ADVANCED SALMON FISHING

Getting the hang of traditional salmon fishing using single action, "knuckle buster," reels and whippy 10 1/2 foot long rods takes paying close attention to the lessons, making mistakes along the way—and practice, practice, practice. But the method is as effective as when it was first developed over 100 years ago, and there is no greater satisfaction than when you finally do everything right, and that limber rod tip starts bucking against the surge of a big salmon.

Being on some of the biggest water you have ever encountered while at the helm of your own boat, doing your own thing can be a bit intimidating at first, but there's that thrill of going a bit outside your comfort zone, and so, it's quite satisfying. And, even though you might be the only boat in sight, McLaren and Heath are only a VHF radio call away. Early on, especially when help is most needed, they zip from one Legacy boat to another, sometimes hopping aboard offering reassurance that your bait is rigged and working fine; or, to patiently show you how to get the right spin, fish it at the proper depth and troll the correct speed. It's an art worth learning and Legacy Lodge welcomes anglers of all experience levels and backgrounds and even sets aside times every year for special father-son adventures.

Case in point, we met the Smith family. Torbjorn Smith brought his sons, Alexander, 15 and Johan, 13, all the way from Sweden; and his friend, Richard Langdon brought his 13-year old son, Matt, from England. They had never fished for salmon before, but soon the boys were out-fishing almost everyone at the lodge. The best part was listening to them give fishing tips to their dads. At the other end of the spectrum, Legacy Lodge has a high percentage of returning anglers who have learned their lessons well and come back to do post-graduate work, focusing on nothing less than Tyee-class chinooks (chinook weighing 30 pounds or more) cought using traditional methods.

Why was this disparate group drawn to Rivers Inlet from places near and far? Simple. It produces some of the largest salmon caught anywhere in the world. Alaska's Kenai River may get more ink, and it does currently hold the world record sport caught chinook salmon at a bit over 97 pounds, but the chinook of Rivers Inlet fish get every bit as big, and it has a big advantage. There are fewer people, plus it has what the Kenai lacks: wildness.

An orca sneaks into the cove in front of the ladge, brown bears wander down to the shore for a drink, eagles soar overhead and perch in the trees along the shore, and humpback whales sometimes escort you to and from the fishing grounds. We experienced all this during our stay, and even when the humpbacks weren't right next to the boat, they were usually within earshot, their explosive exhalations clearly recognizable even when miles away.

But, no matter how great the setting, the wildlife, the service, and food, it's the great fishing that attracts anglers back to Rivers Inlet year after year. It sits at the convergence of three rivers which produce some of the largest chinook and coho salmon in the world. The largest chinook ever recorded, 126 pounds, was reportedly caught in a tribal net in River Inlet waters, and they yield more salmon weighing more than 50 pounds every year than anywhere else in British Columbia. Salmon heading to the Kilbella and Chuckwalla rivers start arriving in early June, and catches build toward the end of the month. That's when the Wannock River strain makes its early showing. Toward the end of July, a second run of chinook surges toward the Wannock, peaking in mid-August. Coho show from July to September, growing progressively larger throughout the summer, with many reaching 20 pounds or more as their numbers peak in August. For a change of pace, you can tuck into a cove and work the bottom for tasty halibut, yellow-eye, and ling cod.

Unlike many waters where great fishing is a fading memory, the Canadian government and Rivers Inlet lodges have aggressively undertaken programs to ensure that the great salmon fishing of today will still be available for future generations of anglers. The extensive commercial fishing operations that once operated around Rivers Inlet are long gone. Chinook and coho enhancement programs on the Wannock River combine with efforts by the Rivers Inlet Hakai Pass Sport Fishing Association are significantly augmenting natural production.

The other three species of Pacific salmon — chum, pink, and sockeye — are present in Rivers Inlet waters, too; but it's the chinook and coho that are the big Rivers Inlet draw.

I've done a lot of back-trolling, sardine-wrapped plugs and back-bouncing rue out of my drift boat at home in California. I've boondoggled from Northern California to Alaska. I've even caught big tidewater Alaskan kings on a 10-weight rod I build myself using flies I tied at my vice. But, none of my experiences quite prepared me for the complexities and nuances of learning to motor mooch for salmon with cut plug herring.