Side by side · Fishing Lodges

Moutcha Bay Resort vs Sointula Lodge

Two fishing lodges side by side from their own published tariffs: Moutcha Bay Resort from $1,829, Sointula Lodge from $7,035 per person, with seasons, what is and is not in the price, deposit and cancellation terms, and the transfer from the gateway.

How this page is made. Every figure is from the two operators' own published tariffs and booking pages, as recorded in their Ledgers, last read 14 September 2026. The sentences under "Which one" are rules over those figures, not opinion; where an operator publishes nothing, the row says so and the rule stays quiet. Ben has stayed at both.

Moutcha Bay Resort and its marina from the air, the yurt village set along the shore of Nootka Sound

Nootka Sound Moutcha Bay Resort

Aerial view of Sointula Lodge's dock and two guide boats in a sheltered cove, with the lodge and cabins in the trees behind

North Vancouver Island Sointula Lodge

The record

Side by side

Fact	Moutcha Bay Resort	Sointula Lodge
From, per person	From $1,829 per person for 3 nights (Bronze, self-guided), Summer season (May to September), 2026 tariff	From $7,035 per person for 3 nights (4 Day Fishing Trip), The season (May to October), 2026 tariff
Per night	about $610 per person per night, the Bronze, self-guided rate divided by its 3 nights	about $2,345 per person per night, the 4 Day Fishing Trip rate divided by its 3 nights
All in, with tax	about $1,920 per person for the shortest stay, with GST at 5%	about $7,387 per person for the shortest stay, with GST at 5%
Stays sold	8 packages of 3 or 4 nights	4 packages of 3 or 4 nights
Priced for	Double, two to a boat; Quad, four to a boat; Triple, three to a boat	Double; Single; Triple; Quad
Season	Summer season, May to September	The season, May to October
In the price	On a fishing package: a Signature Cedar Yurt for two or a Luxury Cedar Yurt for three or four, a continental take-away breakfast, an artisanal packed lunch and a three-course dinner at the Conuma Grill each day Gold: full days on a 32-foot North River with a certified guide, 10 hours dock to dock, gear and tackle, lunch aboard. Silver: one guided day and the rest self-guided on a 24-foot ABD. Bronze: self-guided days on an 18-foot Quay Craft Provincially regulated fish processing on Gold, Silver and Bronze: filleted, vacuum-packed, flash-frozen and boxed for departure day The Anglers Academy, at no extra charge on any guided boat On a unit booked by the night: dine-in or continental take-away breakfast with the lodge suites, yurts and chalets; breakfast for two with a Forest Cabin; parking for one vehicle On a campsite: water and 30-amp power, washhouses with flush toilets and hot showers, parking for a vehicle and boat trailer, the boat launch, a fire ring, wifi Barbecues around the resort for anyone, and private ones at the yurts and chalets The playground and zipline in the Highland campground	Your log cabin, meals (hot breakfast, lunch out on the water or a beach, a four-course dinner from a set menu), and wine, spirits and beer A guided day on the water every day, three to four guests to a boat with a licensed guide, in a 27 ft NorthRiver with an enclosed heated cabin and its own bathroom All fishing gear: rods, reels, tackle, plus Columbia insulated rain jackets, rain pants, rain boots, Mustang inflatable life jackets and children's life jackets On the fishing packages, your catch weighed, filleted, frozen and packed in insulated boxes that check as airline luggage The High Seas Day (bottom fish and salmon off the northern tip of the island) and a day of Great Bear Rainforest fly fishing, both on request, on the fishing packages Beach Bistro lunch of boiled crab on an island one day, the Burger Boat lunch delivered to you on the water another Kayaks, paddleboards, bicycles, the hot tubs and the Finnish sauna, the pool table, the trails and the alpacas Binoculars on the boats
Not in the price	GST at 5% on everything, including campsites, and PST at 8% on lodge suites, chalets and yurts Extra guests aged 12 and over beyond a unit's base count, $100 each per night Pets, $25 per pet per night in the pet-friendly units (chalets, yurts 1 to 4, select Forest Cabins; free on campsites) A tidal waters fishing licence with the salmon conservation stamp, bought before you arrive Gratuities: the resort suggests $70 to $100 per guest per day for the guide and 20% of your stay for the shore staff Drinks, and lunch and dinner on a stay booked by the night (the Conuma Grill is licensed and a la carte) Fuel and bait on a rental boat, and moorage, fuel and bait for your own boat at the marina Firewood, $10 a bin, delivered to your campsite Kayaks and paddleboards on a unit stay (the Rates page prices them from $35 for two hours as a non-guest rate)	Tax Getting to the lodge: the flight or drive to Port McNeill and the 15-minute boat ride, or a chartered floatplane; the lodge helps arrange it BC tidal fishing licence, $38.85, printed and in your hand on arrival Tips for staff; the lodge suggests 15% of the trip value per guest A private boat for a party of two, $1,950 The cellar wine list, massages, and the half- and full-day helicopter adventures, priced on request
Deposit	10% of the booking when you reserve, charged to the card on file	33% at booking. Inside 60 days of the trip the whole balance is due at booking.
If you cancel	More than 90 days before arrival: 10% of the booking; the rest refunded 90 days or fewer before arrival: full payment forfeited	More than 90 days out: deposit kept, but fully transferable to another date in the same season; with the lodge's permission, to the next season 90 days or fewer: all funds forfeited; a transfer to another date in the same summer at the lodge's discretion if there is space Moving to the next calendar year: 25% of the deposit paid is applied to a visit the following summer
Getting there	Road from Gold River (the resort, on Head Bay Road towards Tahsis, about 6 km past the Conuma hatchery): about an hour from Gold River on Head Bay Road, gravel with 15 and 18% grades, not in the price. Timing partly our estimate.	Boat from Port McNeill (the Port McNeill dock; the lodge sets arrival and departure times, confirm them before booking travel): 15 minutes by boat to Malcolm Island, not in the price. Timing partly our estimate.
Sleeps	100 guests	18 guests
Region	Nootka Sound, British Columbia	North Vancouver Island, British Columbia
Source	2026 tariff, read 14 September 2026	2026 tariff, read 14 September 2026

