Tales From The Tyee Pool.......2014....

[Dave H]

Noon Wed. the 13th but no new fish to report.

I do have a pic of Ken Enns and hot rower Mike Mackie with their 36 1/2 pounder from two days ago though, so here ya go.

Mike is away flying choppers on forest fires right now so we "also rowed" might have a shot at one the next couple of days. LOL





Take care.

 

[Hillier420]

I know everyone fishes the pool in row boats. I was thinking of going out and trying in my kayak? Is it allowed? And do many people do it? Thanks

 

[Dave H]

Yes you can fish from a kayak and a few people do so.




Have fun and....




Take care.

 

[Dave H]

Well nothing again last nite and this morning although a few were seen rolling in the pool, which is positive.

Chatted with Ken Enns about his fish the other day as I'd heard it was quite a battle, starting off the bar and ending down by the Nystar terminal 17 minutes later.

It wasn't a long fight because, in Ken's words: "Dave, in 40 years of fishing Tyee that was the craziest fighting one I've ever hooked. It did everything it could to get off but we got it. Tired itself out quickly, thank goodness!"

Sounded like fun.



Take care.

 

[Dave H]

Noon Friday and another nite of exercise behind me.

Bit of a workout last nite as the starting cord on my old outboard caught up internally and wouldn't retract so we couldn't start the engine to come in.

I rowed all the way. Whew!!

Anyway, there doesn't seem to have been any significant arrival of fish to the pool yet but we are always hopeful the next tide will be the one to bring them.

In the meantime, here's a bit of a taste from last nite's sunset.




And geeze they make kids big these days.
Had an old friend and his nephew out and the nephew is 15 and going into Grade 10 this year.

He towered over me and I'm 6'2" or so and he wasn't a "heavy" kid but probably weighed 215-220 or so with his proportions.

Glad I'm not buying groceries for that young fellow. LOL




Take care.

 

[Cuba Libre]

Love the reports dave-- keep them coming!

 

[Dave H]

What is the return for the Campbell/quinsum fish you are targeting?

Hard to tell before they arrive but everything generally points towards good returns this year based on ocean survival rates the past three years under a more benign condition for salmon..aka La Nina.
However, given the heavy commercial fisheries north of us this year it's possible we lost more than usual as either incidental bycatch or targetted in the SE Alaska troll fishery.

There are numerous variables affecting the number that make it back so not really possible to give you a number before the run arrives.

Ask again in a few months.


Take care.

 

[Dave H]

Well we have another fish registered this morning, a near chrome beauty of 38 1/2 lbs.

Rowed by Randy Killoran, arguably the hardest working and most successful rower of his generation, and ably handled by Dale Kashuba, the fish was hooked at 7:00 AM today and exactly one year after Randy and Dale registered a 32 1/2 pounder.

Tonite I'll be rowing Aaron Boles again as it's the one year anniversary of our 45 pounder from last year.

Wish us luck 'cause I sure don't have the knowledge or skill of Randy when it comes to rowing.



But I'm learning.


Take care.

 

[Dave H]

Another morning and nada new caught.

Here's the pic of Randy and Dale with their AM Tyee from yesterday though.

This morning there was an intrepid soul flyfishing in the Tyee Pool from a float tube.

He caught a small rockfish according to my visiting buddy who was out in my boat.

Might have been the only fish taken this morning. LOL

Good on him, whomever he is.



Take care.

 

[Dave H]

I recall last year as around 3200 or so, around 4200 the year before and five or six thousand before that.
Lower numbers than one would like considering some years when 12 to 15 thousand returned, not that long ago.

Given the hatchery output has remained pretty constant the obvious variables are in their survival rates at the various stages of life, I'd suppose.

Not looking good for numbers here this year so far and there have been several heavy net fisheries on Sockeye north of us recently too, so some incidental bycatch has happened there.

If you Google "quinsam chinook returns" you can chase around finding more numbers if you're so inclined.


Take care.

 

[Dave H]

Are you "fishing" or trying to make a point or statement or something??


Take care.

 

[Dave H]

Nothing last nite but an undersize so here's a pic of Deb and Bill Idiens with Debs 30 pounder caught the nite before.

Also, I took a look yesterday at the catch records for 2012, 2011 and 2010 as I've had myself all in a lather about our fish being late or missing and all that as I've had last year on my mind and last year was a good year.

But, in 2012 we had caught only two Tyee by Aug.18th and in 2011 I think it was nine, 2010 was seven, so five this year isn't really that bad.

Also noted that shortly after the 18th of August there was a definite upswing in catch numbers as the fish finally arrived in those years.

Now if we don't get an upsurge this next week then I'm really going to be frothing. LOL



Take care.

