October 31, 2005

Season In Review
Another banner year for fishing in Port Renfrew has come to an end. Our stats for the 2005 indicate that, in general, the fish were 2 to 3 weeks later this year than in previous years.

What appeared to be an off year for Chinooks in early June, turned out to be a record year for fish over 40 lbs at Port Renfrew Marina. We recorded a total of 60 Springs that broke the 40 lb barrier this year, starting with Ken Gillards 46.5 pounder on June 15, and ending with Mark Collicotts 48 pounder which was caught on Sept 25.

Three Chinooks broke the 50 lb mark this year. Art Abrahams 52 pounder, Ace of Kings Charters 52 pounder and Island Outfitters 51.5 pounder. One half of all Chinooks over 40 lbs were taken in the month of September. This timing worked out great as there was an overlap in the Chinook and Coho fishery this year. And what a year it turned out to be for Coho. We recorded a total of 43 Coho’s that broke the 20 lb barrier. No Bananas Charters, Bruce Scriver and Steve Donaldson all landed 24 pounders, which was the largest of the season.

The Halibut fishery was once again very good this year, although the average size appeared to be a little smaller. Mike Johns had the hot hand early in the season, with several flatties over 100 lbs. Kevin McKenna landed the biggest Halibut of the year, tipping the scales at 165 pounds.

Labour Day Weekend Derby
Our annual Labour Day weekend Salmon Derby was a complete sellout this year.

In the Kid’s Bullhead Derby, Jessa Michieli won the girl’s division, and Daylin Uhlman, the boy’s. In the Chinook Derby, Bill Cameron, who was fishing with Hal Keoun of Rop’n Reel’n Charters, took top spot with a 37.25 pounder. Nin Dougall’s 35 pounder took 2nd, and Sean Bell won 3rd place with a 32.75 pounder. Nick Cuthbert won the Youth category with a 31.25 pounder and Sara Fraser won the Women’s category with a 31.75 pounder.

We would like to recognize the following individuals for their generous donations which were made to our 2005 Derby. Doug and Kaye Richards donated a "mini hog"(custom bike), Shane Fedosenko donated a stainless steel bbq, and Ian and Deb McGregor donated an overhead propane heater.

Raffle tickets were sold, and all proceeds from sales were given to the local fish hatchery. In addition, a cheque was presented by Brian Dice on behalf of the Davey Derby Committee. Maurice and Lou Tremblay, of the San Juan Enhancement Society, were then presented the total proceeds which totalled $3,947.00.

Thank you to everyone who participated for making this year’s event the best one ever.

Winner-Takes-All Coho Derby
Our 3rd Annual Winner Takes All Coho Derby was held on October 1 and 2, 2005. It is truly amazing to us how popular this event has become. From 170 entrants in 2003, to 534 entrants in 2004, to 685 entrants in 2005, it is a weekend of fun and excitement and in fact, the busiest weekend of the year in Port Renfrew.

On Day 2 of this years derby, there were 3 Coho’s weighed in within .2 of a pound. In the end, Darcy Williamson, with a 20.7 pounder, won the derby and the $13,700 in prize money.

Thank you to Island Outfitters for the use of their digital scale. This one was almost too close to call.

Marina Development
We continue to work on our plans to develop the marina and campground, and market the sites. We are unfortunately not as far along as we had hoped to be by now. BC Hydro finally energized part of the campsite in September, so next year we should have ice and freezing facilities.

For those of you who have expressed an interest in purchasing a site at the Marina, we will be notifying everyone when the date for the information meeting has been set.

Marina Now Closed
The Marina is now closed for the Winter season. Noel and Pat Atkin are now residing there full time.

To all of our guests, thank you all for another enjoyable year and we look forward to seeing you again next year.

We will re open in April, 2006, when once again our seasonal, monthly and daily rate packages will be available.

Hoping you all have a great Winter.

Rex and Bud
Port Renfrew Marina