Summer 2019 – End of Season Report

Another fabulous fishing season has sadly come to an end at the Rivers Inlet Sportsman’s Club (RISC), our 36th. So many good times & amazing memories created for our loyal customers old & new. We would like to take this opportunity to thank all of our guests & staff for their continued support & dedication to the “RISC Experience”. Many guests have already booked their 2020 fishing adventure with us & are counting down the days until their return to rugged & remote Rivers Inlet! If you haven’t booked your 2020 trip please contact us today to get the best choice of available dates & pricing.
Call: 1-800-663-2644 Email: info@riversinlet.com.Text: 604-938-3677
A “flurry to the finish” is the best way to describe the latter part of our 2019 season at the Rivers Inlet Sportsman’s Club (RISC), At times, there were so many fish we had to send the extra fish boxes out on additional planes which is a good problem to have! The consistent fishing & amazing weather definitely made for a spectacular summer. Overall, the coho/silver fishing was steady almost all summer & on the last few trips, we had some big fat Northerns hit the docks that were pushing upwards of 20 lbs. However, the real story was the amazing Chinook/King Salmon fishing that lasted right until our closing day at the end of August. On the final few groups alone we had many Chinook in the 15-25 lb. range that pound for pound are the best fighters. We also had back-to-back groups with multiple “tyees”, Chinook salmon over 29 ½ lbs. which was a real treat! The best fishing action was at the known spots literally only minutes from the lodge, Kevin’s Corner, Bull Island & Rough’s Bluff. Overall the most consistent producer of these classic trophy Chinooks was the always-reliable stretch of water between the Wall, the Dome & down to Dowling Point. All you had to do was follow the 100 ft. edge doing 3+ knots with your lure of choice & then wait. Jackson’s Hole, which is the small cove at the North end of the Wall just before the reef, certainly put itself back on the chart this season with many of the biggest fish coming from this tiny patch of fishing real estate. Back in the day when there were many more Lodges in our area & before downriggers changed the game & spread out the fleet, upwards of 50 + boats would be jockeying for position on any given morning at the Wall. I still have an image of me almost scraping my rod tips against the Wall at 25 pulls waiting amidst a haze of 2 stroke motor smoke to be able to take my turn doing a pass in Jackson’s Hole. The really big fish consistently hold-up there hiding from the tide & current behind the point, the reef & in the kelp beds waiting for the easy prey of the baitfish to float by. The name came from Jackson who was the Fishmaster at one of the now defunct lodges. The legend is that he literally never EVER fished anywhere else in Rivers Inlet except this 50 X 50 ft patch of water, arguably the most productive piece of trophy salmon fishing real estate in the world & the reason we built our floating fishing Lodge only minutes away. He would diligently make circles clockwise or counter clockwise depending on which way the tide was pushing waiting for the bite to come on. And when it did, he was often handsomely rewarded with a giant trophy Rivers Inlet Chinook so hence his name still stands & the legend lives on. Contact us to book your dream trophy salmon fishing vacation for summer 2020 today! Tight Lines, Simon.
Call: 800-663-2644 Text: 604-938-3677 Email: info@riversinet.com

Fall Hatchery Report – Brood Stock Capture Happening Now!

“Fish for the Future” is what the privately funded/operated Pearcy Walkus Rivers Inlet Fish Hatchery is all about. The egg-take from the brood stock started in earnest last week with almost 100,000 eggs already harvested & ready to go in the hatchery which is fantastic news! This typically happens in mid to late September when the runs of Chinook/King salmon are “stacked up like cord-wood” in the Chuckwalla & Kilbella Rivers at the head of Rivers Inlet. This is the best/easiest time to collect the eggs & milk from our world famous trophy Chinook salmon just as they are about to spawn in our rivers. We have had a long & interesting history of salmon enhancement in Rivers Inlet. It was 35+ years ago we decided that we needed to take things into our own hands & enhance the salmon runs in our watershed using our own initiative. At that time, we formed an association of lodges on the Central B.C. coast with the sole purpose of starting a private hatchery program. This was a very unique concept amongst would-be “competitors”. And so the Rivers Inlet North Coast Salmon Enhancement Association (RINCSEA) was formed. We worked in conjunction with the Department of Fisheries & Oceans (DFO) & First Nations to enhance the Chinook/King stocks in our rivers. The first stage in this process involves the collection of the eggs & milk by fishing for the brood stock of salmon in our rivers. Back in the day we used to do this by rod & reel but now the team uses small custom-modified gill nets which are way more effective! Due to a variety of circumstances, the hatchery in Rivers Inlet closed in the mid-90’s. With no proper hatchery facility to rear the fry in Rivers Inlet, we would fly them in tanks in floatplanes to an existing DFO facility near Bella Coola just north of us. After 30 + years of enhancing runs of Chinook & coho/silver salmon & some great success (& a few trials & tribulations) a new regime was formed between the DFO, RINCSEA & other local lodges as well as First Nations. The goal was to get a new hatchery facility built in Rivers Inlet. This happened in 2016 with the completion of the $1 million dollar Pearcy Walkus Hatchery. Again in 2019 our lodge association RINCSEA is giving another donation to the Rivers Inlet hatchery program. We are excited to be part of this endeavor & look forward to helping sustain salmon stocks for future generations to enjoy. If you would like to donate to this worthy cause please contact us today & be a part of “Fish for the Future”!

