Oct.7/09 Port Renfrew Marina Report

For Port Renfrew Marina Coho fishing has slowed down to a trickle.  Coho fishing had been red hot until the end of September with 6 to 8 fish per boat days.  The Coho Derby this past weekend saw nice weather but slow fishing. There were 368 entrants in the derby this year for a total purse winnings of $7360.00 that went to Randy Wright who brought in a 18 pound 4ounce Coho. Fishing seemed to be better on the Sunday with 3 Coho over 16 pounds and 24 pound spring. This years Coho derby also raised money for the San Juan Hatchery. The amount donated to Maurice Trembley at the hatchery was $1860.00. With the monies raised at the Labor Day Derby of $9414.00 and the Coho derby Port Renfrew Marina has been able to give them a total donation this year of $11,254.00 with the great help of all our generous and dedicated customers.  The San Juan Hatchery have taken their Chinook eggs for this year and report a very healthy return to the river system. Leta all hope for a really good fishing season for 2010.

Important Dates and Notices:

• Oct.12th Port Renfrew Marina will be closing for the season.
• May 1st Port Renfrew Marina opens for the 2010 season
• Again we would like to remind everyone about settling up their business with the marina on or before closing is possible. If you are wanting winter storage please make arrangements with us in the office.  Wayne & Gwen Coleman, our caretakers will be there for the winter and it is possible to come up and check on things for yourself if you contact them by phone 483-1486 to make sure the gate is left open. We at the marina, Bud, Tedi, Rex, Diane and Knut want to thank Wayne & Gwen for their outstanding help this year, what would we do without you??? We all look forward to working with you next year and really appreciate everything you guys do!

Bud and Rex

Sept.29/09 Port Renfrew Marina Report

With September almost over fishing at Port Renfrew Marina has evolved as it usually does this time of year with the exception of an a much better than usual run of Coho. The Chinook springs are for the most part gone inshore but the Coho are going strong both in the bay and offshore. Casting at the river mouth in as little as four feet of water is working well. First thing in the morning seems to be the time to see the most action. Fishing offshore in water as deep as 600 feet is producing well. Vary your trolling depths from the surface to 80 feet deep. The best lures seem to be green/white spoons and some others, hoochies in greens, whites with flashers, gold spoons or plugs and zingers. Listening to the fishermen who come in you will hear many claims of what works and the good thing is that most anything does! Many of the Coho are in the teens and reaching the 20 pound mark. The weather inshore has been good, calm seas for the most part and we are really confident that the Coho fishing will be very good for our upcoming Coho Derby on Oct.3rd and 4th. Halibut fishing remains good at Swiftsure Bank, weather permitting. The seas out there are less predictable and the rough water or fog can come up quickly. Feeder springs can still be found out there also.

 You can also expect to catch a Humboldt squid or two. They are very edible but a bit of a challenge to get in the boat without getting spayed completely with water!

Notable Catches:

• Desi Hatchard of Vicious Fish Charters 8 Hali 25 to 70 pounds  6 Lings 6 Yellow Eye or Red snapper
• Desi Hatchard of Vicious Fish Charters 4  Hali 100 90 70 40
• Jason Armstrong                                                115 Hali

Important Dates and Notices:

Port Renfrew Marina Coho Derbyderby entry fee is $25.00 with $5.00 from each entry going to the local San Juan Hatchery. This derby is "Winner Take All"

October 3rd and 4th:

October 12th: Port Renfrew Marina will be closing for the season and will reopen on May 1st. It is very important that you speak with someone in the office regarding winter storage if it is needed or make arrangements to remove your unit and or boat on or before Oct. 12th. We do have caretakers Wayne & Gwen Coleman for the winter and they can be contacted at 250 483-1486 if you have questions during the time we are closed. They will be keeping an eye on the marina nd the units people leave in storage and if you leave contact numbers, etc, with them they will call you if there is a problem.

May 1st: This is the date that Port Renfrew Marina reopens for the 2010 season. All seasonal customers must contact us by then to let us know if they are returning. If they do not let us know they risk losing the spot to new customers.

