The scream of the reel as the broad shouldered king salmon took another run was music to my ears. The single action reel handles spun dangerously around as I got my hand out of the way just in time. They don’t call them knuckle busters for nothing and I had learned that painful lesson earlier in the day. 

That said, it was a lesson gladly accepted because it meant the fishing action was hot – and indeed it was. Our boat’s fish hold was steadily filling up with the bounty of the ocean in this remote location off Zeballos, on Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada.

Ever since I moved to the Pacific Northwest and started going to Sportsman’s Shows, I had the dream of someday fishing a true “destination” fishing location. Wandering up and down the booths, looking at pictures of giant halibut, ling cod, and Chinook salmon, it just got me thinking how much I wanted to try something like this out. 

All the maps of far away, exotic places to fish – I wanted to go! But I had other priorities and needs, not the least of which was raising my two boys. They are grown now and moved out of the house, and with a wife encouraging my dreams, my opportunity final came.

We were on the road north to the border crossing as my friends Aaron Borg, Rob Holman and myself began our journey to Zeballos, B.C. Aaron and Rob had driven over the evening before from Spokane and then stayed at my home. 

We talked excitedly of the trip and fishing to come. None of us had been out of the country on a fishing adventure quite like this. We had been invited by Northwest Fishing Reports sponsor Adrian O’Connor to come up for a few days and enjoy the fishing and stay at his fishing lodge, Reel Adventures Sportfishing. What can I say? My jaw dropped when Rob had told me we would be traveling to this fishing Mecca in B.C.

Zeballos is a small, remote town located at the end of Zeballos Inlet on the west side of north Vancouver Island, a little more than halfway along the large island. In days past it had been a vibrant town of a couple thousand. A gold rush between 1938 and 1942 produced a boom town, which quickly faded post World War II when the price of gold collapsed.
The town turned to forestry and fish processing. It’s the tourist and sport anglers that come now to visit now, at least, those in the know.

Our crossing at the border was uneventful. Although, I must admit to being taken aback when we told the border officer our destination was Zeballos, and his response was “Are you making that up?” No officer, and please don’t pull us over and empty our vehicle! But he smiled and waved us on. Next stop, was the ferry crossing at Tsawwassen, due south of Richmond (nearby Vancouver). It’s a two hour crossing from Vancouver to Nainmo. The B.C. ferry system is pretty impressive. Large, comfortable ferries, reservations systems (recommended) and good food on board made the crossing a breeze. Not to mention the beautiful scenery and ever closer Vancouver Island in the distance growing our anticipation with every kilometer travelled (hey, we’re in Canada now, eh?).

I had looked at the map of Vancouver Island many times, and in my mind I imagined winding, narrow, gravel, two lane roads, taking forever to reach our final destination. Imagine my surprise when we unloaded in Nanimo and promptly got on a smooth, four lane freeway.

The road to Campbell River was smooth sailing and the miles, er, kilometers flew by. We gassed up Aaron’s truck and had to do some quick and dirty conversions – let’s see, there are about 4 liters per gallon of gas… but the exchange rate is 22% in our favor… so the cost of gas here is – more. But not that much more, so relax, you won’t go broke filling up your vehicle.

From Campbell River the road did reduce to a two lane road, but it was still a nice road to drive and we made good time. Wooded hills stretched out in all directions and signs of civilization were few and far between. Towns composed of a half dozen buildings became the norm.

Finally, there it was, the turn off for Zeballos! Now things began getting interesting. Our paved road became a gravel logging road. Hills gave way to snowcapped mountains as we first climbed, and then descended through the Haihte Costal Range of the Vancouver Island Ranges, a mountain range that extends along the length of Vancouver Island. Creeks and small rivers worked deep and narrow canyons into the hillsides. 

The landscape is likely very little changed from a hundred years ago. There are clear cuts here and there, but nothing like what one sees in Washington. Finally, the descent smoothed out, and a few small, worn houses began to appear. Then more, and final we had arrive, destination, Zeballos. We had a scenic nine and a half hour trip from Seattle by car, two hours of which was a ferry ride. Very do-able and not near as strenuous as I had imagined it would be.

