Early August, 2024<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n “I\u2019m up in Campbell River for the long weekend.<\/em><\/p>\n It\u2019s a scorching weekend, nearly hitting 30 degrees.<\/em><\/p>\n I tied up some \u2018shrimpy\u2019 looking needle tubes and hit the Campbell River. The tubes you gave me in April seem to have a thicker diameter. I like that little bit of extra weight.<\/em><\/p>\n I hit the river for a few hours yesterday morning before the sun got too high. I skirted my tubes along some shallow water and hit into several pinks.”<\/em><\/p>\n I had been eagerly anticipating Chris’s latest report on the arrival of the Chinook at Campbell River. He did not disappoint!<\/p>\n August 31st<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n I\u2019m back up in Campbell River for the weekend. It\u2019s time for my favourite run of them all \u2013 the Chinook.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n 25 degrees and sunny. Not the best conditions for fishing but it certainly makes being on the river all the more enjoyable. (It also makes post-fishing beer taste much better)<\/em><\/p>\n I started the day fishing a self-tied needle tube fly, dressed with some chartreuse craft fur, dubbing and flash. There\u2019s a saying in the pacific north west when it comes to chinook flies: \u201cif it ain\u2019t chartreuse, what\u2019s the use?\u201d.<\/em><\/p>\n The fur and flash combo pulsated perfectly in the water \u2013 what Chinook wouldn\u2019t want that? The answer sadly was all of them. I could hear you joking about needing sunglasses to use this fly. Don\u2019t say \u2018I told you so\u2019.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n I waded back to the bank to regroup and change my plan of attack. Flashy (radioactive) colours weren\u2019t working and so I opted for something a little more subtle and delicate \u2013 the Spey Shrimp.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n 10 casts later I hooked into a fresh fish of around 12lbs. Not a monster but great fun on my 8wt spey rod.<\/em><\/p>\n I fished on through the morning but only managed to catch a pink salmon of about 2lbs. It was a complete fluke \u2013 I had thrown the fly out in front of me so that I could fix a tangle, and a fish came up and grabbed it. They all count I guess.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n The sun was getting high and a few other anglers had joined us on the run. It was time to do something different again and so I headed back to the bank and tied on a Wee Monkey.<\/em><\/p>\n I punched the fly out across the river and let it swing in lazily in the current. Thud. I struck into what I thought was another opportunistic pink salmon, but after a few seconds of holding in the current, it suddenly woke up. After a dogged battle, a fish of around 22lbs came to the bank with the Monkey tucked in its top lip.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Time for a well earned beer!\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n September 2nd<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n We hit the river at sunrise in the hope of landing one more fish before heading back home.\u00a0 <\/em>Chris, my fishing partner for the weekend, had sadly blanked on our previous outing, so I shared a couple of my needle tube flies with him.\u00a0 <\/em>Sadly, it backfired as he proceeded to upstage me with a 20lber, and then another pushing 30lbs shortly after.\u00a0<\/em>He was delighted to say the least.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n I did manage to land one more in the late morning. Another fresh fish, this one at around 25lbs<\/em><\/p>\n It wasn\u2019t as big as Chris\u2019s, but it\u2019s very hard to be disappointed with a mid-twenty salmon ripping line off your reel on a warm day.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Next up: Washington<\/em><\/p>\n October 8th<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n I\u2019ve just returned from 2 days fishing in Washington. A fabulous weekend with several species caught in the Hoh and Bogachiel River. Cutthroat, rainbows, coho, Chinook, whitefish and to my delight, two summer run steelhead \u2013 one of which was caught on a fly I tied myself, the other on a Muddler Minnow dry fly!<\/p>\n Thought I\u2019d share a picture of one of the cutthroats I caught on one of your mini-tubes.<\/p>\n I lost another on this fly shortly after that felt much, much bigger.<\/p>\n Heading up to Campbell River next week to target coho and chum. Hoping to have more pics for you soon!<\/p>\n November 2nd<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n British Columbia fall has arrived, and with it, the rain. My last two fishing trips had both been cancelled due to blown-out rivers, and so I was determined to wet a line before the season ended.\u00a0I checked the weather forecast over my morning coffee and yes, you guessed it, more rain.\u00a0I decided to head to the Sooke River as it wasn’t too far a drive. The river has a good chum salmon run and so I figured it would be my best chance of a bite in unfavourable conditions.\u00a0The rain was lashing down, making the drive on the windy forest road quite hazardous. It subsided just long enough for me to put on the waterproofs before getting completely soaked. To my surprise, the river wasn’t in bad condition. It was higher than usual, but certainly still fishable.<\/em><\/p>\n I could see some dark shadows sitting in some slack water, just off the main flow. There\u00a0was a bit of colour to the water so I fished a self-tied needle fly that had some bright\u00a0colours.<\/em><\/p>\n I started high above the shadows and slowly worked my way down the run. About half way down, I finally felt that satisfying thud on the line. After a dogged fight, a chum of around 7lbs came to the bank.<\/em><\/p>\n I continued on down the river but failed to connect with anything else. There was some excitement and commotion down river, but it wasn’t from a salmon on the end of my line. About 300 yards down, two seals were chasing a school of fish. The massive bow waves ripping through the river looked like a scene out of Jaws.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n It wouldn’t be long before they reached me, so I decided to change flies and try to get one last fish. I tied on an Ally’s Shrimp needle tube this time, and started working it out across the river.<\/em><\/p>\n Thud. My luck had changed (albeit only briefly). I hooked into another chum salmon of around 8lbs,\u00a0 but the hook pulled right as I was about to grab it. It gave one kick of its tail, and it was gone.<\/em><\/p>\n I guess I can’t complain about two fish on a rainy November morning.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"Camplbell](\"https:\/\/www.trout-salmon-fishing.com\/flyfishing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/campbell-river-pink-salmon-2024.jpg\" "\\"Campbell")
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