Oak Bay Marine Group Reel Reports

November Word on the Dock

Pedder Bay RV Resort & Marina - Oak Bay Marine Group — 2009-11-04

Winter Springs

They are here!

Try the usual gear at the usual depths. That is Purple Haze flashers and squirts, or a Cop Car Coyote Spoon with a Silver Holographic flasher. Fish close to the bottom with short leaders for the terminal tackle. This will give a lot of action to your offering and attract those young action loving fish.

When we see folks with fish (or when we go out ourselves) we often ask where and how they caught it. Make sure you stop by and ask what the latest is.

Halibut

Halis are still open there are some good looking tides in November. All these tides were taken from pg. 67 of the Volume 5 Canadian Tide and Current Tables.

5th — afternoon
12th — 0800 to about noon
13th — 0900 until mid afternoon
14th — 1035 until mid afternoon
15th — 1146 until late afternoon
16th — 1245 until late afternoon
17th — 1338 until late afternoon
18th — all day
19th — all day
20th — all day
21st — all day
22nd — all day
23rd — all day
24th — all day
25th — all day
26th — all day

Lets’ face it the rest of the month looks great! Get out there!

Marina Upgrades

The crews are busy building new docks and installing the water and new electrical system. When all is done every dock will have water and of course power. All slips over 26 ft will have 30amp power and smaller slips will have 15amp power serviced from a 30 amp plug. We are hoping that early in the new year we will have these projects completed.

RV Park

We will be re-opening the rv resort on March 1st just in time for good weather and hopefully some halibut fishing!

Painter's Lodge by Fae Hansen

Painter's Lodge and April Point Resort & Spa - Oak Bay Marine Group — 2009-10-22

Fae Hansen just sent in this beautiful photo she took of Painter's Lodge (see it bigger on Flickr).

Fae took this photo at Dick Murphy Park in Campbell River.

Thanks, Fae!

Wesley Behan and friends

Canadian Princess Resort - Oak Bay Marine Group — 2009-10-15

Canadian Princess guest Wesley Behan and 21 of his friends spent some time at the Canadian Princess this summer.

He kindly sent in a link to the video they shot during their fishing trip. Looks like it was an awesome time!

Thanks, Wesley!

2009 Chum Derby Results

Painter's Lodge - Oak Bay Marine Group — 2009-10-13

The Painter's Lodge Chum salmon derby has just wrapped up and it was exciting right up to the last minute.

From October 1 to 12, anglers battled the huge runs of fall Chum salmon that course through Discovery Passage each year. Great prizes were up for grabs, including a four day all-inclusive fishing package at the MV Charlotte Princess, Langara Island.

Dave Picariello nabbed third place with a 15.14 lb. Chum caught on October 3. Dave won a fishing package for two back at Painter's Lodge in 2010.

On October 7, Ton Nieuwpoort upped the ante with a 15.70 lb. Chum salmon. He won a three-night getaway at April Point Resort & Spa.

And just in the nick of time, Brad Allan secured the top prize with his 16.24 lb. Chum, caught October 11.

Congratulations to our three winners, and to everyone who squared off against the scrappy Chum.

David and Suzanne Wei

Painter's Lodge - Oak Bay Marine Group — 2009-10-08

David and Suzanne Wei just got home from their trip to Painter's Lodge and send in these fantastic photos and this note:

We sure enjoyed our stay at Painter's Lodge...had a whale of a time! ... Alas (for us) our Chum salmon weren't big enough to win the trip to Charlotte princess, but with so many fish being caught, every guest was a winner!

Many thanks for setting up the nature cruise (turned into a fabulous whale watching adventure with around fifty whales in three pods), the lovely room, the great fishing (we've got lots of info from the guides for our story), the delicious meal, and fantastic weather!!!

Cheers,
Dave and Suzanne

October Word on the Dock

Pedder Bay RV Resort & Marina - Oak Bay Marine Group — 2009-09-24

Here's the latest fishing update from Pedder Bay.