Once we arrived, we met Adrian and his staff, and other guests. This was a Northwest Fishing Reports “Get-Together” of sorts as Adrian had given a special discount to our members and had filled up the lodge with them. We enjoyed meeting fellow NWFR members and sharing stories of fishing past and to come. To cap things off, everyone graciously held up dinner for us. We sat down and Chef Jason promptly appeared to introduce our first dish.

What can I say about Chef Jason? A smile seems to be a permanent part of his personality. Always open to conversation and playing the most cool, eclectic music in the background, he truly made coming to dinner an experience in its own right. Not to mention, Jason has his cooking chops down! Our meals were five star affairs every day. From a quick morning breakfast before fishing, to abundant lunch packs, to afternoon snacks, to appetizers and main courses that had us eating ever last bite off my plate, we ate like kings!

We had the luxury of fishing three days with owner/operator Adrian O’Connor. Adrian has fished these waters for a lifetime and knows the best off-shore reefs and underwater humps to fish, not to mention the migratory habits of the Chinook salmon as they flood into this region every year. With four boats in his fleet we learned that hot bites are shared and his boats get on the fish right away.

The waters leading away from Zeballos, Esperanza Inlet, are breathing-taking in its scenery. First explored by the Spanish in 1774, and then Captain James Cook in 1778, it is the traditional territory of the Nuu-chah-nulth First Nation, who inhabited these lands for thousands of years. The inlet was formed by glaciers during the last ice age, and now attracts anglers, kayakers, divers, and hikers to the wilderness area.

Wildlife is everywhere to be seen, including otters, sea lions, bear, cougar, and bald eagles. As we departed the inlet for open waters we scanned the horizon for killer whales (Orca), migrating gray whales, seals, and porpoises. To Adrian’s surprise, however, we instead got to see a pilot whale leisurely swimming along, its large tail fully revealed as it sunned itself.

Once on the open ocean we tolerated the swells and moderate chop until a short time later we reached our anchoring locations. Even though it’s about a thirty mile run to this spot, because most of it is in sheltered waters it’s an easy trip. Adrian quickly set us up on anchor in two hundred feet of water. The plan was to start with halibut, and then after getting our limits troll for salmon.

I believe the term is “easy limits”, and that’s just what we experienced. Within minutes of lowering our bait (salmon bellies), Aaron had the first fish, a giant dogfish. Not what we wanted, but no worries, because in the next hour we pulled up our limits of halibut ranging from 15 to 60 pounds, perfect eating size! 

Bigger fish can and will be caught. Adrian reported just the previous week customers having caught one hundred pound-plus sized halibut. They, however, have to go back, as there is a slot limit on these tasty fish. Personally, I was perfectly happy getting my “big” and not having to haul up a hundred pounds of muscular fish only to let it back down. Maybe another time fish…

Adrian pulled anchor and set up gear from trolling Chinook. In Canada the preferred gear is a single action “knuckle buster” reel with a ten foot rod. “These are traditional rod set ups in Canada, you won’t find too many anglers using level winds for salmon”, Adrian explained. 

Over the course of the next three days I grew to love this set up – the sporting nature of catching a salmon is greatly enhanced with this gear. With no gear advantage you have to be fast on the retrieve when the fish runs at the boat, and be always ready to remove your hands when they run (or you will have your knuckles “busted”).

Just like the halibut, we managed to catch our daily limits without too much difficulty. The hot gear was a large flasher with either a 5” spoon or a whole anchovy fished “off the deck”. The bite that deep is kind of subdued, but once off and running these kings put up great fights, running at the boat, taking out line, but ultimately joining our halibut for dinner. The big king of the trip fell to Rob, 25 pounds of delicious springer.

“And now for something completely different”. That’s what came to my mind when Adrian informed us Wednesday he was going to take us to some locations to troll for ling cod and bottomfish. “This should be interesting” I thought. He explained “we’ll be fishing a large underwater reef that has a rocky bottom surrounding a sandy bottom. This rocky bottom is habit to smaller fish and octopus, and it draws in the larger fish. It can produce well for ling cod”.

