As a guide and hardcore sport fisher I love big Chinook salmon. Americans call them Kings and that is a fitting name for them too. Fall run Chinook is what I eagerly wait for each year. By late August they start to arrive and fishing is good right through until early October. Sure we have some good fishing for them in July but the fall fish are a different breed. They scrap hard, smoke the lures with a vengeance and attain some amazing weights and girth.
The Fraser river usually starts to run a bit cleaner by later August so this opens the door for using more variety in lure choices but I really prefer to fish with spinners aka blades. We'll run them about 2 feet off the bottom, maybe 3 in deeper water and scent em up! Chinooks love scent. Common scents used over the years by many anglers have included the un-naturals like garlic or anise and the naturals like herring, sardine or prawn. They all work and some days some work better than others, have em all on board.
I had a day off last season somewhere in the first week of October and so I had the wife and our daughter come out to the Fraser valley and we were going Chinook fishing. My wife loves to fish too so I don't have to pull any strings! We slept on the boat that night and after breakfast we headed to one of my favorite spots in the Chilliwack area of the Fraser river. I found the perfect depth and current speed and dropped anchor. In less than 5 minutes all 3 rods were out and we just sat back and waited. Every few minutes we could see or hear a fish roll, some of the sounds indicated hogs and I was excited. Suddenly a rod on the inside started bouncing and I rushed to grab it and set the hook but didn't feel too much weight on the other end. Our daughter said "I want that one!" A few minutes later she had a 4 lb jack Chinook in the net and a huge smile for the camera. I'm always thankful when the kids get to experience what harvesting real food is all about. It helped me as a young boy understand that we must preserve the ability of nature to deliver us a bounty of free healthy foods, not the chemical ridden, diseased and sick mutations that come out of salmon farms and spread misery to our coast and the First Nations peoples who so heavily need the bounty of the wild salmon. Such industries are an abhomination to nature. Greed before life is never going to benefit humanity is one of the lessons our daughter is starting to understand. Well lets get back to the story.
About 2 hrs passed and we had a ripdown or 2 without any solid connections. I re-scented the lures every 20 minutes and knew that it was just a matter of time before we heard line screaming off the reel. It's hard to stare at the rods so I put the clicker on the Abu Garcia Alphamar reels and relax. When these Chinooks hit it's no question, the rod starts bouncing wildly and the rod tip touches the water and line screams off the reel fast. There's nothing delicate here. That's why you have to use tough gear all the way from the rod to the swivels. Our Lamiglas rods are a beautiful rod to fish with, the sensitivity is perfect for running blades and the strength is impressive. The weakest link in the chain is the 50 lb leader!
The outside rod starts to bounce hard and I grab it fast and can feel solid weight on the other end! I quickly pass the rod to my woman and offer some coaching on handling a big fish. This is a game of give and take for over 10 minutes now and her arms are burning and her forehead is sweating. We haven't seen the fish yet but I know it's well over 30. The first few runs were big and now they are down to 3 or 4 yards so we are winning. Finally the fish is just holding under the boat in about 15 feet of water but lifting the fish up to the surface for me to net it just isn't working, my woman's arms are done. Plan B, and I don't like it: I will take the rod and she will have to net the fish. I've been told that many marriages are ruined from poor netting jobs! "No pressure dear" I offered. I am trying to get the fish to the surface and now I know why it was tough, this fish shows itself and it is in the 55 lb area and tanky. The first 2 netting attempts miss. The 3rd attempt yields contact but in the wrong area, the net gets tangled in the lure hook and the fish is gone. There is silence. I dare not criticize. The boat is a sad place for a few minutes. She feels like she lost the fish of her dreams and maybe so but I try to cheer her up. There's a smile after 5 minutes and now its time to get some rods back in the water!
Justice is served and 2 hours later she gets her chance at another big fish. This time I net it. A 43 lb Chinook has redeemed everything and she is a very happy woman!
30 minutes later I get to land a 42 lb Chinook and everyone is smiling. That 50 lb plus Chinook salmon will have to wait until 2013.
Best times to book for the BIG Kings are Sept 20 to October 7, but fish are available from late August to mid October. We provide complete packages excluding airfare/car rental for Salmon and Sturgeon fishing vacations on the Fraser river British Columbia.
Best Fishes!
Brian Mack, head guide and owner