July2/10 Port Renfrew Marina Report

Port Renfrew Marina is seeing fishing continue to improve on a daily basis. Unbelievably calm seas have allowed all size boats to get to the fishing spots. Fishing farther west from Camper Creek has started to light up, early mornings or on the high slack tides are best. Offshore salmon fishing for Chinnok and hatchery Coho is getting better and better with hoochies and spoons working best.  Anchovies in the 10 pack are doing well. Notable catches:

• Graham Smith          42                                   
• Ian Batty                 twins 29 & 29
• Eric Eckdahl   33.5  29  27
• Brian Dice                    32
• Steve Holgate              36       24
• Blair Houdayer    37                                         
• Ken Beachum              31    
• Wayne & Judy Schiffner   34   32    

 Halibut catches continue to be strong and with the weather being so perfect all spots have been accessed with great results. 

Notable catches:

• Steve French of  www.seawindfishing.com      176
• Desi Hatchard of www.viciousfishcharters.com  120

Important Dates:    

• The Davey Derby  is coming up on the August long weekend.  July31 st  to Aug.1 st.  This is a favorite of many, named after a great family man who passed away a few years ago and carried on since.  There are great prizes and all proceeds go to a variety of very good charities. This year there will be entertainment. Tickets are $45.00 a rod and available at Port Renfrew Marina.
• The Port Renfrew Marina Labor Day Derby is on Sept.4th and 5th. This derby is a fundraiser for the local San Juan Hatchery. All proceeds go to help maintain this hatchery that is all but forgotten by the government. There is a dinner, beverages, t-shirt and live band all for $50.00 a rod and will be sold at the marina soon. If you or a business you know would be interested in making a donation for this derby please contact us at the office, call or e-mail us with your suggestions.
• Port Renfrew Marina's Coho Derby "winner take all" is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 2nd and 3 rd.

We are happy to announce that the pay phone appears to be working and hopefully will stay that way! Our ATM is working fine this year and is for customers convenience when they arrive and don't realize we only do cash sales.

Bud & Rex

June 24/10 Port Renfrew Marina Report

Chinook fishing seems a little hot and cold right now except for the cut pluggers who are doing well everyday. For the trollers the bites seem to be very short, sometimes only 20 minutes long. First light seems to always be the best time. Small anchovies and needle fish hoochies behind UV flashers are working best. Notable spring catches:

•  unknown                         32
• Garnett MacDonald     34
• Cindy Pope                  42
• Quinn MacDonald  on Hindsight Fishing Charters   44

Halibut fishing remains very strong and with calm seas it can be a city of anchored boats at the hot spots to the west. Mackerel and herring are the choice of bait right now. Most halibut are in the 20 to 40 pound range though there are still some barndoors.

Notable halibut catches:

• Blair Legalis of  Swelltime Charters                78
• Desi Hatchard of Vicious Fish Charters        118

An update on the pay phone: It seems that we no sooner say it's working than it breaks down, we want to apologize to our customers for the inconvenience of it's ongoing problems. We sincerely want to thank Andrew Hoffman who has spent countless hours and phone calls trying to resolve the problem. Without his help we would have been lost! It appears it is working and the problem has likely been resolved. Fingers crossed!

The Davey Derby will the August long weekend this year. There will be entertainment this year. The proceeds from this derby go to an assortment of charities.  The Port Renfrew Labor Day Derby will be Sept. 4th and 5th this year. The proceeds from this one will go the local hatchery as usual.

A reminder: Port Renfrew Marina only deals in cash so please for those of you who are unaware of this come prepared. We do have an ATM machine.

Bud & Rex

June 11/10 Port Renfrew Marina Report

Chinook fishing remains very good with most in the 12 to 20 pound range. Fishing  further west than the usual spots is best right now as there is a needlefish hatch happening in the sandy flats. Spoons and hoochies in the whites on greens are working very well.

Halibut continue to hit the docks in good numbers with at least 1 barndoor a day hanging on the scales. Any bump in the contour lines in about 200 feet of water seems to hold fish. Bait is out-fishing plastic right now. Notable catches go to John Rogers of Jolly Rogers Fishing Adventures with a great catch of halibut and springs. The biggest halibut weighing in at 62 pounds and to Steve French of Seawind Fishing Adventures with also a great catch of halibut and springs with the biggest halibut weighing 92 pounds.

Crabbing is still excellent and should be for the rest of June, possibly later.

As was mentioned in the last report we have come to realize we lost our toll free number without our knowledge. At this time we are not reinstating it as we are making possible changes to our system. We apologize for any inconvenience to our customers.

We are in the process of making a few new fingers on the docks. We have also had Knut making more picnic tables so if you are in need of one for your site, let us know.

There will be a guide meeting with DFO Friday, June 18th at 6:30 at the longhouse.  All guides with Port Renfrew Marina are asked to attend for new  information.

Bud & Rex

June 4/10 Port Renfrew Marina Report

Port Renfrew Marina has seen a fairly steady result for fishing in the last couple weeks. Halibut fishing is still good with many coming in. It still isn't necessary to go out to Swiftsure bank which given weather conditions is just as well. Most are being caught from Camper Creek to Carmanah. Crabbing is still going strong, hard shells, sweet and in large numbers. Chinooks are coming in at a nice rate. They are still in the teens for the most part with the odd one in the 20's. A notable catch goes to Nathan Van Weiren bringing in a 39 pound spring last weekend.  Unpredictable weather with strong winds, heavy rains and cold spells have made fishing more challenging, therefore less fisherman going out and so less fish coming in. Here's hoping the weather settles down soon with calm seas and less swells and maybe a bit of warm sun.

It has come to our attention that our toll free number is not working. We apologize for the inconvenience and are trying to get it up and running. It should be in effect in a few days and will be posted as we will have a new number. Also the pay phone we thought was repaired is working but not very well. It seems to be plagued with problems. We are also working to see if it can be resolved. The good news is our ATM is working and we think will be fine this year. To people who are first time visitors at Port Renfrew Marina we only take cash and not credit cards or debit, so please come prepared.

Bud & Rex

May 28/10 Port Renfrew Marina Report

Port Renfrew Marina fishing has been picking up every week. Weather conditions make it hard to predict what it will be like each day. Halibut fishing has been very good with most fisherman bringing in their catch from anywhere near Camper Creek to Carmanah. Crabbing is still excellent. Chinook fishing is slower but not surprising for this time of year. Still mostly feeder springs with some reaching in the 20's with most fisherman using anchovy and hoochies right now.  A notable catch goes to Wally Browse with a 32 pound spring and a 15 and 20.

To all our past seasonal customers, if you haven't confirmed with us by now that you are returning your spot is no longer saved. If you are coming back we will do our best to find you a suitable spot.

Bud & Rex