Before we went trolling for bottomfish, we trolled some near-shore, shallow water locations for chinook salmon. What spectacular scenery! The waves crashing into the rocky shoreline and reefs made for some amazing pictures. Not to mention, a huge sea lion standing watch over his domain and eagles flying overhead. Our port rod exploded in short order and I grabbed the rod. This was a nice king! Multiple strong runs gave me a great challenge on the knuckle buster reel and 10 foot rod - I love this set up! The fish eventually weakened and I was able to slide him into the awaiting net. Wow, what a beautiful fish to start the day!

The salmon bite was slow so it was time to head to our next spot and troll up some lings. We used flashers and bait, using downriggers to get the gear down to the bottom, a few feet off the deck in 120 feet of water. Trolling speed was fairly slow, we were going fast enough to keep the flashers wobbling back and forth, but not rotating.

I’d never trolled for ling cod, nor had Aaron or Rob. It didn’t take too long before we were able to recognize the sometimes light tap tap of a bottomfish. Of course, the lings had a more forceful tap tap. And on release from the downrigger clip it was pretty obvious when we had a ling. We worked this productive location for a couple hours, and caught a lot of fish.

A limit for each of us, in fact. But it wasn’t ling cod we were mainly catching. Nope, instead, time after time huge, brightly colored yellow eyes and vermillion came to Adrian’s sharp gaff. As we hit our limit for vermillion, we could have kept fishing this area for lings, however, rather than stress and kill bottomfish that likely would not recover being caught from 120 feet deep, he decided to move us to another, smaller reef location.

It was a good location change! Within seconds of lowering our first rig the rod doubled over. Aaron grabbed the rod and battled in a beautiful 20 pound ling in to the boat. Shortly after, Rob and I got nice lings. Another pass yielded some smaller lings and with that we were done for the day.

Back at the lodge, Chef Jason had prepared another five star meal. We visited with the other Northwest Fishing Reports guests who reported good fishing and bountiful catches. Just another day in paradise!

Traveling to Zeballos from the Seattle area is not nearly the ordeal I had in my mind prior to the trip. The drive is easy and Canada couldn’t be a nicer place to visit. People are so friendly and polite, and we were welcomed everywhere we stopped. As to the fishing, I’d rate it a slam dunk “10”. And not that I like to think in these terms when I fish, but the amount of fish we brought back at the prices you’d pay in the grocery store amounted to easily a couple thousand dollars’ worth of fresh fish, far superior to anything you’d find in a store. Plus, it’s all processed, vacuum sealed, and flash-frozen at the lodge. My family and friends will be eating like kings for the next year, until we get a chance to do it again!

To book a trip with Reel Obsession Sportfishing give them a call at 1-888-855-7335 or check them out on Facebook, or their web site.

Timing is everything, especially in fishing. As fishers, we do our best to utilize our logarithmic skills to factor bait, tackle, gear, equipment, safety, weather, time, and environment. Sprinkle on a little bit of hope and you may have a recipe to catch the infamous Canadian Tuna like we did last August in Zeballos, BC in Zeballos, BC with Reel Obsession Sport Fishing.

Nearly a year in the making, last August, we headed out of Spokane to Vancouver Island. Me, Rob, and our two daughters, Cameron and Sarah, headed out on the 700 mile-2 day trip to Zeballos. We had our passports, bibs, maps, lodging itinerary, ferry tickets, snacks, coolers and a navigation plan. We set out to BC hoping to catch the infamous BC Tuna.  

Our hopes multiplied as we left Spokane.  Rob had been on the horn with Adrian of Reel Obsession and the scuttlebutt was that our timing was right for Tuna. We planned on fishing for Salmon, Halibut, and Bottom fish and the idea of Tuna was a BONUS. All factors were adding up to ideal conditions. The water temperature was right, and the weather was cooperating.  Adrian and his fleet were in the Tuna between 20 and 40 miles out when we left Spokane.  Our imaginations ran wild as we drove. Would we get there in time? 

Now, our girls are seasoned on the Salt, and they can travel independently abroad. They were ready for this trip. Their skills would be put to use and pushed.  Their mental toughness was developed. They had their own gear, and their stamina was up. The time was right for them to go 40 miles out to sea for a long grinding day of hauling in up to 20 tuna per person as the limit. 

