Trip Report – Salmon Fishing on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada

Location – Campbell River, BC and Kyuquot, BC – both on Vancouver Island

Dates – August 18 to 24, 2009

Fish Sought – Salmon (all types), Halibut, and Cod

Fish Caught – Salmon (Coho, Pink, Chinook, Sockeye), Ling Cod, Halibut, Yellow Eye Rock Cod, Long Jaw or Boccaccio Rock Cod, Canary Rockfish

Wildlife Seen – Steller’s Sea Lions, Sea Otters, and Mink, many birds but the highlight was a blue-footed Albatross and Tufted Puffins

Wildlife not seen – whales, orcas and black bears

Hosts – Absolute Fishing in Campbell River and Murphy Sportfishing in Kyuquot

Background for the Trip
This was a relatively unplanned trip. My son likes to fish and I like to catch so we picked a fish and a place we have never tried. I researched a little on the internet and via friends and found the outfits I chose. One criterion was that I wanted to go where the fish truly are. In hunting (as I learned on the AR forums), the most important ingredient is to be where the game is. It does not matter the lodge or guide if no game is around. This place was billed as the “Salmon Capitol of the World”, so we went there. The other “driver” was that my wife likes salmon and is happy if we bring fresh salmon home.

August 18 – The usual travel headaches. Fly to Dallas then to Vancouver. Rent a car, catch the ferry to Vancouver Island and drive to Campbell River on the east side of the island. This took about twelve hours and was painless. We contacted our day guide and found a place to eat. Disappointed with no seafood available at ‘Riptide Marine Pub’. Food was less than we expected, something that we found consistently on this trip.

August 19 – Met our guide, Laurel Gareau, at the dock at 10:30am (ahead of the tide) and went up the Campbell River to try our luck. He has worked the area for many years and had good equipment and a solid boat. We fished several spots for Chinook salmon but caught mainly Pink salmon. The locals do not like the Pink’s as they apparently are not as good to eat. They are usually small (2 to 4 pounds) and they count the same on your limit as a bigger Chinook or hatchery Coho. A hatchery Coho is a salmon that was raised in a hatchery and has its adipose fin removed. The wild Coho salmon are protected right now due to a drop in numbers. This was the way to take fishing pressure off the wild stock.

Laurel showed us how to set the hook while fishing with a down-rigger in deep water. Also new to us was using a type of fly rod with a level wind fly reel. I am not sure why they prefer this, but it worked. The rod has great flex needed to handle the down-rigger and was sensitive enough to indicate a strike. We caught a number of Pink’s, a Sockeye and a couple of Chinooks. The twelve pound Sockeye was a big deal as commercial fishing is closed on them and it was good to see one in the river. There were a lot of other boats on the river as the Pink salmon run was getting underway. We drifted while trolling and seeing the sights. Spotted a couple of bald eagles and enjoyed the mountains.

We learned that this area is a scuba diving mecca with incredibly clear but very cold water. There were several scuba shops in town and the locals were “into” this in a big way. Kelp plays a big role in this. I had seen kelp discussed on National Geographic TV shows but did not grasp how big this plant can get. It is long, tough and difficult to navigate through due to the leafiness of this stuff. It is the key element in these salt water systems in terms of providing food and shelter for many marine creatures.

August 20 – Up and drove to Fair Harbour on the west side of Vancouver Island, about 225 kms from Campbell River. The last 75 kms were on a logging road that beat up my rented compact Kia “Rio”. The scenery was gorgeous, much like the Rocky Mountain west we were accustomed to. We were met at the dock at Fair Harbour by our guides. Fair Harbour is the closest place to Kyuquot. The rest of the travel was by boat.

Kyuquot (pronounced “Ki – you – cut” with accent on ‘you’) is an old First Nations (another term for native dweller) fishing settlement. The village has been settled for over one thousand years by the First Nations folks. It is located in a protected harbor on the northwest coast of Vancouver Island. It is right on the “salmon super highway” for migrating fish moving down the Pacific coast. They target large Chinook salmon with some hatchery Coho’s thrown in. They offer bottom fishing for ling cod and halibut.


We met Marilyn Murphy, one of the owners, stowed our gear and went fishing. Fishing in the ocean was a new experience to my son and me. The movement of the boat and water depth gave us problems at first but we adjusted. We caught several Pink’s and a couple of Chinooks fairly quick before heading in for dinner. Our gear was top notch and fairly interesting. Mostly, we used down-riggers with a fifteen pound lead ball as weight that led our flasher/attractor and the “hootchie” or rubber squid. We sometimes used a bass plug looking lure that wobbled like a wounded bait fish. All hooks were barbless and there were no treble hooks. This was to minimize injury to fish that would be released.

