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CATCHING CHUM SALMON This past fall myself and a couple others ventured up to try and catch Chum Salmon in the saltchuck. In the past, fishing off the South and West Coast of Vancouver Island, I had only ever landed a couple Chum by accident while fishing for Coho or early Winter Springs. However I had read an article in BC Sportfishing years ago about this Chum fishery north of Campbell River, where anglers targeted Chum specifically and with great success.
He told me the Chum were deep, in Deepwater Bay (which is essentially across the 'street' from Brown's Bay), around 90-110'. They liked a dead slow troll, (just kept the 60hp in idle, but moving) with a 42" leader to a mini squirt with a spin n glo on the end. The mini squirts were purple/pink with a large black hook. I suspect they were commercial squirts. They were available at River Sportsman. The spin n glo was small and purple. As odd as this setup was, we went out the next day with one of these setups on each downrigger, with Purple Haze flashers, and got into 3 or 4 fish, with 2 in the boat, both around 12lbs. That morning we landed them around 1100-1130, with the flood tide slacking at 1230. The 42" long leader, combined with the slow speed, meant that these squirts were barely moving in the water and would have had a very slow action. Perhaps this is why the spin n glo was important? To this date I had never heard of a setup like this, but there is a first time for everything. Chum salmon feed on small organisms such as zooplankton and small crustaceans, as far as I have read. This is why the traditional flasher/anchovy combination is not the tackle of choice. All the while we were fishing, there were Chum jumping around in Deepwater Bay. It seemed that it was the best spot at the time. However as time went on and the Chums showed up in greater numbers, Brown's Bay apparently is good too. There were fish jumping everywhere where we were fishing. Yet don't let this fool you into fishing shallow. The fish we caught were all deep. They did indeed provide a good fight too. I wouldn't put them pound for pound up there with a strong 12lb Coho, but they were close!
All in all, it was a great experience. The Coho fishing was great the first day, but the second day, catching Chum, was something I had wanted to accomplish for years. To now know how to catch them, where to be, and when to be there, makes this a definite keeper on my list of places to return to in the coming years. Should you ever have a week off in mid October, and are looking for a good fishery, I highly recommend this one. Brown's Bay has good amounts of moorage and RV campsites. There is also the option of staying in Campbell River as well.
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