On the northern Esperanza/Gillam entrance, there are a dozen rockpiles to the left of Rose Island, with Ferrer Point (pronounced: Fair-ee-er) being the king of king action. On the southern entrance, Escalante, Yuquot, Maquinna and Bajo points all give up lots of chinook.

This is surf line rockpile stuff with the captain the most important person on board, with his boat-handling skills for tight spaces, changes of directions and keeping those cutplug lines rising to 30 degrees and dropping to 60 degrees. Outside FisheriesĮxpect to fish classic west coast style on the outside. On the north end, the cut from Tahsis Inlet to Steamer Point is also all inside water, including most of Esperanza Inlet, which includes Zeballos, Espinosa and Port Eliza inlets, out to Rose Island on Gillam Channel that leads past numerous, fishy rock piles on the outside, to the offshore banks. Also fish Camel, Hoiss and Boston points, as well as Perpendicular Bluff. The southern opening to the Sound includes Bligh Island – yes, the one from Mutiny on the Bounty – and all the water to Friendly Cove on Nootka Island. It is all inside and in the winter most fish are taken in these waters. Look at the map, and the two-hour run that Muchalet and Tahsis inlets take you. Note the regulations, though, for all of Nootka. And note that you can follow the fish into the Conuma and fish them there. We were towed around all afternoon, while trollers on the far wall were doing the deed with hootchies. The issue to getting towed all over the bay was solved by predicting the direction schools would take and getting a fly out far enough in front to have it sink to eye level, and the stop – chinook don’t bite and streak off, chinook simply stop the fly, and your rod tip in the water better be hoisted to the sky in a split second.

I would add that, in my opinion, Nootka Sound is the major as-yet-undiscovered remote fly fishery on the whole 500-kilometre Vancouver Island. Big is a small word for that kind of return. And the Conuma can bring from 20,000 to that river, to as high as 160,000 chinook to the five rivers that it outplants into. Nootka Sound has inside fishing, outside fishing and offshore fishing, along with fly opportunities in all three.

Nootka Sound is the largest remote fishing destination on Vancouver Island, measuring 64 kilometres across and almost 56 kilometres long. There are nine inlets, many of which are 30 miles long, featuring Muchalet, below Gold River Tahsis, leading to the town of the same name Esperanza, leading to Zeballos and Moutcha Bay, next to the Conuma River and its hatchery that raises chinook, coho and chum. It is 40 miles across, with Nootka Island in its mouth, and almost 35 miles long. Nootka Sound is far and away the largest remote fishing destination on Vancouver Island.

Nootka fishing lodge