^ Right. Now the work begins.
You are obviously planning a salt water experience. Bare boat charters used to be available at Pedder Bay Marina but a quick peek at their website shows that almost all of their services are suspended due to Covid.
In addition to that I am not sure if Island Outfitters is open again after the fire.
This might be an awkward time to get started in fishing.
Having said that I can’t think of a better way to connect with your adult son than spending time with him on the water. Don’t give up on your vision davidN ...we will get you started.
They are not Sparky; they've been slow in providing updates on the main website and Facebook but at this time they remain shuttered. As far as I understand they are or were still sorting through insurance concerns when covid hit so who knows how long they will be out of commission. Their charter business out of Victoria and Renfew was running post the fire but beyond March I'm not sure of its status either. Their FB updates have been infrequent since the start of the pandemic.
DavidN sounds like you are set on fishing the salt chuck exclusively, is that correct? And not freshwater rivers or lakes?
Sparky is correct that given the state of the world this is not an optimal time to dive into the sport. Our group did venture out once earlier in April "somewhere near the Carmanah" but that is freshwater/fly/drift fishing exclusively and the nearest people to us were 20 kilometers away. Your time now might be best served reading up on and studying as much as you can about whichever (salt or freshwater) style of fishing you wish to pursue. Fortunately VI offers an abundance of all types of fishing and there are no shortages of online resources to get you started.
One resource you should get to know like the back of your hand are the DFO BC Sport Fishing guide and regulations which can literally change week to week depending on which fishery we're talking about and in which fishing region and the time of year. Here is some light bedtime reading for you - this should be your bible for getting into the sport. DFO are the traffic cops of sport fishing so your first priority before anything else is to familiarize yourself with the rules and regs of fishing in BC.
The DFO site also provides handy links to various fishing ecosystems around the province, information on the various fish species and fishing reports galore from all regions in the province. Vancouver Island BTW is Region 1 - the only region that matters
https://www.pac.dfo-.../index-eng.html