Reel Reports

Island Reports

Get a taste of life on Quadra Island with Island Reports direct from April Point Resort & Spa

We post wildlife sightings, resort events, fishing reports and guests photos here several times a week throughout our season. Want to see your name in lights? Send on your own stories to photocontest@obmg.com.

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Sunrise

Painter's Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa - September 4, 2010

You wouldn’t really think that there are very many benefits to getting up at 5:00 am and being at work before the sun is even awake, but that is exactly what the benefit is.  I came in at 6:00 am the other morning to help send a group out fishing. I was very tired and not really awake yet until I walked over to the Marine Centre and saw the sun rising.  I walked right back to my office to grab my camera and spent the next 20 min ignoring the fact that I was so tired and took about a hundred photos.  These are my favorites…

I know that when you’re here on vacation and most people don’t want to wake up at 6:00am unless it’s to fish, but I highly recommend you pull yourself out of bed just long enough to witness the beautiful sunrise.

~ Caylin
 

Orcas

Painter's Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa - September 3, 2010

What a show the Orca’s put on for us this morning, the wildlife tour barely had to drive 20 yards to find the whales. Now we always have whales swim through the Discovery Passage, they are usually on the Quadra Island coast and just fly through without saying hello but this morning they slowed down long enough to say hello; for almost half an hour actually. This was the best from shore sighting I have every seen of the orcas.
 
~ Caylin

August Heat Derby Winners

Painter's Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa - September 2, 2010

Our 2010 August Heat Derby Winners are….
Mark Stach with a beautiful 37.5 lbs. Chinook, which is also the second largest salmon to hit the docks this season.
 
Chris Starycki is our second place winner. Chris’s Chinook weighed in at 32.98 lbs.
Last but definitely not least is Christine Reddy, a habitual visitor at Painter’s Lodge got in running last minute on August 28 with a 31.23 pounder which was caught before 7:00am. What a way to start your day!
 
Congratulations to the winners and everyone else has another chance next month, to win big, during our Stubborn Chum Derby in October.
 
~ Caylin

Pedder Bay RV Resort & Marina

Oak Bay Marine Group Fishing Resorts - September 1, 2010

Regular visitors to OBMG websites will have noticed an addition to the resort pages...Pedder Bay RV Resort & Marina in Metchosin, 35 minutes from Victoria. Last summer, OBMG opened a brand new, 78 site RV park to compliment the full-service marina and boat rentals. This year, we added a Coffee House to make the Resort & Marina a hotspot for RVers, campers, anglers and boaters.

Shaw TV (the local cable company) visited the resort last week to shoot a short video on the property. Have a look and we hope to see you soon at Pedder Bay!

For more information, visit www.pedderbay.com.

Friends & Family

April Point Resort & Spa - August 30, 2010

It’s a beautiful day on Quadra Island today. The sun is shining, the water is calm and the people are smiling. Here are some pictures that were taken from the April Point front desk.
Friends and families are everywhere.  You can bring your pal with paws, remember man's best friend is also welcome at April Point, so don't leave them at home.
  
~ Caylin

Home Sweet Home

April Point Resort & Spa - August 29, 2010

After an exhausting 3 months the crew from the MV Salmon Seeker is happy to be home.  Another great season up north under her belt the Seeker has come to rest her Prop at the April Point Marina for the winter.  They still have to work for a little longer to put her to bed but the guys will be sent home soon.  The Charlotte Princess will be coming home next week.

~Caylin

Devine Dining

Painter's Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa - August 26, 2010

The dining options between Painter’s Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa are endless. At Painter’s Lodge you can wake up and enjoy a breath taking sunrise and a fresh, light breakfast in the Legends Dining Room. 
 
On Sunday’s you can witness one of the largest Sunday Brunch spreads in Campbell River. It's loaded with fresh seafood, and some of the most amazing hand made desserts you’ve ever seen. Breakfast at April Point does not include the same breath taking sunrise, just a great patio to sit outside and soak up the warm morning sun while sipping your coffee and reading the local news paper. 
 
