Oak Bay Marine Group Reel Reports

Come Get those Christmas Springs!

Pedder Bay RV Resort & Marina - Oak Bay Marine Group — 2011-12-19

Winter Chinook fishing is really heating up at Pedder Bay RV Resort & Marina.

Over the weekend, a good number of fish in the 8 to 15 lb range were brought in from Whirl Bay, Church Rock and Pedder Bay.

Most boats ended up with a least a couple of fish and several brought in limits for three or four anglers of fish in the 10 - 12 lb range. Not bad for mid-December!

Pedder Bay legend and Marina manager Gilles Gagnon proved the power of purple by nailing a nice10 lber on his tried and true Pruple Haze squirt & flasher combo on Friday while playing hookey from work. 125 feet was the magic depth for Gilles.

John and friends having been consistently catching good numbers of fish from Whirl Bay using a variety of gear at depths from 135 to 160 feet. Nice fish!!!

The next week is looking to have some great afternoon tides. Give us a call at 250-478-1771 for a wind report and if its nice, come on down and catch a few spring salmon for the smoker. Your friends will love the gift of fresh smoked chinook, and you'll have a ball catching them.

We call that a win \ win!

Tight lines & Happy Holidays!

Martin\Dave\Gilles\Debbie\Floyd

Your friendly Pedder Bay winter crew.

New Resort Video

Canadian Princess Resort - Oak Bay Marine Group — 2011-12-19

We finished our new Canadian Princess Resort video and posted it on YouTube. Check it out!

http://bit.ly/tWoq9K

New Resort Video

April Point Resort & Spa - Oak Bay Marine Group — 2011-12-19

We finished our new April Point resort video and posted it on YouTube. Check it out!

http://bit.ly/tWoq9K

New Resort Video!

Painter's Lodge - Oak Bay Marine Group — 2011-12-19

We created a new resort video and have it posted on our YouTube channel! Check it out!

http://bit.ly/tWoq9K

Winter Chinook are in!

Pedder Bay RV Resort & Marina - Oak Bay Marine Group — 2011-12-08

Lots of anglers are braving the cooler weather and heading out on Juan de Fuca Strait now that word word is out that "the fish are in the bay!"

"Winter Springs", "Feeders", "Blackmouth", or whatever you like to call them are chinook salmon in their 2nd or 3rd year of life at sea. Ranging from small, 2 year old "shakers" of a couple of pounds up to fish in the high teens, they are eagerly sought after and much anticipated by local anglers in the know.

Why?

Because they are considered perhaps the best eating fish of the year, and are also pound for pound some of the hardest fighting.

Add to that the chance to get out on the water for some much needed "outdoor time" at this time of year, and you can see why so many Victorians get excited about this fishery.

"Winters", as we'll call them, tend to move around a bit, but for the next month or two you can pretty much guarantee there'll be some somewhere within a 10 minute boat ride from Pedder Bay, and often right at the Can Buoy or William Head. A couple of nice fish in the 12 to 15 lb range came in off William Head on Tuesday.

More agressive than summer chinook, winters can be caught on a range of gear with "squirts" and small spoons like Coyote or Coho Killers amongst the favorites, typically trolled 3 to 6 feet behind a glow-in-the-dark flasher. Favorite colours for squirts are Purple Haze, J-79, Army Truck and Glow White. Spoons in glow\green, chartreuse\green and chrome\green colours are also a good place to start but if you have a favorite - try it, these fish usually aren't that fussy as long as you remembere the bait is smaller right now..

If the bite is really on, you can have a blast by fishing a "dummy flasher" attached directly to your downrigger ball and then run a spoon 10 to 15 feet above it without a flasher. Great sport on light tackle - some guys (like me!) even use 9 or 10 wt fly rods when doing this - what a hoot! Remember to be careful when getting the line out of the clip with the light rods though...

Always try to fish close to the bottom in 75 to 180 feet of water, and if you find a shcool of bait try to stay on top of it and fish just below it. You can speed up a bit when fishing for these guys (1.5 - 2.5 kn) as they are fairly agressive.

Today is the perfect example of a great winter chinook day. Clear skies, light winds and about 5C. Already a few nice ones have hit the dock...

Oh yeah, crabbing is pretty good right now as well. A great way to get the taste of summer back in to your meal plan!

We've got the coffe pot on in the coffee house, hot soup and toasted foccacia ready to go along with lots of other speciality coffee drinks, breakfast snacks and baked treats.

Bundle up, break out the salmon gear and crab traps and come on down for some of the nicest fish of the year. We do have rental boats available and the Marina Office and Coffee House are open 8:00 to 4:00 daily.

