This past weekend at Port Renfrew Marina will not be one anyone who was there will forget too soon! It was at the other end of the spectrum from the weekend before. Rains of biblical proportions descended on Sunday and Monday. Fishing has slowed down but the monsoons made it impossible to fish. With heavy rain, high winds and having no power for almost 30 hours not much was happening other than trying to stay dry and comfortable!
We probably had 4 to 6 inches of rain in 24 hours. Boats sunk at the docks, etc. Kudos to Rick Jakimchuk whose boat was totally sunk but helped us save another boat stay afloat that was on the verge of sinking. Thanks go out to Reid, Dave, Todd, Charlie, Greg and all the others that helped get Rick's boat over to the ramp and back on the trailer.
While we do our best to help our customers with their boat issues please remember that it is not our responsibility to keep your boat afloat. Working bilge pumps, tarps should be used or pull your boat out of the water. It is up to you when these storms arrive to be prepared for such possible unexpected emergencies. If bad weather hits our area you need to come out and check on your boats and units if you are unsure.
Luckily the weather is supposed to improve and it looks so far that the long weekend will have decent weather and this wild storm will pass but will not be forgotten!
Notable Catches:
Bob Culm and a nice fish not quite 30 pounds but close enough to be proud of
Not a big fish but one Mathew was pleased with considering he lives in the Bahamas so any salmon is impressive!
Upcoming Derby: This coming long weekend September 5th and 6th will be the 18th annual Port Renfrew Marina Labor Day Derby. The time sure came up quickly, it seems like the season just started a month ago! Now here it is and we have to say it has been an outstanding year for donations and contributors and volunteers! We have been given many awesome prizes and there is something to appeal to everyone. There will be many silent auctions, live auctions and at least four raffles. Tickets are still only $60.00 a rod and includes a Port Renfrew Marina t-shirt, dinner, beverages and a live band. There will be a fun adult bullhead derby on Saturday night with prizes for the most bullheads caught. On Sunday morning there will be a kids (12 an under) bullhead derby. This derby is a lot of fun and relaxed and at the same time you will know you are helping support salmon enhancement as all proceeds go to the San Juan hatchery. This year has become even more important than past ones as the hatchery hasn't had any additional funding since 1992 and now this year we were told they had a government cutback of another $10,000.00! If it weren't for all the generous donations and the efforts of many to make derby's like this one successful the salmon enhancement program would surely suffer. Tickets only available at the marina and will be on sale later this week.
Upcoming Event: Port Renfrew Marina will be having its annual "Winner Take All" Coho Derby on October 3rd and 4th. This derby beats all for popularity even though there is just one winner. It may be one winner but what a spectacular winner they will be, winning a cash pot that runs in the thousands. There have been some pretty big Coho caught over the last couple weeks, all wild but by the time of the derby you will be allowed to keep wild Coho. Tickets are only $25.00 a rod with $5.00 of each ticket going to the San Juan salmon hatchery. The number of tickets sold will dictate the winnings. From previous years the average winning amount runs between $8000.00 to $11000.00, not bad for a weekend of fishing!
Bud & Rex
