Archive for August, 2009

August 26 Port Renfrew Fishing Report

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

A couple of reports this week out of Port Renfrew.

Trevor from No Bananas Fishing Charters reports: “salmon fishing has slowed considerably both the beach and Swiftsure Bank. Halibut is still hot between the Chicken Ranch and the J bouy. The Bank is still producing lots of coho and the odd spring salmon. Logan and East Point are the hotspots for beach fishing although its quite slow. Any real bite has been on the high slack. Here’s a pic of a 41 pound spring salmon.”

Kelly from Last Chance Fishing Charters reports from last weekend: “Swiftsure Bank is hopping, south side has been good for hatchery coho up to 15 pounds. Small spring salmon on the south side trolling large spoons 50-150 feet, more springs down deep, bigger ones up top. Halibut at J Bouy, bigger halibut east of the bouy on an ebb tide. Salmon fishing spotty along the shore, I suspect it to get better as we wait for the next rain. Good

colours for me on the beach have been a Chartreuse Krippled Anchovy with Reg/Glow Flasher, and the biggest Anchovies/small herring I could find. Crabbing has been poor”.

So….sounds like the fishing isn’t as good as it has been for the last few weeks, but still some pretty good potential, especially out at Swiftsure Bank. With the halibut limit now 2 per day, it is a good time to get out there and catch some flat fish….out of the ocean, into the fish n chips!

Good luck out there.

Halibut Limit now two per day

Saturday, August 22nd, 2009

Excellent news for those considering Swiftsure Bank trips…limit increased to two per day.

Subject: FN0648-RECREATIONAL – Fin Fish (Other than Salmon) – Halibut: Change to daily limit

Category(s):
RECREATIONAL – Fin Fish (Other than Salmon)

Fishery Notice – Fisheries and Oceans Canada

Subject: FN0648-RECREATIONAL – Fin Fish (Other than Salmon) – Halibut: Change to daily limit

DFO has reviewed in-season recreational fishery catch and effort information
for halibut and projected catches for the balance of the year. Catch and
effort is tracking lower this season and is within the recreational fishery
allocation.

DFO has consulted with the BC Sport Fishing Advisory Board (SFAB) on this
situation and has reviewed options for the balance of the season.
Effective August 22, 2009 the daily limit for halibut coastwide will be
increased to two (2) fish per day. The possession limit remains at two (2)
fish.

The following area closures will remain in effect:

Areas 121, 23 and 123:

Effective to 23:59 hours December 31, 2009:
No person shall fish for or retain halibut, rockfish and lingcod in that
portion of Area 121 outside the 12nm limit seaward of a line that begins at 48°
34.00’N latitude and 125°17.386’W longitude and continues south-easterly at a
bearing of 116°True to a point at 48°28.327’N latitude and 125°01.687’W
longitude.

Electronic licence conditions will be continued as follows:
”no person who is not a Canadian resident may fish for or retain halibut under
this licence in management Areas 121, 23 and 123.”

Area 121:

A reminder to recreational harvesters, that the waters of Swiftsure Bank
(defined below) are closed to all finfish, all year.

Those portions of Subareas 121-1 and 121-2 inside a line that begins at 48°
34.00′N and 125°06.00′W, thence true east to 48°34.00′N and 124°54.20′W, thence
to 48°29.62′N and 124°43.40′W, thence following the International Boundary
between Canada and the U.S.A. to 48°29.55′N and 124°56.20′W, thence in a
straight line to the point of commencement.

Variation Order 2009-328 is in effect.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Contact: Gary Logan 604-666-9033 or Tamee Mawani 604-666-0912

August 20 Port Renfrew fishing update

Friday, August 21st, 2009

Another update from Port Renfrew Marina….all we can say is WOW.
Time to get to Port Renfrew for a fish!

Here’s Drew Henson with a beauty…..36.5 chinook salmon…that’s a TYEE!

Below is another successful day for Trevor of No Bananas Fishing Charters…32, 36, and 38 pounders.

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Fishing is nothing short of FANTASTIC at Port Renfrew Marina right now! Chinook fishing is as good as it gets. Limit catches and tyee size salmon are still hitting the docks every day. We are seeing up to 4 springs a day over 40 pounds and this trend should continue well into September. Anchovies in the Purple Flash UV, Chrome Tiger Prawn and Purple Haze teaser heads seem to be the hot lures right now. The weather lately has been close to perfect, very calm seas for the most part and very little of that August fog we usually get. Check out the list of notable catches and it really says it all especially since we couldn’t possibly get them all recorded.

Coho are still out at Swiftsure and are growing larger daily.There should be lots of Coho over the 20 pound mark by next month. Desi Hatchard of viciousfishcharters caught what we believe to be a possible record of a 26 pound hatchery Coho this past week at the Bank along with a spectacular catch of other salmon and halibut. See pic.

Chicken Halibut are at the J bouy right now. Someone soon will start anchoring for the “barn doors” as they haven’t been targeted for quite a while. Crabbing has slowed down as usual for this time but if you are persistent you will get them.

August 16 Port Renfrew Fishing Update

Monday, August 17th, 2009


Des from Vicious Fishing Charters emailed with a quick report today…he said fishing remains excellent, and today his guest caught a 26 pound hatchery coho. The Port Renfrew Marina said it’s the largest hatchery coho they’ve ever weighed in, and they wonder if it’s a record of some kind. In any case, NICE FISH! It was caught at Swiftsure Bank on a titan spoon. Picture coming soon.

