Fishing East of Renfrew

[TenMile]

Hey guys,

I fish the Renfrew area every few years, not a regular by any stretch but have put in my fair share of time there. What's the rationale behind fishing the beach to the West rather than East of the entrance? I know a fair number of boats fish East Point and a few will work their way down a mile or so but between Renfrew and Sooke (Sheringham really) you can basically count the number of boats on one hand. I'd guess that less than 5% or fewer of the boats fishing the beaches are headed East.

The fish hitting the Sooke area are obviously working their way down this direction, and there certainly seems to be lots of structure, drop-offs, creeks and rivers to work. Is it simply an under-appreciated area? It can be a traffic jam at Camper and Logan yet empty towards Jordan River (same distance in both directions).

I've noticed similar things around Bamfield -- very few fish the beaches/structure between Pacheda light and Cape Beale.

 

[Seagirt]

West is best, no?...at least in my part of my world. It's an innate notion to boat towards where the fish are coming from and get ahead of the other guy I think. Once I figure out where fish go between otter pnt and possession I'll start thinking about between Renfrew and Sheringham.

 

[SpringVelocity]

West is best, no?...at least in my part of my world. It's an innate notion to boat towards where the fish are coming from and get ahead of the other guy I think. Once I figure out where fish go between otter pnt and possession I'll start thinking about between Renfrew and Sheringham.

Some of my biggest fish were not west this year in Sooke they were East. I fish both. Why limit yourself? Its crazy guys will stay west all day with nothing why the east is full of fish that day. Same in renfrew East point can be awesome.

 

[Cut Plug]

Back in the day Camper Cr. was the edge of the known universe along the beach at Renfrew. Most of us never went further than that and many, many springs were caught between East Point and there. I agree with the jumping ahead idea that Sea Girt put forward, but IMO all it does is put more money in the pockets of the oil companies. The same fish will migrate past closer points because that's where they're going. The difference is that nowadays they are thinned out because more get caught west than in the past. IMO of course there are springs to the east from San Juan Bay. They don't fly from there to Sooke. I also believe that a good number of the fish taken at East Point may well be the progeny of the net pen project a group of hard working volunteers have managed for years at Woods Nose. Supporting them is a really good idea!

CP

 

[Seagirt]

I realize west isn't best, but for some reason I'm always drawn to going that direction. Mostly I'm lazy and sit off the closest point and wait for the fish to come to me, Intel on where the fish are at certain times is hard to come by.

 

[sly_karma]

Lots of bro science at work, go west young man!

 

[advTHXance]

Any time Ive fished east of Port San Juan I find it gets real thick with cod. Might just be my luck, Im a cod magnet out there some days.....

Fishermen are creatures of habit, so its easy to fish somewhere you know fish have been caught with some regularity before. Also fishing in the pack gives you more information about your surroundings; you can tell when the bite comes on, what successful anglers are using, etc. Of course the downside to that is youre competing for the same fish.

I prefer to fish around Logan rather than Camper, not because I think its better fishing, just less boats to weave through.

 

[JuandeOne]

Never experienced myself but heard back in the hay days of the 70's and 80's that Sombrio was as good as it got on the right tide. I assume with the decline of key runs over the decades this likely affected the productivity of the area.

 

[Humpbubble]

Tails of good Hali fishing close(and shallow ) to Sombrio

 

[scott craven]

Vicious fish got a huge one there some years ago, seems to me it was around 300lbs

 

[Clint r]

Interesting post. I've fished Renfrew a few times. Almost always gone west. The last time we were there we decided to go east and caught a pretty nice halibut on salmon gear and pretty close to shore.

 

[Tips Up]

The wind seems to blow from the west mostly so running west in the morning means I can ride the wind home under just about any condition.

There are definately spots that the fish tend to hold up due to structure and feed. There also seems to be areas where there is nothing for them and they keep moving.

And there are probably some places they hold up that don't get fished enough to become known " hot spots".

If I had more time, money and a bigger boat... I'd love to explore more.

Tips

 

[advTHXance]

Good point about the wind, Tips. Also the swells (which always come from the west, and often grow as the day progresses) and the fact that the current tends to ebb harder than it floods.

 

[TheBigGuy]

X

The wind seems to blow from the west mostly so running west in the morning means I can ride the wind home under just about any condition.
Tips

X3 wind is a huge factor in a smaller boat. Way more comfortable in a smaller boat to fish all the way back to home port with the wind. Way safer too. If the wind does pick up more than expected you don't want to have to pound into the waves to get back to Port Renfrew.

 

[chris73]

Also, later in the season you are going to miss out on the springs and cohos that are headed for the San Juan and Gordon River if you go east.