Port Renfrew Marina Report Sept. 27/15

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

Port Renfrew Marina Report Sept.16/15

At Port Renfrew Marina spring fishing is still very good! Camper Creek on high tide is giving up limit catches up to twenty five pound salmon. Coho are being caught more along the shore or in the Bay but this will change as we get into October, then they will be right in the river mouths, best time to fish! For Coho hootchies, spoons such as Coho killers on short leaders are the best. Now is the time if you are wanting your last chance at catching springs before they move on to spawn. Reminder: The Deering Bridge coming from the Victoria direction is now being worked on. They started on September 14th and are planned for up to the 18th depending on how work goes. The bridge will be closed from 8:00am to 5:00pm with openings for 15 minutes every hour on the hour. Please be aware you may face up to a 45 minute wait depending on when you arrive at the bridge. They are doing what they can to co-operate with the traffic.

Upcoming Event: Coming up at Port Renfrew Marina will be the extremely popular Coho Derby "Winner Take All." This derby will be held at Port Renfrew Marina on October 3rd and 4th. Tickets are $25.00 a rod and $5.00 of each ticket will go to the San Juan Hatchery. The winning pot will be determined by the number of tickets sold. It's very simple, the fisherman with the biggest Coho wins the pot of money. It could be you going home with a large bag of money (average is around $8,000.00 to $10,000.00) after fishing for two days!! Please be advised we are a cash business and come prepared with cash for your tickets, your stay and any items you may need.

Raffles: There will be two raffle draws on the 4th. One will be for the Bradley Stainless Steel 6 tray Smoker, it can do hot or cold smoke and has a digital timer for perfect results. This smoker retails for $649.00 and tickets are $5.00 or 3 for $10.00. The other raffle is a SIMRAD GPS worth $1600.00 and tickets are $10.00 or 3 for $20.00. This GPS has  Bright Low-Power Display,   Built in High-Detail Cartography,   GPS with Navionics,   Touch Screen,  ,Built in Sounder,   Micro SD Charts,   Autopilot LED’s,   1PX7 Waterproofing,  and will Interface with All Accessories.  Includes: NSS Sport Multifunction Display, Suncover, Bracket Mount & Knobs, Edge Cover(set of 2), Back Bezel & Mounting screws, Power cable, Video/Data Cable, Stainless Steel Mounting Kit, Screen Cloth, Flush Mounting Template, Manuals. It's a real beauty and every fisherman would love to have one on his boat! Please consider buying tickets for these great items and help support the hatchery even more.

Important Info: Port Renfrew Marina will be closing on October 12th this year. Please make sure you contact the marina to settle up your account and or make arrangements for winter storage for your boat and or unit. This must be arranged before we close and not when we reopen. We need to have you registered for the safety and security and our records. Once we close in October the gate will remain locked and you will need to contact our caretaker if you need access for some reason. This has to be done in advance with some notice. Also it is your responsibility to check on your units and boats if you know that the area is experiencing extreme weather. You are allowed one night a month to stay over if necessary and you can call Desi Hatchard for updates on weather conditions, etc. His number is 250 483-1486. 

Bud & Rex

Port Renfrew Marina Report Sept.9/15

It is hard to believe that the Port Renfrew Marina's 18th Annual Labor Day Derby has passed! It is the general and pretty much unanimous opinion of everyone that it was one of the best we have hosted.  It was a definite success with everyone who attended having a wonderful time. Weather and fishing for the derby was fantastic! On the first day of the derby we registered 164 spring salmon with many more that went by in coolers, with a total number of fish for the derby at 216. Although it rained Saturday night the skies cleared for Sunday and we had another beautiful day. Fishing on Sunday was a little slower but with everyone needing to be in by 1:00 it was a short day. The band Willing and Able were very popular and did a great job! A very special thanks goes out to Wayne & Gwen Coleman for their gigantic effort to supply dinner for almost 300 people. With limited facilities they pulled it off and it all went well. At the end of ticket sales we had 287 tickets sold making that a record amount for the last three years. Many people who were attending for the first time said they are coming back every year because they enjoyed it so much!

• 1st. Place:  Bruce Miller   36lbs 6oz
• 2nd Place:  Laurie Orr    27lb 15oz
• 3rd Place:  Reid Warren  27lb 7oz
• Ladies biggest fish:  Segrid Perkins  25lb 4oz
• Juvenile biggest fish:  Austin Poole 14lb 10oz

Notable Catches:

• Bill Valentine  34

Each year the Labor Day Derby, on the Sunday morning, we hold a bullhead derby for children 12 and under. This years winners were  Boys: Travis Swanson (no photo available)  Girls: Sawyer Mackenzie

Port Renfrew Marina wants to thank Dustin Mayo and Dave Peters of the Kinsmen for their help donating their time during the derby and a big thank you for their donation of $1000.00 to the San Juan Hatchery from the Kinsmen account.

