Got into 4 pinks & 1 Jack Spring in a 2 hour effort today.
Sneaky! I see you guys intercepted them in the morning low tide.
Nina and I went out and attempted to capture some action on video so I can put together the next episode of the video diary series today. We arrived at 11:30am and found a school of risers moving through in front of us right away, just like yesterday when we arrived at 11:00am.
The surface action did not last long unfortunately and soon we found ourselves doing nothing but casting and retrieving. An hour went by rather quickly as we made some casts, took a lunch break, discussed what we needed to film other than fish on the line.
Fishersak suddenly popped up behind us at 1:00pm and said, "You should have your phone on!" I had left it off until noon when I realized that it was off. "There were millions of them jumping around me downstream from here at 10:30am and I've already hooked five!"
I guess the school that we saw at 11:30am was the tail end of that school. Fishersak then took off to the airport to pick up his boss. We remained at the same spot, hoping for more fish to come through. The incoming tide was strong and no risers could be spotted. Hope was fading and we were ready to pack it in at 2:45pm, but we kept having the feeling that fish would show up any minute when the tide turned. Just when I had all the rods packed, I spotted one rise several hundred meters downstream.
"There's one!", I said and unpacked the rod immediately.
We focused on our rods while waiting for more risers. Ten minutes went by and nothing had surfaced. Just when we were ready to give up again, Nina broke silence by raising the rod quickly. The bent rod was the first good sign of all day but it lasted only a few seconds. At least there was a hook-up. A few minutes later, out of no where, one fish rose in front of us, then another, and another. For some reason they were not rising all over the place, except only in front of us. Good signs indeed, now we actually might get a fish or two.
Not long after these surfacings, Nina retrieved her lure almost to shore and decided to scratch her chin while letting the lure sink a bit in front of her. When she grabbed onto the reel handle again and turned it slightly, the rod tip tapped and her reflex jerked the rod back and another fish was on the line. Again, this fish did not stay on the hook too long. Nina expressed her disgust. Two losses in a row! Well, at least she had two losses, I was still working on getting a bite.
She decided to switch the beaten up orange Gibbs Croc to our usual pink spoon that has been nicknamed "Rodney Special". The wind had died down so now she could cast the light spoon further. I tied the spoon onto the main line and found abrasion just above it, so I cut that section off and retied. It is always good to be safe, especially using 6lb test for pink salmon.
After making a few more casts, she was into yet another fish that bit the spoon just several feet in front of her. Instead of hugging to the deep like a motionless snag, this fish leaped straight out and splashed water all over the shoreline. It took a short run before heading toward her. The second powerful run outsmarted Nina's reel by instantly snapping the lure off! I guess checking for abrasion on the line is good, but sometimes the line would still snap if the fish wishes to put up a dirty fight.
Three losses but all very exciting and caught on tape! We ended the outing at 4:00pm after a lack of action in 20 minutes. The small school of aggressive fish must have moved on. I had to settle with a goose egg once again! It has become such a norm that I was no longer disappointed.
Once again, location is not the biggest factor on catching pink salmon in the Tidal Fraser River. Good timing, skill and a bit of luck are the combination of success.