PPS Destinations Report
Gold River, BC.
Date: September 2006
Reported by Dr. Ernst 'Ernie' Schmidt, DMD; Vancouver, BC, Canada
Just
when I thought I had seen it all, I find a new experience right in my own back
yard! After hearing about this 'new' lodge at Gold River, BC, I thought I
would take a weekend and see for myself how this beautiful new lodge
'stacked-up'. After all, my friend had never been to the exotic
destinations I had so I couldn't expect him to have a realistic reference of
what is out there. Well, to my amazement, I stayed at what is definitely
the most beautiful lodge of my fishing career. What's more, the amazing
detail and furnishings have to rank among the top destination lodges in the
world. Friends, I am reporting on a relative newcomer, The Lodge
At Gold River, situated right on the Gold River just on the outskirts of
the eponymous town of Gold River, BC. My tale is one of the Lodge as well
as the experience of the local fishing and wilderness; read on.
The
trip began when my colleague and friend, Dr. Stephen Tsotsos of Toronto Canada,
finished his CE presentation in Richmond BC. His host, Mr. Mark O'Neil of
Patterson Dental, picked us both 
up
and took us on the 5 hour voyage to Gold River. Fantastic late-summer
weather made the 2 1/2 hour ferry and the 2 1/2 hour car ride seem like it was
just minutes. We arrived at the lodge, greeted by Mark's brother and lodge
manager, Kent O'Neil, just in time to join the regular guests for dinner.
Even in the dark, it wasn't hard to tell that this was some lodge. The
West-Coast architecture in addition to the grand scale was almost alarming in
its presence. What really knocked it over the edge for me, were the art
and accessory furnishings. I have never seen such exotic and tasteful
decorations in any lodge I have ever stayed. Artwork and other pieces
ranging from local Native and other West Coast motifs gave me the impression
that no expense was spared in the trimmings. In fact, I would say that the
accessories themselves might be worth more than many other lodges. After a
delicious dinner of West Coast fare, we retired to our rooms for the obligatory
sleep before the big fishing day. Was I dreaming or was the ceiling higher
than most cabins are long/wide. Was all this space just for me? You
gotta be kidding, right? The decor, furnishings, huge stone fireplace and
layout made it an absolute crying shame to turn the lights out. What a
waste. What wasn't a waste was the beautiful lulling noise of the adjacent
Gold River.
Next
morning, after a good sleep and a better breakfast, we were escorted by Kent,
Pilot/Guide Morris (Vancouver Island Helicopters)
and fishing guide Randy on a magnificent day of chopper fishing and
exploring. In short, the weather was fantastic and the company was
better. We started
out
with a short flight to the mouth of the Conuma River. There were so many
Coho, King and Chum salmon in the river that, in order not to snag them, I
decided to devote myself to catching Cutthroat Trout. Otherwise, it would
have been totally impossible not to snag the millions of salmon in the
river. After several Kings, Chums and Coho jacks were landed, we decided
to move on and continue exploring. Next stop, Megin River, right in the
very heart of Strathcona Provincial Park. I was stunned by the beauty of
this totally pristine area. High mountains, verdant valleys and towering
trees told the tale of the river's existence over the past thousands of
years. I did not see one tiny evidence of any other human. In fact,
the terrain is so rugged that it would be totally impossible to visit this
beautiful river without helicopter transport. We fished the river for a
few hours and I was most fortunate to have caught my first West Coast cutthroats
in over 15 years. There seemed to be a few of these handsome fish in every
pool/run that we fished. From there, up again and over to the nearby Burman River. Can it be? Two such amazingly beautiful river valleys
in such close proximity? Surrounded by towering mountains, the crystal clear
waters were jammed with thousands of salmon. Here, I managed small cutthroat as
well as hooking several fresh Cohoes. In one of the areas that I fished,
guide Randy told me to drift my single-egg fly pattern through the gin-clear
waters of the log jam. This was no ordinary log jam. These had to be some
of the biggest logs in existence. This was a jam of Jurassic proportions
as 
there was little way of
getting around these monsters. Well, before I knew it, the day's fishing
had come to an end, and we choppered back to the lodge. One of the
benefits of arriving a bit early for dinner was that I got to check the waters
of the Lodge's beautifully manicured trout pond. On the scale of a
beautiful Japanese garden, I sat on stone benches, catching fat rainbow trout
which ranged from 1 to 6 pounds. Heck, I know people that wouldn't have
left the lodge but could have been totally satisfied to stay on the 22 acre
grounds. That evening, dinner was served on the river-side patio, complete
with its own stone fireplace and being 'watched-over' by one of several totem
poles on the grounds. Although the wines and bonhomie were both excellent,
I think the day's ultimate experience was immortalized by the sensation of the
duck confit against our taste buds. The rest of the dinner was merely
spectacular, but the duck........
If ever there was a lodge that you wouldn't mind being rained-out at, this would be the one. Stunning architecture, amazing landscaping and some of the most beautiful and pristine coastal scenery in the world, make this a Class A-1 winner for any adventurer, with or without spouse or family. Although the local fishing is highly regarded among BC anglers, this lodge is of the 'high-end' calibre and is best complimented with a day of chopper fishing. In addition to coastal river fishing for world-class steelhead, trout (rainbow, cutthroat and bull) and salmon fishing, there is a thriving salt-water fishing for salmon and halibut. Hiring a helicopter gives virtually unlimited options to fish many of the local coastal rivers and lakes as well as many wilderness rivers along the rugged mainland of BCs coast. In addition to fishing, there is wilderness alpine hiking as well as picnicing atop the area's high peaks.
Although many lodges have a hard time differentiating themselves from the competition, this is one that ranks as absolutely peerless. The Lodge at Gold River can be viewed on its website at http://www.thelodgeatgoldriver.ca/home.html or can be reached by phone; 1-250-283-2900
Ernst 'Ernie' Schmidt, pps@shaw.ca