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Yippee, two day report coming in.
Whatcom creek is the most accessible fishery to me currently, and has received my attention due to the lovely chum salmon that run through in hordes.
Yes, I said lovely. Chums are a beautiful species in their own way. While some say "ugh" to the green, tiger-barred dogs of the fall (and then snag and eat them), I find their coloration unique and in its own way beautiful. If not looks, they fight like mad (but who gives a damn about the fight around here) and are really just as important as any other pacific salmon to an ecosystem.
I fished Tuesday with drift gear and Wednesday with a fly outfit.
Drift gear brought in 4 properly hooked fish, ranging from 10ish to around 16-17. Used Dick Nites and even a 1/6 oz cleo. Also snagged a couple fish, it's unavoidable when the water is so damn full of them. All fish released. The run that would be optimal for drift gear is of course the wall and the little fast and deep section behind it, and it was crowded. I fished from the opposite side of the wall, as usual. I would have been a lot more successful if the one dude on the wall didn't let his float/dead herring? rig float ALL THE WAY DOWN THE FREAKING RUN until it almost reached the pilings. And he didn't reel up like ever, he just reeled in a bit and re-drifted back down. Oh well, I caught more fish than him so I can't really complain toooo much.
#ChumEgo
The next day I brought my fly rod and an assortment of flies. It's my typical beach fishing setup, so not necessarily designed for the creek... but oh well. Here it is:
TFO LK BVK 5wt Fly rod
Ross Flyrise
SA Streamer Express
10' Fluorocarbon leader
8lb Fluorocarbon Tippet
Yeah, I was a little undergunned. Pair that with a less than stellar, still fledgling roll-cast ability and I was in for a fun time.
I hooked into a nice 12-13 pound buck fairly quickly, fought him for about 10 minutes, maybe a little more. Damn that was fun on that light rod. Finally worked him to the shore, then tried to tail the brute...
Fail. He took off and snapped my line. Damn.
Tied on my another fly and slung it, and was snagged on the bottom in short order after briefly hooking another fish. Lost that fly as well, and didn't have any more of that pattern, and more importantly, with that weight. So, I was unable to reach the fish and was treated with nothing but small bumps for the rest of the day. I still had a blast and am looking forward to a redemptive return.
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I encountered all sorts of crazy tackle these two days, so I thought I'd document my less than scientific analysis...
The average gear setup used by whatcom creek anglers looks like this:
1x halibut rod
100 yards 800lb test para-cord
3/4 oz cannonball weight
1x 8/0 Gamakatsu Octopus Hook
2-7" yarn tuft
1x half-stick of dynamite......
1x harpoon......
I think you get the picture.
Oh, and don't forget about leaders! Either 50lb mono or 6lb mono.
You either have enough to hoist the chum out of the water over the wall or break your gear off on every fish that you snag in the arse. There's no in between.
I kid. But seriously, you know there might be something wrong when after you land a 12lb chum you also have to remove three other rigs from it's belly.
C'mon y'all, how do you have any fun snagging and releasing (or heaven forbid eating) any of these green giants? Very baffling to me. And I know, there are some acceptably bright chums ready for the smoker in there.
Oh and to the guy yelling at the other guy about gear regulations and the anti-snagging rule... the hypocrisy is real.
I'm done ranting. I had a good time and actually met some decent fishermen on the bank. The fly fishermen especially.
Dare I even say tight lines in reference to this place....
Yeah, why not. Tight lines y'all!
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