Smalley goes after spawning salmon in B.C.
My first chum
In early October, Jack Jay, Jim Vashro and I made the 640-mile drive to western British Columbia to fish the Stave, Harrison and Vedder rivers. The rivers, which serve as spawning streams for white Chinook, chum and coho salmon, are tributaries of the mighty Fraser River.
Fishing is a crap shoot because timing is everything. One day can make the difference between catching fish or not.
We stayed in an RV park and took prepared meals to cut costs. We pulled an enclosed trailer to store gear and we plugged in a small heater to dry clothes.
The first night we had one inch of rain, which blew out the Vedder for two days.
Most fishermen cast an egg fly off a three-way swivel with a pencil lead to keep flies close to the bottom in deep holes. The whole rig is suspended below a 6-inch foam bobber. Long rods, bait-casting reels and braided lines are the norm.
This year we picked up a few chum (also called dog salmon because of their teeth) in the Stave, but were too early for the Harrison. Some coho were being caught in whitewater sections of the Vedder, which unfortunately concentrated the fishermen and provided a “combat-fishing” experience. That’s when I wander off to quieter water with my 9-weight fly rod.
Neither white Chinook (springs) nor chum are decent table-fare, and some people may wonder why we’d drive so far to catch a fish we couldn’t eat.
Why? Because after nearly bringing in my first chum to shore, after it had taken me into the backing, Jim came over with his camera, then the fish took off again (into the backing).
Jim went back to fishing, I brought the fish close again, Jim brought his camera, and the fish took off again.
“Wow," Jim said. “Did you see that fish jump over on the other side of the river?”
“Hell, ya,” I said, “That’s my fish.”
Most of the springs and chums are between 15 and 20 pounds and, while fish that big provide thrills on medium-weight casting outfits, they provide memories on fly rods worth driving to western British Columbia.