations to Gene Kneece who landed a 42 pounder, the top Tyee of 2007.
Our guided fishing has been showing some great fishing as well. Steve Cowan landed a beautiful 30 lb. Chinook on the 16th and Micheal Bauer followed up with a 29 pounder that same day. Our catch log is showing a big mix of fish, with guests coming in with Pinks, Chum, Chinook and hatchery Coho.
One big difference this year is the presence of wild and marked Coho in Deep Water Bay. These beauties have been bighting strong for weeks now. Typical size is 6-14 lbs. Just don’t let them get ahead of you on the reel; they like to come to the surface fast!
Our whale watching tours have been seeing lots of wildlife close to home. The bears are coming down to the shore and river mouths looking for crab and salmon.
We’ve got some good high pressure right now and that should make the Chum start to bight. See ya on the water!
Dave Gosnell
Marine Operations Manager
Painter’s Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa
