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Weigh West Marine Resort, Tofino, Vancouver Island, B.C. P87
 
Weigh West Marine Resort consisted of a motel, a restaurant and a lounge on the water-front, a charter office, a fleet of charter boats and a fleet of rental boats specifically designed for fly fishing. Our experience is restricted to the fly fishing experience and the boat rental.

This was truly a unique experience for us. We arrived at the charter office shortly before 8:00 AM. After getting our licenses, picked out some suggested flies and rigged the poles we went dockside.

I saw immediately that this was no ordinary boat rental. The boats were nearly new, clean and well equipped. Our Fishmaster, or rather GHILLIE*, Rory Glennie, went through in detail the features of the boat, motor, two-way radio and the electronic navigation system with us as the 50 hp outboard was warming up. Rory was unhappy with the motor because the idle went up unexpectedly so we switched to another boat. Then off we went with Rory leading in his own boat.

The first stop was after 15 minutes of running at a good clip. It was a beautiful day and the scenery was spectacular. We fished off a point by some kelp beds. A bit of wind and the fact that we had three in the boat prevented us novices from doing much with casting. My wife caught and released a tiny ling cod. Rory went off to scope out other spots. He suggested we moved a little and try the outside of this point. Without luck, we moved on out towards the open waters of the Pacific.

Wind was starting to pick up but Rory continued to guide us. He was always around but never imposing. We moved around several times, finding a few black rock fish up to 3 pounds but did not find any salmon. Our half day boat rental did not finish until well after 3:00 PM. I believed that Rory tried to find fish for us but they just were not around yet.

If I had to do it over again I would bring my own tackle. Some very fast sinking line would have helped in getting into more and bigger fish. I would put on some sun block. We would run the boat slower particularly after the wind picked up. Our buns were sore for days. Other than that we had a wonderful day.

The experience was wonderful in that we felt secure even though we were in really big waters with islands abound. The navigation equipment kept us informed as to our exact location at all times. Our guide was never too far away especially when the boat is equipped with two-way radios. If you go there, ask for Rory. You will have a great time!

*GHILLIE - A discreet and wise waterside companion to genteel fly fishers.

 
Weigh West Marine Resort
Overall grade: A-
Date of visit: July 1999
Address: 634 Campbell Street, Tofino, B.C. V0R 2Z0
Phone: (250) 725-3277 Fax: (250) 725-3922
Submitted by: browser@nwinfo.net
Grade definition
 
Rcvd: 7/18/1999
C1 R89
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