August 21 and 22 – Up early and out to fish wherever the action was hot the day before. The weather was all over the place from windy with 10’ seas to calm and sunny – all in the course of a couple of hours. Lots of squalls and “up and down” in the boat. We would head to an offshore structure and troll around until we found the depth of the fish and the type. If we hit Pink’s, we moved. If we hit Chinook, we stayed. The action was hot and cold with a lot of action in short period of time, then slack time. This was much like striped bass fishing at home. We tried a couple of different places that were fun.

When the salmon went slack, we switched to bottom fishing. This was mainly using a 12 oz. lead jig in 300 feet of water. We located the structure, stopped the boat and dropped the jig to depth and, well, jigged. It was not long before we hooked up on a “log”. Basically, the ling cod or halibut lay on or near the bottom to ambush whatever comes along. Our jigs were hit and we had a struggle to drag the fish up from 300 feet. We caught several of each and had fun. The cod were easily the ugliest fish I have ever seen. The guides called them “mother-in-law” fish due to the horrific ugliness. We caught several halibut or “hallies” up to 30 pounds. We even tagged up with a yellow eye rock cod and a long jaw or Boccaccio rock cod. Both were dead when they were hauled up. They were pretty but not much good for eating. I hated to waste these fish as a by-product of the halibut/cod fishing. Honestly, this was fun for a couple of fish but it was basically “worm dunking” and not much sport. We did it, caught a few, and then went off for salmon.

These are the lures used for bottom fishing - just jig them for a hit.







On the 22nd, we had some slack time on Chinooks and went to a catch and release area for whatever was there. This was called Spring Island and was close to shore in about 50 feet of water. We loaded up on Coho’s with a couple e of Chinooks as well. This was the most fun we had on the trip. The action was fast and the Coho’s put up a great fight. We hooked one wild Coho that we estimated at 20 pounds. That kind of fishing was great and just what we wanted to do.

We did a little site seeing as well stopping at a Steller’s Seal colony and a couple of bird “islands” that were rookeries for breeding birds. We saw Tufted Puffins, an albatross and a host of unusual-to-us seabirds.

August 23 – Up early for a four hours of trolling (caught several Pink’s and one 16 pound Chinook), then back to the dock for a long run home.

Overall we caught about a hundred fish even though we did not keep a head count. The bulk of the salmon were Pink’s, the best fighters were the Coho’s and the biggest salmon were the Chinook. The bottom fish were fun but tiresome to deal with.




Local boys "hunting" otters with a slingshot.


Good “Finds”-
Murphy Sportfishing
– This was the outfit we fished with at Kyuquot. It is owned by a brother and sister team – David and Marilyn Murphy. They are very experienced, know the area, have quality equipment and are very organized. They kept me updated with all types of info as the plans progressed. Marilyn was at the camp and did a great job of organizing things and seeing that everyone was well hosted. The only downside comments I could make concern the cook and the food. He was a bit sour and not much of a cook. He produced quantity, but the quality was average to poor. Also, there was no seafood offered. I was surprised at that. The accommodations were rustic but “ok”. We had separated bedrooms but had common showers and toilets. I do not have a lot of experience with remote fishing camps, so I have nothing to compare this to. Overall, it was fine, just a bit cramped. The boats and equipment was first class. The guides were experienced. We fished with a different guide each day. All put us on fish. Some were more personable than others, but know what they are doing. These people are great to deal with and I would recommend them to someone looking for an ocean salmon/bottom fish type of fishing trip. Contact them at www.murphysportfishing.com

Scenery – Wow! I was impressed with how pretty Vancouver Island is along with the rivers and sea islands. The wildlife is impressive and enjoyed adding a slew of birds to my life list as well as seeing sea otters and sea lions. We saw an albatross that was impressive.

Kelp and small sea life – The water is crystal clear in both of these areas. I could see starfish, jellyfish and a host of sea anemones and other “hangers on” attached to boat docks and rocks. The kelp was amazing also. This stuff is tough; it grows fast and is the support for the most of the life out there. I had never seen kelp before.

Sea Otters and Sea LionsHigh Tide Seafood’s – I have never seen these animals before other than on TV. The sea otters were everywhere and were just like what you would expect – cruising around swimming on their backs eating clams and crabs. The Steller’s Sea Lions were impressive – much larger than I expected. They were loafing on the rocks until we disturbed them. Both are very cool.

High Tide Seafoods - – Sandy Finch – She worked her tail off to get our fish packed, frozen and ready to fly on short notice. Great operation! hightideseafoods@telus.net or 250 850 1086

Tyee Marine Tackle Shop – This is an “old school” tackle shop that is over-stuffed with tackle, clothing and hunting gear. The owner is a guy that knows salmon and the area upside down and sideways. They are friendly and connected with where the fish are and what you need to get them. Contact them at tyeemarine.com or 250 287 2641

River Sportsman Outdoor Store – Old time sporting goods store right on the Campbell River. Not as “flush” with great stuff as Tyee Marine, but a busy place with good stuff. Contact at www.riversportsman.com and 250 286 1017. I got connected with Absolute Sportfishing (see next) via these guys.

