Port Renfrew Marina is experiencing typical early season fishing. Chinook salmon are here one day gone the next. When its been good it has been hot with lots of hook ups. The highlight catch was Gerry Hamilton's first trip out of the year and boated a 36 pound and a 22 pound spring. Halibut fishing remains strong as the tides are running. Not much happens on the slack but as the boats start to swing on anchor the bite comes on. Herring and mackerel are working best.
Crabbing is still spectacular. One boater had two traps in and had 63 crabs in one take! Of course he could only bring is the legal amount which on that day was eight. Check your traps often as some boaters seem to think any trap in the bay is a "public trap."
If you were seasonal last year and have not contacted us about your return your spot is now open for anyone interested in it. Sorry but it is required that you contact us at the beginning of May to be assured of it. We still have our ATM and it is working well for anyone needing to access cash.
Well, after a long hard try at the WFN contest we have unofficially landed in 5th place which considering the size of Port Renfrew versus the large towns in Ontario we did pretty good. The town lost power for two days and that set us back, guessing enough to not be able to rally back into 4th place. The official winners will be announced June 6th but we were told that after the top 3 the other towns get subsidiary prizes so we will see what happens. We all believe that Port Renfrew is the "Ultimate Fishing Town" contest or not.
Bud & Rex