Island Outfitters 20th Annniversary
Island Outfitters
April 27th is our 20th anniversary; we have come a long way since 1994. We started with only three staff members - Ward Bond, Darren Wright & Tim Barkley in a tiny tackle shop on Roderick St. After three years of growth we needed to move somewhere bigger, and moved to where we have been located for 17 years, 3319 Douglas Street in Victoria, BC.
Fishing has been a big part of Darren and Ward's lives since they were just little guys fishing out of creeks in their backyard. They started chartering 18 years ago, fishing out of Victoria’s Inner Harbour. Their first boat was an 18 ft Sea Swirl with a 140 Evinrude 2-stroke motor, and it's still running today.
Eventually we moved our way up the West Coast and started guiding out of Port Renfrew. We have now been guiding out of Renfrew for 12 years with 3 boats in the water, and plenty of accommodation space. Our freshwater boats have been guiding the Cowichan River, local lakes and the San Juan River for the past 14 years.
12 years ago we started up “The Gun Shop”. It was a tiny room with less than 50 firearms in stock. At times people would have to wait in line outside the room to get service due to such high demand. Realizing the gun shop was such a big hit, we decided to expand it and make it it’s own shop. Now it takes up nearly half of the store!
Throughout the past 20 years we have started up a few derbies, which excitingly have been a success. 'Just for the Halibut' derby started 18 years ago with just a few contestants, but wow what a great derby it's turned into today, with nearly 500 tickets sold! The 8th Annual Elk Lake Derby took place this past weekend, which is a great derby for families and friends, and it is always a great turn out!
For the past 19 years we have contributed to ticket sales and event organizing to help raise money for the Pacific Salmon Foundation through the PSF Victoria dinner held in February each year. For the kids, we were founding members with "Take a Kid fishing". This gets kids out on the lake every spring in events throughout BC. We were also involved in the creation of the Pink Salmon Festival which still runs every two years.
Come celebrate our 20th Anniversary, April 24th – 27th. We will be having our biggest sale of the year with lots of blow out prices on all kinds of product to choose from to suit any fisherman or hunter! Check out our website and Facebook for sale items.
May Charter Specials:
Port Renfrew: Book a day on the water for $1100 and receive 1 night stay at Island Outfitters house for FREE (value $300) *Valid throughout May only, based on availability.
Cowichan River: Book a day fly fishing the upper Cowichan and get your second day half price. *Valid May 12th – May 30th - Based on availability
ENTER TO WIN one of our 2 spots left in our 20th anniversary 10-rod derby for your chance to win a $5,000 Value Fishing Package! (Winner for the spots in the derby will be drawn April 27, 2014)