My First Spring Salmon

My first Salmon fishing experience in the Ocean was a good one!

My Dad and I have gone fishing in several rivers and lakes before but today was something totally new and exciting. We were going salt water Salmon fishing.

Our boat left the dock at about 5:30am from Secret Cove located on the beautiful Sunshine Coast of BC.

The weather was overcast and the water was a little bit choppy, but it looked like a pretty good day for fishing. We were told that the fishing was supposed to be good and getting better every day!

I was just hoping to catch one nice Silver Spring that day or at least see someone else catch one. I guess it was about 9:00am that we had our first hit of the day. We caught and released a small little Jack Spring salmon. Maybe it wasn't much but it did raise my excitement and hopes a little.

Not long after the Jack Spring, my Dad's fishing rod suddenly bent over in the rod holder and the reel was screaming. Everyone became very excited as my Dad pulled the rod out of the holder and played his fish. It only took him about 15 minutes to get his fish in the boat, but what a beauty It was a magnificent, long and silver Chinook that later weighed in at just over 16 lbs.

The next fish was caught by my Dad's friend and business client Dale. This fish was strong! He linked into a healthy spring that was not so willing to come to the boat. After a great fight Dale was happy to get his fish in the boat. His Spring ended up weighing in at a little better than 14 lbs but fought like it was 20.

At that point our morning was turning into one of the best days of fishing I had ever experienced. My Dad and Dale told me that the next bite was mine. I felt really excited because I just knew we were going to get another fish.

Suddenly my dad yelled, "Greg come over here quick!" He pulled the rod out of its holder and handed it to me saying, "hang on buddy, this is a big one!"

I learned quickly how strong these fish are. He jumped once trying to shake the hook and then dove down hard, stripping the line out of my real very fast.

I also learned in a hurry to keep my knuckles clear of the knobs on the reel. It sure hurt when the reel was unwinding and the knobs were hitting my knuckles. Regardless the pain didn't seem to bother me, all I cared about was getting my first Ocean Salmon in the boat.

With all the excitement, I'm not really sure how long it took to get the fish up to the boat, but I do know that my arms were very tired. When I first caught a glimpse of my fish in the water I became very nervous and just wanted to get him on-board. Once I saw the net under him it was like a huge relief and will never forget the whole experience.

It turn out that my fish was the biggest of our fishing trip, not to mention the biggest fish I have ever caught, weighing in at 18-½ pounds. I can hardly wait to get back out there again!

I hope you enjoyed my story as much as I enjoyed that day.

Greg Cahoon, Junior Editor
BCsportfish.com 

Click here for more pictures from Greg's fishing day.