Early bird gets the worm! Bill and Devin with a beautiful tyee from June this year, weighing in at 34lbs.

Overall, the fishing during our 2022 season was consistent and bountiful throughout the entire summer. Chinook fishing remained steady with plenty of fish in the 20lb range and even a handful of tyees, like the one picture above.

As for coho, the season started off slow at the opening in June but picked up in July to the point the coho couldn’t be kept off the hook no matter what different tactic was attempted. Frustrating at times, but we are lucky to have these types of problems!

This season was particularly successful for bottom fish, notably halibut and lingcod. Our dock saw a few 50lb lings and lots of halibut pushing the size boundaries, but keep in mind that bigger isn’t always better. While they do put up a thrilling fight, don’t be fooled by big-fish envy when you see you see those goliaths caught by someone else, as smaller fish generally have better meat quality and are more manageable for cooking.

Owners Adam and Devin Sweeney had a great time this year spending time with the guides and learning all the ins and outs of fishing Quatsino Sound, as well as meeting and getting to know the clients either at the dock, dinner table, or out on the boat. They are already looking forward to what 2023 will bring and eager to get back out on the water.

“The two best times to fish is when it’s raining and when it ain’t.”

Patrick F. McManus

Thankfully this problem is easily managed with proper rain gear, warm clothes, covered boats, and a good attitude!

The rain finally passed, and we enjoyed the sun and clear skies for the remainder of the season right through September. We always recommend you bring a variety of warm AND cool weather clothes, as you never really know what to expect on the West Coast.

For many lucky folks this year the albacore tuna fishing was a hit, and we were fortunate with frequently calm seas and short travels to the tuna grounds.

The trouble with pursuing these speedy beasts is that it comes down to a weather game, as they are found far offshore and not every day can facilitate this on the West Coast. For bottom-fishing this can be true as well, when those nasty storms take the coast and make it impossible to get out even in our boats, but unlike tuna we can usually find shelter in the inlet where a few whitefish are hiding.

Another contrast from our regular fishing is the nature of how tuna feed. Rather than finding bait in underwater structures or specific current flows, tuna travel far and fast near the surface, chasing schools of bait that do the same.

The unpredictable nature of tuna fishing makes for an exhilarating trip, where the plan is there but not until the night before can the decision be made. Guides huddle around to check weather forecasts and water temperature charts, and the excitement of a good prediction is contagious. Congrats to all that were successful this year, below you’ll find a simple recipe for that beautiful oily fish.

Tuna Poke Bowl – find the recipe here on our website.

We are very excited to announce the construction of 2 new welded aluminum boats that will be added to the fleet for 2023. The hulls for Quatse 1 & 2 are currently being built locally in Campbell River by Backeddy Boats and the rest will be done by our team at the Gowlland Towing Ltd. shop.

These boats are each 27’ long and have a spacious, comfortable cabin. The deck has plenty of space for playing fish and each detail is checked by our crew throughout the building process to make sure they are the most efficient fishing machines on the coast.

Every year in late October, the Marble River Hatchery organizes a brood stock collection on the Marble River to gather mature fish for breeding at the hatchery. Run solely by volunteers, the group rounded up a total of 98 fish this year and will begin the process of hatching and raising new fish to help enhance our local ecosystem. We have our fingers crossed that in 2023 we can again raise Chinook smolts from the hatchery in the pen at the end of our dock.

For more information about the hatchery, check out their website here: http://quatsehatchery.ca/marble-river-hatchery.

How to get in touch with us:

We have a few new numbers and emails to reach us at since last year, so make sure you update your rolodex with the most recent contact info!

Payments:

Our lovely bookkeeper of many years, Diana, has retired so e-transfer payments should now be sent to accounts@quatsinolodge.com. We are happy to have Cara Mann on our team to handle the bookkeeping now, she has big boots to fill but we are sure she can do it.

 You can still reach us by phone at 250-949-7476 or toll-free at 1-866-279-5061. Please note we are no longer using 250-338-7473 for business purposes.

Breanna Goffman, General Manager, can be reached directly at gm@quatsinolodge.com for info on bookings or any other queries.

Bookings for the Cabins at Eagle Manor will be managed through Quatsino Lodge. Breanna is happy to help with these as well.

Note we are also no longer monitoring thequatsinolodge@gmail.com. Please switch to using gm@quatsinolodge.com or tyee@quatsinolodge.com for all Quatsino Lodge and Eagle Manor related inquiries.