It was another relaxing evening at South Arm again. Nina and I arrived at our usual spot just before 5:00pm. blaydRnr was already hard at work, so was Lucky and Pierboy. Vince and his dad joined us soon after, followed by Fishersak and his wife. It was also nice to meet a few others on the board - Obi wan, Chuck feather, Aurora (good to see you got one!). This is what makes the pink salmon fishery so enjoyable. Once every two years, everyone gets to catch up again, sort of like a reunion I guess.
The first hour was rather uneventful as expected. It seems like when the current is running high during the incoming tide, fishing dies off completely. Once the water slows down as it approaches flood tide, then the bites start. Lucky decided to leave us after hooking a pikeminnow, which was a rather big mistake.
At 6:20pm, we saw plenty of splashes downstream in the far horizon. Everyone started concentrating on their lines, knowing that it would start anytime. Few minutes later, the same school was actively showing itself in front of us, but no one had hooked anything yet. Another ten minutes went by, still no hook-ups. Just when we were about to conclude that these were not biters, Nina missed a fish. On the following cast, she quickly hooked one and it was the first female pink salmon of the season for her.
More fish arrived and they were not as far out as earlier. Fishersak landed one not long after Nina's fish. Pierboy and Vince were also into some soon after. Nina then finished the evening with three hook-ups in a row and landed one of them. I on the other hand, couldn't seem to trick a fish to bite and ended up cleaning fish and carrying them to the cooler for Nina.
One fishery officer made his check along the shoreline around 7:00pm. Every angler had a licence and stamp as well as the right terminal gear (barbless hook). It's fantastic to see such high compliance!
Good luck to all on this long weekend!