Rottweiler with Fins
Fall Salmon Run 2012
You would think I would run out of stories to tell and that nothing any stranger could happen on a fishing trip, but let me tell you that this year the camp motto would have to change a little “God is Great, The beer is good, and Zee Salmon are a Little Crazy! Just when you think you got them all figured out, look out!
It started out a typical year of tying flies, the burning of campfire wood, and the excitement of getting out on the river again. The weather this year was absolutely beautiful. We headed up to Baldwin to our old faithful campground Bowmen’s where I had spent a week of exciting Salmon fishing for the last 15 years. We went up the last week of September, a week later then usual as Snips had finally turned 16 and wanted to go to the homecoming dance with his girlfriend, yes I said girlfriend. Of course at first I told him, “really” “for a girl” you want me to change our annual trip. Now this was Snips 5th year and he himself was giving old grandpa a run for his money, so after a little harassing I agreed and we picked up Hookup and left a week later than usual.
It had finally arrived; with anticipation and excitement we were here to battle the river once more. For the next 5 days to test our skill against a worthy adversary, the King Salmon and test our skills, we did test. As we started our salmon slaying week of fun, my first test of skill was a big old King who took my fly and went deep right under a log, then came up the other side and jumped straight up in the air doing some kind of amazing Salmon flip that snapped my line. He thought he had me but after about another dozen cast I hooked him again and I won’t get fooled a second time. He did the exact same thing and went deep right under same log , but this time I immediately let up and gave the old King lots of slack. He jumped right out of the water and did his magical Salmon flip that will break your line in a moment if you have any tension on it at all. However with no tension on the line that Big Old King didn’t even know the hook was still in him and he went right back down and under the log to where he had started. I had him now and down the river we went, he was one heck of a fighter. Took me all the way down to where Snips and Hookup where fishing two holes down. Got him in the net about 150 yards later and a whopping 37” long. Not bad if I say so myself.
Now like I said the little young whipper snapper Snips is giving old Slammy here a run for his money so of course he had to try and show old gramps up. Me and Snips had headed down river scoping out for a new fishing hole while hookup was busy battling some rapids. We found a good hole but getting to it was a job in itself. The bank was real steep and a tree had fallen down into the river and went about halfway across. We had to climb down the bank and shimmie out onto the log then let ourselves down on the bottom part of the tree where one side was real deep and the other side had a bed of gravel leading into a hole full of Salmon. We started casting and it wasn’t long and Snips had a lively one and it did the same thing my Big King had done and shot right down under this tree. At first, in a state of panic snips yelled out what should I do, but before I could answer he remembered how gramps told him how he had outsmarted the big King caught earlier. Immediately he let off the line and I’ll be dog gone that Salmon turned right back around and went right back under the tree. Now for some reason you would think as soon as you started pulling on the line the fish would go back under the tree again but apparently they don’t try the same thing twice and this time around the tree he went and down the river. Snips hung on and worked him good, he was a fighter and in some rapids, he went a good 150 to 200 yards down the river before we tired him out and finally got him in the net. Snips really impressed me there, seems to really have the touch for slayin Salmon as we like to call it, although we take a picture and let most of them go.
Well it’s time for the Rottweiler with fins portion of this story. We caught fish all week and the last day we were setting records and I was on number 9 for the day catching as many as I had caught all week. As I hooked into number 9 he was a fighter and took me for a ride down the rapids. Now the rapids can get a bit dicey at times, as you have a slippery fast moving current, large rocks and boulders all over, quite a few holes that can take you down fast, so the footwork can become a bit tricky. I worked him down almost all the way through the rapids before we finally netted him. He took my fly, and egg sucking leech right in the mouth with the hook coming out the other side. I said I got to get a picture of this as this is textbook, the way you want to catch them”right in the mouth” .
I held him up and Snips took a picture then the next thing I new that big old King with his mouth open and those big old snarling teeth lunged right at my chest trying to take a bite out of me. Now what happened next and how this happened I have no idea but as he lunged forward at my chest, the Salmon, with the hook still in its mouth coming out the other side got hooked in my vest that I have on. So I have a live salmon with a hook in its mouth hooked to my chest through my fishing vest, thrashing around like he is trying to eat me and Snips is laughing his butt off. He grabs the camera and take s a picture while I am getting ate alive by this Rottweiler with fins. Anyway after a lot of work we finally freed the old boy up and let him go back into the river where he can go after some other un-suspecting fisherman. I had to just scratch my head and think no one would believe this fish story as it sounds like a whopper except I got proof this time. Sure glad snips took a picture as it is sure one to remember. This trip we broke all records with 40 salmon caught in 4 days and yes Slammy here is still King with 19 of them credited to his catch, Snip got 15 and Hookup landed 6. Keep trying Snips, maybe next year!
