Nootka Wilderness Lodge is a well appointed salt and freshwater wilderness fishing lodge located in a remote sound on the west side of Vancouver Island – British Columbia, Canada,  approximately 160 miles northwest of the city of Vancouver. This lodge truly has it all for the angler and adventurer seeking a remote maritime wilderness retreat offering exceptional conventional saltwater fishing for salmon, halibut and rockfish in the protected fjords that surround the island. And when you grow tired of battling ocean-bright salmon and hauling in barn-door sized halibut you can opt for a day of fishing for rainbow trout, Dolly Varden, cutthroat and salmon (when in season) in the many rivers, streams and creeks that make up this amazingly beautiful Pacific Northwest local. And if you have any energy left, there are a plethora of non-fishing activities that will keep you entertained, including beach combing, hiking, whale watching, bear viewing, pulling crab and shrimp pots for your own private feast, surfing, visits to a historic lighthouse located at the entrance of Nootka Sound and discovered by Captain James in March 1778. Or you can just kick back at the lodge and enjoy a beverage on the deck and enjoying the serenity and beauty of the sound as bald eagles soar above, seals play in water and whales surface for a breath of fresh British Columbia air. Nootka is a perfect location for families, friends, or corporate groups to get together and satiate your appetite for catching fish, having fun and experiencing the remote maritime ecosystem – where the sea meets the mountains.

Nootka Sound is truly a Pacific Northwest paradise. Strong and reliable runs of Pacific Salmon from California to Alaska migrate along the coastline of Vancouver Island every month of the year, while the resident runs take over the peaceful waters of Nootka Sound from June through September. Resident rainbow and cutthroat trout along with Dolly Varden populate the plethora of streams and lakes within easy striking distance of the lodge. Halibut, prawns, and Dungeness Crabs can be hauled in on a regular basis.  And there’s even seasonal winter steelhead that run the local rivers and streams.

Wildlife abounds here, including black bears foraging along the beaches, humpback whales frolicking in the calm waters of the sound along with pods of orcas hunting in packs, while bald eagles soar above and diminutive sea otters play in the lee of majestic rocky outcrops.

And just because you are staying in a remote B.C. doesn’t mean you have to give up any creature comforts. The lodge features 12 private and spacious rooms, each with en suite private bathroom, with comfortable beds and linens, and 24 hour electricity. Meals are taken in the dining room and take full advantage of the bounty sea, with fresh seafood on the menu among other traditional dishes – all prepared by a professional chef with fresh local ingredients and lots of care. Enjoy and adult beverage in the upstairs lounge that opens to a deck which offers spectacular panoramic views, or come on down to water level and relax on the floating deck around the firepit and enjoy ocean shrimp pulled from the sound, or fresh cracked Dungeness Crab. Nootka Wilderness Lodge is a modern well maintained and operated wilderness retreat, family owned and operated for decades with a dedicated caring staff, committed to make your trip wonderful and full of lifetime memories. Come see for yourself why The Fly Shop® is so excited about this hidden gem in the emerald green forests of coastal British Columbia.

The Fly Shop Travel Image

Reservations & Rates

Nootka Wilderness Lodge summer fishing packages are based on 3 nights of lodging and 4 full days fishing. Back-to-back trips can be arranged for longer stays.
2022 June and September Pricing
25 - 27 foot Grady White Fishing Vessel Package (twin 200 hp outboards)
· $3,500 per person plus tax - based on two guests per boat / guide
· $3,000 per person plus tax - based on three per boat / guide
· $2,900 per person plus tax - based on four per boat / guide

38’ Boston Whaler Defiance Vessel Fishing Package: (luxury cruiser with twin 460 horsepower diesel engines can fish 4 to 6 with ease, perfect for going out with a group of friends or business client
· $3,500 per person plus tax – based on 4 person minimum

2022 July and August Pricing
25 - 27 foot Grady White Fishing Vessel Package (twin 200 hp outboards)
· $4,225 per person plus tax - based on two guests per boat / guide
· $3,900 per person plus tax - based on three per boat / guide

38’ Boston Whaler Defiance Vessel Fishing Package: (luxury cruiser with twin 460 horsepower diesel engines can fish 4 to 6 with ease, perfect for going out with a group of friends or business client
· $4,225 per person plus tax – based on 4 person minimum

*Kids are $2,500 each plus tax for 12 and under as long as they are on the same boat as 2 adults. If an additional boat/guide is needed, than regular pricing. Normally kids 12 and under just go on the boat with their parents at the discounted rate

