It was a beautiful day yesterday when Kelly, J.C. and I hiked in to Drift Creek. We got to the trail head around 7am and discovered that there were a couple of trucks and a campsite in the parking area. We needed flashlights to see the trail until it started getting light.
We got to the stream in about an hour but there were already 5 guys fishing when we got there. The water was perfect but there weren't many fish in the spawning beds, and we got pretty discouraged since our favorite fishing spots were already taken.
One of the other fishermen hooked into a bright salmon and we watched while he landed it. It was foul hooked so he reluctantly released it.
Then I started getting some action, hooked one, and fought it a while until it jumped and threw the spinner. The next two I had on decided that they wanted to go back downstream to the ocean, and there wasn't much I could do about it except tighten up my drag until something gave. Fortunately the hooks pulled out before they could take all of my line with them. They were all big, bright Chinook salmon in the 35 to 40 pound class. It looks like the run is just starting so we should be able to make some more trips as long as our bodies hold out.
J.C. and Kelly both had a hard time coming back up the trail because of the colds they both have. I went ahead of them, collected some Chantrelle mushrooms, and waited for them at the beer stops. (We stashed a beer apiece at two different spots along the trail going in.) They sure tasted good!
I forgot to take my camera, but Kelly took some video of an old guy fighting a fish and another one watching.
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