September 14, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Ucluelet, Fishing
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I watched the fishing boats come into the harbour and line up, all anxious to tie up to the Ucluelet Salmon Ladder Derby Weigh-In Station dock. They had been fishing for 2 days and the 2:00PM scale closure was just minutes away.
The Ucluelet Salmon Ladder Derby was the first of its kind for the small community of Ucluelet, located on the West Coast of Vancouver Island. It was a summer-long derby that ran from May 24th to September 3rd. Locals and out-of-towners have been fishing all summer long to qualify for one of the 50 spots on the ladder. Then this last weekend, September 11th and 12th, the top 50 of the summer fished along with the top 5 of each month in the Ucluelet Salmon Ladder Derby Fish Off.
The winning fish was caught by Colin Campbell, a visitor to the Ucluelet sport fishing grounds, and it weighed 24lbs and 6oz. He was rewarded $8000 cash and a $2000 fishing trip package.
The community really came together for this event. Thanks to donations, sponsorships, and ticket sales nearly $40,000 in cash was rewarded throughout the summer and over $60, 000 in total cash and prizes by the end of the derby. Ucluelet was able to raise funds and awareness for salmon enhancement, specifically for the Thornton Creek Hatchery, with all net proceeds of the derby and the Ucluelet Salmon Festival that followed, going to the cause.
Then there was the celebration! The Ucluelet Salmon Festival took place on September 12th to wrap up the derby. Attendees filled their plates with wild pacific salmon, walked through the vendors like the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, Thornton Creek Hatchery, and the Ucluelet Aquarium, and enjoyed live music, beer gardens and jovial prize presentations! The kids were busy in the bouncerama, throwing balls at the dunk tank and making crafts.
It was heart warming to see the community support salmon enhancement and the fun they had together... with a little positive competition, and with big celebrations. The level of awareness for our natural resources and environment has grown to a new level in this little town, the sport of fishing with it, and organizers are already planning next years event.
Editor's note: Learn more about fishing in Ucluelet here.
June 14, 2010 | Tips from Travellers >
Ucluelet, Fishing
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"Fish on! Fish on!"
Music to any fisherman's ears, this shout was heard early and often aboard Nootka Princess, part of the Canadian Princess Resort in Ucluelet. I did a weekend fishing trip here in mid-June and had a fabulous time.
Day one: Sunny skies and calm seas find us five miles offshore. We drop our lines and minutes later we have the first fish of the day - a 45lb halibut! There were 12 of us onboard and we call caught at least one halibut. The salmon were a bit more elusive, we ended up with 6 nice Chinooks. One of the other boats from the resort hit the hot spot: 30 nice springs (Chinooks)!
Day two: A gale warning sends us into the sheltered waters of Barkley Sound. The fishing was pretty slow but we did land a few nice salmon, and lost a few good ones, too. A great meal on the deck of their floating resort when we got back in was a perfect end to the day.
The charter boats at this resort are either 43 or 52 feet long and are fast, wide, comfortable and easy to walk around if you want to check out the action. Our skipper, Don, and deckhand Coco were great - easy going, friendly, and patient, especially when the inevitable "birds nest" got into our reels....sorry about that, Coco!
When we checked out all our fish were cleaned, packaged and ready to go. Two glorious days on the water and fresh halibut for dinner when I got home...does it get any better than that?
This was my first time at a fishing resort and I had a great experience. I will definitely be back!
January 14, 2008 | Tips from Travellers >
Ucluelet, Fishing
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What a fantastic time our family had on several fishing charters during our 2007 vacation to Vancouver Island. The fishing guides provided by Fishing BC Online could not have done a better job showing my wife and kids (and myself) how to catch and land our first salmon, halibut and lingcod. The highlight of our trip, without a doubt was watching our sons having such a great time doing what we thought would be an adult day out on the water. They are now fishermen through and through.....The scenery, the whales, the eagles and the fishing will long be remembered by our whole family. We will return to do it again, sooner than later. B.C truly is a special place.....
February 21, 2007 | Tips from Travellers >
Ucluelet, Fishing
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What an experience to share with my 13 year old son. To go fishing and have him catch more fish than I did, he got so much braggin rights. It is a memory that will alst forever
February 21, 2007 | Tips from Travellers >
Ucluelet, Fishing
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The best time we had on our holiday was our stay in Ucluelet.
We stayed about one week there and went fishing with the Fishmyster. In a matter of hours we caught our limit. We could not believe how friendly everyone was in Ucluelet. Both my husband and I do not like big tourist areas congested with tons of people we like the off the beaten track places and so far Ucluelet is the place to go. It did not matter whether we bought groceries or strolled along the piers....everyone was friendly, helpful and just a delight to visit with. Because of how we were treated we are coming back again this summer for more fishing and relaxing. |
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