Bud & Rex

Sept.22/09 Port Renfrew Marina Report

Coho season at Port Renfrew Marina is in full swing. Fantastic fishing can be found right in the bay in 10 to 20 feet of water. Early morning until the wind comes up seems to be the best time with hundreds of fish jumping all around you. Casting for the Coho seems to be one of the most successful techniques. Spoons and zingers in green and yellow are working well. The inside of the bay is open for wild Coho and hatchery both in the by and offshore. For the coming month the best fishing for large Coho will be in Port Renfrew as we have already been seeing some catches with Coho over the 20 pound mark.  Trolling just below the surface with spoons, small plugs or flasher/hootchie combo's are all taking fish. Offshore fishing is good though the Humboldt squid are still a real problem especially the farther west you go. They are very tasty if you can deal with the likelyhood of getting sprayed and those nasty hooks on their tentacles.

Spring fishing has slowed right down. You will see the odd one come in but for the most part it is Coho time.

Halibut are still at Swiftsure Bank but it a lonely place out there this time of year. Quite often you can be the only boat out there so plan a safe trip. Luckily for the most part lately the weather and seas have been pretty good.

Notable Coho Catches: Unknown      19 

• Steve McMillan   19.5
• John Wells of Hindsight Charters  20    21.4

 

Important Dates:

• Coming up Port Renfrew Marina will be having the Coho Derby on Oct.3 & 4th.  So far with the Coho fishing going so well we are expecting a great derby. The entry fee is $25.00 with $5.00 of every entry going to the San Juan Hatchery. This derby is a fun and relaxed one with a simple "Winner Take All" and while fishing you can know you are donating to a great cause, helping out our local salmon hatchery.
• Port Renfrew Marina will be closing on Oct.12th for the season. Please make arrangements to remove your unit and boat on or before that date or see us in the office regarding winter storage.

Bud & Rex

Port Renfrew coho update

Coho fishing has moved close to shore, with coho in San Juan harbour and San Juan river.   Several boats reported good catches right in the river mouth, spincasting from their boats or shallow trolling.  There's fish jumping everywhere, but they aren't feeding, so you have to trick them into biting some other way.  Lots of fun, if you can hook into one. With great coho fishing, the Coho derby should be excellent.  Mark your calendars, Oct. 3 & 4th.

Sept. 16/09 Port Renfrew Marina Report

It's now mid-September and for Port Renfrew Marina this is typically the time when Chinook salmon fishing drops off but it is somewhat early for the Coho to be in the bay. There have been only a few spring salmon brought in since the last report although Hugh Hamer caught a 40.5 spring at Camper on Sept.14th. Hopefully they are moving into the rivers. The time of year and other factors such as weather and the surprise showing of Humboldt squid have possibly been some of the reasons the fishing has been sporadic. The Humboldt have been a bit of a nuisance since they are eating the salmon but they are surprisingly tasty. It's not fun being sprayed by them though! There seem to be less of them at this time so they may be moving on. Coho fishing is still excellent offshore in the Swiftsure Bank area. There seems to be acres of them! Some wild have been seen in the 20 pound range but the average is 10 to 12. Many hatchery Coho in the high teens have been brought in giving us expectations that they will be of some size by the time of the Coho derby, Oct. 3 & 4th. Hoochies in glow white and coyote spoons especially the green/white/black and white/green have been working well. Depths vary everyday so listen to VHF channel 6 for the chatter on what is happening.

Halibut fishing is still good offshore but again they seem to be getting caught at different spots everyday. Feeder springs usually 10 pounds and under can be found out there also.

Notable Catches:

• unknown     36
• unknown     35
• Hugh Hamer 40.5

Important Dates:

• Port Renfrew Marina will be having it's Coho Derby on Oct.3 and 4th. This is a 2 day derby with the one biggest fish that is "Winner Take All" The entry fee is $25.00 five of which goes directly to the local San Juan Hatchery. The winnings for the biggest Coho is then dependent on how many entries there are. See previous year's derby results for possible winnings. This derby gets many people entered so show up early if possible for camping and moorage.
• This year Port Refnfrew Marina will be closing on Oct.12th. Please be sure to make arrangements with the office regarding storage if needed or make sure you have removed your unit and boat on or before that date. If you are wanting power for the winter make sure your cord can handle heavy rain and all connections are water tight to prevent a breaker from going. Contrary to rumor we do have a caretaker there for the winter who will be keeping an eye on the ones left for the season. Also we are asking, please be sure to leave your campsite clean, any campsites left with such things as garbage, chairs, buckets, awnings, wood strctures or broken things will be charged $100.00 for cleanup.

Bud & Rex