Looking forward to seeing you!

Tight lines...

Martin, Dave, Gilles, Debbie & Floyd

Your friendly Pedder Bay Winter Crew.

Season's Greetings

Pedder Bay RV Resort & Marina - Oak Bay Marine Group — 2011-11-28

Seasons Greetings from the crew at Oak Bay Marine Group

Looking for the perfect gift this holiday season but struggling for ideas? Purchase a gift certificate from Oak Bay Marine Group and give the gift of fishing and outdoor adventures and holiday relaxation.

Call 1-800-663-7090 to purchase your gift certificate.

Season's Greetings

Oak Bay Marine Group Fishing Resorts - Oak Bay Marine Group — 2011-11-28

Seasons Greetings from the crew at Oak Bay Marine Group

Call 1-800-663-7090 to purchase your gift certificate.

Congratulations to the Boss!

BC Fishing Resorts and Pedder Bay - Oak Bay Marine Group — 2011-11-15

We'd like to say a special congratulations to Mr. Bob Wright, the founder and owner of Oak Bay Marine Group. Bob was just selected to enter the Canadian Tourism Hall of Fame.

Congratulations Bob!

To read Bob's article, visit http://bit.ly/rH5zYK

Fantastic Coho Action!

Pedder Bay RV Resort & Marina - Oak Bay Marine Group — 2011-10-17

The bite just keeps going on at Pedder Bay as one of the best Coho fisheries in years is unfolding right now on Juan De Fuca Straight.

Tons of Coho in the 7 to 18lb range have been hitting the docks every day for the past couple of weeks, and the action shows no signs of slowing down any time soon. To add to the excitement, more than anyone can remember, Chum salmon are being hooked by anglers on a variety of lures as the season progresses. These hard fighing fish will run well in to November so with any luck, they'll provide a seamless transition in to our traditionally excellent November\December feeder Chinook fishery. We'll just have to wait and see!

Coho are being picked up in all tidelines ranging from 1\2 mile to 5 miles plus out in the straight. Most anglers from Pedder Bay are fishing from Beechey Head to Christopher Point as a shoreline reference but again, well out in the straight and typically asociated with tidelines.

Depths range from the surface early in the morning down to about 100 feet. It pays to run multiple rods and fish a few different depths as the fish do move up and down in the water column.

Small spoons like 3.5 inch Coyote's and Coho Killers in glow or watermelon colours have been hot, as have Army Truck, Purple Haze or Glow Below hoochies and squirts trolled fast behind brighyly coloured or glow flashers. Some of the larger fish have been coming in on anchovies though.

Bag limits are currently 4 Coho per day over 30 cm with only one wild fish allowed per day. Check those adipose fins before netting, and release the wild ones unharmed please! They represent our fishery potential in three years. Also, remember to submit the heads from your hatchery fish - they provide valuable information to fishery managers.

The photo shows David McConnel with a couple of beauties he managed to catch before work. Not bad for a quick early morning session!

Come on out and enjoy some great fall weather along with some of the best fishing of the year. The RV resort is open until the end of the month. Why not combine that last camping trip of the year with some great late season fishing? We'll keep the coffee on for you....

Your friendly Pedder Bay Crew.

See You Next year!

Painter's Lodge - Oak Bay Marine Group — 2011-10-10

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Another season comes to an end at Painter’s Lodge and a lot of fishing addicts are starting to go through withdrawal already…especially since this year’s Chum fishing is still going strong. Our season started off with a bang, there were plenty of Chinook waiting for us when we opened in April and continued with incredible Chinook fishing right until late September. There were many highlights but the most memorable fish has to be the 39.5 pound Tyee that Jan de Bruyn landed in the Tyee Pool, thereby enrolling him in one of the most exclusive fishing clubs in the world. This year also saw an incredible run of pink salmon with the months of August and September seeing day after day of anglers with their limits of fish. Add in the beautiful late season weather and we had a truly wonderful late summer and fall. But now all of the guides are breaking down their gear and packing it away for the winter…but I’ve already heard them whispering about the new tricks they want to try NEXT year, so until then, thanks from all of the crew at Painter’s Lodge and April Point Resort.

~ Dwayne, Marine Operations Manager

"As another rewarding season comes to an end, I am greatful for having bennat the side of so many great people including our guests, over the past 6 months. Ahoy to all of our new and returning crew and a big thank you to our strong management team for steering this ship in the right direction once again. Cheers.

~ Justin, Front Desk

I had my 8^th season at Painter’s Lodge and once again I had a great summer even though it rained through most of August it was a great year! Of course I’m going to share with you all my favorite pictures of the season...

~ Caylin