Port Renfrew Marina opened this past weekend to calm seas and sunny skies. We had pretty much a steady stream of people coming in to set up for the new season. We are all looking forward to having a great year. Fishing is very good for both halibut and spring salmon right now. Halibut are close to shore this time of year in 70 to 100 feet of water. One even followed a crab trap up in the bay. The Columbia river Chinook run is predicted to be one of the strongest in years.
Notable catches for halibut:
- Desi Hatchard of http://www.viciousfishcharters.com 80, 90 pics to come soon
Chinook salmon can be found all along the coast with best results coming from fishing close to the bottom with small spoons and hootchies. Most are hatchery fish in the 12 to 20 pound range.
Crabbing is very good as usual this time of year although many are still soft but oh so sweet!
Very Important News: As many of you are aware Port Renfrew is entered in the WFN (World Fishing Network) contest for the "Ultimate Fishing Town" across Canada. We are a small town and weren't sure how it would go but here is it, one day from the first round ending and we are in the lead for the western side of Canada and in third place overall!!! The final round will be starting on May 10th and ends May 31st. We want to urge everyone to vote for Port Renfrew "the little town that could." This takes you to make that commitment to get to your computer and vote and we can win this one click at a time! Here is the link that takes you to where you would vote. Also on our home page in the upper right hand corner is another link to take you to WFN. http://www.wfnfishingtown.ca/entries/portrenfrew-bc The winnings for this contest is $25,000.00 and $2000.00 from the sponsor! Port Renfrew could make very good use of this money and as most of us know the hatchery out here is in dire straights running on a shoe string budget and having the theft last year of their boat motor and generator set them back even further. So PLEASE vote as much as you can, we know a three week stretch is hard to keep going but it is so important. You can vote up to 4 times a day, in the morning before 9:00 am after 9:00 am and again after 3:00 pm and again after 9:00 pm.
Other News: The ATM is up and running for our customers and a reminder we are a cash business, we don't accept credit cards. Our pay phone is getting repaired and should be OK soon. The phone at the marina is also reactivated. All previous customers that were seasonal must contact us asap if they are wanting to keep their spots for this year. We again have many new inquiries and we need to know what camp spots are available. You have until May 15th to reach us regarding your site. We now have GAS, DIESEL and BAIT.
Bud & Rex