It took a while at the border. We were the last truck that loaded the ferry on the last boat of the night. (Planning for this is key. Any delays may affect your ferry sailing)

We got into Nanaimo late and grabbed a hotel. We set out early for Zeballos on the 4-hour drive.  We hit a few stores on the way. Zeballos has one small store that is open with limited hours and limited supply, grab your niceties on the way.

Angie, Adrian's wife and Operations Manager, had everything dialed for us upon arrival. Our rooms were great. The main lodge was bustling. Folks gathered around the firepit with a glass of wine to soak up the views while being contentful waiting for dinner. Sitting down for dinner, the buzz was in, the Tuna were still here! We would be getting our shot at the Tuna Dance!

The morning was met with a communal breakfast and lunch coolers to tote. The scene of the fleet of boats heading out together was a sight to revel in. My girls soaked in the scenery as they gazed with wonder at the open sea. We went 40 miles out. Not all the fleet, but a handful of us Reel Obsession boats were working together over the horn. The radio chimed pleasantries rarely heard over the com in Washington waters. Like, “Lookin’ good aye?” and “Great job, aye!” BC fishers are some of the nicest, hardworking folks I’ve met. 

We get to the grounds and Adrian shows the girls the ropes. Essentially, he shows them how to dance for Tuna in a brief 2-minute tutorial. We started to move as a team. We were trolling at about 7 knots fishing with rods and reels and hand lines. Level lines and hand lines are productive and fast; and less awkward than a rod and reel when trolling. “The hand lines help keep the trolling speed up.” Adrian had said. The girls got into it. The handlines helped keep their stamina up. We grinded all day, with not a moment to spare. Adrian was incredible at teaching the girls new techniques, picking up slack when the girls felt a wave of fatigue.  Rob and Adrian pulled in the extra slack that day.  Mentors are good like that. We grabbed snacks as our energy slowed. Angie and the staff had prepared a delicious lunch for fuel and endurance. We brought in around 40 Tuna! It was incredible! It was rigorous, it was hard, it was fun and It was the time of our lives!

 We headed in with the other “Reel” boat that was out. We got to the dock, exhausted.  Ange and her team were waiting for us to offload and begin processing. They laid out all the tuna from both boats for some pictures. It was glorious! We headed up to the lodge to get cleaned up and ready ourselves for dinner while the Reel Obsession Crew got to work.

We fished for 3 more days. The fishing was great. The girls wanted to fish for halibut, so we fished in the rain at 300 ft and let them do most of the reeling. We caught our fair share of salmon and some bottom fish. Each day the crew would do the same and offload our catch and get to work while we sat reminiscing about the day in comfort as we soaked in the company and scenery. 

We headed out early in the morning with our fish packaged and ready to go for the border. We spent an extra day in Vancouver to play around. We headed home the next day in a straight 8-hour shot. Looking back, Sarah recalls, “The food, scenery, and the people are extraordinary! Zeballos is Awesome!” I agree with her. It was the time of our lives!

*Reel Obsession is a Family Operation. Adrian, and his wife Angie, own and operate the Lodge alongside their two children. Angie runs the land part as the Operation Manager and Adrian runs the Marine side as Operations Manager. Keegan, their son works on the docks and in processing and Kenzie helps serve and operations in the Lodge.

*Reel Obsession is an All-inclusive Fishing Vacation Lodge. Packages include lodging, all meals, snacks, beverages, and guided fishing. They are a licensed processing facility and process and vacuum seal all our fish.

“It’s always a halibut and salmon trip but if the water temps are right, then we can get out for tuna!“ -Adrian O’Connell

Trade show season is here and calling all sportsmen and women. It is the time to ponder and think about what changes we will make to our game this year, and wonder at the opportunities to be had this coming season. Trade shows give us sportsmen an upfront and personal glance into new products, new technologies, current trends, seminars, show specials, fishing ponds, tackle talk, gear, guides, lodges, food, and even more. It’s worth getting out to a show near you. The NW is home to competitive sportsmen and women, and the NW Trade Show circuit comes out swinging, just like its sportsmen. This traveling circus changes from city to city, each attracting local vendors, manufacturers, NW brands, and national companies.

