Chum Are Underappreciated By Anglers

By Chester Allen, The Olympian, Olympia, Wash.

Oct. 12–An estimated 3.3 million chum salmon are headed for Puget Sound rivers this fall — and some of them are already nosing into fresh water.

A school of chum rumbled into the Kennedy Creek estuary during the Wednesday afternoon high tide. The pod of fish was swimming just under the surface, and they pushed a bow wave just like a surfacing submarine.

Friends tell me that a few chum are already well up Kennedy Creek, and the famous salmon spawning trail should be open for visitors in a week or two.

Kennedy Creek is a tiny stream, but it gets waves of wild fish — as much as 50,000 chum salmon each fall. Chum — a hard-fighting, aggressive fish that doesn’t get nearly enough respect from anglers — are thriving in Puget Sound.

These fish spawn in just about every South Sound river, stream and creek, and they’re a magnificent sight when they ease into fresh water. They grow big, sharp teeth — some call them dog salmon — and their sides turn olive-green with jagged, red and black stripes.

These fish fight hard, and they break expensive rods every year.

I’ve been tying lots of chum flies, as I’ll fish for these salmon all over South Sound — including saltwater — for the next month or so. I’ll also find myself fishing the Nisqually River’s post-Thanksgiving chum run, so I need lots of flies.

I also plan to do a little drift fishing for chum with my friend Steve Roldan. I’ve been trying to learn more about drift fishing this fall, and I’m having fun.

But most of my chum fishing is with an 8-weight fly rod, as these aggressive fish are perfect for fly angling — and beginner salmon anglers.

I’m going to try something new this year, which is fishing eerie-looking egg flies under an indicator. I didn’t dream this up myself. I watched other fly anglers hook lots of chum using this method at several fishing spots last fall.

Chum are aggressive, often stay shallow and will move for a fly, which is different than chinook, which tend to stick their noses on the bottom of deep, fast water.

The Kennedy Creek estuary is a very popular fishery, and I’ve seen lots of kids and newbies catch their first salmon.

But things are changing at this spot.

The state Department of Natural Resources recently bought some private land on the estuary, and managers are taking steps to protect shorebird habitat and native vegetation.

Michele Zukerberg, who manages the Kennedy Creek Natural Area Preserve, told me that Natural Resources doesn’t want to shut down a popular fishery.

But it’s important to protect the mudflats and marsh plants, as Kennedy Creek is one of the few high-quality salt marshes left in Puget Sound, Zukerberg said.

That means anglers can no longer park on the Olympia side of the U.S. Highway 101 bridge and hike through the woods and marsh between Kennedy and Schneider creeks, Zukerberg said.

Anglers should also use the portable toilet and put their trash in the trash bin provided.

Anglers also should try to keep from creating new trails and try to stay off the estuary mud.

I think we can do these things. Very few anglers walk on the mud, as it is as slippery as axle grease. Most anglers walk on the creek gravel, as it provides much better footing.

I told Zukerberg that most of the mudflats never see human feet.

Zukerberg said that Natural Resources has worked with angler groups and other state agencies to keep fishing going at Kennedy Creek.

It seems like we anglers just have to treat the estuary as it should be treated — as if it were our own backyard. Too many salmon anglers dump their trash streamside, and it’s a sickening habit.

Those 3.3 million chum are coming home to make more chum, and those magnificent dogs deserve our respect — and that includes caring for the estuary that helps so many of them survive.

Chester Allen’s fishing column appears Fridays in The Olympian. He can be reached at 360-754-4226 or callen@theolympian.com.

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