For lunch, you can visit either resort. The Tyee Pub and Fireside Lounge at Painter’s Lodge give you the options of daily meal and drink specials. April Point offers the same great view with a light lunch menu, and maybe some dolphins swimming past hunting for their own lunch. 
Dinner is a more difficult choice seeing as you have so many options. On Tuesday nights, April Point offers their weekly entertainment, Jazz at the Point, while watching the beautiful sunset. Indulge in some fresh, hand rolled Sushi before you order a culinary classic with an island twist. Painter’s Lodge offers their gourmet evening dinner experience in the Legend's Dinning Room. You can also sink into one of our large comfy lounge chairs and watch for cruise ships to glide past. In the Tyee Pub you can sip on an ice cold beer and play a game of pool while you wait for your fish and chips. 
 
No matter which resort you choose you will always have more dining options awaiting you on the other side of the Discovery Passage! All menus have been planned and executed with great passion by our Head Chefs: Kevin Wallace, Painter’s Lodge and Stephanie Dykes, April Point Resort & Spa.
 
~ Caylin 

The Ultimate Fishing Town

Painter's Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa - August 20, 2010

As someone who has grown up in Campbell River and continues to work within the community, I was thrilled to see that Campbell River was nominated to be the “Ultimate Fishing Town” through the World Fishing Network. The town that wins receives $25,000!
 
Long known as the “Salmon Capital of the World”, Campbell River takes pride in the history of salmon fishing. People travel from all over the world to this beautiful town to fish, and I’m lucky enough to experience that rich tradition.
 
The town continues to take pride in the Salmon Enhancement Program and other programs developed to sustain and strengthen the fishing industry. The Hatchery Heads study program, the Quinsum Hatchery are just two of these programs.
 
Just think of what this town can do with $25,000! But we need your help. Please vote at
http://www.wfn.tv/ultimate-fishing-town/Campbell-River.  You’re eligible to vote every 12 hours.
 
~ Thanks for supporting our Community, Caylin

Update with Pictures

April Point Resort & Spa - August 19, 2010

August Heat Derby Leader is Tomoya Sagara with a 25.39 lbs.  Karlo Mandredi and Laura Bowles are tied for second place with twin 25 pounders. Looks like we need a tie breaker…  Fishing has been phenomenal the past week; I’ve never seen so many sockeye on the docks.  For those of you who don’t know sockeye is, in most people’s eyes, the best tasting salmon.  But they are also more scarce then the other salmon species. 

 

Of course there is the usual activity around April Point; lots of kayakers and cyclists taking advantage of the great weather.  And of course the regular looky-loo’s. This is what I call the people that love to just come to April Point and look at all the action, these are the people on the dock to check out the fish at the end of each tide or the people that just hang around the lodge and enjoy some peaceful “alone time”, watching. These people love the little things in life and the little things around the lodge.   

 

~ Caylin

A Pair of Socks

Painter's Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa - August 16, 2010

I had the best day ever yesterday.  I worked a half day and got to go fishing in the beautiful sunny weather.  As you know we are catching all sorts of salmon right now (pink, chinook, coho and sockeye)

This is an awesome action shot I got in Brown's Bay.

So Ryan and I started the afternoon off in Brown’s Bay fishing for chinook.  I got one but lost it. How frustrating is that, I get the fish 10 feet from the boat and I lose it.  So we continued fishing; I’m on a mission to redeem myself because now all the other fishing guides are making fun of me.  So we hit another…wild coho. ARG, I send him back too.  Ok so new plan of attack, Ryan says lets go to Green Sea and fish for sockeye with our pink gear.

Mission accomplished, I was able to redeem myself. 

I was able to get a pair of socks in the bow hatch before it was time head back to the dock.

The only bad thing about yesterday was the fact that I got a sunburn.

 

~ Caylin