The Marina reports a lot of wild coho, including some big ones. LOTS of Chinook salmon over 30 and 4 or 5 over 40 in the last 2 days. Trevor from No Bananas Fishing Charters emailed in a short Blackberry report too, [probably while out there fishing]: “fishing is still red hot…we limited on springs yesterday and today. Yesterdays largest was 42lbs”.

So…needless to say, the fishing continues to be superb in Port Renfrew! South-west Vancouver Island fishing at its finest….no need to go anywhere else in BC when the good stuff is an hour and a half west of Victoria.

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On a more general note, below is an article from Victoria Times-Colonist, on BC sportsfishing, with a mention of Port Renfrew:

Sports fishermen catch a prize year

Stay-at-home U.S. tourists miss out on bounty of big salmon off Island

By Carla Wilson, Times Colonist August 15, 2009

Sports fishermen off Vancouver Island’s west coast say they’re hauling in heavyweight chinook and coho salmon in one of the best seasons in memory.

The sports fishing bonanza is happening at the same time that experts puzzle over the disappearance of millions of sockeye from the Fraser River.

“It’s the best I’ve ever witnessed,” said Steve Veloso, a guide and sales and marketing director for Gold River Fishing Lodge. Salmon are biting “any type of gear,” he said.

Five tyees were caught off Gold River this past week, Veloso said. A tyee is a chinook salmon weighing at least 30 pounds and is considered a prize catch. Other recent catches include a 23-pound coho and a 168-pound halibut.

Off Port Renfrew, Trevor Zboyovsky, owner of No Bananas Fishing Charters, said he’s regularly seeing chinook between 20 and 50 pounds, and just about one tyee a day for the last couple of weeks.

Between 15 and 20 coho are being pulled in daily, he said.

“Fishing is as good as it’s ever been since I’ve been fishing,” said Zboyovsky, who has two decades’ experience.

At the same time, however, the number of returning American tourists appears to be dwindling, Zboyovsky said.

“I’m pretty steady but a lot of other guys who aren’t as established aren’t as busy.”

Susan Barcham, Oak Bay Marine Group’s director of business development, has noticed the same trend.

“It’s sad that the best fishing we’ve seen in years is the year where a lot of our long-term guests, particularly from the U.S. markets, just aren’t coming.”

Large-sized salmon indicates ocean feeding conditions were good, especially during the final year at sea, when the fish put on much of their bulk, said Jeff Grout, regional resource manager of salmon for Fisheries and Oceans Canada.

Pink salmon returns to the Campbell and Quinsam rivers are high, with a run of more than 200,000 expected.

Chinook return estimates for the Nootka Sound-Esperanza Inlet area — about two thirds of the way up the Island’s west coast — are two to three times above initial expectations of 10,000, Grout said.

The strength of a run is depends on many factors, including the number of smolts that head to the ocean, survival rates, food supply and ocean conditions.

Coho and chinook catches off the Island’s west coast are running above recent five-year averages, Grout said.

July’s coho-catch numbers — called a creel survey — were 76 per cent above the five-year average off the west coast, while chinook is higher by nine per cent, although fishing effort also increased by six per cent, Grout said.

Sports fishing is one of the pillars of B.C.’s tourism industry, creating annual revenues of more than $860 million, and providing 7,700 jobs, the B.C. government says.

August 13 Port Renfrew Fishing Report

Thursday, August 13th, 2009

Port Renfrew’s fishing continues to be fantastic…it is absolutely, no question, peak season.

Trevor from No Bananas Fishing Charters reports “fishing has been unreal for the last week with an average of 15 to 20 hookups a day with it peaking yesterday…we played 20 springs before 11am the largest at 30lbs. Today has slowed down but we have one in the boat close to 40″. Here’s a picture of Teresa McGiveron with her first ever salmon….38 pound tyee beauty.

Port Renfrew Marina reports excellent salmon fishing, with an average of 6 salmon per day over 30 pounds and at least one over 40 pounds. Halibut fishing offshore continues to be plentiful, and the coho are getting bigger. All in all, things are really good!

Now’s the time experience west coast Vancouver Island fishing at its finest. Get out to Port Renfrew and get onto the water!

Port Renfrew fishing report, August 8th

Thursday, August 6th, 2009

Fishing in Port Renfrew is peaking right now….best of the season by far. If you’ve been thinking of heading out to Port Renfrew for fishing….NOW is the time to stop thinking about it!

This report from CBY on sportsfishingbc pretty much sums it up: “Fished Renfrew today. Logan creek it was incredible. Flat calm all day. Got two 30lbers, one 28 lber and one 22 lber and two 5 lb hatchery coho. Fish 6am – noon. Coho were everywhere in 150-170 ft off Camper Creek. Double and triple header. I was using just spoons no flasher. all fish were taken at 37, 47 and 57 feet. The Day was just awesome.”

Trevor from No Bananas Fishing Charters reports excellent salmon fishing in Port Renfrew: “salmon fishing is on fire the last week from Owen Point all the way to Nitinat with a couple 40 pounders a day being weighed in. Sunday we had 8 springs, with 5 between 32 and 38. Monday there was an all day bite at Logan Creek”.

Jolly Rogers Fishing Charters also reports excellent fishing and sends the pictures below: “Fishing on The Beach is heating up with the larger salmon being caught around Camper Creek and Logan Creek. With how well things have been going so far, we expect good fishing to continue through the end of September.”

Check out the Port Renfrew Marina fishing report for more pictures and for names and weights of big salmon caught this week.