A big thanks goes out to some helpers who make the derby go smoothly, be it working the tables, selling tickets or cleaning up. Thank you to Sharon Winters for helping round up donations, sitting at the silent auction table ALL day and helping clean the Longhouse after the ceremonies and before the dance. Also there was one other lady who helped with that, sorry I don't know your name but thank you for your time. For the morning after a big thanks goes to Doug, Dave, Kevin, Reid and Paul for their help. It was done in record time this year! Thanks goes out to Ryan for his help at the tables. Hope I didn't forget anyone, if so someone please remind us!!

Also a big thanks goes out to the people who helped us round up donations. This is a huge help as there are so many different businesses to contact. Thanks go out to Vic Gee, Sharon Winters, Brain Kitagawa and Jack Hughes. Really, you do make it so much more doable! It is hard to understand the labor and work that goes into contacting so many places so these people deserve a big hand for taking on this job!

Audie Williams, the founder of The Davey Derby came by to drop off a donation to the San Juan Hatchery. He said that the Davey Derby in its years of fundraising raised a total of $205,000.00! The account had $130.00 sitting in it so he made a donation to the hatchery for the people at Port Renfrew Marina he loved, in remembrance of the years the derby's held at Port Renfrew Marina.

Mid September marks the "transition" time for fishing in Port Renfrew. The spring salmon are thinning out on a daily basis and the coho are still offshore. By later in the month and certainly by October the coho will be onshore and hungry. Time to get out the light rods and tackle for these best fighting fish. Don't forget: October 3rd and 4th will be the Port Renfrew Coho Derby "Winner Take All" This derby is extremely popular! Tickets are $25.00 a rod with $5.00 of each rod going to the hatchery. One winner gets the pot which on average is approximately anywhere from $8000.00 to $12,000.00 cash! Winnings will be based on ticket sales and please remember that we are a cash business. That is also when we will be making the draw for the Bradley 6 Tray Stainless Steel Smoker, worth $649.00. Tickets for it are $5.00 each or 3 for $10.00. We will also be raffling a Trophy Reel, tickets for it will be $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00.

Still no halibut reports as most boats are leaving on trailers or tied to the dock. Focus has been on springs and some Coho.

Some Great news on the Coho front. As of Sept. 11 area 121 (Bonilla West) anglers are allowed 4 Coho per day wild or hatchery! That NE corner along to the 170 top end of the closure can be amazing.

Below is the list of businesses in no particular order who were generous enough to make a donation to this great cause and we ask that all our customers and readers patronize their businesses in thanks and respect for their contributions:

