I agree with these replies that the Chum is, pound for pound, the most voracious and vicious fish around here. They are great fun with hardware, but they take a fly so eagerly that I fish that way whenever I can see that they are present in large numbers. I have fished them pretty hard for the last ten years. The runs vary, but one thing has not -- there are more fishermen after them each year. I'm sure everybody's experience has differed somewhat, but here is a time table that I have found is generally about right for the Chum runs I have fished:

John's Creek, near Shelton, about October 1 -31;

Kennedy Creek, about mid-October to mid-November;

Hoodsport and Chico Creek, starting about November 1,through to about the end of November;

Potlach, just south of Hoodsport, begins to pick up about when Hoodsport begins to die off, is usually strong by November 20 and ends sometime during the first week of December;

Nisqually River -- these are the best quality chums I have found among the runs I have listed, these fish are dime bright, but the runs are not as consistent; some years, like this year, there is hardly a run at all -- from about the 2nd week in December and I have caught them in good run years, still silver bright, until the first week in January (all of this on the lower river, just upstream from the handicapped access).

I found this year, with the possible exception of John's Creek, that the runs were later and weaker than any year I have taken note of. Hoodsport, for instance, is always crowded, but in most years there are so many fish that, when the tide is not all the way up, the bank fishermen, and particulary the boats, could spread out a little because the fish were everywhere. This year, it seemed like there would only be one big pod of fish at a time and it would be located right in front of the hatchery gate and/or right off the shore across the creek, in front of the private property. Everybody would have to concentrate on this one pod of Chums to catch a fish. The boats were almost as packed together as the bank fishermen. In past years, at least the boats could spread out and follow different concentrations of fish.