Legacy Lodge BC

JackJester

Just Hatched
Hello Folks,
Does anyone have experience with Legacy Lodge: https://www.legacylodge.com/
My wife wants to experience the Great Bear Rainforest and see bears and whales. And we both would love to C&R a bunch of Coho in calm waters. My wife gets seasick so calmer waters are preferred. Everything I have read about and heard is that these waters at Rivers Inlet are calm and have lots of salmon. It is quite expensive at $5K per person for 4 days (all inclusive from Vancouver airport). But it would be a bucket list/once in a life time trip. We would probably just use their rods/reels/flies and guides, although they do provide your own boat as part of the package, so you can easily DIY, but not sure how comfortable we would be on our own in unfamiliar waters. Thx Jack
 

SJE

Just Hatched
Forum Supporter
I went up to Legacy Lodge this past August with my brother-in-law and we had a good time. I chose late August so I would have a shot at a lot of coho on the fly. We fished for three days and had mixed results during the trip. On the first day we ran across open water to fish a productive area that held fish, but most of them were caught by the guys motor mooching with herring. I did not see any fish up on top, and tried both buck tailing and casting with a sink tip line. The guides said there were more productive areas to target coho on a fly rod, but the water was just too rough to make the trip up there. We crossed back through some pretty choppy water to get back to the lodge. Never felt unsafe, but I am guessing your wife would not have enjoyed that ride. Best part of that day were the whales that cruised right by our boat on a few occasions. The next day the wind was calmer and we were able to run north to a few spots that we caught coho on flies. Really a pretty good day, with a lot of smaller coho, but between us we landed at least 6 or 7 fish in the 5-7 lb range and I lost one at the boat that had to be 10lbs. Our third day was really wet and a bit windy as well. We were able to return to the northern areas we had fished the day before, but did not find the coho. The wind and rain really picked up and we headed back early afternoon. Again, pretty choppy conditions on the way back. The operation was first class, with comfortable rooms and good food. We actually did see a grizzly on the beach across the small inlet the lodge is in. We saw whales in several locations, but no other bears. Legacy Lodge did offer some guided trips, on larger boats than we used. We were given 17-18 foot boats to fish out of. I wanted to go to a place where I could run my own boat but get advice on locations, flies, etc. and Phil (the owner) was awesome about that.

I would return to Legacy Lodge again in the future, and just hope for a bit better conditions. Some people in our group were stuck there on our last day because of low clouds that rolled in after a few of the flights had departed. Just luck of the draw...No television or much internet access so bring a few books with you.

Have you looked into going to Tofino for a trip? I have gone there several times and had an awesome time, but they no longer have the option to rent your own boat and follow guides out. They do offer fly fishing packages with guides, and they also seem to offer a number of options specific to bear and whale watching. You also drive right by the rainforest on the way into town. Legacy Lodge is a much more remote experience than Tofino, just depends on what you are looking for. Let me know if you have any other questions. Steve
 

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speedbird

Life of the Party
Forum Supporter
Have you looked into going to Tofino for a trip? I have gone there several times and had an awesome time, but they no longer have the option to rent your own boat and follow guides out. They do offer fly fishing packages with guides, and they also seem to offer a number of options specific to bear and whale watching. You also drive right by the rainforest on the way into town. Legacy Lodge is a much more remote experience than Tofino, just depends on what you are looking for. Let me know if you have any other questions. Steve
Guided trips in Tofino is how I kept in touch with fishing through childhood and decided to learn how to fish myself. It has a special place in my heart but in recent years has become ridiculously over touristed, I was fortunate enough to visit before that happened. I don't know if guides everywhere are like this but the guides in Tofino seem to be universally shady about being forthcoming with optimal fishing dates for each species, and back then we didn't know any better. While they technically never lied to us, we were given information that was equivalent to me inviting someone to go Coho fishing in the middle of July on Puget Sound, and telling them the fishing would be good, or suggesting we chase Pinks in the saltwater just as September comes to a close. Could we catch fish? Yes. Is it decent or honest to tell established repeat clients with flexibile schedules that those dates are "good fishing"? Definitely not.

I'd love to go back there sometime, but I don't think I would fish those waters with a guide. I'd also want to research more out of the way trails, but the last time I tried exploring I got chased by rednecks. Fun times!
 
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