So I set out on a crazy task.

Could I get up early on a work day ... beat the rush hour traffic ... fish the local harbour .... catch a keeper Winter Chinook .... make it home to put the boat and gear away ... shower and be to work all in time to work the 1PM to 9PM shift at my store. Seems like a crazy adventure ? Well this it what I tried on Friday.

I've been out hunting Steelhead on the Vedder River and like most newbies I think, have been experiencing the learning curve that comes with taking on a new fishing concept. No fish days ... Im ok with that , and the exercise has been great. But I like to catch fish.

I've been eager though to watch the local winds to calm down and get the right tide all at the same time and get out to take a crack at the local feeder Chinook fishery. I love this fishery. The fish are chrome bright and fight hard. You cannot find a finer tasting fish in local waters ( I think ) .... Eager to feel a decent fish on the line, looked into getting out Friday AM.

This is the tide I was looking at ...




The best time to fish the local salt is on the incoming tide. You can see here ... I would have a small window in the AM. First light just about 7:30 AM and then peak tide at 9:00 ish. This was going to give me about an hour and a half window to get a Chinook. .... Tight odds ... but I was up for the challenge.

We had a manageable wind at about a 10 - 15 variable southwesterly. So I had to get out there !

Went with the season typical gear Green glow flasher and cop car coyote spoon fished just off bottom. At about 8:45 had my first bite and set the hook really well with my new Shimano Convergence 10'6 Salmon rod. No wonder Jason from Bonchovy Fishing Charters uses these rods. I can't remember the last time I had such a good hook set with a fish on my own boat. I could feel the fish was decent and it took a couple nice runs. I had it to the boat but still struggle a bit netting fish on my own out in the salt chuck. I saw the fish a few times and new it was a keeper so I let it run to calm it down for an easier netting. Managed to get the fish in the boat ! 




All this before 9 AM !  I knew the tide was about to shift and kept the gear down just to see if I could hit a second fish before the tide change. No luck  ... was off the water by 10:30 ish and managed to get a couple shots.







Made it back home for about 11:30 AM put boat away and did a little cooler clean up. Posted some Facebook pics and was in the shower by Noon made it to work just after 1PM. Will do that again was a great morning and a great way to start the work day !

12 pounds isn't a huge Salmon but I managed a couple really nice slabs that we cut up into two more sections ... this is on a full size cookie sheet !





My wife WFN Ambassador Luisa Clark cooked us up a section of the fish tonight for dinner. Just baked in the oven with salt and pepper ... no seasonings beyond that. No coating or crust ... just focus on the flavour of the fish ... It has such a great flavour this time of year. Melt in your mouth good ... with a hint of butter. Good stuff ... hoping to get out again Monday with a little better tide hope to throw out a crab traps too !