The Yale expositor. (Yale, St. Clair County, Mich.) 1894-current, 1909-03-12

CampDell river emptleS INTO the
channel between Valdez island and
Vancouver island, and is the ideal
place for catching the great tyee. The
tides at Campbell river are a very Sc
rious factor in the calculations of Wis
iting anglers, for the channel between
Valdez island and Vancouver island, at
this point less than three miles wide,
has the whole food of the Pacific pour
ing through. Much scheming has
therefore TO be devised to cheat the
tides from the Willow hotel up to
Campbell river mouth, wearisome
row of mile and a half, should the
current be contrary. This piece Of
water is nearly always good for fish
or two; but as rule boats are in a
hurry to reach the best of the water
opposite the actual mouth Of the river.
This cream of the fishing lies imme-
diately off the big sand bar that pro-
jects seaward from Campbell River
point. There is plenty of room for
everybody and little fear Of the sport
deteriorating, as long as the present
rules regarding the prohibition Of net
fishing in the channel is rigidly en-.
forced. The sole danger to be feared
off Campbell river mouth is from the
masses of floating kelp or seaweed into
which these monster fish have every
inclination to burrow. This learthery
weed is OF such nature that when
fouled 1t is an even chance against a
fisherman recovering any part Of his
tackle. The first evening we left the
hotel and rowed some hundred yards
clear Of the banks of seaweed in the
main tideway. Here the line is let out
for 20 yards, and you troll northward
for half mile to the Indian village
where the finest fishing ground is stu
ated. AS the evening falls and the
time of feeding approaches generally
about the turn of the tide at low wa
ter, little army of siwash canoes push
silently out from the village, and,
forming line, row rapidly up and
down the stream from the village to a
beacon at the mouth of the river. Here
the tyee rest under the floating sea-
ware, and if the lure is properly pre-
scented to the fish at the moment of
feeding-time, the angler is sure to have
at least one run in the evening.
Two days of illluck convinced me
that something was wrong with my
methods of fishing, so took the oppor-
tunity of visiting the Indian village
and extracting some information on
the subject of lures from the Indians.
t.,
large lead spoon polished on one
side; but during 1908 none had been
successful with this artifice the In
dams themselves using a small, bright
nickel spoon. | bought two of them
from local store and got an Indian
to lash on with string a siwash-hook
of approved pattern. With this bait
confidence revived, and | resolved to
go and buck the tide" that is, row
against the heavy stream when others
were still ashore and waiting for the
evening run. Coming home on the
previous day at 3 p. m, | had seen
three or four big tyee leaping at a
point well out in mid-stream, opposite
the old Indian graveyard. Mac, my
guide, said he could work the boat
there for short time, so under the
blazing afternoon sun we set out amid
the solemn warning of other more ex-
perienced fishermen that we were Civ
ing ourselves a lot of hard work for
nothing.
But the ways of the salmon are
strange, and you often take a fish
when ell things look unpropitious.
With infinite toll Mac bucked the tide,
and after half an hours labor against
six-knot tide succeeded in reaching
the spot had marked We had scarce
ly arrived when my rod was almost
torn from my hand No cohoe had
strength like this even in tideway,
and one minute Of strain, In which my
i7-foot Hardy rod felt all too weak,
convinced me that had hold of YER