Winter Harbor lodge charter fishing

[wbaj]

So we are in the early stages of planning a 2018 trip to Winter Harbor Lodge charter fishing. Just wondering if anyone can provide some info on this fishing charter service. Do you feel you received good value for the money you paid? How are the boats/guides?
Looking for a late July or early Aug trip. Hope to get a Halibut or two as well.
Thanks for any help anyone canprovide.
Cheers

[schleprock]

While I can't give you any information on the outfit that you're asking about, I can highly recommend the Quatsino Lodge operation. You will be fishing the same waters but you will have a team of guides working together putting you on fish. The lodging, boats, staff, equipment and food are all top notch as well. Whoever you decide to go with, you have made a great choice as this area probably has the best bottom fishing in all of B.C. The salmon fishing can be better than the QCI as well and you can expect red snapper to 25lbs, ling cod in excess of 40lbs and halibut from 5lbs to over 200lbs.

[jeprli]

Earlier in the season is best fishing. Go in July if you can. Winter harbour is a great place for bottom fishing. At times you can limit out within an hour. Chinook salmon are there and you can expect them to be in 20-30lb, with odd bigger fish. Avoid keeping Ling bigger than 25lb, those Olde fish are known to have parasites.

[sjemac]

I have fished Winter Harbour as part of a large group on a DIY basis every summer for the last 8 years. The Winter Harbour Lodge used to be the Outpost until this year when the physical store of the Outpost was sold but apparently not the outfitting part. The new boat was not in evidence anywhere when I was up there last week nor were any of the Outpost's old boats so I imagine they (Winter Harbour Lodge) are getting set up anew for next year.

The problem with Quatsino Lodge is that you are nearly an hour up the inlet from the outside. You spend at least two hours of your day just getting to the fishing and even more if you want to go to good hali and ling grounds. The other big outfitter there, Qualicum Outfitters has tiny boats, high prices and has lost a few fishermen over the years.

Oli's Fishing Charters is relatively new but has been buying up boats and homes in Winter Harbour and looks like they are having great success. I have talked to Oli several times and he knows his stuff and has his finger on the pulse of the fishing. He and Qualicum cordially hate each other -- probably because he catches more fish on bigger boats and for $1000 less than Qualicum.

July is not the best time. Mid-August is because that is when the big schools of Coho come down so on top of great ground fishing and spring fishing you get to top out your salmon limit with a steady diet of cohos that are approaching the 15 lb range.

Last week the ground fishing was tough all over due to an earthquake that for some reason took the bite right out of the fish. On the Saturday guys were tubbing out on ling and hali, the earthquake hit Sunday, and it was hard to buy a bite the rest of the week. Those that were caught though were larger and we picked up a 70lb hali and a couple of 40 lb ling as part of our catch. The big ling are just fine -- no more worms than the halibut have (they all have a few). Save the cheeks of the big hali and ling. They cook up like giant scallops.

Oh and be warned. The road into Winter is not for the faint of heart. Blind curves, giant logging trucks, bad signage and a road bed that looks like it was shelled by the Kaiser make for an interesting journey in. You'll need a front end alignment by the time you get back out.

[Mark]

I've fished Winter Harbour once and will never go back again. While the guide and lodge staff were great, there boats are in my opinion, not safe for offshore water. They are using covered aluminum 17 and 18 ft boats and are not they the wide berth type. (If you go on the website you can see their boats.) They narrow and are extreme top heavy and can sway to unsafe levels in rough seas. The guide even told us not to have more than one person at the side of the boat since it could swamp or tip. I've fished the west coast for 15 years and never really felt unsafe till then.
Great Fishing, Great staff, but I wouldn't trust the boats.
Sad fact. About 6 years ago they did have one boat go down in rough seas. All people aboard were lost.

[wildman]

worst part is the location. open ocean. weather is literally a killer there.
straight east of there is Port Hardy. world class fishing and many good charters available. we use Serengeti and they boast zero non-fishable days due to weather. always somewhere to fish!!

[jeprli]

Not true, yes you do get some rain just like anywhere on northern island. It is a forestry road, drive the speed limit and you should be fine with any vehicle. Forestry trucks run 6am-6pm Monday to Friday. Even if you do run into one of these trucks drivers are super nice, just give them right of way as they can only gear down.