Guest Testimonial

FANTASTIC FISHING !!
Wow! What a great spot! My Dad, brother & I fished are hearts out. Lots of fish here & all was great, not one hitch from our flight from Vancouver to the great greeting on arrival from the staff. Simon & Stephanie really pay close attention to every detail of this operation. Great boats, fishing equipment, meals are very good, accommodation clean, & the staff are very nice, always smiling & ready to help you anytime. This was the first time I have been salmon fishing & I caught lots of fish. The min-information seminars that Simon gives on arrival & everyday are very informative for a rookie like me & really helped to understand how to fish these waters. What can I say, it was a great 4 days & I will be going back with my son for sure!
July 2019/Magnum PI/Trip Advisor

Summer 2019 – The VHF Radio – Our Most Useful Tool

“Blondie, Blondie here … looking for a fishing report from any guides & guests, good or bad. How many fish in the bucket? How many bites? What location, depth & lure of choice are you using? … Over”! This was a familiar call many times a day throughout the summer on VHF Channel 68. There are many tools at our disposal in our well equipped, custom-built 17 foot boats that make them the perfect vessel for our type of fishing. These include our fast, quiet, reliable & smoke-free 40 HP 4-stroke Yamaha motors. Our state-of the–art GPS/Sounders. The downriggers & countless terminal tackle options that allow you to fish a variety of depths, with different lures & baits at multiple locations to get to where the fish are hitting & stay on the bite all day. However, this summer, more than ever we utilized the VHF radio to communicate between the boats to help find where the fish were biting best. As soon as any guests or guide appeared to be on “the bite”, they would let the others in the fleet know on RISC Channel 68. They would get on the radio & broadcast their location, depth & lure/bait of choice. Often those at other fishing spots not getting as many bites would immediately move to where the better action was, to great success. The fleet has never been more in touch & mobile & as a result our catch counts went way up!

Baked Pineapple Salmon

This Baked Pineapple Salmon Recipe Is Easy And So Flavourful.
Colourful food just tastes better, doesn’t it?

Ingredients
-Cooking spray, for pan
-17 pineapple rings, fresh or canned
-1 large salmon fillet (about 3 lbs.)
-Kosher salt
-Freshly ground black pepper
-3 tbsp. melted butter
-3 tbsp. sweet chili sauce
-2 tbsp. freshly chopped cilantro
-3 cloves garlic, minced
-2 tsp. freshly grated ginger
-2 tsp. toasted sesame oil
-1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper flakes
-Toasted sesame seeds, for garnish
-Thinly sliced green onions, for garnish
-Lime wedges, for serving

Directions
-Preheat oven to 350°.
-Line a large rimmed baking sheet with foil and grease with cooking spray.
-In the center of the foil, lay pineapple slices in an even layer.
-Season both sides of the salmon with salt and pepper and place on top of pineapple slices.
-In a small bowl, whisk together butter, chili sauce, cilantro, garlic, ginger, sesame oil, and red pepper flakes. Brush all over salmon fillet.
-Bake until the salmon is cooked through, about 25 minutes.
-Switch the oven to broil, and broil for 2 minutes, or until fish is slightly golden.
-Garnish with sesame seeds and green onions and serve with lime wedges.

Giving the salmon a quick broil at the end of cooking gives the marinade a chance to caramelize—it’s too good. Just make sure to keep a close eye on it, so you don’t overcook the salmon! Two to three minutes is all you need under a hot broiler.