SALMON FISHING
from Trailer Boats off
Vancouver Island
Little Boats, Big Water - Fabulous Fun
BY ANDY ADAMS
AN E-MAIL LANDED in my inbox, “You
have been invited by Suzuki Canada to
join a group of dealers and professional fisherman on a salmon fishing
adventure off Vancouver Island.”
I was near Toronto, about 3,200 km
away, so trailering my own boat
seemed like a dumb idea given that I
could fly out and go with one of the
pros. If you like the idea of salmon
fishing in BC, (and I’m sure you
would) there are two ways of doing
this: trailer your own boat out or travel light and book a fishing charter. For
reasons of lack of time, I took the easy
way out.
I booked flights direct to Vancouver
Island and joined the gang at the hotel
in Victoria.
Taking the other approach, professional fisherman Ron Ballanti from
Strike Zone wanted to bring his own
boat, a 26’ Osprey hardtop with a big
250 hp Suzuki V6 and he trailered it up
the coast from California.
Ron was joined by some US Suzuki
dealers, more professional fishermen
and another boat.
They came up the coast to the BC
Ferries dock in Tsawwassen, B.C., just
south of Vancouver. It’s a memorable
experience. The BC Ferries are huge
ships and you just line up and drive
onboard, park your rig and relax in the
lounge for the 21⁄2 hour crossing to
Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.
You drive on and drive off again on
Vancouver Island. Ron and his group
turned north another four hours, first
heading up to Campbell River and
then cutting across towards the Pacific
Ron Ballanti’s rig with the
26’ Osprey is lined up to board the BC
Ferries boat at Tsawwassen heading to
Nanaimo on Vancouver Island.
