ROD 6- CREEL 77 



hooked. It could not have been more than fifteen minutes be- 

 fore he was gaffed. Another time I was fishing in a little bit of 

 a "dinghy" and hooked a heavy fish just near slack water time. 

 This fish just broke water once and then started out for the 

 middle of the straits; he went fairly fast at first but gradually 

 slowed down until at last he was just towing me steadily 

 along. I was quite a way from shore when I hooked him, but 

 by the time the fish got tired of towing me I was pretty well 

 out in the middle of the channel. At this stage in the game 

 the fish went about a mile deep (perhaps not quite so much as 

 that, but it seemed like it) and just stayed there, and move 

 him I could not. Of course, two fairly large steamers and two 

 tugs seized the opportunity to pass at short intervals and they 

 all put up an awful wash, one of them such a bad one that I 

 took in a lot of water and was within an ace of being swamped. 

 For over an hour I wrestled with that fish, sometimes standing 

 up and lifting with every ounce I dare put on the rod, some- 

 times sitting down and just putting my weight on the rod by 

 leaning back. I worked him well up once but just as I thought 

 I w r as getting him up so that I could see him, he made an effort 

 and went down nearly as deep as ever. By the time he got 

 tired the tide had turned and I was going gayly up to Seymour 

 Narrows, but I managed at last to bring him up, and by that 

 time he was thoroughly done and never even made a kick, but 

 just rolled over on his side and was floated alongside, when a 

 crack on the head made the use of the gaff perfectly safe. He 

 only weighed 50 pounds. It must have taken one and one-half 

 hours before he was gaffed. 



"While the tyee fishing is a mere nothing compared to what 

 it used to be. a few big fish come in every year and it is still 

 quite possible to get some fair sport, only it requires more 

 skill and patience than formerly. In the old days nothing but 

 big spoons were used, but now they are seldom tried, either the 

 "Stewart" or something after the same lines being the most 

 killing. 



To be successful nowadays, the main thing is to fish at the 

 right stage of the tide. If you can get a low tide very early 

 in the morning or late in the evening and fish properly with a 

 good working bait, your chances of getting a big fish are pretty 

 bright at any time during August and the first week or ten 

 days of September. During late June and all July there are 

 nearly always a fair number of echoes and small silver springs, 

 spring salmon of twelve to twenty-five pounds, can be caught 

 during most months of the year. 



There is excellent trout fishing, both for rainbows and cut- 

 throats, both of which can be taken on the fly. 



The best months are May and June, also the first two weeks 

 of July, during which time the best water is the last mile and 