Christie Phoenix, Insolex, Westcoast Tire, Butler Bros, Handsome Dan's, Soule Creek Lodge, Tomi's Restaurant, Select Mortgage Group, Gallery House, Dennis Murray, Travelbea & Ass., Port Renfrew General Store, Beauty Smiles Denture Clinic, Redl Sports, Marion Randall of MVCC, Island Outfitters, Islander Reel, Sooke Harbour Marine, 17 Mile Pub, Monti's Boat Sales, Wholesale Sports, Greg's RV, Construction Drilling, Debbie Gilmore, Canadian Tire (Duncan), Darrel Johnston, Hugh Hamar, Mid-Island Co-op (Lk. Cow), Trailhead Motel, Lakes Marine Supply, Lifetimer Boats, Diamond Eye Care, March Meadows, Glenwood Meats, Green Lantern Pub, Harbour Chandler, Choice Charters, CIBC Bank, Horseshoe Pub, Viper Fuels, Wally Quaite, Mike Smith, Black Dragon Enterprises, Salt Spring Soapworks, Oughtred Coffee, George Wetherall, Ampersand Distilling Company, Avril Creek Winery, Don Colgrave, Four Points Sheraton, Sooke Harbour House, Barry Hobbis & Victoria Harbour Ferry, Coast Victoria Harbourside Hotel, Big Fish Lodge, 4 Mile Pub, Milroy Engineering, Doug & Susan Mills, Kevin Gillard, All Battery, Blair Houdayer Estate, VI Rentals, O'ki, Browns Social House, Paul Ricard, Nisers, Peoples Drug Mart (Sooke), J&V Burgers and Pizza, A&W, Subway (Colwood & Langford)Liqour Planet, Starbucks (Colwood & Langford), Liqour Depot, Richlock Rentals, Cineplex Theater, Three Point Porperties, Gerry Murray, Great Canadian Oil Change, Esso, Serious Coffee, Stone Pipe Grill, Floyds Diner, Bob Biggs, Cabela's, Parker Marine, Gone Fishin', Chemainus Auto, Band H Tire, Dog House Restaurant, ATP Bait & Tackle, Buckerfields, Sooke Power Supplies, Sheringham Distillery, Shoppers Drug Mart (Sooke), NW Aluminum, Blair Davis, Lazy Gecko, Hardie Honey, Tim Hortons (Colwood & Duncan), Artisans Well, Kelly Wagner of Gizmos Computers, Jim Hermanson of Great Western Equipment, Home Hardware, Lake Cowichan Fly & Tackle, Wise Buys, Eagle Eye Sports, Deans Marine, Scotty, Irly Bird, Duncan Auto, S & G, Silver Streak Boats, Sleggs Lumber, ECS Electrical, Trotac Marine, Bow Mel Chrysler, Item, G n'G, Tirecraft, Country Grocer, Jakes at the Lake, Oak & Carriage, Tugwell Creek, McGregors, Peninsula Co-op, Anglers Retreat, Thrifty's Food Stores (Colwood), Three Gringos Grill, Milestones, Mai Mai bistro, Turmeric Restaurant, Coastal Kitchen, Kelz Cake Shop, Fountain Diner, Village Foods, Superstore, Alpine Marine, Best Western Premier Resort, Western Foods, Whitespot (Duncan & Langford), DSS Welding, Eriks, Greg Distributing, Steve Holgate of Surespan, Steve Lamont of Maple Bay Marina, Steele Electric, Shane & Samantha Morse, Grant Hilliard, Fastenall, Mike Young, John Sheldrake, Wallace Cheong, Berk Intertruck, Tube Shop.

Please forgive and also remind us if we have inadvertently forgotten someone! The derby would not be as successful without all these generous people and businesses!

Bud & Rex

Port Renfrew Marina Report Aug.31/15

This past weekend at Port Renfrew Marina will not be one anyone who was there will forget too soon! It was at the other end of the spectrum from the weekend before. Rains of biblical proportions descended on Sunday and Monday. Fishing has slowed down but the monsoons made it impossible to fish. With heavy rain, high winds and having no power for almost 30 hours not much was happening other than trying to stay dry and comfortable! We probably had 4 to 6 inches of rain in 24 hours. Boats sunk at the docks, etc. Kudos to Rick Jakimchuk whose boat was totally sunk but helped us save another boat stay afloat that was on the verge of sinking. Thanks go out to Reid, Dave, Todd, Charlie, Greg and all the others that helped get Rick's boat over to the ramp and back on the trailer.

While we do our best to help our customers with their boat issues please remember that it is not our responsibility to keep your boat afloat. Working bilge pumps, tarps should be used or pull your boat out of the water. It is up to you when these storms arrive to be prepared for such possible unexpected emergencies. If bad weather hits our area you need to come out and check on your boats and units if you are unsure.

Luckily the weather is supposed to improve and it looks so far that the long weekend will have decent weather and this wild storm will pass but will not be forgotten!

Notable Catches:

• Jeremy Spooner 33   

Bob Culm and a nice fish not quite 30 pounds but close enough to be proud of

Not a big fish but one Mathew was pleased with considering he lives in the Bahamas so any salmon is impressive!

Upcoming Derby: This coming long weekend September 5th and 6th will be the 18th annual Port Renfrew Marina Labor Day Derby. The time sure came up quickly, it seems like the season just started a month ago! Now here it is and we have to say it has been an outstanding year for donations and contributors and volunteers! We have been given many awesome prizes and there is something to appeal to everyone. There will be many silent auctions, live auctions and at least four raffles. Tickets are still only $60.00 a rod and includes a Port Renfrew Marina t-shirt, dinner, beverages and a live band. There will be a fun adult bullhead derby on Saturday night with prizes for the most bullheads caught. On Sunday morning there will be a kids (12 an under) bullhead derby. This derby is a lot of fun and relaxed and at the same time you will know you are helping support salmon enhancement as all proceeds go to the San Juan hatchery. This year has become even more important than past ones as the hatchery hasn't had any additional funding since 1992 and now this year we were told they had a government cutback of another $10,000.00! If it weren't for all the generous donations and the efforts of many to make derby's like this one successful the salmon enhancement program would surely suffer. Tickets only available at the marina and will be on sale later this week.

