Rivers Inlet Sportsman's Club is nested in Sportsman's Bay, a remote wilderness setting only 2 hours by direct float plane from Vancouver BC, Canada. No roads, no crowds.

LOCATION LOCATION LOCATION...
The whole concept of a floating fishing lodge in a remote wilderness setting is quite unique & foreign to most people. The question often asked is what allows us to be able to situate the lodge in the best location in Rivers Inlet only minutes from the world's best trophy salmon & halibut fishing. Well, you can't just find a place that looks suitable for a fishing lodge and tie up. We are allowed to tie our lodge to the shore with cables, log booms & pilings through what is known as a foreshore lease. We are not allowed to have any permanent structures on the land. Thirty years ago almost to the day, lodge owner Barbara Kelly was hand drawing maps to apply to the British Columbia Government for our first foreshore lease in what Barbara aptly named "Sportsman's Bay". How fortunate are we to have found this private, tranquil cove at the mouth of Rivers Inlet on the central coast of beautiful B.C. at the southern end of the Great Bear Rainforest.

However, we were not the first to discover this perfect spot. We have a ramp that allows our guests to access the shore. There is a trail which, after a short hike through the dense rainforest, ends at Barbara's Beach. On the way you notice huge middens of clam shells & culturally modified trees, evidence that our First Nations people have been enjoying the tranquility of Sportsman's Bay for 1,000's of years. When we started the Sportsman's Club back in 1984, we originally accommodated up to 20 guests with 4 staff. There were only 3 floats, 3 buildings, 2 docks & a fleet of 12 - 17 ft. fishing boats with 30 HP motors, plus 2 bigger guided Boston Whalers. The lodge has grown to accommodate 40 guests with up 20 staff. We have 15 floats, 20 buildings and a pier. There are 21 guests boats with 40 HP motors (for better speed and range) as well as 4 larger guided Boston Whalers that can hold 3 & 4 guests at a time. Other upgrades to the fleet include electric bilge pumps, radios, depth sounders, GPS & downriggers.

Despite all the changes & improvements to our operation we have never lost the personal touch that you get from an owner/operated family run business. We still all eat our meals together at the same time at our round tables in the dining room, and tell fish stories as a group at night at the guest lounge.

Like the guests who have been coming every summer for 30 years you will feel like you are part of our family. Before you even leave the lodge we guarantee that you will be planning a trip back. Besides our location here are all the reasons why we are simply the best place to come fishing. We are looking forward to seeing many of you back at the Sportsman's Club in 2014, our 31st season!

If you'd like more information or want to make a reservation, call us today or send an email. info@riversinlet.com.

The Kelly Family.

Photo #1: Lodge owner Barbara with sons Simon and Dominic.

Soon there will be 3 generations of Kellys running the Sportsman's Club.

A FAMILY AFFAIR - BARBARA'S REFLECTIONS 30 YEARS ON
Running our fishing lodge has been a real family affair since the beginning & an exciting journey for me & my two sons, Dominic & Simon. Soon Simon's children will be involved and then it will become a 3 generation affair. Dominic originally helped to start the lodge back in 1984. After a few summers he moved on to become a pharmacist & an associate owner of a drug store & no longer had time to help at the lodge. When the lodge started Simon was at university in Australia. In 1987 he completed his honours degree in Economics at Sydney University & began guiding in the summer of 1988. After a brief stint in the commercial real estate business in Seattle, he came on board full time to help run the lodge in the early 1990's. Dominic's children Mathew (21) & Katrina (18) visit the lodge most summers when their busy schedules permit. Simon's children, Shayna (15), Rory (13), & Kieran (10) have been raised to fish, spending weeks at a time each season at the lodge. As you can imagine, all 3 have become very accomplished anglers. This past summer Kieran was the star of a TV Show produced by World Wide Fishing Guide. It is soon to be aired on National TV. Check out the trailer here. Rory holds her own on the water cutting her own bait, tying her own hooks & "guiding" her friends when they visit. Shayna proved this past season that she is now an expert angler, working all the gear in the boat, including the downriggers without any help. When they are old enough, all 3 kids have plans to work at the lodge to pay their way through school. Shayna is on track to become our first female guide, beside me of course. For the past 30 years, most of my time has been spent on the docks looking after the kitchen & housekeeping & creating the excellence the Sportsman's Club is famous for. However, I have done my share of successful fishing & guiding as well. There are lots of pictures of me with big fish that adorn the lodge. My best effort was a solo caught 40 lbs. chinook / king salmon that is mounted on the wall of our lounge. We all have so many precious memories of great times, but it seems to have gone by in the blink of an eye. To get some perspective, see the photos here of Shayna. How time flies!

All the Best,
Barbara.