Port Renfrew Report April 24/14

The new season of 2014 is up on us for Port Renfrew Marina. We open officially on May 1st as we do every year but if you come out to the marina this weekend you will find us out there. We are in the process of slowly getting things organized for the season. Here's hoping the weather is decent, we do know that fishing is good for halibut and crab. There was a 24 pound spring caught last week so there are a few of them around also. So if a little ... or a lot of rain falls at least there is fish out there. Unfortunately, even with the heavy winter rains the sandbar seems to be in the same condition as last year, if you are unsure of how to get out the river please check with us in the office. Fishing is expected to be possibly off the charts this year as fisheries has predicted over 73 million in Sockeye alone and it appears that Nitnat is also predicted to have a unprecedented amount of Chinnok this year. It could be a record year! There are a couple of things new that we would like to inform our customers of. One is we discovered just two weeks ago that fisheries is not selling hard paper fishing licenses anymore. This means they are only available on line which for Port Renfrew Marina that means we will no longer be able to sell licenses to our customers. PLEASE make sure you purchase your license before you come to Renfrew. You can do this at home, probably the easiest, or at any public place where there is use of a computer and printer. We apologize for the inconvenience but it is not possible for us to do licenses this way.

Another big change this year is there will be no Davey Derby this year. Audie Williams has done this huge job for 13 years and has retired himself now. Unless someone steps up to take on this endeavor there will be no Davey derby. At this point it is not scheduled. This was a fun derby with awesome prizes so it will be missed but we guess all good things do come to an end at some point in time. A big thanks to Audie for all he did over the years. Port Renfrew Marina is still planning on having the Labor Day Derby on the long weekend and the Coho Derby the first weekend in Oct. that date to be determined.

We want to take this time to thank a few people who donated their time to help us put the docks back in for the year. A big thank you goes out to Reid Warren, Dave Mills, Odd Johansen and Eric Eckdahl.

As every year we ask that all seasonals and even monthly customers to please contact us as soon as possible to let us know if they are returning and wanting their spot. This is critical as we have new people every year waiting for a spot and are anxious to get in. The phone number at the marina will be in operation on April 26th, the number is 250 483-1878 or you can call Desi our caretaker at 250 483-1486 and leave a message. A reminder that anyone with power must have a large cord of size 10 or 12 to keep the power safe. Anyone using small cords or many extension cords will be unplugged as it is very unsafe and causes power surges an can even start a fire.

Please review our rates page. Everything is the same as last year except our seasonal rate has gone up $100.00 for the season.

We look forward to meeting our new customers and getting to know them and we welcome back all our regular customers and look forward to seeing everyone again. We will have the same familiar faces there with Knut helping out also. Hears to having an excellent year with good safe fishing and maybe calm seas, some sun and warm skies thrown in if possible!

Bud & Rex

Port Renfrew Marina Report April 12/14

The time has rolled around again for the 2014 fishing season for Port Renfrew Marina to begin very soon. With beautiful weather coming this early in spring it makes all of us want to get out there and enjoy fishing on the ocean and all the beauty around it.  The marina officially opens on May 1st but we will be out there getting things in order April 25th.  We are all hoping for a great fishing year and if the fisheries are accurate it would seem that this year may be a record one for salmon. They have predicted over 73 million Sockeye alone for this year. Those numbers are the largest ever. So far in the coming months we have crabbing and halibut fishing to look forward to. In this year there will be a few changes for our customers. The big thing is that unfortunately Port Renfrew marina will no longer be able to sell fishing licenses. This has just come to our attention as each year fisheries sends out information of setting up licenses on line but we have always informed them that wasn't possible for us but this year we were recently told that they no longer will be doing hard copy paper licenses. The marina has no service to provide customers with online access. We do not have a strong enough signal to run the phones and ATM and as many of you know we often have them go down on us.  We have looked into it but it is just not feasible for us to do this so we are hoping we can get the word out to everyone to PLEASE purchase your licenses elsewhere. This can be done anywhere there is public use of a computer with Internet and a printer, including anyone with that in their home. There should be access to use in Port Renfrew the town but NOT at the marina. All home and businesses on the town side of the bridge have wireless internet but we do not. We are extremely sorry and apologize for any inconvenience this may cause our customers.

The other news is that there will be no Davey Derby this year.  Audie Williams has stepped down from the huge job of organizing this derby. We all want to thank Audie for his years of working so hard on this derby, only someone who has been deeply involved in this kind of work can truly understand the commitment and time it takes to put on a fundraiser that size. It will be missed as it was a great derby and lots of fun and did so much good for many communities.

For the new season at Port Renfrew Marina we are asking for all our seasonals who have not already contacted us to please do so asap to confirm their sites for the coming year. We have new customers asking for sites and we need to know which ones may be available. You can reach us by email or phone. The office phone is 250 483-1878 and will be working on April 26th.You can also contact our caretaker, Desi Hatchard at 250 483-1486. Anyone planning to come out before opening to check on their units in storage must speak to Desi first to be assured that the gate is not locked.

At this time we at Port Renfrew Marina want to welcome back all our old customers and look forward to meeting new ones arriving. We hope you all had a good safe and healthy winter and look forward to seeing all those friendly faces soon.

