This newly-arrived Chinook was fooled by a blue and black Bjorn stinger prawn . throughout the morning , along with an occasional sockeye that somehow managed to stuff the outsized fly into its smallish mouth . Strong gusts would frequently buffet us , and I strained to cast into the stiff headwinds , which at times caused my cast to pile into a tangled heap atop the water . Finally , after a couple of consecutive passes yielded no strikes , we decided to rest the hole , returning to the parked boat to eat Kathy ’ s tasty sandwiches and homemade cookies , washing down our meals with strong coffee .
While enjoying our lunch , I spied wakes from newly arriving chinook entering the lower tailout , which provided sufficient enticement to resume our efforts post-repast . Swinging our flies past these fresh fish resulted in jarring , arm-wrenching strikes , and swift , greyhound-style dashes that emptied our reels . Sudden changes in direction by the salmon caused large loops of slack to form in our lines , and frantic retrieving to regain contact and a semblance of control were often futile . Joe sprinted up and down the length of the Weir Pool , netting one fish , then huffing away to land another . With the hot and heavy action , the afternoon sped by quickly , and we return back to camp , elated with our first day ’ s successes .
As the week progressed , river levels continued to drop and clear , which further slowed the upstream movements of fresh chinook . We still managed to catch some chrome-sided fish on our initial passes through each pool , albeit the ratio of takes to casts declined noticeably . The longer waits between grabs had the unfortunate effect of increasing the frequency of blown hookups , as my responses grew ever more hair-trigger . I ended up having to take a serious chill break , after failing to provide the all-so-important delays that inevitably resulted in a maddening series of fruitless hook sets . Resuming my recitation of “ God Save The Queen and Prince Charles !” before striking eventually rewarded me with the satisfying sensation of a well-hooked chinook surging away , attached to my bucking rod and whirring reel .
I alternated between fishing the slower , deep pools where the adult kings were holding , and shallower runs that were dominated by smaller jack chinook . The latter are sexually mature , albeit precocious males that return to the river after a brief marine sojourn , and thus do not attain the full size achieved by the rest of their cohort ( which will remain at sea for as long as five years ). They serve a crucial role as a form of reproductive warranty , to ensure that the eggs of every female salmon arriving on the spawning grounds will be fertilized . These fish are eager biters , albeit shouts of initial glee often turn into disappointed grumbles when the angler realizes that he has hooked a “( insert expletive ) jack ”. As for me , I welcome their ferocity and stubborn tenacity , and I rarely forego an opportunity to swing a fly in front of such mini-kings .
During the last two days of our trip , the guides decided to focus fishing efforts on the lower beats , in the hopes of intercepting newly arrived kings that were more willing to bite .
This proved to be a wise strategy — angling action improved , and we were subsequently able to hook ( and sometimes land ) a number of chrome-sided chinook with sea lice still attached to their bodies .
I recall an arm-wrenching strike from a bright 35-pound buck that ravenously attacked my pink Prawn , moments after it landed on the water . This crazed salmon strained my tackle and nerves to the utmost , reluctantly surrendering to the net only after a pitched battle , and dousing us with water upon release ( employing the piscine version of a raised middle finger ). A less glorious — and considerably more humbling — memory was of a big hen that slowly approached , then leisurely ingested my fly as it sank beneath coils of line stacked atop the surface ( the result of an errant cast thrown back at me by a gust of wind ). As I watched her chewing on my offering in the clear water , I frantically stripped in slack before finally coming tight on this fish ; she eventually earned her freedom right at the net , swatting the annoying glenn chen photo www . salmonandsteelheadjournal . com 27