Happy Monday to you all,
A friend and I hit the Vedder yesterday. I swung by his place at 8:30am or so and we were on the river by about 10. In search of Red Springs we were - a foe that had eluded us both the previous weekend in our respective days on the river. Tim was even gracious enough to lend me his spare pare of breathables, as it was going to be way too nice out for my neos.
We stopped off at a place I hadn't been to since last salmon season, and after a short hike in I realized the river had totally diverted course from where it was last year. This was to be expected, so we hiked a ways to see if the new route was worth a cast. I was excited, as I love to explore new spots on the river.
I pointed out a few spots that looked OK to me, and Tim said that I should fire a cast out to one spot in particular. I strung up my rod, and landed my float exactly in the seam. It didn't go 3 feet before it dipped, and I was calling out "FISH ON!" with a huge grin on my face. Tim couldn't believe it, and we were both giggling like 10 year old girls. The first run, low and down river, had me convinced at first I'd hooked a smaller spring, but it wasn't to be. A chrome bright sockeye came to rest in the shallows. After about 13 failed attempts at tailing it, Tim finally got a grip on the fish and popped the hook out - it had been flossed. The sockeye ripped back out into the current without missing a beat.
We found a small inflatable boat washed up downstream a bit, and we noticed it had been abandoned. Tim decided to pack it up and pack it out, hoping someone would take it home from the parking lot for their kids.
We fished the remainder of the run without so much as a sniff - though I wasn't disappointed - there was a lot of fishable water, and the river was a just a bit high for this particular run. One more spot to chalk up as a fall location.
After that we headed up river to another few spots we wanted to have a look at. The limit hole was always good for a quick poke in, see if anyone had any fish on the beach, and watch the snagfest go on. No fish on the rocks that we could see, so we headed back down river.
After a quick discussion of the merits of some different holes to try, we settled on a place neither of us had tried before. Upon approaching the run, we were both pleasantly surprised to find a great looking piece of water. After speaking with the two gentlemen fishing the run, and asking if they'd mind if we join them, I asked Tim if he'd rather fish above or below them. He told me to fish above, and he'd fish below.
I waded out into the the head of the run, in the rapids, and strung up my rod. The first few casts allowed me to gauge the depth, and on the third cast I saw my float dive into the water. I set the hook, felt solid weight, then head shakes! FISH ON! I cried, and started trying to wade back to the safety of the shoreline. Tim was laughing that I'd hooked another one, and it was easy to tell this one was a spring. The other two gents couldn't believe it, as apparently they'd been fishing there all morning without so much as a sniff.
The Chinook stayed out in the main current for most of the fight, and although it started a few strong runs I managed to turn it's head with my 12lb leader. Finally after about 15 minutes I led the fish into the shallows, and not trusting Tim to botch the tailing again (kidding), I grabbed the wrist of the fish myself and Tim popped the hook out. Although it was darker than I'd usually consider keeping, the fish was in good shape and plenty firm, and my freezer at home was bare, so I got Tim to give 'er a quick rap on the head. I cleaned the fish and was happy to see my diagnosis had been correct - despite the less-than-chrome skin, the flesh was firm and a lovely orangey-red.
We kept fishing the run a while longer, but like magic moments after I caught my fish another 5 or 6 people showed up, so after watching them intentionally floss a few sockeye with their 4-5 foot leaders, Tim and I departed.
We fished a few more runs that day, with only a few mentionable highlights:
- Tim hooked and landed his first sockeye... funny, I'd never seen a sockeye bite with it's a$$ before!
- I managed to hook into a couple more fish, but they got off... one was a spring jack
- a series of rafts went by, and we had the pleasure of seeing one of them flip... Tim was quick to call out "We got swimmers!", and he helped beach one of the rafts while the guide helped boat a few of the unlucky paddlers
- we tried a few more spots I'd never fished before, and I love to find new runs
All in all, it was a great day, and we left just after 8pm that night. My fiance was happy to see I'd brought home a fish, and it was great to get to know Tim better as well - what a great guy, even for a Newfie.
Can anyone recommend a good smoker in Vancouver?
Tex
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Topic: Vedder Report July 27 - Finally hooked a spring! (Read 3711 times)