Port Renfrew Marina Report July25/12

For Port Renfrew Marina Chinnok fishing on shore still remains fair to good. Some boats are getting limit catches while others come back skumked. The bigger springs seem to have arrived though with quite a few in the thirty pound range.

East Point and Owen Pointhave both produced some quality fish lately.At Swiftsure Bank limit catches are still the norm as long as the weather is good. This past week the seas were very calm until Mon and then it choppy out there.

Halibut fishing will improve as the currents slow down. Salmon bellies are the hot bait at the moment.

Crabbing is still going pretty strong and they are just as sweet as ever.

Notable catches:                               

• Cory Ursulan   35.5
• Gerry Hamilton  33
• Mark Perkins  31
• Desi Hatchard of  www.viciousfishcharters.com  42
• Chuck Heaton  41
• Dennis Peters    29    34

News:Last weekend Port Renfrew Marina held the 12th annual Davey Derby and it was another resounding success. At last count we heard they had raised approximately $24000.00for assorted charities! A portion of the proceeds is donated to the San Juan Hatchery also. This is an amazing amount of money and it is all do to wonderful participation and turnout of fishermen and to the generous donations made by businesses and indivuals on Vancouver Island. The weather was up and down but seas were very calm and although fish were sparse until Sun everyone seemed to be having a great time.

• First Place winner: Brian Dice     38.3 oz.
• Second Place:           Chris Miller  33.10 oz.
• Third Place:               Jeff Dau          33.6 oz.
• Largest Halibut:       Vic Gee:         49 pounds
• Largest crab:              Judy Thorarnson    8.9 inches

Other News:  Port Renfrew Marina's 16th annual  Labor Day Derbywill be coming up soon on Sept.1st and 2nd.  This derby is also a really fun derby with a dinner and all beverages included and a live band on the Sunday night. Any individual or a business that would like to make a donation to this derby please contact us in the office. Any donations would be greatly appreciated as this is what helps a derby be so successful. All proceeds go to the San Juan Hatchery to protect and ensure healthy and successful returns of salmon to the area and others. This hatchery has not had any additional funding from the government since 1992 and relies greatly on our fund raising for them to help cover necessary expenses.

Port Renfrew Marina is also holding theCoho Derby "Winner Take All" on Sept 29th and 30th. It is a bit earlier this year as the first Sat in Oct was considered a bit late in the year. This derby is $25.00 a rod with $5.00 going to the hatchery and the rest going to one who catches the biggest Coho. Previous years have shown to give the winners as much as $13,500.00 and the smallest amount being $5500.00 with many different amounts between. 

Important News:  At this point the repair work on Deering bridge is being done with as few interruptions as possible  but for the next 6 weeks please be prepared to face anywhere from no wait to maybe 5 minutes or up to an half hour. If the distance isn't an issue for you then coming by way of Cowichan is best to avoid the delay. They are trying to keep traffice moving as best they can but the work is slow going. This is work scheduled until Aug. 24th.

Bud & Rex

Port Renfrew Marina Report July18/12

At Port Renfrew Marina fishing started very good this week. There are lots of spring salmon along the beach from East Point to Walbran creek. Anchovies and spoons down 30 to 45 feet on the downrigger seems to be the right combination. The spoon that seems to be hottest is coyote yellow/white called Bad Attitude. Also Party Girl is popular. Coho come and go, sometimes there are housands, other times very few. This past week we were flooded with wild coho but there were many hatchery limit catches.

Swiftsure bank has turned on again with limit catches of Chinnok, Coho and halibut hitting the dock. Hootchies and spoons are the lures of choice out at the "chicken ranch."

Notable Catches:

• Todd White  37
• Ron Jakimchuk  30  32
• Barry Hoag  33
• Mike Styba  27  30

Important Dates:  This coming weekend July 20th, 21st & 22nd  is the now famous Davey Derby to be held at Port Renfrew Marina. If you only go to one derby this is the one !! The prize table is supposed to be outatanding this year, even better than last years. Tickets are $50.00 a rod and are availble at Buckys in Duncan, Island Outfitters in Victoria and Port Renfrew Marina. For more information go to the website daveyderby.ca  All proceeds go to an assortment of charites. Please remember that Port Renfrew Marina is a cash business when planning your trip.

Port Renfrew Marinas Labor Day Derby  Sept.1st and 2nd. This derby is to support the San Juan Hatchery who has had very little governemnt funding. The tickets will be $55.00 arod and will include a dinner with beverages and a dance on Sunday.

Port Renfrew Marina's Coho Derby will be held this year on Sept. 29th and 30th. This derby cost $25.00 to enter and $5.00 of every ticket goes to the San Juan hatchery. The largest Coho weighed in will win the pot and the amount will depend on the amount of entries. This derby is a great way to end the season and as always a good time is had by all who attend to each of the derbys.

