April 2006


Beyond Arizona

Rivers Inlet, British Columbia Has Giant Salmon

Editor’s Note: One of the pleasures of attending boat and RV shows and sportsmen’s expos is meeting those from all over North America who share the love of fishing — both fresh and salt water.

At the recent International Sportsmen’s Expo at Arizona State Fairgrounds, there were representatives from several Canadian provinces, from the Pacific Northwest, including Alaska, Costa Rica, California, New Mexico, Montana, Utah, and several points in Mexico.

Future issues of Arizona Boating & Watersports will feature some of these destination pieces, beginning with Rivers Inlet in British Columbia, Canada.

Few things in the Pacific Northwest compare to catching a monster Chinook salmon. A really big Chinook has the strength to tow small boats backwards or sideways.

Not even monster halibut provide the number of silent wishes, soft-pillowed dreams or screams of joyous lust that Chinook salmon can evoke of ordinary men and women.

In British Columbia, they call these giant Chinook salmon "Tyee." The measure of using the term is the fish pulling the scale to 30 or more pounds.

They are special all right, but when they reach that magical half a hundred mark, the Chinook becomes something of dreams, desire, and a heaping of good luck. But, anglers who choose to fish Rivers Inlet don’t need as much luck as most salmon-fishing locales because the salmon here are more a possibility than just a dream.

Even 60 and 70-plus pounders are well within reason.

The exhilaration of slow trolling for Chinook at Rivers Inlet, atop super-flat calm waters, from daybreak until lunchtime is something all salmon anglers should experience.

Anglers who have been to this resort know the next bite on their lines could be the biggest salmon of a lifetime. Bernie Porad, Mercer Island, Wash., landed the biggest fish ever taken in B.C. — a 71-pounder, and he caught it within 200 yards of the doorstep of the resort.

Rivers Inlet Resort is located on the central coast of B.C. at the head of Rivers Inlet, famous for producing one of the largest strains of Chinook salmon. Guests fly from the N.W. Seaplane base in Renton, Wash. (15 minutes from SeaTac Airport) to reach the lodge.

Once at the resort, anglers are given daily instructions on how and where to catch trophy Chinook. While some anglers choose to relax during their trip, fishing just mornings, the hardcore anglers take advantage of the trophy fishing from sunup to sundown.

There are self-guided freedom, fully guided, or partially guided trips and four-day, five-day, and seven-day outings. Rivers Inlet Resort offers excellent service, food and beverages, and all the fishing advice needed to ensure one’s fishing adventure is unforgettable.

For further information, call (425) 226-4600, e-mail info@riversinletresort.com, or visit www.riversinletresort.com.