The Best of Times !

 

 

 The Best of Times 

  These are the best of times.  The latest measure is the 2023 return of Chinook salmon to the Fraser River, the major producer of Chinook salmon on the coast, which had the largest return since 1979 ! !( Extra Exclamation Mark ! ).   This year is shaping up strong as well .  Plus, the numbers of juvenile chinooks we’re encountering indicate good fishing for the coming years.  We don’t need the official count to know that the abundance of chinooks is high because we experience it in very good fishing .

 

 Yet, it is complicated.   We have regulations to limit the catch of weak stocks of chinooks that might pass by.  The particularly weak stocks are a type that spend a year in the freshwater streams before heading to sea, as contrasted to the ocean-type which go directly to sea.  Those few stream-type adults pass through our area in early season to spend all summer swimming upstream to spawn in the Upper Fraser where they and their offspring have numerous environmental challenges such as low water from diminishing glaciers and snowpack, warm water, forest fires, etc.  We can fish all year around, however in the period April 1 to July 15 we must travel out of the migration route of those stocks.  The fishing trips for chinooks in that time period are lovely scenic trips requiring a full day and these are some of my favourite trips. 

 There is an excellent article about the abundant and historic Chinook return written by Dr Richard Beamish and Chrys Neville in the Island Fisherman Magazine, May issue.  

 

  And cohos, too !  The recreational catches of coho salmon in the Strait of Georgia in 2023 and 2024 were the best since 1994.   This is a welcome improvement from those years in the early 1990s when the coho population declined and the remainder moved out to rear in the open ocean.  Again, I’ll point you to an article by Dr Richard Beamish and Chrys Neville , titled “Why So many Coho ? “, in the IFM , March/April issue.  This year the cohos are back again in excellent numbers.

 

 Yet, it is complicated.  In spite of the terrific abundance of cohos, the regulations allow retention of 2 hatchery marked cohos and no wild cohos until September 1.  This is meant to allow rebuilding and especially help the Fraser coho which mostly pass by before September 1, leaving good fishing for later-timed runs. 

 

 This ironic situation of abundant salmon but modest allowances for retention can be hard to explain to potential anglers.   The vitality of life in our area has been increasing with a trend toward more plankton in the nutritious soup bowl that is Georgia Strait and the nearby channels.  Herring live here and feed the salmon.  Humpback Whales are now very common to see as they slurp it all up.  Fishing is a fun and exciting and you get to keep some.  It is so good, even if the backstory is complicated.