Rivised information regarding the Deering Bridge repair work. Mainland Construction has changed the work restrictions and cancelled the road closure from 10 to 2 announcing that there will be only minor delays from 8 to 5 Mon to Fri for the next 6 weeks.

Bud & Rex

Port Renfrew Marina Report July 13/12

Last week fishing at Port Renfrew Marina has been fair to good. Most angleres are returning with one or two springs, some with limits. Not the numbers we are used to seeing this time of year though. Coho are still around in huge numbers and are the perfect size for the BBQ. Two hatchery per license is the legal limit.

Swiftsure bank has slowed from its prior epic standard. Springs and halibut are  taking a little longer to catch to fill the coolers. Fog and chop from the ebb tides have not helped. Anchoring for halibut has heated up again with the slower currents. One boats first time anchor trip off Nit Nat produced fish to 60 pounds. Great start guys!  Crabbing is still off the charts! Wow!! huge and so sweet!!!

Notable catches:

• Ken Gillard 34  34  27
• Glen Clements  32
• Darryl Johnston  29
• Barry Houdayer  32
• Blair Houdayer 34  30
• Fred Uhlman  32
• Serge Pereverzoff  31
• No Banana's Charters 29 32 32 30

 

Improtant Dates: Don't miss the upcoming Davey Derby this year. It is being held on July 20, 21 and 22nd at Port Renfrew Marina. Word is that the prize table is even better than last year. Please support this derby as all proceeds go to wonderful needy charities and the prizes are the envy of all derby's! Tickets are available at Port Renfrew Marina and are $50.00 a rod.

Important Notice FYI:  Please check out the details about the road closure on the Derring Bridge. There are many closures in the next two months.

• July 16th to the 19th     4 hours from 10 to 2 PM
• July 23 to the  27th        4 hours from 10 to 2 PM
• July 30th to Aug.2nd.   4 hours 10 to 2 PM
• Aug.7th to the 10th        4 hours 10 to 2 PM
• Aug.13th to the 17th      4 hours 10 to 2 PM
• Aug.20 to the 24th          4 hours 10 to 2 pm

Mainland has revised their delays to:

 Minor delays from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm Mon to Fri for the duration. No Closures.

• For information please call           Mainland South Island Contracting   250 391-7310  There will be minor delays from 8 am to 5 pm.

Bud & Rex

Port Renfrew Marina Report July 6/12

At Port Renfrew Marina the bad weather for the last 3 weeks made for only fair fishing and soaked anglers. Once the high pressure and the long awaited sunshine arrived the fishing picked up dramatically. Chinook fishing has been very good basically everywhere, East Point, Camper and Logan have all been producing with anchovies and spoons being the lures of choice.  For the most part most of the springs are in the high teens and twenties, no sign of any big ones as yet. The one factor is there are many coho out there and they can be a nuisance eating up all the bait. Falling back on spoons and or Baitrix helps slow that problem down. Coho fishing on the beach is spotty. When they are there they will bite anything as mentioned. If coho is what you are after and 2 hatchery per license is permitted, then you are in luck as there are many, especially at Swiftsure Bank.

Halibut fishing on the anchor will be picking up now that the tides and currents are tapering off. Crabbing is still going very well and if you haven't had your fill there seems to be lots out there to catch.

Swiftsure Bank continues to provide magic fishing memories. Limit catches of springs, coho and halibut by 11:00 am are not uncommon. With the nice weather and calm seas most anglers will be ables to access this rich fishery.

Notable Catches:

• Blair Houdayer   32
• Fred Uhlman       32

The boat rampat the marina is now finished and seems to be well received, with comments on how much easier it is to use.

Bud & Rex    

Port Renfrew Marina Report June 26/12

Salmon fishing at Port Renfrew Marina is decent though most of the fish are smaller this year. Chinook catches are coming back to the docks in good numbers but not too many in the 30 pound range. Camper, Logan and East Point have been producing fish. Swiftsure Bank, especially the "chicken ranch" and "salmon bumps" has been on fire. Easy limit catches down deep 160 feet on green hootchies. Smooth seas have allowed even the smaller boats to get out there and enjoy the fishery.

Hatchery coho are everywhere, though small in the 3 to 6 pound range they make for a great meal.

Halibut has been a little hot and cold. Limit catches of 1 a day and spotty the next.

Crabbing, one word.....UNREAL!

Notable catches:

• Brendon, Jeff, Scott and Brian:   162 halibut  and others.

For those of you using the launch ramp often, we would like to let you know that we have done some improvements on it and hope to see it prove to be much easier to use.

Bud & Rex