Little Town - Big Fishing Problem

Port Renfrew is a small city in Canada with a big problem for fishing. The people the problem is the sport fishing is great and very few know it. We arrived at Port Renfrew in the afternoon. Port Captain Quigley greets us at the entrance to Osprey Cabins. Quigley and his family provide these comfortable cabins in a beautiful rural setting - and there is an outdoor hot tub to boot! His place is one of the most popular hotels in Port Renfrew, and their rates are very reasonable. Captain Quigley is one of the most skilled and qualified guides we found. We were with the affable "Capt'N Quigo" before, in his other fishing operations Sooke, BC (45 minutes west of Victoria), so we know we're in good hands! Alarm shakes the solid sleep at 5 am we are in the water by 6:00. The sun is just rising behind us as we speed westward, toward the mouth of the port of San Juan at the entrance. Quigley boat is fast and powerful. We cling to our seats as we bounce back in big waves! We stopped near the beach area such as the West Coast Trail from Port Renfrew meets the "Pacific Ocean" for the first time. The cliffs of the coast were spectacular and numerous caves carved into great darkness. Captain Quigley points at the open door to the Pacific. "Next stop Hawaii, and that-away Japan!" The water is calm, as it is becoming here, but the waves are big stock. The sun is shining now, but the cold, dark fog is already rising from the water, cloaking the cliffs. It seems that trees are suspended in the air above us. Captain Quigley tells us that is sure to catch some great today. Swiftsure Bank, where the Strait of Juan de Fuca falls into the deep blue Pacific, where it is black and salmon are most abundant. It's hard to believe that we are fishing in the open Pacific Ocean shore. The first catch is a screamer! That's because I grab the bait and takes off. The line literally "screams", as the fish runs. Quigley knows what to do. He put the boat up and chases fish. My eyes almost pop when I look down on the reel and there are only about 3 side lines on the left! Within seconds, the fish had got about 300 meters from the line. I reel as fast as you can until the line is tightened again and again in the fight nonstop excitement, the boats that surround us are taking the strike after strike. Quigley In Radio, we can hear the guides sharing information about their catches - "Double strike, 40 feet below! All share their success so everyone else can succeed too. Even when there is a truce, and the fish is not biting, Captain Quigley is entertaining us. He shows us his fish attract the last song and accompanying dance: "Chinook, Chinook - Bite the hook, the hook!" There's never a dull moment on board. And when the fish are biting, Quigley is a very patient: "Let him run! That's all ... He has all the boat to play. That tired ... "Later, Quigley tells us a story about the biggest fish ever came to his boat. It took an elderly couple on an expedition, and was able to be a disappointing day quiet - not a morsel before decided to come back! Then suddenly he got treatment. It's a huge battle, but with Quigley's help, he staggered under - 52 lbs! Now that is a very large salmon. E 'won several categories in the fishing derby. We took our time limit before the Charter is more, each fish is in the range of twenty pounds. We had about 100 pounds of fish on board, enough to feed us all winter! (We are fishing for spring salmon as the Silver and Sockeye fisheries were temporarily closed.) When I had dinner the night, returned to Victoria, a grilled steak fills my barbecue! was2 Five people dug and / 3 leftover! We're talking serious salmon here, folks! Small town, big fishing problem - right? Now you know. Ron Kirstein is the owner of a tour of Canada and Tourism Website (since 1995). Ron has traveled to across Vancouver Island British Columbia Canada in search of adventure. For more information and exciting color photographs of Ron's Island Fishing Adventure visit his Travel Magazine.