Wile I'm currently on vacation
, one of the things I really wanted to make sure I did was to check out the Olympic Peninsula and fish for some fall Coho which I tend to miss every year, and seeing my vacation come to a close very quickly
I decided to head out today. Last night I made sure to have all of my gear ready to go, pull the eggs out of the freezer to defrost, and tied up a few more leaders. Alarm set for 3am, and I was ready to go. Well, 3am came early and after making a quick stop for gas I was on the road by 4:30 this morning. I did make a stop at Monte Square for last minuet supplies (realized that I forgot to pick up more 3/4 oz. cannon balls
) then I was non stop till I arrived at Stevens Creek Hatchery.
My timing was perfect!
Legal fishing time was not till 6:47am this morning and high tide was at 7:09am, although I'm not sure how affected by tide this spot was, figured it was good info to know, and I was in the parking lot by 6:22. I've only fished this location once in the past, so not knowing what type of water I was going to be fishing, I simply grabbed my gear, and walked down to the river. I found a well used trail and figured I must be going in the correct direction, there was only one car there ahead of me and I was getting excited for it looked like perfect salmon weather, I was heading to a whole known to hold lots of fish, and I was going to be the second person at this location.
Finally I arrive on the river! It was merely a short 400 yard walk to the river and the sun was just starting to crest the trees in front of me through the overcast sky. Reading the water, and seeing other people fish on the opposite side of the bank, I decided to drift fish egg clusters vs. a float and eggs, by the time I was finally all rigged up it was about 6:50, just legal fishing time. I started with a sliding sinker set up and decided to start with a 1/2 oz cannon ball, one drift later and I bumped up to a 3/4 oz cannon ball (good thing I made that stop at Monte Square!). My first cast with the 3/4 oz cannon ball I was hesitant, was debating on bumping up to a full ounce for I drifted through the start of the drift fast, and then started to bounce bottom about a third of the way into it, but decided to give it another toss. Third cast of the day and FISH ON!
There were two others on my side of the bank prior to me arriving and one of the gentlemen had the required knot-less net and he offered to net this salmon for me, I brought him up one, then a second time, a third time and then he was gone.
RATS! But it was a good feeling knowing that I took just three cast and had more action on the river than the other two on the bank with me. I re-baited and then took another cast...BOOM! FISH ON!!
This fish took me for a ride, but after a good 10 minuet fight, I landed a BIG native Chinook male. It was dark, a buck, and a native...three keys for me to let him go.
I then decided to change out my leader, after all, I just fought two big kings using the same leader (size 1/0 Owners hook with 15 Lbs. Maxima).
Fresh leader, fresh bait, I was back in the game! I kept hitting fish and feeding these salmon fresh eggs and they would hit, I would then set the hook, and then reel in a bait-less hook. After about 15 minuets of this going on, BAM! FISH ON!! I knew from the moment I set the hook, and this Salmon starting taking drag that it was a BIG Nook! He stayed deep and never surfaced to let me get a good look at him, but after about 10 minuets I had him near the bank and was able to see how big he was, it was a dandy of Nook but dark as can be. I fought this king for another 15 minuets before finally getting him into the knot-less net with they gentlemen beside me was kind enough to help me with. Again, it was dark, a buck, and native. BUT, my hook was deep inside his mouth and wrapped in his gills, and native fish are legal to keep, not wanting to release a good wild Chinook just to allow it to die from injuries I inflicted on the fish, I decided to keep it. I bonked it, started the bleeding process, and then put this whopper on the scale...came in at 20.5 Pounds!!!
Not huge by any means, but a big-ole King to be excited about!
Fish recorded on my punch card, new leader tied and fresh bait. Good to go. Took one cast and WHHBAM! Another FISH ON. By now everyone fishing around me was seriously wondering what I was doing
. I instantly knew this was another King for how it was fighting, heavy and taking drag. I looked over at the guy with the net as he again approached me inquiring if I wanted him to net this one as well, and I simply asked if he wanted to land the fish, and I net it. He was excited and agreed. After about a 15 minuet battle he landed this fish and then informed me that this was his first ever landed king. I was happy for him and he was just ecstatic!
Well, I went on to hook up with two more fish that I landed and several more that I lost ending the day with a 4-8 record. But it was a blast, and I never did hook into a silver so it's just the one King for today. I'll be back out soon, and targeting them Coho's!
Until next time, Tight Lines!
