december 29, 2009 10:16pm
This year's Annual Blue Knuckle Derby was a great success. What was really amazing are the great numbers of spring salmon that were caught. Some boats had 6 springs landed, while the average seemed to be 2-3 fish. This is a great indicator of spring salmon stocks, as many of these fish are moving along the coast to various rivers, as far away as Washington State. There is a myth that winter springs are only resident fish, but with proper testings, the Ministry of Fish and Oceans biologists are discovering that these winter chinook have a great range. Like I mentioned before, this year's run has historically had the largest bodied spring salmon, and if the winter fishing is an indicator, then I have all confidence that the big ones are coming.