Business As Usual
There has been some confusion over what the catch limits are for the upcoming summer salmon fishing season in B.C. so we decided to be a part of the Vancouver Sun/Travel Section Fishing Lodge segment. There are some closures in the southern waters for Chinook/King salmon so there has never been a better time to move your fishing program North! 2019 regulations for fish retention at the Rivers Inlet Sportsman’s Club (RISC) will remain the same as they have been for over 30 years. You can catch & keep/take home 8 salmon (up to 4 can be Chinook & the rest of your limit of a total 8 can be made up of other salmon species, coho, chum & pink). You can also catch & retain 2 halibut & 4 lingcod, & your daily limit is ½ these numbers. You will be bringing home a nice box of fresh fish filets to enjoy over the BBQ as you recount the stories of your amazing aquatic adventures with family & friends! But who knew when we did an Ad & submitted a few images that we would end up with a Joern Rohde aerial shot of the fishing lodge on the TRAVEL section cover!
We still have a few spots left for this summer so call/text today & book your trip … 604-938-3677.
BC Fishing Resorts are open for business. That’s the message most operators want to get out.
Despite concerns regarding specific Fraser River stocks of Chinook, fishing in BC is excellent right now.
“The great thing about B.C., is there are so many different stocks of fish moving along our coast,“ says Owen Bird, executive director for the Sport Fishing Institute of BC. “With our province so large and the Pacific coast line being as long as it is, there are a multitude of salmon stocks that swim in our waters.
“Regardless of which lodge you choose, each is located for excellent access to salmon or bottom fishing. You can have a lot of confidence that all of these lodges are where the fish are. As salmon migrate from open ocean to natal rivers and pass along the BC coast on the way, it makes for a distinct possibility that anglers can encounter a Tyee, a salmon over 30 lbs., or action packed schooling species like Coho or Pink, no matter when they plan to go fishing in B.C.
“I can unreservedly say that what B.C. has in variety and quality of sport fishing experience is unrivaled and world class.”
A family-owned floating lodge on the “TransCanada Highway, or the I-5 for salmon” is how owner Simon Kelly describes Rivers Inlet Sportsman’s Club.
Guest Testimonial – Living The Dream!
My brother-in-law & myself had an excellent fishing trip at the Rivers Inlet Sportsman’s Club in the summer of 2018. This has been my 6 visit to this lodge and I have not been disappointed once. The accommodations, food, equipment, & the friendly staff have been excellent year after year with no disappointments. I’m planning on returning to this fish camp in 2019 with family & friends.
Calvin S. – via Tripadvisor
Recipe – Salmon Sliders With Hot Sauce Mayonnaise
Ingredients
-1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons mayonnaise
-1 tablespoon hot sauce
-1 1/2 pounds salmon fillet, skin removed, cut into 1-inch pieces
-1 sweet red pepper, cored, seeded and coarsely chopped
-2 tablespoons finely diced red onion
-1/2 cup panko/dried bread crumbs
-2 tablespoons lemon juice
-1/4 teaspoon salt
-1/4 teaspoon black pepper
-16 party-size slider rolls
-Lettuce/chopped cabbage (optional)
Directions
-Combine 1/2 cup mayonnaise & the hot sauce.
-Cover & refrigerate until ready to serve.
-In large bowl, add salmon, red pepper, onions, panko/dried bread crumbs, remaining 2 tablespoons hot mayonnaise, lemon juice, salt & black pepper.
-Chop up until desired texture.
-Form into 16 patties, about a scant 1/4 cup each.
-Place on a greased baking sheet.
-Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat & lightly coat with nonstick cooking spray.
-Cook patties in batches for 2 to 3 minutes per side, until browned and cooked through.
-Place patties on rolls and spread about 1 1/2 teaspoon hot mayonnaise over each.
-Add lettuce or chopped cabbage, if desired, and serve.
ENJOY!
Mooching For The Big One
Mooching is the traditional “old-school” way to fish for salmon. Although not as common these days due to the increased use of downriggers & the ease of use they provide, we at the Sportsman’s Club believe that mooching is still a great way to go after the bigger fish as they tend to be closer to the surface.
The rod used for mooching is typically in the 9 -11 ft. range, lightweight with a very limber tip so that you can see the often extremely light bite of the salmon. These custom-style mooching or classic fly rods are equipped with a single action salt-water fly reel with 200-300 yds. of 10-30 lbs. test monofilament line. The terminal tackle is a 1-6 oz. weight, a 8-12 ft. 20-30 lb. test line leader with a mid swivel & 2 4/0 hooks. You cut the head off a herring, affix the hooks into the flesh. The combination of the cut of the herring & the hook positioning will give the bait a nice lively spin & flash. The bait can be fished right on the surface or lowered down anywhere up to 30 feet.
The action of the bait is achieved by putting the motor in & out of gear trying to maintain a varied angle of incidence on the line somewhere between perpendicular & 45 degrees. Working with the currents & constantly adjusting the boat speed creates irregular bait action that imitates a wounded baitfish. At times your herring is spinning quickly & at other times motionless or shimmying lifelessly downward. This bite can be very light so it is imperative to watch your rod like a hawk for any variance in the action of the tip not associated with the movements of the wind, tide, current & swell etc. Sometimes it is just the tiniest of taps on the rod tip as the salmon takes the bait. At other times, the rod will “pop up” & the line will go slack as the salmon swims with the bait towards the surface & you will have to reel like mad before you catch up to the fish, get some tension back on the line & set the hook.
One of the most amazing fishing experiences you can have at our lodge is when you get into a good coho/silver salmon bite right on the surface. You can just turn your motor off & drift with the tide & current. The fish just hammer the bait, gets hooked & the line starts screaming out of the reel. The action can be so intense when the bite is ON that you can barely even keep a line in the water! This happens a lot in Rivers Inlet each summer and is why we are considered one of the best salmon fishing destinations in the world & keeps many of our guests coming back each year for the past 35 summers.