A Legendary Tale

 Barbara Kelly ...

One day in early July 1988, I decided to go fishing at Dowling Point just past the usual spots the Wall & the Dome. It is a rarely fished spot named after my business partner Martin Dowling who I co-founded the lodge with in 1984. The unnamed Point bears his name as he fished and caught so many BIG chinook/king salmon there. It has always been one of my favourite places where you can fish close in to the shore and sweep you bait under the kelp beds where the BIG ONES lurk. On this particular day, I was so close to the shore that my line snagged in the kelp, so I had to patiently retie everything & start all over. Part of the mystique of Rivers Inlet is that you never know when you are going to encounter a giant trophy sized salmon, so you never risk fishing with gear that is in any way compromised.

On my second pass I noticed that tell tale tap tap on the rod tip. I fed out the line so that the fish could 'take' the bait. The rod tip buckled over, I set the hook and the fish started screaming out into open water. One thing I have learned in my 30 years of fishing for these big Rivers Inlet salmon on light tackle is to just let the salmon run and follow it with the boat. This is not an easy task when you are fishing on your own trying to drive and manage the rod. As the line screamed out of the reel, I could hear Martin's voice in my heard, 'Let it run, let it run'! After about two hours, there were signs that fish was getting tired. The runs were of shorter duration and less intensity. It was beginning to lay up on the surface and roll over on its side, signs that it was almost ready to net. My heart was racing as I could see it was huge! You only want to make one net attempt so I patiently waited for just the right moment. Then, with the reel between my knees, I pulled the fish towards the boat with the line tight and with a quick scoop the 40 pounder was in the net. Now the problem now was how to get this massive fish into the boat? With adrenaline rushing through my veins from the excitement, I managed to hoist it over the gunwale and with a thud it hit the floor of the boat. By now I had drifted all the way up to Cranstown Point, I was so excited that I made enough noise for a boat full of people but there was no one in sight! I ran back to the Wall where most of the the other boats were fishing for my victory pass. I proudly hoisted my solo caught trophy salmon up high for all to see.

This trophy salmon is mounted on the Sportsman's Club guest lounge wall for all to see. Everyone was all smiles with excitement for me.

If you have a story &/or an archive photo to share with us, please send it to us at info@riversinlet.com. If you don't, then you need to come and join us on a fishing adventure and create your own fishing tales, priceless memories that will last a lifetime!