Pedder Bay RV Resort & Marina in Metchosin, BC.
Forecast and fishing regulations on March 26, 2021 at Pedder Bay RV Resort & Marina Metchosin, BC.
On March 26, 2021, My friend, Mike, and I set out for a day of winter chinook salmon fishing at Pedder Bay RV Resort and Marina in Metchosin, BC. Mike was super early and we were all set to go at 8:00 am. We were here a few weeks prior and had so much luck that I was a little worried we wouldn't be so lucky this time. Luckily Mike had some info from other anglers of where the chinook have been hanging out so we at least had a set plan right from the beginning.
Making our way through the channel at Pedder Bay, BC
Well sure enough, after we made our way out of the channel and dropped the downrigger and line, we caught our first chinook, coming up at 53 cm in length. Then came the next and the next and the next. Our second keeper came up at 49 cm. We had 6 by 9:30 am and released 4. The two kept were both hatchery. At this point, we were pretty satisfied with our morning and thought we were going to limit out shortly.
Mike bleeding out the fish over the boat.
Image of the two keeper chinook by 9:30 am.
After the morning rush, I decided it's slowing down a little and now would be a good time to snack before the next catch. To my surprise, after I reached out to grab my snack and began eating, Mike turned over and looked at me and started yelling at me. Ill add in a bit of back information about Mike. Mike is a very calm and collected man who normally does not raise his voice at me or others. His reaction was, "Are you serious? Is that a Banana?". I'm sitting here super confused, a little scared, and thinking wow this guy really likes bananas. I also was thinking its not that big a deal, I can totally break off some of it for him if he loves them so much.
Image of an unflattering photo of me, the guilty banana eater.
Then Mike went off about this whole banana on a boat thing. I thought he was kidding. He was NOT kidding. Back story on me? I started fishing much later in life, age of 21 ish?. I also normally fish from shore, ice fish, or kayak fish. Occasionally, I'll rent a boat but they definitely never came with a no banana rule. I was not aware of how bananas are literally the devil in a fishing boat. I quickly learned my lesson but the damage was done. I ate half and put the banana away. We decided to change it up since we weren't seeing anymore fish. Was it because everyone now knew that a banana was on board that we were no longer catching fish? Mike totally ratted me out in a group chat (No hard feelings Mike!).
Screenshot of Mike ratting me out to the world for bringing a banana on a boat. Location Pedder Bay, BC.
Mike steering the boat and enjoying the view at Pedder Bay, BC
Gorgeous view of clouds hovering through the mountains with the lighthouse at
Pedder Bay, BC
We continued jigging and I took some gorgeous photos of the view. While we were jigging, we began talking and I told Mike I hadn't finished my banana. Once again, calm and collected Mike went off, "You still haven't finished it? You gotta throw that thing off the boat!". I honestly lost count of how many banana boat jokes we made after this point but yes, I quickly finished the banana so that we could catch some fish and also so that Mike wouldn't throw ME off the boat.
Illustration of how it felt to bring ONE banana on the boat on March 26, 2021 at Pedder Bay, BC.
We decided not to jig anymore and went back to trolling. We both triple checked the rods, and I started the boat so that we could move but out of no where, one of the rods went into the water. We were completely clueless on how that happened as we both checked it and made sure. (This was not banana caused and was completely an accident). A little bummed about the amount of plastic we had put into the water, the rod, and not so much for the free reel that never really worked to begin with, we finally got over it and continued fishing. As a continuing joke through the day, we decided to use Gibbs No Bananas Lure. To our surprise, we caught a non keeper by 10:30 am. Then out of no where, Mike reeled in the best of the day. Coming in at about 61 cm and 6 lbs, this wild chinook was a definite keeper!
Winter chinook salmon caught with a Gibbs No Bananas Lure on a boat that had a banana in it at Pedder Bay, BC.
Winter chinook salmon, third catch of the day, coming in at about 61 cm and 6 lbs at Pedder Bay, BC.
We were pretty satisfied with the day. We both were aware that high tide was at 12:30 pm so we decided to wait it out till 1:30 pm before heading back in. I was really praying at this point that we would catch one more to limit out so that I could bust the banana myth and not be blamed for years to come. It was getting close to 12:40 and still nothing.
After a bit of a lull moment, our line got caught in a poorly placed, possibly drifted by strong currents, dark and hard to see crab trap. When I say poorly placed, I mean it was in the center of a major water channel where boats go back and forth nonstop. (Note that we only have one rod now as one went overboard. Losing our last rod was not an option.) We stopped the boat, and as we reeled up the line to unhook from the crab trap, we also ended up reeling in the lure that was attached to the fishing rod that had went overboard. It turns out, the current must have dragged the down rigger which pulled the line into the propeller. Once we had started the boat, it must have pulled the rod off the boat earlier. Case closed on that one and super fortunate no damage was done to the boat. We did however manage to actually get the lure back and unhooked the crab trap and continued fishing.
By 1:10, we decided to make our way back. Then it happened, we hooked onto our last fish! I took the rod out and started reeling but the moment it reached the surface, we realized it was hooked in a bad spot. (My heart dropped. I hate that feeling even though I know it happens.) The fish, unfortunately, was hooked in a bad spot. The chinook looked small so I had low hopes and felt bad but to our surprise, he was within the limits, coming in at 47 cm. With huge relief, we got him on board and headed back to the Marina.
Pedder Bay RV Resort and Marina in Metchosin, BC.
Pedder Bay RV Resort and Marina in Metchosin, BC.
We then made our way to the fish cleaning station, cleaned out some fish and took some photos. We did find an interesting creature in the stomach of the wild chinook (See 4th and 5th photo below). If you want to take a guess on what it is, feel free to comment below. I've had a few people tell me it's a bird and others named off a few different types of fish but I think it's impossible to tell with how deteriorated it is.
Me holding Mike's 6 lb chinook at Pedder Bay RV Resort and Marina in Metchosin, BC.
Mike managing to hold all 4 chinook at once at Pedder Bay RV Resort and Marina in Metchosin, BC.
Heads of the hatchery chinook we caught entering the Salmon Sport Head Recovery Program at Pedder Bay RV Resort and Marina in Metchosin, BC.
Left side includes what was found in the stomach of the three hatchery chinook. Right side is what was found in the stomach of the wild chinook.
Close up view of the meal found in the belly of the wild chinook.
So to summarize our day, we caught about 10 chinook, kept our limit of 2 each, totaling 4. We lost one rod and reel combo. We fought someone's crab trap and managed to keep our rig and lure. This all happened in a boat that had a banana in it.
Will I bring a banana on a boat ever again? I do not think I would. This final decision mostly comes from the fear of encountering an angry fisherman and not the banana itself! If you've made it to the end of this story, thanks for reading. I hope you enjoyed the read because I really wanted to share it with everyone as I thought the day was totally BaNaNaS!
Illustration of my new moto, No Bananas on Board, ever.
Taking in the last bit of view for the day at Pedder Bay RV Resort and Marina at Metchosin, BC.
For more information about Pedder Bay RV Resort and Marina, check out their website to book your next trip: https://pedderbay.com/
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