Port Renfrew Marina Report June 4/16

At Port Renfrew Marina we have had sunny skies and very warm weather the last few days and it is supposed to continue for the coming week. Fishing for halibut is still excellent! There are lots of limit catches on a daily basis. The size has picked up since the last report, jumping from 20 to 30 pounders up to 60 and 70 pounders coming in. Out west is still the place to fish, nothing coming in so far from the Sombrio area. If the currents are right and you are feeling strong you can try fishing the 420 foot deep hole east of the NE corner.White gulps with bait is what works there.

Crabbing is still crazy good! Best results comes from a heavily weighted trap that sits solid on the bottom and doesn't drift around.

Chinook fishing remains slow so far with the notable exception of a 42.5 pound beauty caught June 3rd by cut plugger, Eric Eckdahl. Congratulations of our first over 40 pounder of the season. People "in the know" have told us to expect the best Chinook fishing since 1998 this year. These fish that are expected to show will be 4 and 5 year old salmon so sizes will be likely bigger than in the recent past. Lets hope they are right!

Notable catches:  Eric Eckdahl  42.5

 If you have left messages on the marina phone and no one has gotten back to you, we apologize as we have had phone issues that have taken quite a while to resolve but they are now fixed and we can now access our messages. At this time the pay phone, office phone and ATM are all working!

Upcoming events: Coming up on July 9th Port Renfrew Marina will be having another "Hoody" derby in honor of Blair Houdayer, who was a long time customer and friend of all of us at the marina. This derby will be for cut pluggers only, details to come.

Also the Port Renfrew Spring Salmon Derby  held by the Cowichan Kinsmen will be coming up on July 16th and 17th. This derby is a fun one with many great prizes. Winnings go to the biggest springs caught. 1st prize is $2000.00 2nd prize  $800.00 and 3rd prize  $400.00. There is an early bird draw for tickets purchased before July 4th, it is a $200.00 tackle box package. There are hidden weight and door prizes. Tickets will be available at Port Renfrew Marina, Bucky's Sports, Gord's Flybox or from Dustin 250 701-5253 or dustin_m@hotmail.com. Monies raised will go to local service projects, youth sport programs, San Juan Enhancement Society, Port Renfrew Park, families in need, special needs people and Cystic Fibrosis to name a few. For photos of previous derbys go to www.lakecowichankinsmen.com

 New News: Some of you may have noticed a lot of drilling and digging lately at the marina. We are in the process of putting in a water line, we are hoping it will be completed in a month or two.

Raffle Item: At Port Renfrew Marina we have a Islander Reel donated by Islander Reel, Victoria for raffle. Value of the reel is $625.00. Tickets are at the marina and are $5.00 each or 3 for $10.00. All proceeds go to the local salmon hatchery in Renfrew.

Bud & Rex

Port Renfrew Marina Report May 20/16

Port Renfrew Marina and the surrounding area saw excellent weather with sunny skies and calm seas a few days ago, since then the seas were rough for a couple days, hopefully the calmer weather will return very soon. Excellent crabbing has been the buzz since our opening. Quite possibly the best we have ever seen.

Halibut fishing continues to be strong though the average size is getting a  little smaller. Strange current patterns have some fishermen sit on anchor for a few hours till they get the first fish. Salmon bellies are personally jigged herring ae working best.

The 'chicken ranch" has turned on early this year. Chinook salmon in the teens are being caught on spoons and anchovies. Watch the weather as we can still get a SE wind which makes for a rotten ride home.

Beach fishing for springs is still a little slow with the cut pluggers at Camper hooking one or two a day with the seal managing to steal the odd one.

A big thank you goes out to Stan Robertson for fixing the long dock at the ramp! Also a big thanks goes out to Desi Hatchard, our caretaker, for helping Bud push some new docks up the river to the marina.

For those of you who are wondering about the fire restrictions, the marina area is fine, campfires are allowed as long as they are no more than 1/2 meter in height and width. Be aware of your campfire and the area surrounding it as the season is looking like it will be a dry one, even for Renfrew. We will have some firewood for sale, ask at the office.

The pay phone is installed but not working as yet. We hope to have it up and running very soon. At this time we are having problems accessing our voice messages on the office phone so unfortunately we can't hear them so please if we miss your call you will need to call back until this gets resolved. We apologize for the inconvenience. 

It is now past the deadline for previous customers to contact us regarding keeping their site from last year. IF you are a returning customer and do want your site you must contact us immediately or your site will likely be gone.

Big News:  The marina is in the process of getting running water installed so we will have an ongoing supply and no need eventually for the water truck. Plans for completion are tentatively set for mid summer all things being equal. Will keep things updated as we learn new information.

Raffle Item. Port Renfrew Marina is now raffling an Islander Reel donated by Islander Reel in Victoria. The proceeds from this raffle will go to the local fish hatchery in Port Renfrew.

