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[chris gadsden]

With October quickly slipping by I was back at it today as the season may nearly over according to some local rods. Well it has never started for your truly as it has to be the worse coho season on record for me. Of course it can be a bit frustrating when one visits some areas where the flossers and long liners are hauling them in. I know they are there but they are not biting as in the past through, except we have had some fun with the jacks and of course fresh run chums have bent the poles nicely many times.

It is really getting to be a challenge to me to try and get another coho salmon before its really over. If I spent this much time after irons I would have had a few more than the one coho adult salmon to the beach, I think so anyway.

I started above the soccer run and the good old chums were hungry once again for breakfast as was one coho jack that fell off as he popped to the surface. I also hooked a bright fish of some sorts,, I tied to make it look like a coho to give me some confidence but I may just have been hoping, a lot.

The river in this area is almost void of anglers, I know where they are but we will not go there, in more than one way.

I decide to go and look for some floats and tins and at least I am good at landing them. I also search for some new water, maybe thinking of the steelhead season but I am sure some hight water will come to change the runs before British Columbia's # 1 game fish slips silently into the system. I see 2 chaps bottom bouncing The Friday Hole and move by quickly. I cross the river and find 8 more floats in a jam and then continue back upstream.

I reach the Fin Hole and boy it looks good and on the second cast The Maple Leaf DNE is down but the strike just finds air. The Cell phone rings and it is Lew, after he says good morning he adds " depressed about the Marlies game last night"? "Actually I had forgot about it I reply."

Even though we lost Terry, Grant and I sat right behind the Marlies bench and I had the opportunity to encourage them and do some coaching but we fell short, however we won the fights.
I got to high five Tlusty as he left the ice after being named the third star.

Lew says he is coming to fish and we fish my starting run and I hit two more chum and Lew one before we go to The Point for a late breakfast and some good fellowship. After lunch it is to the Squished Tin Run and I lose another coho jack and we have some bites that we miss and start to wonder if they are smolts.

We then decide to check out Tamahi Rapids and cleanup the garbage and see what is happening there. Not much garbage or fish either as the hordes of people have only 3 coho salmon, that we could see.

Supper on, back in a bit with part 2

[bluenoser]

Ya know Chris..you pretty much have a dream retirment job...fishing, hunting, drinking Tim Hortons coffee and having lunch with friends...never too anxious about the fish because tomorrow is another day...sweet.

The way my retirment is looking I'll need to scout the rivers for floats and sell them on Ebay to buy my coffee

[chris gadsden]

Part 2

I hope the readers of this post are having a good evening and do you realize we are just a couple of months away from Christmas, watch for the Christmas ads to start a few days after Halloween.


Tonight for supper, after writing part 1 of this report I had a chum steak that was first shaked in a bag of flour, Sunny Boy cereal and brown sugar then fried in onions and butter and it was excellent. Donot knock a fresh run chum, of course with a lack of coho salmon it will be chum salmon that will have to supply our fish protein it seems.

 Back to the report.

After we leave "The Rapids" Lew heads home for some errands, a great part of a day together. What could be better, being out with a great friend on a lovely Fall day with the leaves turning into their crimson splendor.

The leaves will be falling shortly, not unlike my Leafs who have got an early start on their name shake but that will change Saturday. I will be in the stands and I am sure they will not let me down as they have promised in a call I made to the front office tonight that they will pick up a win in front of all the Leaf fans that night.

As Lew leaves I pick up some more garbage and tins around the parked cars, how can people throw out all this stuff. You would think anglers would care about such things but there most be many that donot by the amount ones sees at every place they park. In between two cars I spot a Cell phone in its case. The battery is low but I get a number and when I reach them they are happy to have it returned. I think I have found about 4 this year in my travels.

I head to check another run and it looks good and in the 15 minutes I am there another coho jack is lost. Its a narrow area of the river and it may be visited tomorrow morning. With the forcast of more rain tonight the fish will be on the move in a big way once again, I think.

I decide to try The Lower Bell but first stop at McDonald's for a coffee, read the paper and see a bit of the Habs beating up on the Isles.

Darkness is coming fast and I check one more log jam that yield 4 more floats, what will I do with them all? Maybe I should park on the road leading to the Rapids to sell them.

Just before I head to The Lower Bell I give Rodney an update and we are taliking a while and I loose track of time. "Hey its nearly dark " I tell him , got to go. The dropping water levels have made the run "looking good". The trouble is in is on the side of a steep slope, hard to land and no net. A few fish are flipping, no silver sides though, most likely the last remants of the pink salmon run that are heading to heaven in big numbers now. I got time now for a few drifts only as darkness is closing in on me and the river, its darkness hiding the mysteries of salmon even more. After a few cast the float is taken from my sight by the water covering it. The trouble was I was casting up stream a bit to much and I had not caught up to the close in drift. When I try to strike nothing happen, the float pops up on its own. 

The next cast I wind the slack in and in the same spot its down this time I have contact, I hope for a coho of course but I know I may win the lottery first, that is if I bought tickets.
It flashes some but by the type of struggle I know it is not a coho salmon and it turns out to be another fresh run chum  salmon, a buck. Its a terrible place as I mention to land it so I tire it out too much and decide to keep it, after eating the one this evening I think it was good choice and besides I need one more to fill the smoker.
As I take it to the truck, Ernie stops for a chat, he says he feels the big push of coho on the last rain has seen most of them gone by. I hope he is wrong as I have to get at least one more but if not chum salmon are tasting pretty good right now.

Wish me luck tomorrow as it looks like coho salmon are turning out to be fish of a thousand casts and I will move steelhead down to fish of 500 casts. That  season along with Christmas is only a couple of months away and a win by the Leafs 2 days away.

 

[adriaticum]

Good on you!
I can't fish for another week but your stories keep me thinking about fishing.
 

[Fish Assassin]

Darkness is coming fast and I check one more log jam that yield 4 more floats, what will I do with them all? Maybe I should park on the road leading to the Rapids to sell them.
 

Make a bet with me that the Laughs won't make the playoffs again !

[Fisherama]

Sounds like a great day regardless of the lack of coho Chris!
I visited wilson rd area today and tried something new (for me anyways) by fishing with a prawn tipped purple and pink jig.  I hooked small coho on the 2nd cast but wasn't expecting it and didn't get a good hook set off, and off it went.  Another couple of casts and float shot down again, this time a chum, couple of pics and off it went.  That's all for me today, couple more bites in the upper river but overall pretty slow.  Great to be out anyways.

most likely the last remants of the pink salmon run that are heading to heaven in big numbers now.

  love the description

[chris gadsden]

Forgot to mention before the Marlie vs Heat game we had a enjoyable supper across from Abbotsford's new arena. We were joined by Pistol Pete and his wife, of course fishing talk took over from hockey talk but friend Dave Archibald who was drafted by the Minnesota North Stars in the first round, sixth overall, in 1987 dropped by the table for a chat. i played hockey against and with his dad John, many moons ago.

Also another Dave , Dave Nonis slipped by the table we were seated at. I was going to go over to give him some pointers for the Leafs but he was at a table with another chap and he could have been from another team and I certainly did not want to give any of my highly valued coaching tips until at least before Saturday's game.,,,

[rhino]

nice report chris! big coho push yet to come, dont worry. i think you will limit out Saturday morning and to top it off the leafs will win at night! the monster is back.

see ya soon

rhino

[firstlight]

Once again thanks you for another great page of the journal Chris.