The NW trade shows are built upon this premise: To Educate, Equip, and Execute make the sportsman and the adventurer. The NW was built upon this premise. The shows encompass this. 

What to expect:

The Big Horn Show in Spokane is my favorite, and not just because it’s close to home. The Big Horn Show gets its name from its origin over 60 years ago, starting off as a competition for big game trophies using Boone and Crockett. It still brings in champion trophies, but alongside totes seminars, music, and some of the NW’s finest vendors and manufacturers. It’s a small city in a big town! Fly in! It's just a pond hop away. Proceeds go to INWC a 5013c.

Boise is home to Kyrptek. Making a presence with their camo apparel sale tent out front, Boise wears Kryptek proudly. They support the military and their local community. It’s Boy-see, not Boise, folks! Wear your boots! Buy a belt! It is also a pond hop away. Great access to the airport and nice hotels makes this a great weekend getaway. Buy luggage here to bring home your goods.

Tri Cities is sponsored by Griggs Ace Hardware! It’s a smaller show, but has all the fixings a show could offer.

Yakima! It’s not a big show and you will get to know people by the time you are through. It is a strong community. People here enjoy learning about new things going on in the industry, and I love that. The rifle range and the stories are prominent. The SunDome is fun, the people are friendly, and the tacos are muy bien. Bring the kids!

The Puyallup is a large show and brings in people far and wide: from Alaska to Nebraska, you will find it here. Stryker Rods comes in from Oregon, so pick up your NW manufactured rod while you have the chance. Buy an RV. Buy a boat. They have it in Puyallup. Book your hotel early for this one! Do the Puyallup!

Portland is the show that never ends. It goes on and on, my friends. Wear your Danner’s or your Nikes: you will get your steps in here. There is no sales tax in Oregon, so save 9% on top of the bargains already being offered. The beer flows in Portland, so be safe! Have fun! I wear my knife.

Wenatchee is home to Mack’s Lure. Go out and meet the legendary Bob Loomis and his younger self, Britton. Tell them Hillary sent you, and take a selfie! #NWFishing #MacksLure

The Big Sky Montana Sportsman’s Expo is here to stay. Can’t find their website? No worries! Check out their social media @montanasportsmansexpo. Big toys, big furniture, big EVERYTHING is in Montana. Bring a trailer. It’s worth the haul!

The BC Sportsman Show is just an hour and 45 minutes away from Everett. A lot is to be had in BC. Find a lodge and fisher’s package. Connect with hunters and outdoor adventurers. Meet manufacturers. Friends are to be made in BC and friends are to be kept, AYE? Buy a BOOT! Or a boat, it will be swell either way! Book a fishing charter for sure.

Redmond, Oregon. Don’t get this confused with Building 45 and the floating bridge. This is South. The traffic is much better, so hit the road and make the drive. Many people like to save on the sales tax in Oregon. The experience from vendors and guests is always the same, they say it is a great time. I have never been, but I trust Ed Iman, King of Walleye, when he tells me so.

If I missed any of your shows, please excuse me. I haven’t heard from you and can’t always be everywhere at one time. I would love to see what you are doing. Email NW Fishing! 

Check your dates and pick your shows. Attending more than one is part of the fun! It’s a family and, like families, some family members won’t go to certain shows. You’ll see them at the next show, I bet.

Maybe I’ll see you there? Safe travels!

NW Trade Show Schedule

• Jan 27-29 Tri Cities Sportsmen’s Show-Pasco, WA
• Feb 1-5 Washington Sportsmen’s Show-Puyallup, WA
• Feb 15^th-19^th PNW Sportsmen’s Show- Portland OR
• Feb 24^th -26^th Wenatchee Valley Sportsmen’s show- Wenatchee, WA
• Feb 24^th -26^th Central Washington Sportsmen’s Show- Yakima WA
• Feb 24^th-26^th Montana Sportsman’s Expo-Kalispel MT
• March 2-5^th Idaho Sportsmen’s Show- Boise, ID
• March 3^rd-5^th BC Sportsman’s Show-Abbotsford, BC
• March 9^th-12^th Central Oregon Sportsman’s Show- Redmond Oregon
• March 16-19^th Big Horn Show- Spokane, WA

Eat, Sleep, Fish, Repeat

Looking back at this past fishing season makes us reflect and realize how lucky we are to be in such a prolific and beautiful part of the coast. Not a day goes by that we don’t feel blessed to be able to offer these adventures to guests, friends, and family.