Islander Reel

   MR 2-LA Mooching Reel

           Arbor Slate

Generously Donated by: Islander Reels, Victoria

     Retail value: $625.00

Full frame construction w/ one piece spool & frame

Free spool operation controlled w/ frame-side  recessed lever

One way large cork disc drag system

Face side adjustable drag knob

Islander classic outgoing clicker & generous palming rim

        Tickets: $5.00 each or 3 for $10.00 at Port Renfrew Marina

            Draw Date: Sept. 4^th  @ PRM Labor Day Derby

Bud & Rex

Port Renfrew Marina Report. May 8/16

For Port Renfrew Marina this report is similar to our pre-opening information as things are about the same fishing wise. Still a couple of weeks early for the May run of bigger Chinook. When they arrive all the regular spots will turn on. East Point is really productive when this run arrive, first light until about 7:30 am is the best bite. Hali fishing remains very strong though strong winds make for picking the right day more important than picking the right bait or spot. Sombrio and out to the west are the places to fish right now and "chicken ranch" salmon and halibut fishing will pick up around the second week in June.

Crabbing is still off the scale!Best catches in memory! They are hard sweet and quite purple in color. The numbers are staggering. This seems to be the same everywhere, Sooke, Oak Bay and Sidney are all doing well, although Renfrew crab always seem to be the sweetest and it could be because they are in out in open west coast waters where the currents keep the waters cleaner. The westcoast crab are at the top of the taste scale! One way or another you just cant beat them, its best to have a weighted or heavy trap so it sits solid and sure on the ocean bottom, this makes it more appealing to the crab, they don't like the movement of the traps floating and bouncing.

We have now been open for a little over a week and people are coming in and setting up. If you are a seasonal customer please make sure you contact us regarding your situation this year with you site. It will soon reach the deadline of May 15th to contact us if you are coming back or not. If you want the same site you must let us know asap. We have had many inquiries to sites and we need input from our customers so we don't give away a site that is still wanted.

Port Renfrew Marina now has fuel as many of you may know. We have boat and car fuel and diesel. Our ATM is up and running for those who need to access cash. For those of you who are not aware, we do not accept credit cards, we are a cash business only. Also, for those who may be wondering the marina will not have a cookshack this year so please come prepared for your trip. We are still having inquiries to fishing licenses, please be advised that Port Renfrew Marina is no longer a vender for fishing licenses. The easiest, cheapest and quickest way to get a license is to do it online yourself. If that is not possible you will need to find a business such as Island Outfitters, Canadian Tire, Eagle Eye Sports, etc to get a license. If you are an American doing your license online you need to understand that to fish in area 21 (where Halibut fishing is preferred) you will need to get your license once you are in Canada from a reputable sports store. If you get it online you will then need to re purchase your license so it's best to wait until you are in Canada unless you are coming for salmon only.

Important: It is beginning to look like it may be another hot and dry summer. If that is the case, we want to remind all our customers to be mindful of their campfires and any combustibles the may have around so we don't have any issues like last years fires hopefully.

Bud & Rex

Port Renfrew Marina Report April 25/16

Well Port Renfrew Marina is getting ready to open for yet another season! With the good news of our longterm tenure we can begin to do some much needed repairs and improvements. This will be a slow and expensive process that will take us a few years but at least now it can be started. Early reports are very good for big, hard, purple crabs in the bay! rumor has it that all but 1 of the commercial boats have left the bay. The crab is at its best now and for the next two months, sweet and so fresh!

Halibut is always good at this time of year as no one has been out all winter. Far too early for the "chicken ranch" so it is more of an inshore fishery so far.

Chinook, too early for fish of any size, though some around 5 to 8 pounds have been caught at the Rockpile on Coyote spoons. For all fishermen who will be heading out the river mouth, there is a large deadhead that needs to be avoided and is dangerous in any tide level. We are in the midst of making plans to have it removed but until then use caution.

So for all our customers we will be opening on May 1st officially but the marina will be open for customers to come and set up on the weekend. As always we want our previous customers to contact us regarding whether they will be returning this year and the deadline to keep their spot is May 10th. Please call 250 483-1878 or email us regarding your spot and let us know your intentions. This is an important step if you want to keep your spot from last year, each year we have new people wanting sites and if we don't hear from you we will assume you are not coming back for this year.

This coming weekend is our first one of the season and like everyone we are looking forward to a great fishing season with lots of catches with everyone staying safe. There is another warning out that again this year may be a hot dry summer and to watch for fires, please make sure you make safe choices with campfires, etc, so we can all have a safe and accident free season.

We welcome back all our returning customers and also all of our new customers for a good year of fishing and good times.

Bud & Rex

Great News in Port Renfrew!

Belated Happy New Year wishes to all guests of Port Renfrew Marina from the Watt and Coburn families. As many of you have known, securing long term tenure for our marina and campsite has been challenging in the past. As a result of negotiations that have taken place over the last two years with the Pacheedaht First Nation, we are pleased to announce a permanent resolution to this situation has now been finalized. As a result, we can now state with certainty that the Marina will remain operating in the foreseeable future.

At this time we would like to thank you all for your support in the past and we look forward to seeing you all again when we re-open May 1.

Bud and Tedi Watt,  Rex and Diane Coburn