Sooke is a spot where the big one won't get away, and FishingBooker.com has the stats to prove it.
Sooke residents can take pride in the fact the world's largest platform for booking fishing trips, FishingBooker.com, named the town one of the world’s top fishing destinations. Sooke tied for fourth place on the website's ranking of the best fishing towns outside the U.S. and was the top Canadian destination.
The FishingBooker.com ranking is based on internal data from over 40,000 trips, reviews and reports collected over the past year. The company explains in a media release that their ranking criteria focused on the numbers of fishing charters, local guides and bookings along with input from fishers in the form review scores and recommendations.
“It doesn’t surprise me because Sooke is a wonderful place to go fishing,” said Sooke Coun. Kevin Pearson, an avid fisherman himself.
"From beautiful scenery to access to the shore and good accommodation here in Sooke. We have amazing charter fishermen that are supporting the industry as well as good opportunities for recreational fishermen.”
Sooke was joined in the top 10 by Ucluelet, placing two spots behind at sixth place on the list.
Mexico dominated the top end of the list with Cabo San Lucas, Cancun, and Puerto Penasco taking the top three spots and Tamarindo, Costa Rica tied with Sooke for fourth place. Sooke ranked ahead of such popular fishing destinations as Quepos, Costa Rica and Nassau, Bahamas which tied for ninth place, something that bodes well for a town that relies heavily on the fishing industry.
“It’s absolutely critical to Sooke's economic engine. As our traditional industries of forestry and mining have changed, tourism is a huge economic driver here in Sooke now, and fishing is a critical part of that,” said Pearson.
Pearson explained that the fishing in Sooke isn’t so good by accident, and it’s nice for the community to get recognized for the work that they do.
“I think it’s absolutely cool that we’re getting that credit,” said Pearson who highlighted the work of other organizations like the Sooke Salmon Enhancement Society who work to keep an abundance of salmon in the area. He also acknowledged the charter fishers who work to ensure the salmon population survives for future generations.
But to Pearson, the act of catching fish is almost an afterthought with Sooke's natural scenery making the experience of fishing locally just as worthwhile.
“As a local fisherman, I always appreciate just the sheer beauty of being on the water and that experience, and you know when a fish hits your line it just puts a cherry on top of the ice-cream,” said Pearson.
“Just being in that environment is simply amazing in itself.”
