SPORT FISHING FOR SALMON on the Pacific Coast attracts nearly one million ‘anglers each year. Torrential rains, Pacific swells, and numbing cold are frequent companions in a sport that relies on a fish with an unpredictable appetite and a trying habit of moving with each change of the tide. Sport fishing is also expensive-one day of guided fishing can cost $300 or more at any of the fishing lodges that dot the coast.
Salmon are five-star members of the sport fishing world. They entertain with speed, power, and agility. All the main species of salmon and steelhead can be caught. Chinook are the most popular, in particular the tyee, whose huge size and tenacious bulldog-like fighting tactics make them a particularly prized catch. Steelhead and coho salmon leap when hooked and sprint at blistering speeds, so they attract much attention. Pink and sockeye are pursued near the river mouth on the migration home, but less often in fresh water. Chum salmon are the least coveted, which is unfortunate, given that they are so abundant.’
Sport fishers are piscatorial pilgrims who journey to promised lands along the coast: Lake Illiamma, Alaska; Dean River, British Columbia; Skagit River, Washington State; Deschutes River, Oregon; Salmon River, Idaho; and Smith River, California-to name- some of the more famous. Clans of fishers gather monthly all over the country to share tales, plot new adventures and, most importantly, defend the habitat upon which their quarry depends.
Esperanza Inlet, Nootka Sound Fishing
Posted by: Richard Nelson
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