 

[eroyd]

Funny, I had a look at previous catch records this morning as well and I guess this year is pretty "normal" for Tyee fishing these days. Last year was unusual as we had 4x as many fish registered by this time. Too bad that biomass of pinks in the Campbell couldn't be turned into Chinooks. People used to laugh at me for fishing pinks 20 years ago.

 

[Fisherman Rob]

I found this on The Tyee Club of BC website "A SHORT HISTORY OF TYEE FISHING AT CAMPBELL RIVER"

A detailed and extensive report of the Tyee fishing in Campbell River was given by Sir John Rogers in his book, Sport in Vancouver and Newfoundland. This covered the 1908 season from July 30th to August 26th. He captured 41 Tyee weighing a total of 1738 pounds (the largest was 60 pounds), 15 Spring salmon, 126 Coho, and 37 trout.

As much as I love to fish, it's depressing to see how quickly these stocks have been depleted to almost nothing now.

 

[kjcostain]

Tyee fishing is the true definition of sport. A good Tyee fisherman may kill 4 fish in the 2 month period. A decent weekend warrior fishing the Hump may kill 4 Springs in a 2 hour period. Many of the senior members donate countless time, effort and money to keeping the Campbell and Quinsam systems going. They definitely put in more than they take out.

 

[eroyd]

Yep...sorta like the kenai...huge fish...but people wanting to kill big fish was a factor in that fishery being almost extinct. People always claim it helps the economy but at what cost.

Sports caught Chinooks, especially the few dozen taken from the tyee pool are barely a drop in the bucket. If I recall correctly, there was a few years where concerned members questioned fisheries whether or not there should be a opening and basically, fisheries stated the above.

 

[tincan]

I agree that many of the tyee fishermen/women are huge positive contributors to salmon conservation efforts in the area but I still find it odd that give what we know about BIG fish they have not yet transitioned into a catch and release program. Once the big ones are gone, they are gone. There is no denying that as we have dozens of examples in recent history to show us that big fish within a particular CU need to maintain minimum population levels or else they parish and do not ever return. The fact there are some monster TYEE's left in CR is a testament to the catch and release practices that many now stand by. And, as evidenced by the popularity of the tyee pool fishery it does result in good things for the local economy so it would be great to keep around for a long time to come. I'd wager than 95% + of people fishing these pools know the importance of keeping these fish in the gene pool and prefer to eat salmon smaller than 30 lbs. It's an awesome group and a great tradition ... and I think it's time to include catch at release as an option if not a requirement. My $0.02.

Tyee fishing is the true definition of sport. A good Tyee fisherman may kill 4 fish in the 2 month period. A decent weekend warrior fishing the Hump may kill 4 Springs in a 2 hour period. Many of the senior members donate countless time, effort and money to keeping the Campbell and Quinsam systems going. They definitely put in more than they take out.

 

[Finished Business]

Though many make good points, this thread is a clear favorite among many members to follow along with the daily news from the Tyee Pool.

Lets leave it like that. Dave does a great job with the annual reports, lets not tarnish this great thread will politics.

A seperate thread to discuss the ethics of kill or catch and release Tyee Salmon is much better suited.

Keep it up Dave.

 

[Dave H]

Thanks, and just to follow up a bit, the Tyee Club has shut down their fishery a couple of times when it was evident local stocks were in bad shape.

They got to be in bad shape when the mine at the head of Buttle Lake acidified the whole Campbell River watershed except for the Quinsam, and the hatchery there essentially saved this gene pool of Chinook. Most know the story.

Recently a new program began here where large fish are going to be specifically spawned together in an effort to mimic nature at the hatchery.

We'll see how that works out eventually as it takes a few years to go through a Chinook cycle.

Also, there is a catch and release aspect to this fishery but it only applies to anglers who are already members.
In other words, if you have already weighed in and registered a Tyee you can then simply bring a fish boatside and measure length and girth. Should the formula work out to over 30 pounds then you're credited with a Tyee even without killing one.

Finally, years of coded wire tag based research has shown the SE Alaska commercial troll fleet catches nearly 60% of Campbell River bound salmon before they get back into our waters.


And to get back to reports:

Nothing new save a couple unders last nite and this morning but at least we're seeing fish starting to show up.

Gonna get one tonite.



Take care.

 

[Fisherman Rob]

Yes, Sorry Dave I did not intend to hijack your thread. I was curious as to where/what the Tyee Pool was, and found all sorts of interesting history and photos on the The Tyee Club of BC website. Furthermore, my comment regarding depleted stocks was not aimed at sport fishing, but the impact of human activity on the coast in the last 100 years. But that is off-topic for this thread, better discussed in the Conservation, Fishery Politics and Management forum.

Keep up the Tales!