Salmon Fishing Vancouver - Holiday Sept 2021 - Guide - affordable fishing

[BigBoat]

Here’s my take on doing it yourself boat rental vs paying a bit more for a guided trip. I had clients who wanted to book 2 full days with me but chose to do one full one and then drive down to sooke from Nanaimo to rent one from pedder bay. The trip out with me was a good day, all 4 caught their limit of chins along with 3 other coho keepers. All had fun, drank some beers, smoked a bit and had a blast. The next day I got a message later in the day asking if I was available for the next day as their trip out of pedder was a bust. After paying for the boat rental all day, fuel, rods, downriggers, tackle, lost gear etc they were not far from what a full day with me costs. They had no clue where to go, what to use, how deep etc etc, which led to them getting skunked. Plus they lost tackle due to hitting bottom, line tangles etc. Also couldn’t drink on board. So to say they were pissed at their decision was an understatement, but they wanted to try the cheaper way. I totally understand that to some it seems like a lot to hire a guide, but you are paying for a lot more than just their time.

I have been there myself. As a family with small children some years back we took a vacation hopping from town to town on the Alaska ferry. On our limited budget I rented a 16 foot aluminum boat in Petersburg, AK and took the family fishing using my own gear. As luck would have it toward the end of the day I hooked into a halibut and after a bit of a gong show and a lot of stress on my Penn Squidder with 30 lb mono we managed to bring the fish into the boat. Back at the dockside processing plant the fish weighed in at 108 lbs! Now I promise you, that was a day of fishing my kids will never forget nor will I. My advice, get a guide.

 

[Bent-Tip]

My take on the Pedder rental during the OP's time frame of September is that it's really late for pinks. Coho are around but typically you can only retain hatchery marked until October.

 

[Unreel]

You can certainly make some great memories doing it on your own as well as taking a charter. It comes down to what kind of experience does the op want for their money? Theres never any guarantees that if you go with a charter you’ll come back with fish, but you will certainly learn more in that time than years of trial and error. When I’ve taken out new boat owners in my area I will even show them spots that I frequent that not many know about, because at the end of the day I want them to have fun catching fish. There’s nothing wrong with wanting to do things yourself I can understand that. On top of the costs I laid out for a diy, you have to take in the factor of does the op want the stress of running a boat? Especially if it’s peak season? My advice would be look at booking 2 half days that are centered around a tide change early morning, or whatever the charter company recommends for timing at that time. You could also ask to be put down as a solo fisher looking to join another person or pair, it’s possible the charter may have another group that’s willing to go halvers and have you join.