At Port Renfrew Marina soon after our last report Chinook fishing turned on again. Chinook fishing is very good right now. If you want to get an extra edge try jigging the anchovies that are under the marina docks. They are silver and green and and work very well after brining in salt. Small teaser heads work well with them but anchovies in general are the way to go. The real surprise is the Coho fishing. In the twenty years we have been here we have never seen this many, this large, this early. Lots of limit catches, with fish up to 19 pounds already! You can get them on the beach but the best place seems to be in 300 to 350 feet of water down 35' to 40'. Spoons and hootchies in green, white or yellow seem to be working well. We would say that this is shaping up to be the best Coho year since 2000.
For halibut, no one has really been fishing lately but while it generally slows down in August, by mid September it picks up again. Good currents in the next two weeks should make for some favorable conditions.
This past weekend was Port Renfrew Marina's 19th annual Labor Day Derby. It was another great success with 271 tickets sold. The weather on the Saturday was a wonderful early autumn day, warm, calm seas and no fog. Sunday the fog arrived and a bit rougher waters but not enough to stop the anglers from trying to catch the winning spring, all in all two great days of fishing. On Saturday there were 136 salmon weighed in with even more than that caught as we only weigh one spring per ticket. On Sunday with the shorter hour, final weigh in time was 1:00, there were 50 fish weighed in. Luckily the fire ban had been lifted so the evenings were a great time to sit back and talk about the days fishing.
Derby Winners:
- Brian Paulson 37.15 First place
- Ian Batty 30.8 Second Place
- Mike Styba 28.14 Third Place
Woman's biggest fish: Judy Thorarinson 25.5 sorry, no pic of Judy or Mike and apologies for the head chops!
Kids Bullhead Derby:
- Boys winner: Brooke
- Girls winner: Kiana
For Port Renfrew Marina many people helped make this derby successful. We had a different direction for the dinner this year. While in previous years we had someone local prepare and serve it, this year we had to create the menu and the Lake Cowichan Kinsmen served it up for us. PRM wants to send out a huge thank you to Clayton Wright who coordinated the incredibly generous donation of Tim Hortons chili, cups and spoons from the owner of the Duncan restaurant and others, Greg Adams. Clayton Wright managed to get the donation and bring it to the marina, get the cookware arranged, helped in arranging how to get it all prepared (it is not done in a conventional way). Clayton took time out of his days to personally super clean the pots and donated his propane tanks for cooking. We can't thank him enough for all he did.
Like most derbies we held some silent and live auctions which went well but the most outstanding one was when Judy Eilertsen's famous blueberry cheesecake was auctioned. It started of at $200 and very quickly jumped to $715.00 by Ian Batty, it was then put to Judy Thorarinson to match the difference to make it an even $1000!! She did and the cheesecake sold for the $1000.00! That's what we call real enthusiasm for the salmon enhancement cause!
When it comes to donations anyone who has done this knows that it is a huge job. We have had a few people who help out over the last three years and we also couldn't do it all without them. There are a couple people who really put their time in for us and they are Vic Gee and Sharon Winters. Both of them go to many businesses and tirelessly go from one to another in their area. We have help from others also, Brian Kitagawa, Larry DeFrane, Jack Hughes, Debbie Gilmore, Linda Bondu, Grant Hilliard, and many individual donators. All are listed at the bottom of the report. We thank all those who do this work for us, it means everything to have that kind of help.
For a derby there is endless help needed, in setting up, keeping track of auction tables and raffles and clean up, etc. Again when it comes down to the crunch we can always count on a few people and Sharon Winters stands out amongst them all! She is up for whatever you need done and puts in hours of her time with out any complaints. She is amazing and so organized and can calm things down so things aren't spiraling out of control! We can't thank you enough Sharon, you are wonderful. Having said that we had lots of help from others in setup, take down, clean up, and general running around. Thanks go out to Dennis Summerhayes, Linda Holman, Cheryl Gillard, Gwen Coleman, Dave Mills, Paul Ricard, Doug Larsen, Dave & Doug Mills, Sadie (granddaughter of the Holman's). A special thanks goes out to Joe Serpa for letting some of the band members stay in his little cabin.
And last but not least we give a huge thanks to the Kinsmen, Dustin Mayo and his wife, Crystal (who happens to be pregnant and still pitched in hugely), Brian, Steve and Allan. They were great, doing whatever was needed to make this work and had the help of Dolores Forsberg, Brooke and Gabrielle Winters, Diane Clarke, Alex Gummeson and Claire Cooper who helped prepare the food ready for cooking. As you can see the list is long and it all comes together with all of their help, from small to big jobs, they are all important! If we have overlooked someone please accept our apologies!
So the derby was a success with a great showing of Chinooks caught over the two day period many of the entrants coming back with great catches and after the presentations and dinner, the band, Mathison, played into the night with many of the marina's customers and derby entrants dancing and celebrating the weekend. Not a bad way to say farewell to summer and look toward the fall.
