The ability to read water, think differently, and adapt to changing water conditions are three of most important weapons in an angler’s mental arsenal. Heraclitus, a Greek philosopher, wrote “No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it’s not the same river and he’s not the same man”. Putting aside the inappropriate gender bias, the saying is quite appropriate for anglers and it was a lesson for me in the fall of 2021 when I was fishing for pink salmon in the Campbell River, Vancouver Island, British Columbia, Canada. As I have mentioned in previous articles, pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) are a wonderful sport fish and a delicious menu item. While they are the smallest of the pacific salmon, weighing in typically at 2.5 to 4 lb’s, they fight well above their weight. Place them in a large, fast flowing river like the Campbell, which is about four times the size of the Tongariro, and you’ve created a challenging fishing opportunity.
Fishing for pink salmon in the Campbell River occurs when adults migrate upstream in late summer-fall (July-September). The peak of the run is typically August but the size of run and angling opportunities are quite variable depending on summer rainfall, local weather, and timing of the tides. The best fishing conditions are offered in