** There are 2 taxes: 1) Hotel tax is $36 per person per trip; 2) 5% Canada GST charged on each invoice

Included in your angling package at Nootka Wilderness Lodge:
• Shuttle service to and from the Campbell River and Comox Airports
• A scenic float plane flight from Campbell River to Nootka Wilderness Lodge
• Fully guided fishing out of covered cruiser boats ranging in size from 26’ to 29’ ft (Grady White or equivalent – with full bathrooms)
• Gourmet meals prepared by our personal chef to your specifications
• Beer and wine, along with non-alcoholic beverages and snacks are always available
• Accommodations, each room has a private bath
• Fishing licences and all fishing gear (including rain gear if necessary)

Not included in your angling package at Nootka Wilderness Lodge:
• International Airfare to/from Vancouver
• overnights in Vancouver or Campbell River
• Gratuities
• Taxes

The Fly Shop® is not in the insurance business, but we recommend Travel Guard coverage as a service with a desire to see your best interests protected. It is impossible to know when an unfortunate situation (loss of luggage, fly rods, illness in the family, or an accident) may occur. However, such things can and do happen, and this insurance can provide a means of recourse against non-refundable financial losses.

Travel Insurance Information

The Fly Shop Travel Image

Seasons at Nootka Wilderness Lodge

The core salmon fishing season runs from mid June through early September, though salmon are available in the area year round, especially on the outside. The prime surfing windows are the spring (March/April/May) and late fall (October/November). Fly fishing for trout can be done anytime, and there’s some great steelhead fishing in the late winter/early spring (February/March). Coho are readily available in September, plus resident trout (some rainbows and some cutthroat) as well as sea-run trout (cutthroat and dolly varden) in the summer months.

The Fly Shop Travel Image

Getting to Nootka Wilderness Lodge

The travel to Nootka Wilderness Lodge couldn’t be much easier, especially from West Coast departures. Vancouver (YVR) is an easily accessed airport, with direct flights from most major airline hubs.

Clearing customs and immigration is easy and quick, very efficient; everything is electronic with computer kiosks where you scan your passport, it takes your photo, and you walk right through. There’s a liquor store in the airport if you need to pick something up (though beer and wine is included in the lodge packages so it’s not necessary unless you want something specific).

From Vancouver, guests will have two options to get to the lodge:

1. Fly to Campbell River from Vancouver (not included). From there, you’ll be greeted at the airport, and transferred via NWL vans to the float plane dock to board a chartered Twin Otter on Floats for the short flight into the lodge. The charter flight is included in the trip package.

We recommend all guests to arrive into Campbell River on either the night before their trip to the lodge, or by 10:00 am on the morning of their planned arrival to the lodge. We also recommend that you book your departure flight out of Campbell River no earlier than 4:00 pm on the last day of your fishing trip at Nootka Wilderness Lodge.

For your return flight home, if you are planning on bringing any fish home with you (as opposed to shipping it with FedEx), we recommend booking a “baggage seat” for your box of fish.

Pacific Coastal Airlines provides numerous daily flights. 1-800-663-2872 / https://www.pacificcoastal.com/

Central Mountain Air provides several daily flights between Campbell River and Vancouver. 1-888-865-8585 / https://flycma.com/

If inclement weather won’t allow the planes to fly to the lodge, the vans can still drive (3 hours) from Campbell River to a nearby dock where you will be met by lodge boats for the final few minutes to the lodge.

2. There is the option to upgrade to a direct seaplane flight from either Vancouver or Seattle directly to Nootka Wilderness Lodge.

PLEASE NOTE: This option is super convenient for those willing to pay a bit more. However, there is no backup option in case of poor visibility for the planes. Seaplanes are required to fly by visual flight rules only, and are therefore more susceptible to inclement weather which results in possible delays and sometimes last minute cancellations. Costs vary from $6K - $8K CDN. We can provide you the details of this option upon request.

Overnights: Either way, guests come into the lodge around noon, with lunch waiting for them on arrival. They check into their rooms, then receive an orientation while eating lunch, and head out fishing for a half day that afternoon/evening.

Because of the midday arrival, many guests opt to fly into either Vancouver or Campbell River the night before and overnight. There are some good hotel options in either place.

On the back end of the trip, the plane comes in midday (same plane that drops off incoming guests from Campbell River) for the return trip back to Campbell River (or Vancouver if pre-arranged). There are plenty of connecting afternoon flights back home so most guests can be home that same day.