Upcoming Event: Coming up on October 1st and 2nd Port Renfrew Marina will be having it's annual Coho Derby "Winner Take All." This derby is incredibly popular and people by the hundreds show up for the chance to win a large chunk of cash usually with winnings around the $10,000.00 mark. The entry fee is $25.00 a rod with $5.00 of each fee going to the local San Juan salmon hatchery in Port Renfrew. This derby should prove to be an interesting one since the Coho seen so far are proving to be the largest at this time in years. Come and make the most of the closing of the season in Renfrew, have a fun two day fishing trip for $25.00 and help the hatchery at the same time. Please be advised that we are a cash business so please bring cash for your expenses and tickets. We do have an ATM for your convenience.
Businesses and Individuals who donated to the derby:
Vancouver Is. Motorsport Circuit & Dan Maxwell- Rutland Glass, Greg Adams of Tim Hortons, Harbour Chandler, Islander Reel, Neil Hanson of Milroy Engineering & Coast Reels, Sooke Harbour Marina, Gizmos Computers, Island Outfitters, Joe Serpa, Chris Flint, Tomi's, Handsome Dan, Rick Jakimchuk, Westcoast Tire, Soule Creek Lodge, Butler Bros, Dodds Lumber, Central Is. Powerline, Kenyon Wilson Surveyors, CC Investments, Valley Foods, Redl Sports, Oki' Tackle, Mt. Sicker Lumber, Nisers, Home Hardware, Big Fish Lodge, Doug Brouwer, Trailhead Motel, Cowichan Engineering Services, Cindy's Hair Creations, Steel Electric, McGregors, Eagle Eye Sports, Anglers Retreat, Richlock Rentals, Northwest Aluminum, Bow Mel, Three Point Properties, Alpine Marine, Scotty, Cabelas, Prestige Oceanfront Resort, Sooke Power Supplies, Trotac, Shane & Samantha Morse, Andrew Sheret, Adrena Line Zipline, Deans Marine, Monti's Boat Sales, Choice Charters, Mike Young, All Battery, Barry Hobbis of Victoria Harbour Ferry, Berks Intertruck, Duncan Coastal Outboards, Silver Streak Boats, Pacific Gateway Marina, Audie Williams from Davey Derby, Gord's Fly & Tackle, Tube Shack, Bonnie Curl, Princess Auto, Great West Equipment, Bob Biggs, DSS Welding, Hugh Hamer, Hotel Chemainus & Green Lantern Pub, Dave Haddadd, Diamond Eye wear, Superstore, ECS Electrical Supply, Boston Pizza, E-Fish-Ent fish Processing, Kelz Bakery, Artisans Well, ATP Bait and Tackle, Market on Millstream, Fastenall, Shoppers Drug mart (Colwood & Sooke), 17 Mile House, Mike Smith, Buckerfields, March Meadows, Enex, Fields, Item, Dennis Murray, Country Grocer, Queale Electronics, Island GM, Hardie Honey, Liqour Planet, Sherringham Distillery, Black Dragon Enterprises, St. Jeans Cannery, Wholesale Sports, Madill, Mike Game, Peninsula Coop, Sylas' Treasure Chest, White Spot, Oughtred Coffee & Teas, Sabhai Thai, Stickleback Restaurant, Mai Mai Bistro, Great Canadian Oil Change, Turmeric Restaurant, Route 14, Milestones, Floyd's Diner, Browns Social House, IMax from Jordan Batchelor, Blanshard St. Winery, Thriftys Foods, Verity, Western Foods, Darcy's Pub, Dog House Restaurant, Steve Beal, Glenwood Meats, Starbucks (Colwood & Langford), A&W (Colwood, Lk.Cowichan, Sooke, Vic), Westland Insurance, Village Foods, Gordon n Gordon, Judy Eilertsen, Irly Bird, Lifetimer Boats, Marina supply, Lake Cowichan Coop, Lake Cowichan J&V Burgers & Pizza, Tugwell Creek Winery, Tim Hortons (Colwood, Langford, Lk. Cow), Country Grocer (Lk. Cow), Jakes on the Lake, Subway (Lk. Cow, Colwood), Superior Propane, Serious Coffee, Linda Bondu, Walter Pederson, Dennis Summerhayes, The Oak & Carriage Pub, Ampersand Gin, Cobblestone Pub, Sawmill Restaurant, Tiptons Outboards, Marian Randall of MVVC Communications, Doug Mills, Sylas' Treasure Chest, Botanical Getaway, Gallery House, Greg's RV, Fairway Markets, Buckerfields, Black Swan Pub, Dan Maxwell, Lake Cowichan Coop. Wayne & Judy Schiffner, Matt Wiley (from the Cowichan Salmon & Steelhead club), John Sheldrake, Select Mortgage, Fountain Diner.
Please do not hesitate to let us know if we missed a donator! It is of upmost importance to us to acknowledge and give recognition to the people and businesses who are generous enough to donate to this great cause and we do not want to forget anyone!
Bud & Rex