For Port Renfrew Marina and the general area Coho fishing has not turned on yet. We expected them to be here in good numbers by now. The local San Juan fish are no where to be found at this point! The Coho being caught offshore are on the small side with 4 to 8 pounds being the average. Bait, hootchies, Coho killers and Baitrix seem to be working well. We heard reports from anglers on the radio saying the Baitrix was doing very well. Finding the fish has been the challenge, monitor VHF channel 06, the guys are pretty willing to share their location and depths on the radio. That being said when the large local fish do show up and they always do eventually, we expect hot and heavy action right in the river mouths. It is pretty clear that the springs have moved on but there were a couple caught over the last few days, one a bright silver around 26 pounds caught while fishing for Coho on a white hootchie! Over the last couple weeks we have had really up and down weather, we will get a few days of beautiful warm and clear fall days and then torrential rain for a day or two and then back to summer like weather. All of us at Port Renfrew Marina strongly suggest that if your boat is in the water to come by and check on your boat and or unit when those heavy rains come. It is your responsibility to keep tabs on your boat and be willing to come out and do maintenance or put it on dry dock. One boat sunk overnight and another one came close. The one was lucky as while checking on docks and boats it was noticed it was very low in the water. These sinkings can happen very quickly before anyone notices. You must be very sure your batteries are in good shape, that everything is turned off and that your bilge pump is working to avoid a major disaster.
Picture of the marina this summer: Picture of two grey whales blowing near the marina: Pictures taken by TJ Watt
Upcoming Event: Coming up this weekend, October 3rd and 4th is Port Renfrew Marina's Coho Derby "Winner Take All." This is the derby everyone wants to be in! Tickets are $25.00 a rod with $5.00 of each ticket going to the San Juan Salmon Hatchery. The tickets are only available at the marina the day before the derby starts. With this derby there is just one winner and that is the fisherman who weighs in the biggest Coho. The whole pot, the total depending on the amount of tickets sold, goes to that angler. The winning from the past were anywhere from $5500.00 up to a whopping $13,800.00! Not bad for having a two day fishing trip! If you are planning on coming bring your own firewood for campfires as we are sold out. For rules, they are basic, fishing is from dawn to 6:00 pm on the 3rd and dawn to 1:00 pm on the 4th. Fishing is allowed in any areas that are not closed by fisheries. Come out and have a great weekend fishing and maybe go home with a bag of money!
PRM Closing: Heads up for all that Port Renfrew Marina is closing on October 12th on Thanksgiving monday. It is imperative that you come in and make arrangements to remove your trailer and or boat or come by the office and set up winter storage for it to stay at the marina. Once we are closed the gate will be locked and entering with a vehicle will only be possible when you have contacted Desi Hatchard ahead of time so he knows that you will be arriving. His number is 250 483-1486.
Bud & Rex