For those of you who like to overnight in Campbell River before and/or after your fishing trip, NWL can make arrangements for you to stay at a preferred hotel.

Lodging in Campbell River: Coast Discovery Inn (250)-287-7155 Toll free – 1-800-663-1144

For those wishing to overnight in Vancouver, we recommend the Fairmont Vancouver Airport Hotel. The hotel is conveniently located inside the airport and is completely soundproof. The hotel is properly equipped to store boxes of frozen fish during your stay. The Fairmont will offer you a considerable discount when you mention that you are fishing with us at Nootka Wilderness Lodge.

The Fly Shop Travel Image

Lodging at Nootka Wilderness Lodge

Nootka Wilderness Lodge is a comfortable outpost, ideally situated in the calm protected waters of Nootka Sound, surrounded by calm emerald waters and towering mountains covered in Douglas Fir and Western Red Cedar. Marine wildlife abounds: seals cruised by the docks repeatedly during our stay, while bald eagles soared overhead, and pods of Orcas play in front of the lodge at times as well.

The lodge is built entirely on floats, consisting of a series of buildings

connected by wooden docks and walkways. In the front is a large expanse of deck, complete with comfortable chairs and faux fire pits.

One can easily imagine comfortable summer evenings sitting on the deck, fire glowing in the pits, with whales porpoising in the background.

The main lodge building consists of two levels: the lower level includes the kitchen and dining area with wall to wall windows and sliders offering panoramic views of the sound; upstairs is a comfortable lounge, with leather couches, a full bar, even satellite TV, plus two sliding glass doors that open onto a spacious deck overlooking the sound.

The adjacent building to the north of the main lodge houses the guest rooms, another two-story building with 6 rooms downstairs and 6 rooms upstairs, each configured with two beds (some queen, some twin), with en suite baths. The rooms are cozy, with carpeted floors, windows looking out on the water, heat for cool nights, a closet, chair, and nightstand.

The Fly Shop Travel Image

Fishing at Nootka Wilderness Lodge

The fishing program at Nootka Wilderness Lodge is based on hard core conventional tackle fishing for salmon (mostly Chinook salmon, but some Coho in August/September), plus options for bottom fishing for rock bass, lingcod, and halibut. The guides fish hard, often on the water at first light (5:00 am in the summer), and back late in the evenings. They can also do mixed days. When the fishing is hot (which is often the case), they often limit out on salmon very early in the day. This allows ample time for other angling opportunities such as fly fishing for trout, or some of the myriad

other outdoors activities available based out of the lodge.

Depending on the time of year and where they are finding fish, the predominant method of salmon fishing is trolling with downriggers, using flashers and either plastic lures or anchovy baits. Fishing depths vary from 30 feet to 200 ft. However, when the salmon are closer to the surface, they can troll on the surface, mooch, sometimes even fly fish.

They have nearly limitless miles of water to fish for salmon, including both the calmer, protected waters inside the sounds and channels, to the open ocean on the outside. Early in the season, the fish are mostly outside in the open water, but as the summer comes on more and more fish come inside.

There are ample fly fishing opportunities here as well! The primary fly fishing venues are small creeks and medium-sized rivers that drain into the Nootka Sound. These range from 20 minutes to about an hour run time from the lodge. The boats can drop people off to wade the streams, which hold resident cutthroat or rainbow trout, as well as sea run cutthroats, dolly varden, and later in the season coho salmon in some of them.

Fly fish in the ocean can also be an ocean, casting quick-sinking lines and saltwater towards the kelp beds, where anything from salmon to ling cod, rock cod, even halibut can be landed on a fly. And in the summer if the salmon are near the surface and you spot birds indicating bait balls, there is some potential to cast flies to salmon in the salt.

In addition, there are a few scenic lakes they can fly into. Guests can charter (for extra fees) a float plane to fly them directly from the lodge to these remote, beautiful, and seldom-fished lakes, which are loaded with trout (either cutthroat or rainbow depending on the lake).

Lastly, NWL can fully process salmon for taking home. They can fillet, steak or head and tail your catch, vacuum pack it, freeze and box for easy travel home.

Sample Itinerary and Fishing Day:
These guys love to fish, and they fish hard. They will cater the trip to whatever you want to do, and often are on the water as the sun comes up, which can be as early as 5:00 am in the summer. Run times can be anywhere from minutes (right in front of the lodge), to about an hour heading up to the north end of the island. Since they’re often close to the lodge, it’s no problem to come back to take breaks, eat, etc, then head back out. A lot depends on the fishing, the tides, the weather, and whatever people want to do.

