A Dory Fishing Tour-Cox’s Cove, Newfoundland

  by Keith and Heather Nicol   

“Yesterday we had 6 women from the Corner Brook area come out for a fishing tour—they were in their 60-70’s and they had a great time. Not only did they catch a lot of cod but we saw an eagle for each person.” Darren told me over the phone on Tuesday night (August 2). “I am getting booked up for the recreational cod season which  goes until August 14 so if you want to go you better get your name in.”  I told him to book us for the following evening and we had a grand time. We caught our quota of fish, saw eagles and ended the tour just as the sun was setting. A perfect trip!

Catching our first cod.

There are many eagles in this area

       Darren Park runs a unique boat tour that is a must do for anyone interested in ocean fishing and site seeing. It is based out of Cox's Cove in the Bay of Islands near Corner Brook and he offers an authentic tour using a traditional Newfoundland dory. That means you get personal attention and Darren knows all the hot spots for fishing. If you don’t catch fish in one spot he is off to another until you get your limit. On our recent trip we caught cod, mackerel and redfish. The biggest cod we caught was about 5 pounds but this year someone reeled in a 15 pounder! But we got the biggest laugh when our daughter, Kristie, reeled in a sculpin. Yikes, what it that she said! The fish seemed to be all spines. We also saw 5 eagles including 2 chicks and even had a mussel boil up at his sea side cabin. His largest fish caught on his tours has been a huge 35 lb cod (2 summers ago) and he tells me so far this summer he has always caught something on every tour. During the recreational cod fishery each boat is allowed 15 fish (or 5 fish per person) and Darren will fillet the fish for you on shore so you can take it home. He runs trips throughout the summer and fall and his final tour was November 14th last year. The video below is an account of our trip with Darren last summer (2010). For more information contact him at: 709-688-2125 or crazyaboutguiding@gmail.com

The sun setting behind the islands was a great way to end the tour.