With our sold-out lodge season and the incredible fishing we experienced in 2024, our prime spots are in high demand. Already, just over 70% of our guest list have taken their returning dates for our 2025 season. With that said, if you're contemplating on a fishing vacation with Reel Obsession, drop us a line and don’t miss out on getting your preferred dates locked in with us.  

Allow us the opportunity to express a heartfelt shoutout to our 2024 team of professionals. From land to sea, with out each and every one of these incredible humans, we could not do what we do. Trust me when I say, you are in excellent hands when experiencing one of our all-inclusive packages with this crew. 

2024 SEASON RECAP

From our opening day the first week of June to our season end early September, we had incredible fishing for halibut, bottom fish... while the Chinook fishing was the most consistent in my 24 years of guiding our area. Each boat was hooking up 15-40 Chinook each day. This kind of action continued for most of the Summer!!

The action speaks for itself. In 2023, the West Coast of Vancouver Island saw the largest return of Chinook salmon in 44 years. These kinds of statistics give us great confidence in knowing we have a healthy fishery that is second to none. The official 2024 run returns won’t be out for a few months however all indicators are showing that we matched or surpassed the 2023 numbers.

You know what this means... we are looking forward to having some incredible fishing in years to come!!

VICTORIA CHARTERS ARE AVAILABLE WITH REEL OBSESSION

Just because the lodge is shut down for the season doesn’t mean fishing is over! Victoria is our winter home and a fantastic place to get out for a charter with the family, get away from the cold, or perhaps organize a team building session out on the waters for your employees. 

Coho fishing is electric at the moment with nonstop action, tons of double headers and even some triples. Winter Chinook are showing up in great numbers on Constance Bank and will be thick in the Straight within the next month. Halibut fishing remains open and looks like it should stay open until the new year.

Give us a call this Fall to keep the action going!!! 

Many exciting TV shows on the horizon for Reel Obsession

Keep your eyes peeled!!

• West Coast Sporting Journal with Mark Pendlington has released one of our 2 new episodes airing this Fall.
• Northwest Fishing TV will be airing next month with our first ever Victoria show featuring Winter Springs followed by a couple of Zeballos lodge episodes.
• Reel West Coast with Brendan Morrison will also be airing in the New Year with some exciting action out of Esperanza from this past July.

Come join us in the prime summer months of 2025 for an unforgettable all-inclusive fishing vacation!

Please check out our online reviews through Google and Trip Advisor.

Don’t miss out booking your preferred dates and let’s talk today!

Give us a call or drop us a line anytime to discuss your next great fishing vacation!

TRIPADVISOR REVIEW - LARRY AUSTIN, FISH DATES: JUNE 17-19, 2024

GUIDE: Kashes

"Amazing trip. Fishing was fantastic. We got limits everyday. We fished out of a Grady White and our guide was great. Worked hard and definitely got us into fish. The dining experience was fantastic. Our chef prepared gourmet meals every night with appetizers at 5:00. Great atmosphere hanging out having a cocktail and sharing fun stories with other anglers. Top notch breakfast as well as lunches. Everything was taken care of from beginning to end. Angie and Adrian were great host as well as all the employees. Great folks. We would do it again!"

TRIPADVISOR REVIEW - RANDY & KAREN, FISH DATES: JUNE 13-15, 2024 DERBY DATES!!

GUIDE: Dave aka Sprinkles

"So much fun and so many fish!! Good food. Comfortable lodging. Happy people! We enjoy fishing here better than Alaska!!!!"

At Reel Obsession this is a lifestyle and a passion, and we feel grateful for it. Don’t be left on the dock or fishing with an outfit that wasn’t your first choice.

For more information on our warm west coast hospitality, incredible fishing and stories that last a lifetime, give us a call or drop us a line anytime. We look forward to hearing from you!