Fishing



Discover Fishing at Duncanby 

Rivers Inlet is home to one of the most diverse recreational fisheries in the world. Our season begins in early June and runs through to the beginning of September. Our fishing grounds are right outside our door. No long runs to prime salmon and halibut fishing at Duncanby. We fish using a variety of techniques such as Mooching, Trolling, Jigging and Spin Casting. And the bonus? It’s all just minutes from the dock!

June and early July is the peak run of Chinook (Kings). Not only does Rivers Inlet have a run of world class Tyee’s during this time but it is also the highest number of migratory Chinook. As the season progresses the average size grows until the first few weeks of August when they are in the 40 – 80lb range.

Coho (Silvers) are our action fish. The “blue back” Coho run from late June to early August and the Northern Coho from early July into September and increase in size throughout the season.

We also see terrific returns of Pink and Chum salmon around mid July and increase in numbers and size through to early September. Halibut, Lingcod, Rockfish, etc are readily available all season.

Duncanby provides all of the necessary gear but if you have a trusty old rod or a favorite reel, feel free to bring it along.

Guests can choose to fish with a Guide for all or a portion of the trip or be self-guided. Regardless of which option you choose our professional Guides and dock staff are ready to help you maximize your time on the water.

Guide Services

Our Guides and fleet of 23-26 foot Grady Whites are at your service for whatever you would like to do with your day on the water. Full Guide days are based on a 12 hour day and a ½ day is available on your day of arrival only. Take advantage of the Guides tips and tricks, extensive knowledge of the area and comfort of the boats. For the full River’s Inlet experience you can also use your time for whale watching, bear watching or bird watching. Your Guide will provide you with an experience of a lifetime!

Boat
Boat1
Boat2
boat3
Boat5
23’ Grady White

$555

per half day


  • (day of arrival only)

23’ Grady White

$900

per full day




Gulfstream’s & 26' Grady White

$700

per half day


  • (day of arrival only)

Gulfstream’s and 26’ Grady White

$1125

per full day




Prices are in Canadian dollars plus applicable taxes. Price is per boat, not per person

Techniques

Mooching

Mooching is the traditional way to fish in Rivers Inlet. The method is quite simple, use the mitre box provided to cut the perfect angle on your herring and affix the tandem hook set up to achieve a slow tight roll. This is part of the Fishing Instruction that you will receive on the dock. We use free weights ranging from 2-8 oz, cut plug can also be trolled off the down-rigger to achieve greater depths. We use 10’6" heavy – medium Shimano rods and Diawa M1 or Shimano GT2000 mooching reels that hold well over 300 yards of 25-30 lbs test monofilament.

Trolling

Trolling is a great way to target all salmon species. The main advantage is the increased speed in which you troll, you cover more ground to find fish. We use all varieties of gear: spoons, plugs, apex, hoochies, flashers and even teaser heads for anchovies and herring. The gear is trolled off our Scotty downriggers at depths of 20 – 120 feet. We use the same mooching rod and reel combos for trolling and have a variety of gear stocked on our boats.

Jigging

This is the ancient art of bottom bouncing where you send your jig to the bottom and bounce it up and down. When you get a bite you set the hook and start reeling! The GPS has been pre-marked with our favorite Halibut fishing grounds. We stock Gibbs Minnow Jigs for rockfish, Gibbs Floor Walker Jigs for Lingcod and a variety of large Halibut Jigs such as the Muddraker. For Rockfish and Lingcod we use spin casts and mooching rods. Our Halibut rods are equipped with level wind reels that are loaded with 80 – 100 lb test.

Spin Casting

We use spin casts for mostly Rockfish and cod. Rockfish average 3-7 lbs and Lingcod 5-30 lbs. These fish are caught on just about anything: spoons, spinners, jigs and bait just to name a few. Some of the Guides favorite tackle to use are Number 4 and 5 Blue Fox Spinners in silver, blue and chartreuse. Weighted spoons such as the Gibbs Croc and Kitimat Killer have also been successful in blue, chartreuse, purple and silver.

boat
Boats

Duncanby is equipped with a new fleet of 18.5’ Bridgeview center consoles with 90 hp Mercury motors and aluminum roofs. They are a very comfortable ride and are outfitted with safety equipment, Garmin GPS, depth sounder, VHF radio, Scotty electric downriggers, rods, tackle box and everything else you need for a successful day on the water.

At the end of each day our dock staff will be there to assist you in parking and off loading your catch. Your boat will be meticulously detailed, pressure washed and restocked for the next day. Should you require any additional gear or instruction our dock staff will be happy to help to ensure you feel comfortable and prepared.



packaging
Packaging & Limits

Our dock staff are trained extensively on the proper handling of your catch. Your fish are cleaned on a stainless steel table with continuous running water. Then, depending on your preference, the fish are filleted or left whole. Once the fish are processed and tagged with your name, they are vacuum packed for commercial grade vacuum sealing and immediately flash frozen.

On the day of your departure your catch is boxed, weighed and sent home with you. The process we have put in place ensures that your fish is well persevered and you will enjoy eating them as much as you did catching them!

If you prefer to have some or all of your catch smoked, canned or candied etc. we recommend St. Jean’s Cannery & Smokehouse and will arrange to have your catch delivered to them for processing.

2020 Fishing Limits

  1. Salmon:  Four (4) per day and a total possession of eight (8) of which no more than two (2) per day or four (4) per trip can be Chinook
  2. Halibut: Total possession limit is either one (1) halibut measuring 90 cm – 126 cm head-on length or two (2) measuring under 90 cm head-on length.
  3. Ling Cod:  Two (2) per day and total possession of four (4)

  4. Rockfish: Three (3) per day, only one (1) of which may be a Quillback rockfish, a Tiger rockfish, or a China rockfish, total possession of six (6). There is zero retention for Yelloweye & Bocaccio rockfish.
Catch & Release Program

What is the point of catch and release angling? It provides a memorable experience like no other for the angler but more importantly it ensures the survival of the species. Carefully released Chinook salmon live and go on to spawn, increasing prospects of larger returns for future generations. At Duncanby, we strongly encourage the release of Tyee Chinook Salmon and reward the angler with a custom Peetz Reel, the “Tyee Mother”. The only thing better than catching a world class fish is ensuring that those trophy genes survive and reproduce.

App & Licence

Fishing App

British Columbia's tidal (saltwater) sport fishing app, created by the Sport Fishing Institute of BC in partnership with Fisheries and Oceans Canada and supported by the Pacific Salmon Foundation.

Fishing Licence

All anglers must have a licence to fish tidal (salt) waters in BC. You must purchase and print your fishing licence prior to
arriving at Duncanby. 

Duncanby Lodge
Information

Mailing address
9076 Rivers Rd
Delta, BC V4G 1B5
admin@duncanby.com
Booking: 1 877 846 6548

Follow Us
Weather Links
Useful Links

© Copyright 2020-2021 Duncanby Lodge - All Rights Reserved