April 29/10 Port Renfrew Marina Report

Port Renfrew Marina officially opens on May1st, this weekend.  Another winter has passed and a new season awaits for a summer of fishing.  So far in the late spring we have had reports of good fishing for halibut. There are many "chicken" sized ones if you can get out there. The weather has hindered some boating and there have been many seasick people! Crabbing remains great, lots out there and they will vary in catch, some full with meat, others still with water in the shell but very sweet. Port Renfrew Marina now has gas. We have boat gas, car gas and diesel.

A reminder to all our seasonal customers. Please let us know as soon as possible with the deadline of May 10th if you are returning or not.  We have many new people inquiring and you don't want to be disappointed if you lose your spot.  Also if you are seasonal you may want to pay before the April 30th deadline. If you pay the fee in full before that date you can avoid the HST tax. 

For the retuning customers you will recognize Knut working again this year.  We are pelased to have him helping us again with his endless handyman abilities.

Regarding the phones and ATM, we do have them up and running this year so far! If we are lucky and all things work, we will keep it that way. If you recall last year the ATM had many problems, we hope we have eliminated them.

If you have been to Port Renfrew Marina this year you will see quite a few wonderful changes. Our indispensible caretakers, Wayne & Gwen Coleman have spent their winter cleaning up the grounds, trimming trees and marking off sites. We can't thank you enough for all your hard work!

All of us at Port Renfrew Marina look forward to seeing our returning customers and all our new ones. Wishing you a safe and exciting season of fishing. See you up there!

Bud & Rex

April 12/10 Port Renfrew Marina Report

Port Renfrew Marina is beginning to gear up for another season. We will be opening on May 1st. With the milder winter and the fair spring it has made it possible for our caretakers, Wayne & Gwen Coleman to have accomplished a remarkable amount of clean up,  helping  us get organized for the coming year. A big thanks to them!  The outlook for early Chinook fishing is very good with a strong run predicted for the Columbia River. There have been reports of springs being caught up to 26 pounds at Owen Point.  Halibut catches have already been very good for "chickens." Crabbing in the area will be starting soon and if this year is like all others in the past, the catches will be great.  Anyone who has tasted Port Renfrew Marina crab will be very excited to start the eating feast soon and if you haven't had the opportunity to try the local crab you should, as it is the BEST!

A reminder that all previous seasonal customers should be contacting us as soon as possible to confirm their spots from last year. If we don't hear from you by May 10th it will be assumed you are not returning.  As you may know the HST is going into effect this July and if you would like to avoid paying the additional 7% tax you may, by paying for your seasonal site in full by April 30th. To do so you must contact us personally by e-mail or phone to make arrangements for payment. Please do not call and try to complete this with our caretakers, the Coleman's. The GST is still in effect and applies to all services paid for at any time. If for any reason the HST is overturned or withdrawn and you have made a payment after April 30th then Port Renfrew Marina will refund you your 7% tax in full.

Port Renfrew Marina will have fuel (boat gas, car gas and diesel) by May 1st. We will also have bait available. If you have any questions or concerns please call or e-mail us and we will do our best to help you.

Bud & Rex

Oct.14/09 Port Renfrew Marina Report

Another season has passed for Port Renfrew Marina and its customers. The marina officially closed on Oct.12th and re-opens next year on May 1st. The 2009 season overall was a very good year. In the spring we had fantastic crabbing and halibut fishing. As summer came on the Chinook salmon were slow to come but for the most part it was very good especially in August when the springs over 40 started showing up in real numbers. All together we had 44 springs over 40 pounds this year and 2 over 50 pounds. The largest spring and halibut weighed in at Island Outfitters this year were both from Port Renfrew Marina.  In September the marina saw an amazing number of Coho's being caught with the best catch in any year we can remember of a 26 pound hatchery Coho by Desi Hatchardof Vicious Fish Charters. We also had a great turnout at all the derby's held at the marina with a record amount of $11254.00 that went to the San Juan Hatchery. At this time now that the marina is closed we ask that our customers who need to arrange storage or take their units or boats home do so as soon as possible. This can be arranged with our caretakers Wayne & Gwen Coleman. Their number is 250 483-1486 and you will need to call and arrange a time so the gate can be open. The marina number is now only taking voice mail and is not in operation to accept calls, if you need to speak to someone out there, then again you should call the caretaker.

Special thank you's: We would like to thank Andrew Hoffman, our phone and internet guy who has rescued us many times and donated many hours of his time to help us out and without his help we would have not likely had an functional ATM this year. We would like to say thank you to John Bridal our computer and website guy who has helped us endlessly with our never ending questions and help with posting the fish pictures on the reports.  Again we want to thank Knut for helping out the last two years and being so ready and handy to build, repair or take apart things at the marina. And it bears repeating we want to thank Wayne & Gwen Coleman our caretakers for their excellent efforts all season, their tireless help with camp cleanup, their super humor and last but not least the fantastic french fries and other goodies!!! We want to thank all our customers and friends who have supported us and the marina over the years, you make it a fun and great place to work!

Have a safe and healthy winter and we hope to see everyone back next year for the 2010 season.

Bud, Tedi & Rex, Diane

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