Well we did a whole lot of fishing, but not too much catching. Although our captain (Chris) was disappointed that the trip did not produce a fish for us, it was still a very nice day, with lots of wildlife and beautiful scenery to keep anyone entertained. The day pretty much went as rod described:
After getting up at 4am to pick up Rod, and drive out to Chilliwack, we met Chris at Island 22, where he had the boat all ready. (What a great captain!!) I noted that there were not as many boats and trailers at the launch than I had expected (there being a sockeye opening and all). It was a short, but enjoyable ride to the bar. We arrived at the bar, to find it totally empty...EXCELLENT!!!
We quickly set up camp, and set the lines, eager to pick up the first chinook of the season for either Rod, Shane, or myself.
Chris casting the rig out
After tying up with a size 0 glow, bar spreader, and 16 oz of lead I discovered that this rig took some skill to cast. After a couple of birds nests....I eventually got the rig out there and we were fishing!! By the end of the day, I was getting pretty good at it, though I was not getting quite the distance that the veteran fisher was getting (Chris).
With the lines set...and the waiting game was on...
As the hours rolled by (surprisingly quickly I might add) we busied ourselves with various tasks....I noticed that Rod was never around when it came time to fetch firewood, clear the lines of floating debris, tend the fire....hmmmmm
Having had little sleep the night before, after lunch, Chris settled in for a nap. Taking the cue from Chris, Shane also began to drift off.
Rod was more interested in fishing for 2 inch pike minnows...so it was left to me to tend the lines, keep the fire going, and prevent our camp from blowing away. As I was tending the fire I looked up for a second to see a branch drifting down towards our middle line....CRAP, we had just set that line...and it is probably gonna get caught up. I figured I had enough time to finish dealing with the fire before I would be forced to deal with the line. I had my head down when I heard Rod yelling "FISH ON". In the back of my mind I was thinking...yup...it's that branch. I yelled back "BRANCH!", and stood up and turned around to see that Rod was making no effort to get to the rod. The rod was indeed bouncing so I rushed over to release the branch. I picked up the rod, just as Chris was starting to stir from his slumber.....Chris Yelled "HIT IT!!! HIT IT!!!". I reeled up tight to find dead weight on the rod, no typical head shake, or long run that would be expected from a large chinook. Sure enough, it was snagged.....or at least now it was. Yup she was stuck nice and solid out there somewhere. In an attempt to retrieve our lead, Chris fired up the leaf mobile, we tried to dislodge the lead from several angles...no go. In the "post excitement" debriefing analysis, (aka: campfire chat) Chris and Rod decided that it really WAS a chinook that took the lead downstream a bit into the snag. Rod is convinced by the bouncing of the rod that it could not have been the branch. I was of the opinion that the branch carried the rig down into the snag...and the debate continued for most of the day. Was it a fish....!?!?!!?!?
After that, our lines remained quiet, and we all went back to enjoying our surroundings.
It's not really like me to just sit back and relax (I'm the restless type), but I found it very relaxing and enjoyable to sit back and watch the leaves turn in the wind, turkey vultures climbing in thermals, herons fishing in the shallows, gulls feasting on salmon floating down the river, sockeye rolling in the current, seals patrolling the area, and coyotes barking at and singing to one another. Although I secretly would LOVE to own one of those fancy big jet boats, all this nature that I had just mentioned suddenly stopped every time one of these boat roared by, the noise seemed somehow....intrusive and rude.
Upon returning to the launch at close to 6 there were a number of boats pulling out, and putting in....not too crowded however, and Chris easily found a spot.
After briefly getting stuck at the launch, we eventually got the leaf craft out of the water, and she was sent home with Chris.
Thanks again Chris for a great day!!!
Author
Topic: Will We Get Them, Chinooks That Is, July 30th 2008 (Read 5905 times)