Len's Sportfishing Adventures - Ph: 1-604-991-0287

Chum

Salmon fishing in British Columbia can be spectacular! In fact, the Fraser River in B.C. is the largest salmon producing river in the world with huge runs of Chinook Salmon ( King Salmon ), Coho Salmon ( Silver Salmon ), Chum Salmon, Sockeye Salmon and Pink Salmon. The timing of the runs often over-lap and it is frequently possible to catch several species in the same day. They can be readily caught fly fishing, drifting, mooching, spin casting or with ultra-lite tackle.

Chum are commonly referred to by locals as " Dog Salmon " mainly due to the seemingly endless fight they can put up when hooked. They are most often caught bottom bouncing, spin casting or fly fishing and are plentiful mid September to November.

Here in the Fraser Valley, BC where we are located, the Chum Salmon start to return to spawn in our local rivers as early as middle September. The majority of the Chums return in the middle of October until right thru November.

Lifecycle and Coloring!
The Chum Salmon is locally known as Dog Salmon because of the large teeth they develop as they near their native rivers to spawn. They also develop vertical bars on their sides which can be purple, pink and green.

After spawning which takes place from October thru December, the eggs will generally take a couple of months to hatch, depending on water temperatures. Once the fry have hatched they immediately start their journey to the sea where they will live for 3 to 5 year before returning to spawn and complete their life cycle.

Chum Salmon Fly Fishing Techniques & Tackle!
Fly fishing is one of our most popular and productive methods when fishing for Chum. Marabou flies in pinks, cerise, purple and black being the most consistent colors. These fish can be very aggressive and put up a great battle for the angler. We use 8 to 10 weight rods with reels that have a very good drag system such as Ross Reels. These fish average between 12 and 15 pounds with some of the larger males in the 20 pound range. Leaders in the 15 to 20 pound range are used here, as these fish are very strong and the males have large teeth which make short work of the lighter leaders. Chum are responsible for a lot of broken rods every year. When hooked they generally do not make long runs or jumps as some of the other salmon species do, but they pull very hard and just don’t give up easily.

Another method of fly fishing is using spey rods. With these types of rods it allows the angler to cast longer distances with less effort than single handed rods. I like to use a spey rod when I am fishing on the Fraser River and its many gravel bars. The area is wide open with long expanses of beach, perfect for Spey Casting. We generally use rods in the 14 foot range with the same weights as single handed rods. My favorite is the G Loomis 14 foot 9/10 weight Dredger, with either an Airflow Skagit head or the Delta Spey multi tip lines. When using the new short head Skagit line from Airflow it allows the angler to cast heavy sink tips and flies with relative ease.

Generally Chum Salmon do not chase after your fly such as Coho do, they tend to take the fly as it is drifting by them in the current.

Chum Salmon Float Fishing Techniques and Tackle!
Another method that we use here is float fishing with a spinning rod and level wind reel in the medium to heavy action range. The G Loomis STR 1265S and the SAR1363C are fantastic rods for this type of fishing.

With this method we attach a float on the mainline and a marabou lead head jig below the float. A mainline 20 to 25 pound test and 15 to 20 pound test leaders are commonly used. The float length to the jig depends on the water depth that you are fishing and is adjusted until you find the right depth at which they are biting at. When float fishing, you must adjust your float so the bait or attractant is not dragging on the bottom. Set it so your lure or bait is presented above the fish so they can see your jig as it drifts by.

We use the same colors of marabou for the jigs as with the flies; cerise and purple combinations being the most consistent. These fish literally attack marabou jigs; at times your float has not even settle for the drift and a Chum will have already taken it.

Want to try something different? Colorado blades is another good lure to use along with different colored wool combinations. You can be creative and add almost anything under that float you think will attract these fish. You just never know. It is a lot of fun when you see your float go straight down; set the hook and the battle is on.

When to Fish Chum Salmon!

My favorite time to fish for Chum here on the Fraser and Harrison rivers is November. The fish that return at that time are in great shape and still have lots of silver coloring on them. Some of them still have sea lice attached to them, which indicates they have not been in freshwater for a long period of time.

If you like to fish for salmon and have not tried fishing Chum Salmon I would highly recommend this fishery. You do not have to worry about being able to make 80 foot casts all day for these fish, which can be a little tiring. Just make sure your arms are in good shape as your muscles will let you know after you have played a few of them.