Monarch Salmon of A Modest Flow

Measuring at 36” in length, Mr. H. Wallison was proud not only of his day in the outdoors, but also having captured the biggest fish in his life. 

This article is a narrative piece shared by Mr. Henry Wallison involving a stream, a spoon, and some salmon action.

While I kept my rod in my trunk, I had no intention of fishing. This was one of the many little streams that dump into Lake Michigan in the Northwest Corner of the lower peninsula. My wife and I were merely fixing to watch the beaver emerge for the evening from one of the creek’s many dams. However, we could immediately see that the salmon run was thick, and thoughts of rodents were put to bed. This particular creek runs exceptionally shallow. We watched for a long time in fascination as big chinook bellied their way, backs out, over reids. A mild effort was made to fish in the failing light, but I made a commitment to come back again at sunrise.

The following morning proved productive indeed. Thinking their proximity to the big lake may correspond to freshness, I was throwing a chartreuse and white cleo as a poor facsimile of bait fish. In short order, I landed a nice buck chinook that was too-far turned to keep, unfortunately. The next fish was a coho that fought all the way in. Tail in hand, he had a last burst of energy and kicked away back into his pool.

The third and real “fish of the day” came in front of one of the aforementioned beaver dams. The fish were stacked on top of each other, and on my first proper cast, a monstrous chinook rose to the occasion. She was the first fish to pull drag, my reel whining as she charged her way down stream. It took some muscling, but I beached her on a marshy patch midstream and dispatched her. The catch was brought home, measured, and fileted.

Congratulations on the catches and success on the water, Henry! Thank you for sharing your story.