My wife and I wanted to take our two grown daughters and two oldest grandsons (ages 10 & 9 respectively) on a unique family vacation that would hopefully provide them... read more with memories to last a lifetime - I think we succeeded. My one daughter's significant other accompanied us so our party totaled 7, which meant we were the only ones at the lodge. Even though only 2 of us were what I would call more hard core fishermen everyone had a great time. With 3 guides (including Chris) two took 2 people out and one took 3 out each day.
Our planning started over a year in advance and Rick Groman handled all of that, answering tons of questions I had regarding the fishing, having kids at the lodge, trip logistics, etc. Rick was extremely responsive to all my e-mails and we also had a few lengthy phone conversations. Simply put he provided fabulous service in preparing us for the trip, all of which played a key role in the success of the trip.
We took Rick's suggestion and stayed at the Country Inn & Suites by Radisson located in Bothell, WA the day before flying to the lodge. The place was very nice (pricey but I guess that's Seattle) and also provided a free shuttle to Kenmore Air, about a 20 minute ride from the hotel.
Kenmore Air was first rate in all regards - very organized, efficient and friendly staff. They weighed in all our bags to make sure we met the 25#/pp limit on luggage, we filled out paperwork, and got all our gear loaded onto the turbine Otter for our flight - Norm was out pilot. There was a total of 9 passengers on the plane. It was ~ a 1 hr flight to Nanaimo, where we stopped for ~25 min to go through Canadian customs and refuel, then about another 1:15 to the lodge. Even though the weather was overcast the views on the flight were spectacular - simply beautiful country.
We arrived at the lodge as the current group was gathering their stuff to fly out, some were still getting lunch as I guess our plane was a bit early. We had some fish chowder and Dungeness crab for lunch then went fishing in the afternoon - my wife and I went out with Graham. We had no fishing success that day (guess we missed the high tides which didn't help) but we did see orcas, humpback whales, eagles, sea lions, etc. so we were very satisfied with the half day.
On the second day Chris took me and my daughter's significant other on a Wakeman River float trip. There is quite an involved, and lengthy, logistical process for this trip with a long boat ride to get to the offload dock, loading up the trucks, driving trucks to the put in point, inflating the raft, etc. It rained all day long and I only caught two trout but we all had a great time - beautiful river. On the way back we stopped off to check the prawn traps - part of dinner!
On the third day my wife and I fished for salmon with Chris all day. The weather was much nicer, we went out when the tides dictated, and we both caught Coho and Chinook salmon. At one point my wife and I both had Kings on at the same time and Chris did a masterful job orchestrating things so these two rookies were able to land both fish. Others in our group caught salmon that day as well and one group wanted to fly fish so they just fished off a dock in Echo Bay for bass and caught tons.
For the few hours we had the next day before flying out Chris took my wife and I halibut fishing and we had no luck, but again it was a great time and beautiful day.
As everyone says, the food is fantastic, and plentiful. On arrival day for lunch Chris pulled up the Dungeness crab pot and it was no more than 25 minutes from getting the crabs out until they were on the table - best I have ever had by far! We also had venison kebabs (outstanding), fish and chips (fresh cod) and roast pork.
The rooms (4 in the lodge) were all simple and very comfortable, each with its own small bathroom (3 with small shower stall and one with shower/tub combination). The living room and dining room are all one, heated by a small wood stove, and very comfortable. There is a music system available and the wifi in the lodge worked fine for what we wanted (checking e-mail, etc).
I was concerned the two grandsons, who both normally spend a lot of time on electronic devices, would be bored but they both had a wonderful time and really put in some significant hours fishing. They loved watching the resident eagle fly down to pick up fish carcasses about 10' off the dock and between them saw lots of wildlife in addition to the eagles - dolphins, whales, bears, sea lions, etc.
There were only two small hiccups during our visit and both involved fly fishing an estuary. In each case I thought we had clearly communicated one specific group wanted to go to Echo Bay that day where they could easily catch a bunch of bass using a fly rod but the same guide ended up taking them halibut or salmon fishing instead.
I cannot say enough about how hospitable and welcoming Chris, Hannah, and Terra (sp? helped with kitchen/cleaning chores) in particular were. Terra went out of her way to check in with us all the time and ask if we needed anything for food, drink, laundry, etc. Although Chris told us when the best fishing would be based on tides he made it clear the guides would take us out whenever each group wanted to go (although you could see it really pained them if someone was ready to call it a day when the "best" fishing time was just getting going!). They were extremely flexible and bent over backwards to ensure you were having a good time and had everything you needed, doing laundry, providing lunches to take with you, making snacks for the evening, etc.
So, I highly recommend Blackfish Lodge and would like to thank Chris, Hannah and the entire staff for making this such a wonderful family memory we will treasure forever!
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