They can either pack sandwiches for lunch on the water, come back to the lodge for a hot lunch, or arrange a shore lunch. They have a couple of protected bays with nice beaches, conveniently located in areas where humpback whales regularly play, so you could do deluxe shore lunches on the beach while watching the whales!

Equipment:
The equipment is all first rate and well maintained. They have a full time mechanic on staff as well.

They have a whole fleet of 25-27 ft Grady Whites with twin 200 hp motors, perfect for fishing the waters of Nootka Sound. They also have a larger, 38′ Boston Whaler Defiance. This luxury cruiser with twin 440 horsepower diesel engines has all sorts of bells and whistles including full cabin with hot shower. All of the boats were equipped with marine radios, sonar and gps, lifejackets, and all the safety equipment. They also have an internal marine head in the small cabins. They are very comfortable to fish out of for a day on the open water.

They have all of the equipment and tackle (mooching and bottom fishing rigs) for conventional fishing.

They have raingear (pants and jackets) and rain boots for everyone, if you don’t want to bring your own.

Other Activities at Nootka Wilderness Lodge:
One of the real strengths to the program at Nootka Wilderness Lodge is the incredible diversity of options, beyond fishing. To name a few:
• Pulling Crab and Prawn Pots
• Trap Shooting
• Hiking (there are countless beaches, plus a historical lighthouse, and historical landing sites for Captain Cook)
• Whale Watching
• Bird Watching
• Feeding the Eagles
• Bear Viewing
• Add-On Float Plane or Helicopter Flyouts
• Sightseeing boat tours
• Beach combing
• Winter & Spring Surfing
• Sea Kayaking (need kayaks, paddles and lifejackets)

What Makes This Destination Special and Unique?

• Nootka Wilderness Lodge is a very comfortable floating lodge surrounded by rainforest and overlooking the scenic Nootka Sound. The rooms are quite nice and appropriate for hardcore anglers, non-anglers, or families. You can relax and leave the details to the talented and seasoned staff, and concentrate on fishing and enjoying the wilds of Maritime British Columbia and Nootka Sound.

• The lodge has prime access to the enormous marine ecosystem on the remote Nootka Sound on northern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. Whether trolling or mooching for Chinook or Coho salmon, fly fishing kelp beds for ling cod and rock bass, pulling monster halibut off the bottom on conventional gear, or wading small creeks loaded sea-run cutthroats, Dolly Varden and pacific salmon when in season, you will experience remote maritime British Columbia in its splendor as it was when first discovered by Captain Cook in 1778. Less pressured fishing, means better fishing!

• Nootka Wilderness Lodge loves non-anglers, too! There is a ton of non-angling activities to do besides fishing, including world-class whale watching, pulling crab and prawn pots, hiking the countless beaches and historical sights, bird watching, feeding the eagles, bear viewing, sea kayaking, and more. There is something for everyone at Nootka Wilderness Lodge.

• For those who would like to bring fish home to share with family and friends, the lodge will process, vacuum pack, and freeze 50 pounds of halibut, rockfish and salmon filets for each angler to bring home as extra luggage. Share the bounty of the Pacific Coastline with the folks you love, nothing is finer than fresh fish cooked on the barbeque with great friends and family.

• Meals at the lodge are spectacular, much of it straight from the bounty of the sea. Expect dinners including fresh halibut, prawns, crab, salmon, the works! For those who don’t eat seafood, there is also plenty of traditional lodge food – beef, chicken, etc. Few things are better than fresh and wild seafood, straight from the ocean, minutes out of the water. If you love seafood and hearty meals, the chef at Nootka will blow your mind… Beer and wine are included with your stay - now this is sounding like a real vacation...

Additional Photos


The Fly Shop Images
The Fly Shop Images
The Fly Shop Images
The Fly Shop Images
The Fly Shop Images
The Fly Shop Images
The Fly Shop Images
The Fly Shop Images

Making Reservations To Nootka Wilderness Lodge

To make a reservation, please give us a call at 800-669-3474 during business hours (Monday - Friday • 7:30 AM - 6:00 PM), or email us at travel@theflyshop.com anytime. We can give you the answers you need, detailed explanations to questions you might have, or check on availability and confirm your reservation in minutes.