Where I Live: Fishing Central!

This year Sockeye Salmon have returned to the Fraser River, in B.C., in the largest numbers since 1913 - the biggest run in nearly 100 years. Estimates are that 25 to 30 million Sockeye are making their way up the Fraser this year! Good news for the environment and our local fishery.

So yesterday I joined hundreds of people at a few fishing spots out near Chilliwack and Hope. We left Vancouver Saturday night and camped out to be on the river with lines in the river early - 6am early. All with hopes of catching a part of the excitement, and our 2 fish limit.

Here's Christopher's first cast in at Laidlaw. Pretty peaceful, but too many snags on the rocks, no fish getting snagged.

We stayed for an hour. But since no one around was catching anything we left. The only excitement was watching a beaver swim past. He was motoring! Nice wake buddy!

We had more luck further down the river near Chilliwack. It took time, but both Christopher (carrying his catch) and Eugene (cleaning his in a cooler) reeled in beautiful Sockeyes.

Then we headed back to a spot that we had checked out earlier, but was really crowded. I had heard about the "shoulder to shoulder" possibilities, but it was pretty incredible to see. "Gong Show" was Christopher's description. There were hundreds of people lining the river!

We blazed the Jeep through a few shallow creeks and made our way over to join them. Fortunately everyone was in a good mood, and the inevitable tangled lines were just a brief break from the constant casting. I saw more than a dozen fish pulled in in an hour.

We returned home around 9:00pm and fell straight into bed. A perfect way to spend a Sunday. Salmon for dinner tonight.

I love where I live!