Bud & Rex

Port Renfrew Marina Report Oct.16/13

The 2013 fishing season for Port Renfrew Marina is officially over.The season overall was a good one. Chinook catches were very good with more over 40 pound springs than the last two years. Coho fishing was the best in many years but was cut short by the heavier than usual rains in September. It really was too bad as it was shaping up to be the best one ever. Halibut was good as always with the "chicken ranch" giving up fish all summer long. Crabbing was disappointing this year with 3 commercial boats sitting out front, not leaving much for the sports fishermen. Closing up this year went well, with fantastic weather. A big thanks go out to Odd Johansen, Todd Garrett and Reid Warren for all their help with putting the docks away for the winter. We ask that anyone who has units or boats not arranged for storage to contact the caretaker, Desi Hatchard, for pickup. The gate is kept locked so you need to contact him for access. The number to reach him is 250 483-1486, the marina number will not be taking calls. Please be aware that if left, storage fees will apply. We also ask that anyone with an outstanding account send their payments as soon as possible so we can be prompt getting the marina shut down for the season. Any questions or concerns please email us at info@portrenfrewmarina.com.

For those of you who are already wondering when they can come back to fish, the marina will reopen on May 1st 2014. Any seasonal customers MUST contact us before May 10th if they want to keep their spots otherwise we will assume they are available. There is a high demand for sites so we can't leave them as an unknown.

All of us at the marina wish all our customers a safe and healthy winter and look forward to seeing you back next year. We also want to thank our customers for their loyalty and their efforts to support us by buying local and helping keep businesses in Port Renfrew doing well. We want all of you to know it does not go unnoticed and we are grateful. Here's to another year to come being even better than the last!

Bud & Rex

Port Renfrew Marina Report Oct.7/13

Port Renfrew Marina is reaching an end to the season for 2013. The springs have all but disappeared and gone up the rivers to spawn. Coho fishing was quite spectacular this year with hundreds of them just about everywhere at least until the extreme heavy rains we had the weekend before last. That four days of torrential rain pushed many of them up the rivers also. We estimate that there is a week or so left to get out there and catch the remaining few out there , weather permitting. Port Renfrew Marina held our annual Coho Derby "Winner Take All" this past weekend. We were very lucky to have excellent weather, with the rain holding off almost completely. Sunday in particular was a gorgeous day, a great way to end a fishing season. Although the weather was great Coho fishing was slow, it appears the Northern's haven't really started to show in any great numbers. All entrants were catching many shakers and most fish caught were in the low to mid teens.  To get a big one most anglers had to fish deep, the winning Coho was caught in 300 feet and many fishermen were fishing even deeper. When normally Coho time means you can fish with spoons, hoochies, apexs, etc the fish still seemed to biting on bait. This years derby went very well with 508 tickets sold.

Derby Results and Info:

Derby winner:  Brick and Rosie Betsworth with a 19 pound 12 ounce Coho. The total amount collected from ticket sales $12,700.00. The winning pot $10,160.00 and $2540.00 going to the local hatchery.

We apologize for the crazy way the pictures loaded but after trying many times for some reason they won't cooperate! Computers!!

IMPORTANT INFO:  On October 13th Port Renfrew Marina will be closing for the season. It is imperative that all boats be pulled from the water and removed from the marina unless storage arrangements have been made. Also all units must be removed unless being stored for the winter. You must contact us regarding storage asap to make arrangements. The number is 250 483-1878 This number will be in effect until October 14th, after that there will be no way to leave messages on this line. The caretaker, Desi Hatchard can be reached at 250 483-1486. You must contact him a couple days ahead if you plan on coming to the marina because the gate is kept locked.

Bud & Rex

Port Renfrew Marina Oct.2/13

Well, in spite of the biblical proportion rainfall at Port Renfrew Marina there are still lots of Coho around. From the river mouth out to the "can buoy" fishermen are catching them. The largest to date that we have seen was 17 pounds. Hatchery staff at the blocking fence report quite a few Coho in the 20 pound range and have estimated a couple in the low 30's! There are lots of fish in the river system and still lots to come. So, having said, that we are expecting and very hopeful of a great turnout of Coho for the annual Coho Derby "Winner Take All" that is happening this coming weekend. The weather should be ok, hearing a variety of reports from sunny and nice to wet and cloudy so it's anyone's guess but so far there are no indications of radical weather or heavy winds. Also there are no tidal issues for that weekend and none really for the remainder of our season. Tickets are available at the marina on the Friday and early Sat morning. They are $25.00 a rod with $5.00 of each ticket going to the hatchery. The derby time rules are Saturday dawn till 6:00 and on Sunday, dawn till 1:00. You must be on the dock with any fish you may have ready to be weighed in BEFORE 1:00 cutoff. Any arriving after that will not be weighed. The winner will be announced shortly after all weighins are done to finalize the weights. Please remember that we are a cash business so bring cash for your stay and tickets. We do have an ABM for your convenience. Don't worry if you arrive late and are concerned about space, we always fit everyone in that's entered in the derby.

ATTENTION: Anyone who may know Mark Harding who was the highest bidder for the 2014 Bite Me Derby tickets please have him contact us asap. 250 483-1878. If we do not hear from him by this weekend we will be auctioning them off to the highest bidder during the Coho Derby.

IMPORTANT:  Please be aware that Port Renfrew Marina will be closing the following weekend on October 13th. All boats must be out of the water and removed from the marina with any units unless storage arrangements have been made. If left then storage fees will apply. If you would like to arrange storage please see us in the office. We do have a caretaker, Desi Hatchard, who lives on site and keeps watch over all storage items. The gate is kept locked and if you require entrance in the marina after closing you must contact him so he can open the gate. His number is 250 483-1486. Storage is prepaid for the winter so please come prepared to do so.

Bud & Rex