Land of the Humpback Salmon

[JimW]

Well this is quickly becoming one of my favourite trips of the year... definitely will be an annual event... for the second year in a row I took a quick trip up the the Algoma area in search of pink salmon. They are not big and don't taste great but look cool and on light tackle are great fun to catch.
This year my buddy Marcus was my wingman for this whirlwind trip....

I left Smiths Falls on Friday at 2:30 pm.... headed to Perth for a quick appointment then continued on to Kingston picked up a few things I needed for the boat and then picked up Marcus and we were off heading northwest.... a couple stops for coffee and gas and more coffee and gas and we arrived at our first fishing spot around 5:30 am still pitch black we cast lures but except for Marcus getting snagged on a tree. lol. we did not catch anything... so we wait for the sun to start to rise and then not long after I had a nice male pink salmon to start the trip... the first of many over the next day and a half. Not long after Marcus gets his first pink and we catch numerous nice little pink salmon bucks at our first spot.





We decide to go for a little exploration and wading and not too far down the river we were in found a stretch of water loads with pinks after landing numerous pinks at spot number 2, mainly females, we hike back to the car and go find some coffee.





Saturday afternoon we check a couple different rivers one has some salmon but the water is moving very fast due to the nearby dam being open and the other spot the water is really low and no signs of any fish. So back on the road we do some more exploring checking a couple new rivers but low water almost everywhere and no fish on the move, in our travels we did see a flock of several hundred sandhill cranes which was super cool.

After our adventures Saturday we check into the Sleep Inn Sault Ste. Marie .... my usually place to stay in the Sault.... comfortable hotel, great staff, reasonable rates and free breakfast!!! Everything you need. After checking into the hotel we go out for some dinner and then back to the hotel for some much needed sleep, I had been up for 40 hours straight at this point.

Up at 5:45 am Sunday morning.... have some breakfast and we hit the road after a bit of a drive we reach of first fishing spot, put on our waders and hit the water.... and in no time.... it is a pink salmon frenzy..... it was raining a bit but did not really notice as we were too busy catching fish.





After a few hours we decide to pack up and try one more small river before starting the drive home.... on our drive we find a fish n' chips shack and stop for Lake Huron whitefish and fries for lunch.... amazing.



At our last stop the river was really low and the area I have fished in the past which usually holds some nice pink salmon was empty... though we did find a couple fish holding in one area and with a little bit of effort we catch a bonus male chinook salmon to end our trip.



Back on the road Sunday afternoon.... and heading for home.... make a quick stop along the way to pick up some rod holders for my boat.... then some more driving... a stop for gas and coffee.... then a stop for coffee and gas.... eventually dropping Marcus off in Kingston and then back home to Merrickville.... arriving just before 1am Monday morning.

Saturday we could not find a real pattern to catch fish... a few fish on egg imitation beads.... then a few on bright coloured spinners and spoons, then 3" pink worms started catching a bunch of fish... then a few on flies and back to spinners.



On Sunday the fish had a "sweet tooth" Creek Candy Bead Company 6mm beads rigged tandem were the ticket Sunday landing all of our pink salmon on the beads.





Total trip ..... Friday 2:30pm to Monday 1am ... 58.5 hours start to finish.... 31 hours of that was driving.... round trip distance = 2400 km .... lots of fish caught ..... great memories made .... a little tired today ..... BUT I would do it next weekend in a heart beat!!!

[CedArt]

Beauty report

I spent a year in the Soo in the 80's

Gets a definite thumbs up

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I used to live to hit the rivers for salmon when I was younger

always said---aint stoppin

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[Corvus Lacus]

We also hit some of the tribs north and east of the Soo on the return from our trip to Lac Seul last week. The Humpies are fun on light tackle...unfortunately, some of the locals seem to think the only way to catch them is snagging. Lauzon Creek looked like a butcher shop...not sure why, they don't make for great table fare. We also checked out the upper Garden River above the rez. Also a snag & slaughter fest...this time most of the vehicles had US plates...again not sure why...as most of the fish were dark tired Chinook boots. The prevailing attitude about snagging was "well it doesn't matter, the Salmon are dying in a couple of weeks anyway".

On another note, some of the tribs that we usually fish for Steelhead and Coasters further up the coast on Superior had extremely low water. This is the Jackpine east of Nipigon...normally a high gradient river that usually you would have difficulty wading across. Typically those boulders would be covered by at least a foot or two of water...downright scary. Talk is that we may lose an entire year class of Rainbows and Brooks.

Climate change ??

[JimW]

We also hit some of the tribs north and east of the Soo on the return from our trip to Lac Seul last week. The Humpies are fun on light tackle...unfortunately, some of the locals seem to think the only way to catch them is snagging. Lauzon Creek looked like a butcher shop...not sure why, they don't make for great table fare. We also checked out the upper Garden River above the rez. Also a snag & slaughter fest...this time most of the vehicles had US plates...again not sure why...as most of the fish were dark tired Chinook boots. The prevailing attitude about snagging was "well it doesn't matter, the Salmon are dying in a couple of weeks anyway".

On another note, some of the tribs that we usually fish for Steelhead and Coasters further up the coast on Superior had extremely low water. This is the Jackpine east of Nipigon...normally a high gradient river that usually you would have difficulty wading across. Typically those boulders would be covered by at least a foot or two of water...downright scary. Talk is that we may lose an entire year class of Rainbows and Brooks.

Climate change ??

Ya we foul hooked a few pink salmon, but lots of snaggers for sure and I agree not sure why... definitely not worth keeping for the table. We checked out a couple Superior tribs a little North of the Soo the water was really low as well.

I want to try the Garden River next year and would love to try a couple spots of brookies.

[Corvus Lacus]

Yeah ... we usually fish the Superior tribs the first week in May. Beautiful scenery, the trout are in, and the blackflies aren't around yet. If you want some pointers just let me know.

[JimW]

Yeah ... we usually fish the Superior tribs the first week in May. Beautiful scenery, the trout are in, and the blackflies aren't around yet. If you want some pointers just let me know.

Thanks man. I will keep that in mind.