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Up to Weigh West
Marine Resort
 Weigh
West Marine Resort is located in the beautiful town of Tofino,
which is easy to find at the end of Highway 4 on the tip of
Esowista Peninsula. Tofino is a popular weekend and holiday
centre on the West Coast of Vancouver Island and with only 1100
inhabitant's; it is amazing to see how efficiently they handle
the enormous tourist pressure. In 1994 Derek Fraser and Weigh
West owners Dick Close and Holy Baker discovered the
unbelievable power of flies in the coastal waters of Clayoquot
Sound. The use of fly rods in the Sound was still in an
experimental stage but during the years that followed, fishing
manager Martin Paish and top guides like Shaw Bennet and Lise
Peters did a great job to realize a perfect program to expand
the fly-fishing possibilities at Weigh West. Fly only anglers
like Shawn and Lise worked hard to try to give fly-fishing a
more traditional character too. It is no secret that saltwater
fly-fishing all over the world is increasing in popularity
 During
the1997 season the fly fishing program at Weigh West turned out
to be an enormous success as well. With their experiments they
have not only proved that Pacific Salmon will consistently
attack flies in saltwater, but that salmon often prefer flies
over normal saltwater fishing methods. The
most remarkable catch of the 1997 season was done by Mr. Don
Krogseth of West Vancouver who in late June manage to hook and
land a 21.5lb Chinook on a 6 weight rod with an 8 lb leader.
Personally I think that all those experiments at the Clayoquot
Sound are one of the biggest fly-fishing successes of the last 5
years. Four 17 ft boats perfectly adjusted to fly-fishing seem
the magic touch. With a 50 hp outboard, a large forward casting
deck, floatation suits, rod holders, radio, fish finders, depth
meter and GPS each boat will accommodate two anglers safely and
comfortably. The boats can be hired with or without experienced
guides. I highly recommend renting a boat with guide because
they know how to deal with safety, the high tech boats, the
weather, water and tidal changes. They also know
where the fish probably will feed or prepare for their last
journey. The only thing anglers must provide is their own
fly-fishing equipment and flies.
Today seven fly fishing boats exist and more boats are being
considered. The resort is easy to find and has many facilities
like modern spacey rooms, the exclusive Blue Heron restaurant
that has been built on the water, and a pleasant marine pub,
which is worthwhile visiting during the evenings. At both
locations the food is superb. We preferred to dine in the pub
and evaluate our wonderful experiences together with our guides.
For fishermen who like a wonderful lunch at sea Weigh West
offers an excellent catering service. Furthermore you can find a
gift shop (sells the fishing licenses) and a nice picnic area.
Bored by waiting
…..really???
When we
reached Weigh West, Martin was guiding as usual so my wife and I
decided to take our lunch on one of the moorings in front of the
resort. The view was incredible and the weather still the same
but the wind from the Ocean made you feel more comfortable. We
saw some seal, close to the moorings but when the large head of
a curious sea lion looked at us followed just minutes later by a
group of dolphins passing really close to the moorings we
started to like this place very much. A tiny chopper passed just
over our heads and landed beside the resort. Just a few minutes
later a floatplane landed in front of our noses and for us it
was a completely new experience. We had a great chat with the
pilot and plenty of time so what could be nicer than start this
trip to explore the Clayoquot Sound with an overall view from
the sky. We saw dolphins, grey whales, beautiful scenery and
many attractive places to fish. I can suggest you take a sight
seeing flight too because it is cheap and the pilots are great.
Hosted by the
Bennets
In the
evening Martin Paish introduced us to our hosts Shawn Bennett
and his wife Lise Peters and in no time we knew that they were
the perfect people to guide us around. At that time Shawn and
Lise run a small company called Moonlight flies. They mainly tie
during the wintertime and they sell their patterns all over the
world. Their specialty, of course, is saltwater flies, and they
are both great fly tiers. They use high quality materials with a
lot of attention to detail and have designed several very close
imitations of baitfish and krill. Many of their flies are
secured and perfected by using epoxy. For Lise and Shaw the
guiding is a perfect way to widen their skills and experience
too and they use the Sound as their test area for new patterns
or better fly improvements. Besides traditional saltwater flies
they also design several patterns that are developed from their
own fishing experience. As a fly tier I had some great chats
with Shawn about tying techniques and materials and I learned
some of his secrets too. I like it when people share idea's and
don't hide their secrets so you probably can imagine that we
quickly became friends.
For us it was our first ever experience of being guided by a
woman and Lise was without doubt one of the most skilful guides
we have ever had. I think not only fishermen but also guides can
learn a lot from her. Because Ina fishes a lot too she knows how
difficult it can be to be accepted in a mainly men's world.
Guiding in saltwater with high tech boats and enormous distances
is not easy. A lot of men seem to have difficulties being guided
by a woman but I think they just are jealous. Lise is not only a
great fly fisher but also a wonderful caster. She also had a
tough job because she had a magic touch of finding fish and she
often went out first to search for some attractive spots or
active fish. She did a great job and brought us to some
excellent fishing.
 The
next morning at 8am we started our fishing in open water close
to some huge kelp-beds and this place looked very nice to me. It
did not take long before my first ever coho was hooked. I lost
it! I used a 24ft sinktip line to present the fly at the right
dept, using a fly which was given to me by Shaw.
To find the
correct retrieving speed was not difficult but the first tip
from Shawn was already very important to me. I was used to
holding my rod in a 90 degrees angle to the fly to prevent
leader snap and it was easier for me to give the fly more action
with the rod tip. Most of my saltwater fishing was done by
wading and I never fished from a boat in saltwater before. I
have learned many lessons from the past so I listened carefully
to Shawn's advice and succeeded. I had to put my rod tip down
towards the fly and it really gave a better hooking power. I was
afraid of breaking my 8lb leader but it never happened during
all the days we were fishing. Finally I landed my first coho.
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