Several boats turned the corner just shy of the small spot where four other boats had hooked up during the lowlight hours of dawn. They’d missed the mark, an invisible spot only sharp eyes or a fishfinder could reveal. Fishing alone and from the comfort of a 14-foot Livingston boat, I slowly turned the boat to intercept the hotspot that had proven deadly for many days. Each of my five lines hosted whole herring (in British Columbia it’s legal to fish multiple lines) and razor-sharp barbless hooks. Looking left, right, and behind revealed no other boats for a comfortable distance. Using points along the shoreline I eased my boat into “the spot” and put the 9.9-horse motor into neutral. The port quarter rod doubled over within just a few lonely heartbeats. Before touching the double-over rod the port rod on the stern doubled too, sending my heart and hands racing to both heavily bent rods. Behind me the starboard rod joined in with it’s own harmonious chatter from a well-tuned but noisy clicker.

“Triple header,” is all I could yell, hoping everyone might yield the area. But now what? With three trophy-sized chinook on what could I possibly do? Two friends in a nearby boat witnessed the incredible bonanza bite along with a youngster and his grandparents in another boat.

“Get over here and take a rod,” I yelled in their direction. As my two friends approached the first fish of the three hookups was quickly passed off. Other anglers would argue, saying the handoff looked more like a toss. Away they went, chasing their fish. Next, the grandparents of the young boy arrived and took rod number two, leaving me with a runaway chinook and luckily, my best rod of the bunch, a 10 ½ foot G.Loomis Canadian-style mooching rod. Holding the rod high, I began the chase and reeled in the remaining two rods.

Unlike any of the big chinook I’d caught at Rivers Inlet, this fish continued to run out well over 100 yards without stopping. Soon it swam sprinter speed past a boatload of anglers, entangling four of their rods. Luckily my high visibility florescent green Trilene line could easily be seen and separated as the four anglers cut loose their lines from mine, leaving me with just my fish on the end of the line. Wondering if my line would break after an encounter and entanglement from four other lines, I continued chasing the fish using at least three quarters of the motor’s throttle. Sudden slack line sent my hand turning off the throttle, and wondering if the fish still had my sharp hooks in its jaw along with an unbroken mainline. The answer became clear when the fish made a hard left turn, again entangling someone else’s two lines. Quickly, the angler cut his two lines, sending my fish into another underwater sprint for freedom.

Thirty minutes from the time of the triple-header, the fish finally grew tired and began its slow circling of the boat. Steady pressure eventually brought the fish alongside the boat, revealing one of the five biggest chinook of my life. The previous year at Rivers Inlet rewarded me with a fin-clipped hatchery chinook that weighed the magical 50-pound mark. This fish looked slightly bigger, but the battle would not be won until the net encircled its silvery sleek, thick body or I reached down to set the salmon free. Having already released several fish over 40 pounds during this trip, I decided to keep the fish.

Netting is never an easy task while fishing alone. When I pulled up on the net to hoist the fish aboard, a loud snap broke the silence of my victory. Goodbye G.Loomis! Nobody could blame the broken rod-tip on the manufacturer, as this was the result of big fish combined with solo angling and yes, a somewhat clumsy angler. That’s why I love fishing for huge chinook at Rivers Inlet in British Columbia – where anglers routinely catch salmon bigger than they’ve dreamed possible. For the record, my fish weighed 53 pounds. The other two fish? Well, they bested the anglers, leaving them with broken hearts and lines.

Located on the central coast of British Columbia Canada, roughly 300 miles north of Vancouver B.C., Rivers Inlet boasts one of the largest strains of chinook salmon in the world. Only two other rivers systems in the world regularly yield chinook in the size class of Rivers Inlet: The Kenai River in Alaska and the Skeena River in northern British Columbia. The uniqueness of the Rivers Inlet fish and fishery continues to attract anglers from around the globe, all of whom hope to catch the next world record chinook – and it could happen any year.

Several factors make the Rivers Inlet fishery distinctly different from other locales. First, the famous strain of Wannock River fish continue to surprise fisheries biologists with their size and strength. Second, the local hatchery project run by the Hakai Sport Fishing Association has contributed greatly to the run size and strength that return to two other rivers near the head of Rivers Inlet, the Kilbella and Chuckwalla Rivers. Additionally, several other rivers feed Oweikeno Lake, the main source of the short running Wannock River at the head of Rivers Inlet. And finally, most of the chinook fishing action occurs just 8 to 24 feet beneath the surface, which allows anglers to easily target the fish with very basic salmon fishing gear. All of these factors combine with the fact that the majority of chinook taken throughout the summer average well over thirty-plus pounds, creating a truly world-class salmon fishing locale protected from morning winds that so often hamper anglers’ efforts. Even during the heat of mid-day the inlet remains fishable, barring any sudden barometric pressure changes. Soon after the afternoon turns into early evening, when plenty of light remains, Rivers Inlet turns flat calm like the morning hours.

Fishing Techniques

Anglers don’t need downriggers or heavy leads while fishing Rivers Inlet. A lightweight 4 to 8 ounce lead, either the banana style or cannon ball clipped on a Slido works fine. Leaders tied with two barbless solid tied 4/0 or 5/0 hooks work best. Most anglers prefer using cut-plug herring, but whole herring works too and gets the nod from me. The real key to success at Rivers Inlet is how deep you maintain your baits. All to often anglers fish to deep. A layer of glacial water flows from Wannock River at the head of the Rivers Inlet and covers the saltwater with 8 to 12 feet of freshwater, depending on the depth of the year’s snow pack. Baits should be fished below the glacial layer with speeds between .5 and 1.8 miles per hour for best results. Typically the best depths consistently range from 12 to 20 feet. If I could have only one bait I’d have it at 20-feet. In British Columbia anglers can fish as many rods as they can handle as long as everyone aboard has a fishing license. Most resorts provide three or four rod holders and rods, more than enough for most anglers.

Seasons

Mid July through August is the peak time for the biggest chinook. During late May, June and July anglers fish for early returning Wannock chinook, the biggest of Rivers Inlet chinook and they intercept the returning hatchery fish from the Kilbella and Chuckwalla Rivers too. At any time from May through the first week in September anglers stand a good chance at catching 30 to 70 pound chinook. Last season Bob Arnold from Seattle won a free 4-day return trip to Rivers Inlet after he landed a hefty 62-pounder. Brendal Johnson, however, caught the resort's biggest of the season, a jumbo 66.8 pounder. The two largest fish taken in the inlet in 2001 weighed 74 pounds each. At least five other 70 pound chinook were taken too, proving once again, Rivers Inlet is the place to fish for world-class trophy chinook. From reports we received last summer from Rivers Inlet Resort guests, several anglers indeed had 70 pound fish on the line, but as luck would have it, they broke them off before landing them. When fishing for really big chinook anglers MUST remember to not "horse" them in with a tight drag and they must also remember to be patient when getting ready to net the fish. Several anglers also caught 60-pounders and 50-pounders were to numerous to list.