ECVI Nanoose, French Creek Report

Fog....yep....

On Friday when I was out it got pretty foggy at times....down to visibility of, say, 300ft.

At times I couldn't see anything in any direction, not only out deeper but also when I was pretty close to shore.

At one point I was fishing around the mouth of F.Creek by the marina in shallow water. I could just make out the breakwall and steel pillars. And I wasn't very far away at all.

So it surprised me when several boats from time to time came out of the marina headed for parts unknown.....

Obviously sportfishers, they would hit the throttle as they cleared the entrance....and wail away full throttle into the mist , disappearing from sight in seconds.

None of them seemed to own radar. None had lights on.

Awhile before that I was out offshore in 300ft of water......out a ways surrounded by fog.

Now that I think about my biggest concern wan't getting lost....it was being broadsided by one of these full-throttle boats.

How they go that fast with no radar in dense fog is a mystery to me.......unless they are glued to their GPS, which doesn't show other boats around.
 
That ramp is legendary. In the 1970's my old man and some of his cronies would sometimes meet there in the early mornings, coffee in hand, just to watch the shenanigans.

He would come home belly laughing with a smile on his face you couldn't scrub off with a wire brush from all the crazy things he saw. LOL.

I have spent a lot of time at FC over the years. Same here, in the early 70's there was a roadside trailer and diner where the store is now. Old man and I would go down there and watch the show. There used to be a ramp at he foot of Lee Rd on the corner back in the day. I ran the Norpac Fisheries fish buy barge, even the current FCC Seafood (Margetis) wasn't built.
Funny how not much has changed lol
 
I had a couple smaller boats follow me back. It would have been so easy to get in trouble out there.

Fog....yep....

On Friday when I was out it got pretty foggy at times....down to visibility of, say, 300ft.

At times I couldn't see anything in any direction, not only out deeper but also when I was pretty close to shore.

At one point I was fishing around the mouth of F.Creek by the marina in shallow water. I could just make out the breakwall and steel pillars. And I wasn't very far away at all.

So it surprised me when several boats from time to time came out of the marina headed for parts unknown.....

Obviously sportfishers, they would hit the throttle as they cleared the entrance....and wail away full throttle into the mist , disappearing from sight in seconds.

None of them seemed to own radar. None had lights on.

Awhile before that I was out offshore in 300ft of water......out a ways surrounded by fog.

Now that I think about my biggest concern wan't getting lost....it was being broadsided by one of these full-throttle boats.

How they go that fast with no radar in dense fog is a mystery to me.......unless they are glued to their GPS, which doesn't show other boats around.
 
Most of the time I use FC ramp it is not too bad.

If the Lasqueti freight barge is there......thats two lanes gone. It takes up a whole side and you are forced to use the side of the ramp with the pilings close to the floating dock. Also that side doesn't have rubber bumper.

Even on a good day with no barge a lot of people prefer the side with no poles but has rubber bumper built into dock.

The two outside lanes have no tie-up or dock.......so many people avoid this but guys with tinners or small aluminums will use them. That's how I get in on a lot of days when there is a line-up by other people that want to use the nice cushy side of the dock.

The layout of the parking and thru-way is not entirely good. You get a lot of looky-louies cluttering the place up (they just drive in, turn around by the fish-store...and drive back out...while you are in the middle of backing up to launch or hauling out etc.) And you get guys in big boats blocking the thru-way when they haul out and park right in front of the ramp to start tying down etc.....

And even though they expanded the trailer parking.......there is still only so many truck/trailers you can park there.

Patience is something a lot of us seem to be fresh out of a lot of times these days.....and it doesn't help when you can clearly see that some boaters have no regard for anybody else around and will fritter and titter with something during launching or hauling out that seems to go on forever and ever........

But overall....I don't have much issue launching there most days.....
 
Has anyone been out fishing the winter springs? Gerald and Ballenas are usually holding.

Feel free to PM me
 
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Hey Van City
I was out the weekend before last for a few hours and got one undersized spring, north side of Gerald. Winterized the boat this past weekend so probably no salt water fishing until late Feb-Mar.
 
Hey new to the French creek area. Was wondering how bellanes has been. I would like to go try iu


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