I am back on the river once again this morning. I find once I start getting up early for a few days I cannot fall back to sleep after getting up around 5 O' clock each morning. Of course I have to creep out of the house so not too wake my sleeping wife. It also appears to me if she beats me up she may find some chores to do before I leave for the fishing grounds.
First stop is at McDonald to take advantage of the $1.30 medium coffee,no lineup in the drive through this morning so I get to the river too early to walk to the run. I see lots of head lamps worn by many anglers already rushing to the river to their favourite spot.
I sit in the Leaf Mobile enjoying my coffee and listen to the CBC and the trafic reports. I feel for those caught up in trafic jams each morning, heading to their work place. I imagine some are anglers wishing they were heading fishing instead. Those days are past history for me now, for 26 years. Of course at 81 I wonder how many years I will be able to walk to the river with one bad knee these days. I am glad it does not presently bother me too much as I am still able to play badminton up to 3 days a week.
As I gather up my fishing gear I wonder what the the fish bite will be this morning, of course fishing the Vedder for 50 years it can be slow one day and then the following day it is very good. No matter just getting out is rewarding in itself.
Daybreak is not far away and as I walk out to the river, a slight rain shower had begun. I always remember my grandmother telling me better fishing in the rain. I hope it does not rain too hard as I have left my rain coat in the Leaf Mobile. When I reach the run I am going to fish I see it has come up maybe an inch from yesterday.
Glacucous seagulls are also arriving at the river, eager to feed on the decaying chum salmon who have completed their spawning cycle. I feel sorry for them but that is life and we all will face the same fate as the dhum salmon I see laying in the shallows. I notice there is a good number of them which is a good sign fior the future generation of fish.
Today I have decided to fish roe bags, I have about 10 tied up. It is a good I did as the bite is on right away and I lose 3 adult coho salmon in a row. Maybe the roe bags are hanging too low off the hook and have not fiound the main part of the hook. Should I be putting it in the bait loop I wonder? The next fish is a jack coho salmon that falls off in the shallows as I try to determine if it wild or hatchery.
I am getting a bit frustrated at this point as I miss a few more take downs. The next chance sees a large salmon peeling line of the Avon Supreme, will this one stay on? Then i wonder if it is a chinook salmon or a chum salmon.
The salmon is going up and down river for a good 10 minutes before I see it is indeed a chinook salmon looks close to 20 pounds, will my 8 pound 14 inch long leader hold is the next question. It does and I slide it ashore, a doe chinook. I bleed the fish which is important not only to improve the flesh but makes the roe much better for curing with pro cure that I use.
I settle into my lawn chair to mark the fish down on my fishing license. The first pen is too damp and I cannot record the fish, glad I have a second pen that does work.
The bite continues on and off, a few more fish lost but finaly I land a nice 5 pound hatchery coho salmon to complete my day, most likely the best of the season for me.
With the forcast for heavy rain by the weekend that will blow the river out it is good to take advantage when the river is in good shape, especialy for short floaters like me.
I head out to take advantage of the early voting, make all reading this thread get out and exercise your franchise too, it is very important to do so.
I end the day by just beating the rise in gas prices here in Chilliwack as it jumped to 172.9 from what I filled up at,156.9. I saved close to $15, the end of a perfect day in more than one way.
Thanks for reading The Journal on Fishing with Rod and hope you have good fishing in the days ahead.
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Topic: 2024 Chilliwack River fall salmon fishery information & water condition updates (Read 28389 times)