"From" is the lowest adult double rate in the newest tariff, per person for the shortest stay sold; the all-in line adds the tax the calculator adds. Anything marked "our estimate" is ours, not the operator's.

Which one

What the record says

On price, Moutcha Bay Resort is the cheaper way in: from $1,829 per person for 3 nights against $7,035 for 3 nights at Sointula Lodge, both before tax, a gap of $5,206 a head on the shortest stay each sells.

Sointula Lodge has the longer season, May to October against May to September at Moutcha Bay Resort, about 26 weeks to 22.

Each lists 8 things in the price; the lists are in the table.

Sointula Lodge is the quicker to reach: 15 minutes by boat to Malcolm Island from Port McNeill. Moutcha Bay Resort is about an hour from Gold River on Head Bay Road, gravel with 15 and 18% grades (the timings are partly our estimate).

Sointula Lodge is the smaller place, 18 guests to 100.

Which of those matters is yours to weigh; the pages behind each place have the rest, and the calculators price a stay for your own party.

Moutcha Bay Resort
The record and the Ledger What a trip costs, all in Request availability
Sointula Lodge
The record and the Ledger What a trip costs, all in Request availability

From the Journal

A story that covers both

From the Journal How to choose a fishing lodge in Canada Read the story

Answered from the record

Which is cheaper, Moutcha Bay Resort or Sointula Lodge?

What is included at Moutcha Bay Resort and at Sointula Lodge?

Moutcha Bay Resort lists 8 things in the price, starting with on a fishing package and gold. Sointula Lodge lists 8, starting with your log cabin, meals and a guided day on the water every day. The full lists, and what each leaves out, are in the table on this page.

How do you get to Moutcha Bay Resort and to Sointula Lodge?

Moutcha Bay Resort: Road from Gold River (the resort, on Head Bay Road towards Tahsis, about 6 km past the Conuma hatchery): about an hour from Gold River on Head Bay Road, gravel with 15 and 18% grades, not in the price. Timing partly our estimate. Sointula Lodge: Boat from Port McNeill (the Port McNeill dock; the lodge sets arrival and departure times, confirm them before booking travel): 15 minutes by boat to Malcolm Island, not in the price. Timing partly our estimate.