I love fall king salmon fishing. The epic takedowns you get on Kwikfish; the autumn colors along the river; the crisp nights and warm days; the bobber downs, big head shakes and long runs. There’s nothing quite like it. Just imagine sitting there…watching the river go by…and then THUNK…PUMP…PUMP! Your rod tip gets jerked down several times. Hard. At first, you’re taken aback by the violent nature of the act. The strike is about as subtle as a slap across the face with a wet hand on a 32-degree day and you sit there, momentarily stunned.
You rod continues to buck wildly. If you sit there dazed and out of it any longer, the monster’s going to get away. But, a little voice in the back of your head starts getting through. Pal…hey buddy…youhoo…
WAKE UP!!
You snap to and rear back mightily on the rod. The hook set is true and you can feel the beast surge downriver like a loaded Southern Pacific headed down the Colfax Grade. You try to slow the fish’s streaking run by putting pressure on the rapidly-revolving spool with your thumb. SSSSSSSINGE!! You jerk your hand away from the reel like you’d touched an electric fence. Don’t worry — the pain will go away…in about week. No time to suck that thumb now, though — you’ve gotta hang on for dear life.
Only moments ago, you were being lured into a drowsy-God-ain’t-this-the-greatest-way-to-spend-a-day sleep by the gentle rocking of the boat, but now — now, your heart is pumping at light speed like you just downed a double espresso and chased it with a Jolt Cola.
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