Well, we are on the move again. Kali and I were unexpectedly presented with the opportunity to move to Campbell River, and we jumped at it. The wife is delighted at being closer to family, and I will have one of the best salmon fishing rivers on my doorstep! Win-win.\u00a0<\/em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Unfortunately, the move has landed right in the middle of the pink and Chinook run, so evenings and weekends have been spent packing and painting, rather than wetting a line.<\/em><\/p>\n Rather than trust the moving company with my rod collection, I decided to drive them up to the in-laws house for safe storage.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n However, I just couldn\u2019t resist a little detour before dropping them off\u2026\u00a0The river was just too tempting.<\/em><\/p>\n I lined up my 8WT spey rod and grabbed a couple of my \u2018three-ingredient\u2019 needle flies: fur, marabou and a piece of flash. I have learned that it doesn\u2019t need to be anymore complicated than that.<\/em><\/p>\n My usual run was lined up with anglers so I decided to head a little up river to find some space. I fished for about 2 hours with not so much as a piece of weed. It was a pleasant temperature with some lovely fly water, so I wasn\u2019t too bothered. With my trip to the Conuma River coming up, it didn\u2019t really matter to me whether I caught or not.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n Just when I thought I really should be getting back to help pack up the crockery, I felt that unmistakable thud.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n The fish roared up river and ripped off line. After about a 10\u00a0 minute battle, it accepted its fate and slipped in the net. A Chinook of about 20lbs. As ridiculous as this may sound to many, it\u2019s one of the babies. Still, I didn\u2019t care.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.trout-salmon-fishing.com\/flyfishing\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_2935-Copy-scaled.jpeg\")
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