Upcoming Event: Port Renfrew Marina will be having its annual "Winner Take All" Coho Derby on October 3rd and 4th. This derby beats all for popularity even though there is just one winner. It may be one winner but what a spectacular winner they will be, winning a cash pot that runs in the thousands. There have been some pretty big Coho caught over the last couple weeks, all wild but by the time of the derby you will be allowed to keep wild Coho. Tickets are only $25.00 a rod with $5.00 of each ticket going to the San Juan salmon hatchery. The number of tickets sold will dictate the winnings. From previous years the average winning amount runs between $8000.00 to $11000.00, not bad for a weekend of fishing!

Bud & Rex

Port Renfrew Marina Report Aug. 24/15

At Port Renfrew Marina inshore fishing is fantastic!! This past weekend had anglers calling it the best in years! Practically every boat was hitting the dock with limit catches of Chinook. East Point to Walbran all lit up with long bite times. Some boats having 3 or 4 double headers a day! Betsy and Purple Haze, Purple Onion flashers with chrome Mint Pearl or Joanne as some know it, No Bananas, Purple flash teaser heads and others are popular. Same flashers with Coho Killers were working just as well. Offshore at the "Chicken Ranch" is more or less done for 2015. It was a spectacular season out there and we hope it is as good next year.

Halibut fishing has had little pressure as the salmon fishing is so good.

Notable Catches:

• Kirk Coombs  31
• Dan Maxwell  34
• Scott Cameron  65 halibut

  

Lizard Lake Wildfire: We have heard conflicting reports regarding the fire. To the best of our knowledge it appears to have grown to 300 hectares and is about 35% contained. The Harris Main is now open as of 8:00am August 25th. The fire is farther up the hill an away from the road.The Gordon River road is the other option if you coming from the Lake Cowichan area but is no longer necessary. The fishing is worth the drive!

The proposed road closure for the Deering bridge  for repair work was originally scheduled for Aug. 24 through to the 28th has now been postponed to Sept. 14th to the 18th possibly to avoid more delays considering the problems from the wildfire. When the closure occurs with will be from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm and the bridge will be opened for 15 minutes every hour on the hour to allow traffic through. Your wait could possibly take up to 45 minutes if you arrive at the bridge after the closure for that time period.

Upcoming Event: Port Renfrew Marina will be having its 18th annual Labor Day Derby coming up on Sept.5th and 6th. This is the derby to come to if you like to have a good time! Tickets are $60.00 a rod and includes a Port Renfrew Marina t-shirt, dinner, beverages and a live band. Each year we have been so lucky to have more donations and we have many great prizes to win. We will have silent and live auctions, biggest fish for a lady and a junior, hidden weight and more. Fishing is so good right now, lets hope it is like that for the derby, indicators say it is likely. Also we will be having a fun bullhead derby on Sat. the 5th in the evening for adults and a children's (12 and under) bullhead derby on Sunday the 6th at 9:00 am. Again I want to thank the few people who have helped us gather donations, thanks go out to Vic Gee, Sharon Winters, Brain Kitagawa and Jack Hughes. Also to quite a few customers who have really stepped up with finding donations for us, Steve Holgate, Grant Hilliard, Marion and Howard Randall, Debbie Gilmore, Mike Young, Wallace Cheong and others.

Upcoming Event: This year for Port Renfrew Marina the "Winner Take All" Coho Derby will be on October 3rd and 4th. This derby is extremely popular with a huge turnout. The tickets are $25.00 a rod with $5.00 of each ticket going to the local San Juan hatchery. There is just one winner and it is a cash prize for the biggest Coho. Winnings have varied from $5500.00 up to $13,800.00! Not bad for two days of fishing! We will be drawing for the Bradley smoker that we have for raffle now on the 4th.

At this time Port Renfrew Marina has four items for raffle. One is the Bradley 6 tray Digital smoker, through Port Renfrew Marina, it retails for $649.00. Tickets are $5.00 each or 3 for $10.00. We also have a Samsung 46" HD flatscreen TV donated by Marion and Howard Randall and it retails for $569.00. Tickets are $5.00 each or 3 for $10.00. We have a gift basket which at this time is at the Port Renfrew General Store, also donated by the store. It's value is $300.00 and tickets are $2.00 each or 3 for $5.00. You have to see this one for its amazing contents! For starters it has 2 bottles of good wine, a bottle of Absolute vanilla vodka, 8 year old Bacardi rum, and a bottle of salted caramel Baileys, Purdy's chocolates and many, many more great items. We have another smaller basket with lots of fun things in it at the marina, donated by Debbie Gilmore in memory of her late husband Gary Gilmore. It values at $130.00 and tickets are $1.00 each.

Bud & Rex