They say three times is a charm, and that’s exactly what it took to turn my Arima into a fishing boat.
I had the boat out on salt water today for just the third time, this trip with my son Doug. The skunk came off the vessel at 1:30pm east of Jeff Head, in 104 feet of water, on a green/silver Coyote spoon trolled behind a flasher some 45-feet beneath the surface on my downrigger.
The fish was an ocean grown Chum salmon, weighing 8+ pounds and measuring just about 30 inches in length.
Chum are the hardest fighting, per pound, of the various species of salmon available in Puget Sound. This guy lived up to his reputation, making three powerful runs, once trying to go deep under the boat, before he finally tired enough for Doug to deftly net him.
I owe getting the fish in to Doug, because while I was focused on something else, he saw my rod tip start to dance and watched as the fish snapped the line off the downrigger clip with a powerful strike. It was he who grabbed the pole and firmly set the hook that then gave me a chance to have a lot of fun while the fish made its runs. Thanks, son.
Chum are said to be the least desirable of the area salmonoids for eating, but Doug wanted to check it out. We filleted a slab and threw it on the barbie after marinating it a bit in his secret salmon sauce.
The fish tasted just fine. Probably due mostly to his tasty marinade. It didn’t hurt that we bled the fish immediately and kept him cool in the fish box till we got him home, where Doug took the above pic. It’s hard to goof up fresh salmon just out of the water.
I love living in the Northwest!
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