Absolute Sportfishing – Laurel Gareau – he is a local, day fishing guide that is on the water are much as on land. He has worked in the Campbell River area for 14 years. Solid fisherman with a safe boat and uses quality equipment. He is a local guy and a bit laid back, but knows fishing in this area. Contact at www.absolutesportfishing.com or 250 287 3310 or 250 203 1162

Coastal Discovery Inn (hotel) – caters to fisherman and is quaint, on the river and a good place to stay. You can walk anywhere from here in Campbell River. Contact at 250 287 7155 or on the internet

BC Ferry System – I have not been on ferries in a long time. This is the main transport from island to island in British Columbia. These are basically cruise ships with shopping, food and nice lounges. If you drive to Vancouver Island, you will want to use these guys. Here is the website – www.bcferries.com

Canadian Highway System – Best paved roads I have been on in awhile. Best signage I have seen traveling outside the US or Europe. Frankly, the roads and signage was better than what I see in Oklahoma. Drive if you can, it is easy and safe.

Enterprise Rental Cars – I always use Enterprise and they were as good in Vancouver as anywhere. Cheaper too!

Vancouver – what a great city and stunningly beautiful! Wow! It was Salt Lake City with water. I would like to spend more time there next trip.

Campbell River, BC – Nice, quaint port town. Everything is close by. It is clean and easy to navigate. The only downside was the lack of quality restaurants. I hunted high and low for good seafood and could not find it. We ended up at one pretty good place (Moxies), but overall, the food was underwhelming. The town is great, however.

Buying Fishing Licenses online – what an easy deal. Maybe this is everywhere, but I did it here for the first time. Saves time. Here is the link - www.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fm-gp/re...permis/index-eng.htm


Slight Disappointments

Food – Campbell River restaurants were not so hot. What passed for a steak house (San Marcos Steakhouse) was about equal to a Sizzlin’ Sirloin in West Texas. Service in general was average to poor and the food was average to below average. We found the same thing at the fishing camp. We had a lot of trouble finding fresh seafood. One waiter told us not to order the seafood as it was not fresh. The salmon run was on and the halibut were jumping in the boat, yet seafood was not readily findable.

Meat Fisherman – This was our first trip to a remote place to fish. The other guests were Canadians from Alberta. I was not sure what to make of the multiple 150 quart coolers each group brought to take home their fish. I understand that salmon are great eating. I took home thirty pounds or so. These guys took all they could stuff in the coolers. The cod and halibut were plentiful and it appears that the resource could stand the off take, but the mentality of getting “our fish” was a bit much for me. The cost of the trip was high, but to see this as an “I got to get my moneys worth of fish in the cooler” was a bit hard to understand. We threw back nearly every fish we could and fished a couple of catch and release “only” areas that the other guys would not fish. I am not sure what to make of this but these guys wanting to turn the fishing into a competition for “body and mass” taken. We did not participate.


Fishing Techniques – I had no pre-conceived ideas of what to expect as this was a first time trip to a place like this and for fish like these. I found that trolling in deep water for salmon is a lot of work, especially when you get one on. I did not like fishing in 200’ of water as it took awhile to crank gear up and reset. Same for bottom fishing for halibut and ling cod. These are “anchors” not fish. When you hook one, they try to stay deep but you just crank them up. When they get up, some fight, others are dead from the depth change. I am not used to this type of fishing and found it “average” in terms of challenging. We enjoyed fishing shallow for Coho’s on one day of the trip. We caught about twenty Coho’s in the 6 to 12 pound range. This was our best day and most enjoyable. I doubt I go after ocean salmon again. Trolling is boring and bottom fishing is a test of strength, not skill.

Last Word
The bottom-line is – would I go again with these folks? Yes and no. I like Murphy Sportfishing and the way they run their business, but I doubt I will get in a small boat on a big ocean and troll for fish again. I found it boring and not that much fun. This is a great place to fish if you like this type of fishing, but trolling and wrenching fish up from 250’ is not my kind of fishing. I am glad I went and the money was well spent – but I will be off somewhere else for my next fishing experience.

Good report. I'd like to try that myself sometime. I fish for great lakes salmon regularly though and like trolling. Not too sure about bottom fishing.

Thanks for the great report.

You have very succinctly summed up in one post why I so very much love to catch the silvers and trout from the Situk River. One steam caught salmon is worth six caught trolling, at least to me.




This is that of which I speak!

Great report.

This is one trip I have always wanted to do...
Maybe one day....