Salmon

Chinook

As of the end of September there are lots of small Chinook around with all the feed in the water this year we are all hoping that there will be a very productive winter spring fishery starting late October and on. Let’s hope they bulk up very nicely

Coho

As of October 1st the following will apply:

West of Race Rocks (Area 20) you will be allowed 4 Coho, 1 of which can be wild
East of Race Rocks (Area 19) you will be allowed 2 Coho, 1 of which can be wild

Halibut

The following dates and times are taken from the JDF East current tables found in the Canadian tide and current tables. These times are when the turn of the tide will be and at the currents max flow will be 1.5 kn or less. Either side of these times are when the prime time for the fishing will be.

5th — 14:00
6th — 15:00
7th — 16:00
8th — 11:00 all the way through the day
9th — 12:00
10th — 12:47
11th — 13:41
12th — 14:33
19th — 14:06
20th — 15:00
21st — 16:00
22nd — 11:00
23rd — 11:39
24th — 12:25
25th to the 31st in the mornings look great

RV Resort

The RV resort will be open until the end of October. There is a lot of interest in the Thanksgiving weekend so if you are thinking about coming out you should book your RV space soon.

Especially since there are some good Hali tides that weekend.

Richard Taggart
Manager
Pedder Bay RV Resort & Marina
250-478-1771

Megan's fishing adventure

Painter's Lodge - Oak Bay Marine Group — 2009-09-22

The weather up here is good and it's only getting better. I saw a few high 20s in the weather forecast, which is great for the end of September.

Every couple weeks I write about the guest fishing and wild life trips, this week I am going to write about my own fishing adventure. We went out for an eight hour fishing trip yesterday and it was fabulous. Couldn't have asked for a better day. The weather was gorgeous, and the fish were biting. I highly recommend the eight hour option (or even a six hour), as you have much more time to explore all the wonders the ocean has to offer, without cutting into your precious fishing time.

On an eight hour trip you get to check out some fishing holes a little farther up, such as Chatham Point and Greensea Bay. Chatham is beautiful, I had never been and was blown away with its beauty. On our way up to Chatham we fished the Narrows for Lingcod, stopped and played with White-sided propoises, TWICE, and watched a monster of a Sealion take down and eat a huge salmon, and that just on the ride up there.

Once we got to Chatham it was sunny and the waters were calm, we peeled off some layers, set up the lines and dug into our lunches. We didn't get any bites for the first half an hour or so and anticipation was building, especially after we watched some friends of ours land a nice Coho in another boat and still we hadn't had a bite. Then BANG! We had more bites than we could handle, it was total chaos in the boat, of course I wasn't helping with all my shrieks of joy and nonstop picture taking. We couldn't get the line back in the water before the other line had a fish on!

In total we had over 10 hits and in the end we caught and kept two Coho, one Chum and one Pink. As for what we didn't keep, we got four undersized, a wild Coho and lost two bites.

After Chatham Point we cruised over to Greensea Bay, another great fishing spot and cruised around there for a bit, we didn't get any keepers over there, just another wild Coho or two, and some undersized, to be honest my arms were soooo sore from pulling in the other ten fish that I was happy, watching the other boats catch some fish.

All in all it was great day, caught some sun and some fish! Spent a beautiful day on the water, and can't wait to get back out there, especially since the Chums are starting, they're sooo much fun to catch.

The Chum Derby starts on the first of October and runs until we close. There are some great prizes to won and some big fish to be caught, so come up and give it a try, every Chum caught is entered in to the grand prize draw, and there are daily prizes as well.

Megan Lane
Dock Supervisor
Painter’s Lodge

Season Wrap Up

Canadian Princess Resort - Oak Bay Marine Group — 2009-09-14

Wow!

Looking back over the 2009 season, we saw more salmon in one month than we had seen all last year. The season started off with boats limiting on salmon in the first hour of fishing and anglers were able to grab both their salmon and halibut limits in a single trip.

As the season progressed we saw some of the best fishing on the west coast in at least 5 years. This season found us fishing for both salmon and halibut on the same trip. Chinook this year averaged 18 - 25 lbs with a few very large ones coming in.

Our season record was a 45 lb. Chinook (King/Tyee/Spring). This monster was landed on the Ucluelet Princess by Brian Francis of Port Alberni, BC. We had a lot of Coho this year, the biggest being an 18 lb. hatchery fish.

Halibut were a little slower this year than in the past. We did catch some large halibut nonetheless, with the biggest being 106 lbs. caught by Lance McConnell on the Salmon Princess.

