Personal Record: Shelter Valley Salmon

As you may have seen in my ?Fall Run? blog, my favorite season is the salmon run up the Ganaraska River and Shelter Valley. This year?s run was exceptional to say the least. A lot of fish were caught, and my Salmon Dreams had come true. I had always seen very large hens run the rivers, but it always seemed that they were smarter, and never took the bait. It wasn?t uncommon for us to catch 15 lb. Males or even on occasion a big 30 + hen, but nothing ever exceeded the normal. 

 One day this past fall I had decided to get my gear out and go out one last time before the run was over. I got my gear ready, called up my Buddy, and we were off to fish Shelter valley, one of our semi-local hot spots. We got there just before sun down, which was good, because it was about a 15 minute walk into the spot, and the light came in handy. I had set myself up with a 10?9 Shimano med-heavy salmon rod, with a Fluegger Spinning reel, running 10 lb. Suffix Fluorocarbon Line.  Topped that off with a size 3 Gamagatzu circle hook, 2 1/8th ounce split shots about 18 inches up, and baited it with a 5-8 egg Roe sack with floats, and I was ready to get at it.  

Right at the mouth of the River where it meets Lake Ontario, there is a deep hole; about 6 feet that the salmon like to sit in for a while after running the rapids to get into the river. This gives them time to rest before making the journey up stream. As any fisherman would do, I through my line right smack in the middle of that hole, knowing very well that there are fish in there. It wasn?t long before I hooked into a fish. After about 2 hours and 6 fish, I decided to call it quits, especially since it had been a successful night. Just then I had a tap on the line, and I thought, well one last one for the road. So I set the hook, and the fish didn?t move. I started reeling it in, and it came in with ease, as it started getting closer, I noticed that it was a monster. Just then the fish turned away and darted up river. It was just givin er, and my reel was just screaming. I fought that fish for nearly an hour. Finally I was able to bring it in, tired out. I could barely lift the fish out of the water.  

Weighing in at a whopping 54 ilbs 9 ounces, I caught the biggest salmon I have ever seen. Picking it up for some pictures, I almost broke into a sweat. I was ecstatic. I released that monster back into the stream, hoping that one day her spawn will come back, and give me the fight of my life, just like she did.