**Fishing Report – Knuckle Busters & Winter Chinook** After a long stretch of freezing weather, it felt great to finally get back out on the water for some winter Chinook action. The forecast wasn’t looking too promising—calling for wind and rain—but we showed up anyway and were rewarded with a calm, glassy start to the day. With the conditions in our favour, we made the call to cross the Strait and hit one of our favourite spots, hoping to find some bait balls. With herring getting ready to school up for the spawn, we knew the salmon wouldn’t be far behind. The plan worked. Within minutes of dropping our gear, we were into our first fish. My new friends from Manitoba were buzzing when they saw it come up—looked like a solid one! A quick look and I knew it was just a bit too small, so we let it off the line. Now they were hooked (figuratively, of course). High fives all around, and it was time to find the big ones. It didn’t take long before Peter, the youngest in the group, saw a rod bounce and was on his feet like a pro. He reeled down, popped the clip, and set the hook solidly. “Fish On!” Then, like a true team player, he handed the rod to his buddy Adam—who was about to learn why we call mooching reels "knuckle busters." Zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz! The reel screamed. I told Adam to let it run, and just as he started to reel it in—WHACK! The reel handle smacked his knuckles hard, a not-so-subtle reminder of who was really in charge. After a quick lesson on how to palm the arbour, Adam started to get the upper hand, fighting the fish like a natural. If you don’t think three minutes is a long time, ask a boxer. When that fish finally hit the net, the look on his face was priceless—pure joy. A beautiful 21lb Chinook, and trust me, that's a great fish. It takes a mountain of a man like Adam to make that fish look medium-sized. The rest of the morning kept us busy with more Chinook landed and one particularly angry fish lost after a strong fight. All in all, an incredible day on the water—good company, plenty of action, and some well-earned sore knuckles. The winter season is quickly coming to an end so there's no better time to book your adventure. Chinook retention will most likely close March 31st so take advantage of this spring fishery and herring spawn while it lasts. See you on the water. Gear Used: -Chartreuse Flasher with G-Force No Bananas Spoon - White Hoochie with Black Onion Flasher - No Bananas Skinny G Spoon with No Bananas Flasher - Tomic Plugs - Westcoast Tackle Plugs Looking forward to the next round—bring on the big ones! ??