Fishing this year was fantastic all summer with very few days where we couldn’t go offshore. We hope to see all again next year.

Fish on and tight lines,

Dave Martin
Marine Operations Manager, Canadian Princess Resort
Ucluelet, Vancouver Island

Looking back at 2009

April Point Resort & Spa - Oak Bay Marine Group — 2009-09-09

It happened so fast. Another season has come and gone.

Some brand new programs were offered this year. Among them was the Kids Fishing Program from our docks, which was a huge success. With a combination of great weather and the families, there was not a day there wasn’t someone fishing. And they all caught fish from Mud Sharks, or Dog Fish to Greenling Cod. Some of the cod were large enough to keep and have for lunch or dinner.

The Pachena Princess eco-tour and the Wine and Cheese sunset Cruise were a must. What an amazing way to view the islands while enjoying foods and a narrative for all you saw, whales, sea lions, bald eagles, porpoises, migrating Pink, Chinook and Coho rolling south to the rivers. These cruises gave everyone something to remember.

Our weekly Quadra Island Tour, visiting some of the local artists, the island’s own winery, and finishing with a picnic lunch at Rebecca Spit was among a favorite for many guests.

Our new Scavenger Hunt for all ages with prizes for going through and answering all the questions was very popular. From doing the Chicken Dance to taking photos of a staff member with red hair, participants ranged from 4 years of age to 90 years of age.

Also, guessing the 17 flags on the southern point and getting prizes based on accuracy was another active way for our guests to learn about the various countries and flags of the world.

Pender, commonly known as T-14, the forty year old lone transient Killer whale with a dorsal over six feet high, drew many guests with their cameras clicking right from the shores of the resort.

Great food was the final touch on many guests’ nights, from the fresh Copper River Coho to the new favorite fried chicken, and finished with an Earl Grey Tea Crème Brule.

Jazz Night in the dining room every Tuesday was another huge success. Local Quadra Island jazz musicians entertained all during dinner and dancing always followed.

We also enjoyed some amazing fishing this year. From Chinooks right at opening to everyone limiting at Pinks to the moment that we closed. There is going to be many happy people during the Christmas Holidays with their smoked, candied or canned salmon.

We closed out our 2009 with a beautiful wedding, just like we did in 2008. This sets a standard for 2010, a year which promises many weddings to coincide with the 2010 Olympics. Who would not want to get married at April Point, a jewel consisting of over 30+ acres of pristine British Columbia forests.

That’s all for now, I look forward to seeing everyone again in 2010.

Cheers from beautiful Quadra Island!

Michael O’Hara — Operations Manager
April Point Resort & Spa

Fantastic fishing continues

Painter's Lodge - Oak Bay Marine Group — 2009-09-06

August has come and gone, which means the August Heat Chinook Derby is over! The winners are:

1st place Mattew Liska: 34.60 lb. Chinook
2nd place Terry Adams: 34.06 lb. Chinook
3rd place Carlos Civitraese: 33.70 lb. Chinook

Enjoy your fish and your prizes guys!!!

So now on to the next derby, the Octoberfish Chum Salmon Derby which runs from October 1st to 12th. All you have to do is catch a Chum! Furst place gets a 4 day/3 night trip to the MV Charlotte Princess, 2nd gets an April Point package which includes accommodation, fishing, wildlife tours and spa treatments, and 3rd place gets a three night fishing package at Painter’s Lodge.

As for fishing right now, the Pinks are still coming down in the millions. The Chinooks have been big and plenty. Just this morning Tim and Barb Still brought in two Tyees (30 lbs. and 33 lbs.) and a 26 pounder, all in under 1 ½ hours. I hadn’t even had my second cup of coffee and these guys come in with three huge Chinooks!!

Paul Brown caught the first registered Tyee this year. By registered we mean the Tyee was caught in the Tyee pool while being rowed by one of our fishing guides, and following the strict rules and regulations set in place by the Tyee Club. It’s definitely a lot of work , but well worth it when you get to brag about being the first to catch one the old fashion way!

There’s only a few more weeks for the Sunset Tours, so come on down and book a trip, you’ll love it!

That’s all for today. Thanks for checkin’ in. Hope you have a wonderful day.

Megan Lane
Dock Supervisor
Painter’s Lodge