WHERE THE SALMON RUN STRONG

Salmon Seekers

As the end of our trip drew near, we got the opportunity to fish with Mick - and we jumped at the chance to get an expert lesson in Rivers Inlet's fishery. The next morning, though, Fred and I woke to find we had slept in - and figured we had missed the opportunity to head out with the lodge's owner. But like the nice guy he is, Mick was waiting at the dock for us, ready to go, even though most of the other anglers had headed out earlier.

A renowned nearby fishing spot, Cranstown, had produced four tyees (chinook over 30 pounds) the previous day, but Mick had a feeling that Merc Point would pay off for us even better than before. We headed off, soon pulling up to that familiar hubcap, and put our lines out. Looking around, Fred and I got to take in the real beauty of our surroundings. There was a slight fog coming off the water and with the sun just coming up, the landscape had taken on a golden hue.

After working Merc Point for the first part of the morning, Mick followed his theory that bigger fish move off structure as the sun comes up, and moved us further offshore. Before I knew it, I was yelling to Fred that his rod had a hit. He grabbed his rod from the holder, let some line out, and waited patiently for the fish to take the bait. The rod tip bounced and he set the hook. It was the fish were hoping for, we could tell from the long deep runs and the bulldogging that only a big spring can do. This is what we came here for; we had finally hunted down a big spring. Fred did everything right and with Mick at the helm; this fish didn't have a chance. We soon had a beautiful chinook in the boat.

Excited, Fred wanted to weigh it immediately. We knew it was big - but was it a trophy for Rivers Inlet? Almost - the scale read 28 pounds. It didn't matter, though, as Fred - who lives in Edmonton - had never caught a Pacific salmon that size before.

Nearby, another boat carrying a father and son team drifted by. The young son yelled out, "Nice fish, how big do you think it is?" Fred proudly called back, "Twenty-eight pounds!"

As they trolled out of earshot the kid yelled back, "Good luck, but I guess you don't need it." With all the fish in River's Inlet, truer words were never spoken.

If You Go

Legacy Lodge has the perfect location, Darby Channel, the mouth of River's Inlet, which allows you to head the fish off at the pass as they come in to spawn. Year after year this area produces more large salmon then almost anywhere else in BC - with chinook sometimes topping 60 pounds.

The lodge came to be as part of the vision of owner/operator Mick Heath. With more than 20 years of experience on coastal waters from Oregon to Alaska, he found Rivers Inlet as a diamond in the rough. Mick wanted to share this experience with others and with that, Legacy Lodge became a reality. www.legacylodge.com; 1.877.347.4534