Katie's First Salmon

Idaho Chinook Salmon 2022

It's always fun to have angling goals and Katie had never caught a salmon. With a decent return projected, 2022 seemed like the year to check Chinook Salmon off Katie's list. 

Having struggled in the past to find good salmon holding water and crowds in the roadside holes, a scouting trip was in order. The goal was to find water off the beaten path that salmon would feel at ease in all day, even during bright sunny days. I scoured Google Earth and located many potential places.

My scouting trip was productive and I now had a handful of spots I knew would hold salmon. The number of fish in the river grew and before I knew it, Katie and I were on the river prepping to check salmon off her list. 

We were hiking into the first spot when a joyous squeak came out of Katie. We had stumbled into a small patch of ripe huckleberries. If there's anything that could keep Katie from fishing, it's picking huckleberries. 

Katie stopped for a little while to pick and eat the first huckleberries of the season, then we continued on to the first fishing spot. The run looked dynamite, but after 2 hours and not a sign of a fish, we moved on to the next hole. We knew the next spot would have some fish and likely a few other anglers. We bush-whacked downstream to the hole and luckily there were only a couple anglers on the other side. 

 

We settled in and observed for quite some time before making any casts. Sometimes I just like to watch the water and let the fish show me where they are. Sure enough, a couple fish porpoised and it was time to fish. We had a killer drift through some deep, dark water. A couple hours went by before I hooked a fish. The battle was short lived and the hook simply popped out. Katie and I were taking turns fishing this money hole but fishing was slow like it usually is during the middle of the day. I decided to switch up her presentation from yarn to a bead. Katie's next cast resulted in a fish.

 

She battled the fish like a champ, and after a great fight, I scooped the fish into the net. 

The fish was not a monster, but a decent salmon to start out on. We released the wild fish and just like that, Katie had checked Chinook Salmon off her fly fishing list. 

It was now my turn again, and it only took a few cast before I tied into a big one. This fish was in the mid 30 inches and was just dominating me. I had little control and the fish simply went where he wanted. I felt the line run along a rock as the fish made another run and a few seconds later the hook popped out. DARN!

We fished hard until dinner time without another hook-up. The guys across the river landed a couple fish, but we knew the following morning would be good again. We hiked out of the canyon, finishing a fun day.

The next morning we found ourselves in the same location, only this time on the same side of the river as the guys we fished with yesterday. The river still wasn't busy by salmon standards and we found a new spot just downstream. It was a fast but deep chute that forced the fish to hold in temporarily before moving upstream. This "pothole" surely held fish but landing them would be another matter. The drift was short and quickly surged into a dangerous and fast rock garden. Katie was setting up her chair while I made my first drift. BOOM! My indicator drained and I was into the first salmon of the day. 

Like the battles the previous day, this one was also short-lived as the fish quickly wrapped my line around a stick and broke it off. Katie was content with observing, so I fished on. A few casts later I hooked into another; also coming untied. These salmon were not cooperating. Was I not setting the hook hard enough? Several casts later I hooked into the third fish of the morning and it was a big one! The fish would hardly budge when I tried to gain line and when it decided to go somewhere there was little I could do to prevent it. The fish swam toward me and I heaved back on the rod to stay tight. POP! I heard the dreaded sound of a broken fly rod. Determined to still land the fish, I ignored my broken rod and kept tight on the fish. A short time later this big fish also came untied. Broken rod depression immediately set in. This rod was one of my favorites; countless steelhead had been landed on this rod and they didn't make them anymore. Hopefully I'd be able to replace it...

We tried another great looking run even further downstream, but after losing many set-ups to the snaggy bottom, we packed things up and drove home. The trip had been a success! Katie landed her first Chinook Salmon. I had hooked 5 and lost all of them. The fish seemed quite receptive to the bead presentation and our confidence was now a lot higher. Another trip was surely in order.

The following week, just before the close of the season, we found ourselves on the river again. Determined to catch a few more salmon, we returned to the same area. You don't leave fish to find fish, right? 

We crossed the river again, guaranteeing we wouldn't have to rub shoulders with anyone. A bear had also found our fishing spot worth checking out, indicated by the fresh tracks.

We fished the hole hard for several hours, producing one salmon; a hatchery jack, my first landed salmon of the season.

Evening approached but the fishing didn't improve. We hiked back out and return at first light the following morning. Salmon travel mostly at night, usually resulting in a hole filled with fresh fish in the morning. Our hopes quickly turned to reality as everyone made their first casts and fish were getting hooked left and right. My first good drift resulted in a scrappy jack.

Katie was up next and quickly grabbed another jack.

There were 3 other guys fishing by us and all were catching jacks on a regular basis. I hooked the next fish; another jack.

Katie fished for a bit again before passing the rod back to me. A little while later, our 4th jack ate the bead; this time a hatchery fish.

We decided to move downstream and try "the pothole", the location that produced some hookups for me on the previous trip and where I broke my rod. I handed Katie a rod for her first drift while I prepared some other gear. Katie was immediately into a fish, but like so many others, it thrashed off the line and she was left with slack and disappointment. She resumed fishing and was into another fish within minutes. This one immediately charged downstream into the fast rocky water, forcing Katie to apply a little too much pressure. Snap went her line and her fish. 

She handed me the rod to give it a try. A dozen casts later I hooked a monster! This fish simply trashed me. He'd shoot downstream and then back up and then back down. On one of his runs downstream he snagged my line on someone else's snagged gear on the bottom and then got off. These big fish were not easy to land.

We were having a fun morning but I couldn't help but feel a little discouraged about not putting a big salmon in the net yet this season. Were they just too powerful for our fly rods?

Katie began fishing again. Just when I thought we may have exhausted and blown all of our chances in "the pothole", Katie tied into a fish. 

"Is it big?" I asked, as Katie heaved on the rod.

"I think so. I haven't even seen it yet. I'm not able to move it much."

The fish slowly came alive, charging for the fast water downstream. No, no, no! The fish quickly flipped around and shot back upstream and into the hole. Come on, come on! Please Lord let this be the one! The fish shot over to the other side of the river and started thrashing on the surface; another dangerous time when hooks seem to pop out. Katie kept solid tension on the fish and it shot back into the deeper water. I had the net ready to scoop, but I was also prepared to "rock hop" downstream if I had to chase the fish. The fish charged for the downstream chute again but spun around just before making it into the nasty water. The fish swam back into the hole and toward Katie's feet. There was a large rock between Katie and I that produced some slack water. The fish swam into the slack and then began to thrash on the surface next to that rock. This was my chance! I reached out as far I could with the short handled net and scooped deep as the fish thrashed. As the net started to come under the fish, she sensed it, straighten out, preparing to leap out of the water. But I came up quicker than she could jump and we had her! It was such an exciting moment for Katie and I. We finally had a big salmon in the net. 

The 35 inch hatchery female gave us one hell of a battle. All the other big fish lost made this girl that much sweeter. I was unprepared to pack a large fish out of the canyon this morning, and it was the last day of the season, so Katie let her go. As long as she could escape getting caught again this day, she'd make it to the hatchery to provide hundreds of eggs for future fish. She shot back into the crystal clear water, wild as ever. 

We packed up our things and made the hike out. We learned a lot this season targeting salmon: new locations, new techniques and the necessary equipment to land these powerful creatures. It was only fitting that Katie was the one to put a big salmon in the net; she's out fished me on every trip in 2022... maybe she just has a great teacher?