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I have been feeling smugly confidant lately. My fishing trips this
year have all been good. If you fish enough, you reach the point
of feeling that if the fish are there, you are going to catch, and
confidence is a big factor. Trout fishing this spring had the rainbow
and cutthroat gods smiling on me. A trip to the ocean and the chinook,
halibut, coho and ling gods were feeling in a benevolent mood. Numerous
trips to the Kitimat River with the fly rod yielded ample amounts
of the hard fighting Chum Salmon. Of course, I made sufficient sacrifices
of flies and tippets to appease the river god.
It must end
Like I say, I was feeling good and sure that the next journal entry
would speak of numerous hookups.
However, all things must end. I went sockeye fishing. Opening day
on the Babine River ended my successful streak. It would be easy
to blame the very high water, the lack of a large number of sockeye
and the fact that the gates are not in place yet, on the lack of
a hookup. The result was nothing, not one touch. But, I still had
the confidence that if they were there I would catch. Feeling that
this was an isolated incident and only a mini sockeye curse I went
out on Sunday to break the jinx. Same zilch, nada, nyet result.
We did see one fish caught.
Sockeye curse
There is a stage in an angler's evolution that you get past the
point of " The fish aren't biting," to "I didn't
give the fish what they wanted, at the time that I was there."
So, I thought over the past two days carefully. Maybe, I should
rig up a slightly lighter line and use a heavier fly, or a slightly
heavier line and use a lighter fly, possibly a longer leader, perhaps
fish further down the bar, or walk up to the faster water, change
the fly color or size, wade out deeper or stay close. It sounds
like indecision but I prefer to call it constructive analysis. You
don't get better by ignoring the problem.
So, I headed out for the third time after the sockeye. Third time
lucky, right? Wrong. There were a few pink, chinook and sockeye
rolling around the river, and I saw one fish hooked among the seven
anglers that day.
(All previous issues are stored in the ARCHIVE
for your convenience)
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The results for myself that day were again, not a
hookup, and by this time I realized that a major sockeye curse had
been placed on me.
The only way to meet a challenge is to rise to it. Some people may
call me stubborn but today I am heading out for the fourth try at
sockeye, but this time I have a plan. I'm going to take a friend
along. You see, on every trip there is always someone that has the
curse, and I'm hoping my bad luck rubs off.
Bad luck rubs off
On Monday, I talked to two anglers coming off the
river. One had one fish in seven hours of fishing, his partner,
a very good angler, didn't have a touch. He had the curse that day.
Compost happens, and some days are like that.
So, I will fish today, lost in the murmur of the water, feeling
the pulse of the river, the rhythm of the cast, the sun and cloud
playing on the beautiful mountain across from me, and watch the
black bear come down for a drink. And, if I don't catch today I
will still have won.
Today's Tips
Babine Lake is now open for Sockeye Salmon. Limit is two
per day. One of the most successful methods for the lake sockeye
is trolling a small, sparse pink, red or green hoochie behind a
flasher with a 1/0 to 3/0 Gamakatsu hook and slow as possible. Sockeye
takes can be very light so make sure the hooks are sticky sharp
and don't horse them in.
Ocean fishing for the Coho Salmon has been very good. Use
the red, green or Coho flasher with a blue or green hoochie. The
new Farr Better Flasher from Gibbs is a flasher that releases so
you can get maximum fight out of the fish. The Coyote spoon and
Apex are also deadly for Coho Salmon. Since the Coyote and Apex
have their own action, hook them direct to the downrigger release,
and hook your flasher to the downrigger ball.
Good news. Look for greatly expanded opportunities for hatchery
and wild coho in our rivers. Major announcement expected soon.
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