[sjemac]

I've fished Winter Harbour once and will never go back again. While the guide and lodge staff were great, there boats are in my opinion, not safe for offshore water. They are using covered aluminum 17 and 18 ft boats and are not they the wide berth type. (If you go on the website you can see their boats.) They narrow and are extreme top heavy and can sway to unsafe levels in rough seas. The guide even told us not to have more than one person at the side of the boat since it could swamp or tip. I've fished the west coast for 15 years and never really felt unsafe till then.
Great Fishing, Great staff, but I wouldn't trust the boats.
Sad fact. About 6 years ago they did have one boat go down in rough seas. All people aboard were lost.

That was Qualicum and the Outpost. The Outpost boats are gone now though the Qualicum rubber duckies are still there. Oli's Fishing Charters boats are all larger fibreglass models over 25 feet as are the Quatsino Lodge boats.

[Mark]

You're right, the boats that I was describing were at Qualicum Rivers Winter Harbour Resort.
We also fished at Quatsino Lodge and it was excellent, both the staff, accommodations, boats.

[mightybuck]

I have been to winter harbor lodge about 10 years ago. Fishing was good caught a "41lb" spring and lots of big ling cod. Weather is a big determining factor as it is on the big ocean. We currently go to prince Rupert it is cheaper and better fishing. Just my thoughts.

[jhfong]

I was at qualicum rivers winter harbour lodge this august second week. $8000 plus taxes for three of us. Gratuities $100 per person shared amongst staff. Guide tip $125 per day. 3.5 days fishing. The three of us had a total of 410 lbs of fish (gutted, heads off). Possesion limits on chinook (largest 37 lbs), halibut (largest 60 lbs), ling cod (largest 25 lbs), and red snapper. Caught some small coho, rockfish and one octopus (first ever, tried it a few days later, yut.ubed a recipe, surprisingly tender and good).our guide was Frank. Andy is good to, but harder to book as hes filled up early. We had the heaviest tote for that trip.

We booked the 26 foot boat. I highly recommend it especially for the deep water. Lots of cabin space, room to move all around the outside. Stable in big swells and chop (twin 115 hp mercs).

Arrived monday mid afternoon. Elected to be picked up in coal harbour (pay for parking at the float plane office). Had supper. In the boat at5:30am. 1.5 hour ride to north tip of vancouver island off the cape scott islands. Fished 200 ft water depth for halibut. In the afternoon moved south about 4-5 miles off shore, jigged for ling cod and red snapper at 200 feet. Next day went out offshore, jigged 300bft for ling, snapper, rockfish. Biggest lings at that depth. Had our limits of halibut, ling and snapper. Afternoon moved closer in for coho and chinook. Next day and a half chased chinook mostly inshore by the lighthouse. Usually back by 4pm.

We elected to have our fish stored gutted and on ice in the tote. Friday afternoon it was taken to hardy boys in port hardy for filletting, vac pac and flash frozen. Two of us had ours packed for airtravel, the third took his in a cooler and drove home. Fish processing was extra. Other clients filleted there fish at the lodge and packed it home in coolers.

Cabins were two twins plus twin bunks, washroom and shower. Breakfast was continental. Lunch was sandwiches on the boat. Supper was very good, prime rib, pork ribs, half chicken, lamb shank plus dessert. Fish and chips for lunch the day we left(in at 11am). Boated back to coal harbour. Stayed in port hardy overnight, picked up our fish at 9am saturday.

Licquor store at the marina. Pay phones at the museum. Cell service only if in the boat and close to the lighthouse. Wifi in the lodge if you stand near the kitchen freezers.

[jhfong]

Note weather is an issue. We had 3-4 ft swells plus wind chop. The guide recommended starting gravol two days early if you get motion sick. The group coming in after us had a potential storm to contend with, higher winds 2 meter swells. If it happened, the guide was going to fish closer in.

[jhfong]

Looked up my hardy buoys bill. $1.60/lb to fillet, vacpac and freeze. They divided the order equally between the three of us. For the two of us flying, the packaging into 50lb foam coolers, cardboard exterior, gelpacks came to an extra $60 per box. We each had two boxes. We placed our order at hatdy buoys the friday we drove back from coal harbour. We arrived there before the truck with our totes arrived. Add on the extra baggage fee from the airline. The fish processor workers arrive around 3pm. It takes 8 hours in the flash freezer to get to -20. Left longer it will get down to -40. They have a new blast freezer that can cut the time by 50-60%, dont know how much extra that costs. We picked the fish up 9am saturday, stacked the four boxes and wrapped in another 1" builders foam and duct tape until we left for the airport sunday night. Got it into our freezer in calgary around midnight. Only one fillet had started to thaw.

[wbaj]

Thanks everyone, very valuable info for sure, much appreciated. Looks like we are a go for next year.

[jeprli]

Patch is your best friend, IT WORKS. Gravol is good if you enjoy throwing it up :)