Guided Fishing

Guides are not essential to successfully catching fish in Rivers Inlet. Our basic package is self-guided & the ability to do-it-yourself is part of the “magic” of our unique experience. The majority of our guests fish on their own & with our training & mentoring, catch lots of fish. This is due to a unique combination of our remote isolated location, abundant fish stocks, calm waters, proximity to the salmon fishing grounds & top-quality fishing equipment, tackle & electronics. And of course, the key is our in-depth daily fishing seminars, mealtime information exchanges & continuous coaching. Having said that, time on the water with one of our fishing experts will typically accelerate your fishing education, improve your local knowledge & increase your chances of landing the “big one”.

The guiding typically sells out so guiding must be pre-booked when making your trip reservation to avoid disappointment. All of our guides are professionally trained & certified by Transport Canada. Many have worked on our docks several years before they earn their “stripes” & get promoted to guide status. Guiding is an additional charge & can be customized to suit your needs, from a single day to multiple days depending on availability. Guiding is already sold-out now on some dates for next summer &/or not available on the first day of your trip. We cannot provide half days of guiding.

There are 2 classes of guide boats. Our 18 ft. – 20 ft. Boston Whalers which can comfortably handle 2 – 3 guests + guide. Our 21 ft. & 25 ft. Boston Whalers which can accommodate 3 – 4 guests + guide. A “day of guiding” is approximately 8 hours & consists of 2 of the 3 fishing sessions we have each day. The morning fishing session is approx. 5 hours from 6:00 AM – 11:00 AM. You can take your remaining 3 hours of guiding during the afternoon session from 1:00 PM – 4:00 PM or during the evening session after dinner from 6:00 PM – 9:00 PM. On your arrival day you head out with the guide after check-in, lunch & our mandatory fishing, conservation & safety seminar. You then fish the afternoon & evening sessions combined from 1:00 PM – 8:00 PM & don’t return to the lodge until a later dinner that day at 8:00 PM. With no travel time back to the lodge between sessions this ends up being the same amount of guided fishing time. On a regular day the guides must return to the lodge after each session to process the guest’s catch so they cannot stay out all day. Also, for liability & insurance reasons, guests cannot operate the guide boats at any time with or without the guide onboard.

On our 4-day trip there are 3 days of guiding (Thurs/Fri/Sat). On our 5-day trip there are 4 days of guiding (Sun/Mon/Tues/Wed). There is no guiding on your departure day morning as our guides are packing up your catch for travel. However, you may take your assigned boat out fishing from 5:30 AM – 8:00 AM before heading back to the lodge to get packed up, checked out & fly back to town. Also, our guides act as instructors & mentors, assisting all our guests when out on the water fishing or back on our docks. There is always someone nearby or on the VHF radio to answer questions, direct you to where the fish are biting, assist with any technical issues, to ensure your safety & to help maximize your fishing productivity.