It was a warm August evening and I was trolling off the caves in Sekiu. My two sons were along for the trip this time,as I wanted them to experience the thrill of fighting a large chinook. At the time ,they were 11 and 7. The evening bite was a non event. As we watched the sun starting to set on the horizon,the starboard side rod went crazy. I scrambled to the rod holder,removed the rod and handed it to my oldest son Jason. The big king started to head for Canada.Boats were gathering around,but being polite enough to stay clear.After about 10 min fighting the fish my son said he was getting tired and wanted me to take up the battle.Not wanting to lose this magnificent king, I agreed. (figured this a great time to impress) . As I fought this fish, I was giving my son directions on steering the boat. I could finally feel as though I was gaining the upper hand on this very large king.It would only be a matter of minutes now and the fish would be on the deck of the boat. With pole in one hand ,I reached for the landing net.I instructed my son to take it out of gear. I pulled back with the rod and couldn't seem to get the fish close enough to net. We chased again. Again I hollered to take it out of gear and again I couldn't get the fish close enough to net. Was the tide that strong, I thought.Finally on the third attemp
t to net the large king,that I estimated to be well over 40lbs,it came unbuttoned.
As a glorious sunset was in its midst, I watched as this magnificent salmon slowly swam away. Dejected, I went back to take over the motor from Jason and immediately sat down on the styrafoam cooler. It was filled with 10 dozen herring that I had brined and dyed to perfection. Along with 3 gallons of salt water, I and the herring sat on the deck of the boat. What a glorious sunset.
When I finally made it to my proper seat by the motor,it became clear why I couldn't net the largest king I had ever hooked in the salt. Everytime I told my son to kick the motor out of gear,he was putting it in reverse. In all my excitement I didn't even notice.
Oh well, I guess I really impressed them. To this day we still laugh about that evening. And that was 15 years ago. How I miss Sekiu!