Salmon Run

Had a great chat with avid outdoorsman Rob Maxey regarding the salmon run this fall. It is really nice to see the coho salmon coming all the way up into Idaho. I don’t know whether it is the spring spill, the hatchery program, ocean conditions, trying to get some of the nets out or a combination of everything, but for some reason the runs have done really well. Last year, we caught more jacks than I’ve ever seen before which was a good foreboding that this year was going to be great and it was. This year we caught a lot of jacks and they're saying that next year’s been a be even better than this year. They predicted a record Chinook run but the Chinook run fell at or maybe slightly below what was projected. The Silver run has been phenomenal and has been almost twice that. Between the record runs and the low water the fish just kegged up down low in the estuaries and all the coastal bays and made fishing good from August through the middle of October. I have been catching fish in all of the bays and estuaries. It has been phenomenal fishing. The fish gain 1 to 2 pounds a week while they are sitting in an estuary feeding because with all the candles fish and the anchovies, the food sources are so rich. So what were 5 to 7 pound salmon in the ocean, at the end of August and early September they were 12 to 15 pounds. Isn’t it interesting how gaining tons of weight for humans isn’t a good thing but if you’re a fish… (laughter).