Salmon Fishing
Port Renfrew is home to some of BC’s best salmon fishing waters. WCWR can help you catch the meatiest and healthiest salmon in BC.
We fish four different species of salmon at Wild Coast Wilderness Resort: Chinook (also called “Spring” or “King” salmon,) Coho (also called “Silver” salmon,) Sockeye and Pink. The Swiftsure Bank is world renowned as it’s a heavily visited feeding ground for salmon heading to spawn in their local river systems. The prolific schools of baitfish that congregate in the area attract the hungriest trophy salmon around, thus offering prime fishing conditions.
WCWR is located on Vancouver Island in Port Renfrew, BC- very close to The Swiftsure Bank. With all these trophy salmon swimming past our front door enroute to their spawning streams, nothing beats the sport salmon fishing at Wild Coast Wilderness Resort.
We target mature salmon who are taking on large stores of protein as they prepare for the big river run that they are about to make. When the bite comes on, watch out! You’re in for an epic battle with long reel screaming runs, turning and coming straight at you, jumping and shaking as it fights to unhook itself – sometimes successfully. (At least you’ll have a story of “the big one that got away.”)
Chinook (King)
The largest of the salmon species, Chinooks are silver and bright with black spots on it’s tail fin and black gums. They are hard-hitting lively fighters. Prized for its silken, melting texture, that can almost be compared to smoked salmon, Chinook are the highest in fat and are usually the most expensive at the grocery store or fish market.
In Port Renfrew, we are lucky to be surrounded by our own local runs with both the Nitinat and San Juan Rivers bringing large chinook close enough to our shores that we can fish for these “Kings” from shore throughout the entire BC salmon fishing season.
Coho (Silver)
Coho salmon are active feeding fish and are prized by sport fishermen for their aggressive, hard-fighting action when you’ve got them on the line! Coho Salmon do not have black spots on their tail and they have white gums.
Coho have a mild but distinctive flavour and are the most widely available species of salmon in the grocery store.
Sockeye (Red)
Many salmon lovers consider Sockeye to be the best salmon-eating experience. With a deep, natural colour, Sockeye is lower in fat than most salmon species, but is still high overall, allowing the delicious flavour to better come through in the tender red flesh of the salmon.
Pink
Distinguished by the large hump on their backs, Pink salmon is another species that’s widely available at your local grocer. The pale and delicate flesh of the fish is a favourite for many.
Adventure Awaits
We usually do the netting just so you don’t end up hating your best friend over a missed fish, but that’s negotiable also. It’s fun, it takes skill and we catch a lot of beautiful salmon (that you can take home with you.) There are very few things that equal the heart-in-throat excitement of a big slab battling you with all his strength, tricks, endurance and stamina. The fear and the anticipation you experience throughout this fight will be adrenaline pumping.