Port Renfrew Marina Report June 9/18

For Port Renfrew Marina salmon fishing this past week has been generally quiet with rough seas on Wednesday keeping most anglers coming in early. 

There has been the odd bright spot with a 30 and 27 pound springs being caught and one released that was somewhere in the mid thirties. Most of the fish being caught are hatchery. 

Offshore the "chicken Ranch" has turned on about a week early this year. If you can get a calm day limit catches of chinook and halibut should be had. Crabbing is still unbelievable, big, hard and sweet. 

For Port Renfrew Marina's Labor Day Derby this year there has been a new addition to the group that we donate the fundraised monies too. Every year since we started we have donated to the local San Juan Hatchery and we will again this year but we have included the Sooke Chinook Enhancement Initiative. Here is the site if you would like to check it out  http://www.anglerscoalition.com. We are of the thinking that it would be useful to help both areas as they are tied together helping salmon stocks in the San Juan Strait. Salmon have 4 times the survival rate being released from net pens than from the wild as they are released at a bigger size. Last year at the Sooke Chinook Enhancement Initiative they released over 500,000 salmon! 100,00 of them were marked and tagged. 

Speaking of the Port Renfrew Marina Labor Day Derby, please keep in mind that we are always in need of donations, either privately or from a business. It all helps to make a derby successful and to bring in the necessary monies to donate. If you feel you can manage a donation or know someone or a business that might be interested please come by the office or email us and we can give you a donation letter. 

At Port Renfrew Marina there will be the annual Kinsmen Derby July 21st and 22nd this year. The entry fee is $50.00 a rod and includes a dinner. The monies raised go to different needy organizations in the Lake Cowichan area. A really fun derby for all. For more info go to http://lakecowichankinsmen.com/kin-derby-2018. 

It is with a sad heart the we at Port Renfrew Marina mark the sudden passing of Peter Knighton. A long time patron and good friend died this past Tuesday, June 5th when his boat capsized near Carmanah beach. His gentle spirit, his positive attitude in life and great dry sense of humor will be greatly missed. We all looked forward to when Peter would show up and have a joke or funny story to tell. We never heard a cross word from him. Our sincere condolences goes out to his family and all that knew him.  

Bud & Rex

Port Renfrew Marina Report May30/18

At Port Renfrew Marina there was some good fishing on the weekend wth some limit catches to 25 pounds. Wind and some swell for the past few days has slowed things down a bit.

Around the 10th of June the "chicken Ranch" should turn on. This will be the bread and butter for a lot of anglers looking for springs and halibut. Although this past weekend we saw some nice sized halibut coming to the docks. 

Crabbing remains fantastic with some people "crabbed out" already! They seem to be shallow water right now in 25 to 35 feet. Remember to make sure your traps are weighted down solidly so there is no rocking and movement from the swells and currents. The crabs will spook if the traps are swaying. Halibut fishing remains strong with the NE corner and farther west points giving up fish. 

Many people are already asking about when our derbies will be held this year. The Port Renfrew Marina Labor Day Derby will be held this year on Sept. 1st and 2nd. and the Port Renfrew Marina Coho Derby that so many wait for, will be early this year on Sept. 29th and 30th. The following weekend is Thanksgiving and then after that the weather is just too unpredictable. So now you can make any arrangements you might need if you want to attend either or both derbies. More info will be coming regarding the derbies. 

Effective by June 1st a total fin-fish closure from San Juan Point to Otter Point will be in effect until September 30th. This won't likely affect Port Renfrew Marina and area too much but it isn't looking very good for Sooke anglers. Please make sure you familiarize yourself with all the changes in regulations before you venture out to fish so you don't get hit with fines. Fisheries does not forgive being uninformed! We will try to keep people posted as more information comes to us. 

A reminder to all new customers that are planning a trip to the marina, we are a cash only business so please come prepared,, we do not accept credit cards or have Interac but we do have an ATM for your convenience if necessary.

Bud & Rex

Port Renfrew Marina Report May 20/18

At Port Renfrew Marina Chinook fishing has really improved this weekend with more boats on the water and good weather. The "rockpile" at 70 feet in 80 feet of water produced some limit catches. The fish were mostly in the low to mid teens. 

Halibut is great! Smooth seas with ebb tides allowed access to spots farther west resulted in lots of the flat fish hitting the cleaning tables. The highlight, like last year, is the crabbing! Limits of hard purple crabs are making everyone happy. If you have to throw back 6 or 7 keepers you know how good it is!   

It is now nearing the end of May and we are filling up faster than any year previously. There are a couple of seasonals that have not yet contacted us and if we don't hear from them soon their spots will become available, so please if you see this report and you haven't spoken to us, you need to asap. 

With the ongoing development that is being done at the marina we will soon have maybe 5 new sites with power available for anyone interested. Most of the work is nearly done and things are settling down now. For those who who need it we also have the pay phone up and working now, it seems every year there is a part that needs replacing. 

Bud & Rex

Port Renfrew Marina Report May 4/18

Port Renfrew Marina has now been open for nearly a week. In that time we have been busy with many returning customers and also many new ones. With the "renovations" that have been done luckily we have a few new sites which have already been filled. If you are a returning customer from last year or longer please contact us immediately if you have not done so yet and let us know if you are returning. Every day we are getting inquiries from people wanting to grab a site for the season and we need to know if any on the old sites are available. Although we have always held sites until May 15th it would be very helpful to know as soon as possible. When you do come to the marina to set up please make sure you come in to the office and let us know of your arrival and then we can activate your power if your site has it.

For fishing, there is not much happening on the salmon front yet but halibut fishing is quite good and crabbing is excellent as it always is in the early part of the season. They are beautiful, large, sweet and plentiful. As we have said in the past for best results use a solid trap that sits on the bottom without swaying or moving so the crab are not spooked by it. We have bait at the office and will be getting ice this coming week. We also have fuel and are going to do our best to keep prices as fair as possible.

We want to shout out a huge thank you to Odd Johansen, Dwayne Issac and Mike Game for helping us get the docks back in and tied up for the season. We were lucky to have good weather that day and things went well. These guys help out each year and are always available for helping when it is needed. 

Bud & Rex

 

 

Port Renfrew Marina Report April 24/18

So, Port Renfrew Marina has opened and launched our new website. It has been a long and tricky process to get all the bugs worked out and there may be some more along the way so please bear with us! We are a work in progress! We hope you find the new site easy to peruse and get the information you need. 

Port Renfrew Marina will be opening this weekend. If you are one of the ones counting the minutes until you can come and get set up we can say that as of Saturday, April 29th the gate will be open and we will be there for you. For returning customers you can come and set up once you see us at the office and for new customers please come by and we will do a tour with you to find you a spot that works for your needs. 

Once you are in the marina you will see more changes that have been done. There are more sites with electricity and water and some things have been relocated. If you are unsure or confused come see us for clarification.  Please check our rates page for a few minor changes in fees. 

Lets all hope for a great season of fishing and good weather and calm seas. We at Port Renfrew Marina look forward to seeing all our returning customers and getting to know our new ones coming this year. 

Bud & Rex