When charter boat operator Kevin Wiley invited me to join him for chinook fishing in January near his home base, Prince Rupert, I was more than a little surprised. Terrace, where I live, a two-hour drive inland, was firmly locked in deep winter. Outdoor enthusiasts, except for a few die-hard steelheaders, were focusing on skiing and snowmobiling – not fishing.

“We’ve been catching feeder springs right in the harbour for the last couple of weeks,” Wiley said. “Every time I go out, we’ve caught a couple.”

I’d heard about feeder chinook salmon fishing in the winter before, but I’d always assumed it was limited to the waters around Vancouver Island with their warmer winters. When I thought about it though, it made sense. Prince Rupert has B.C.’s most northerly ice-free harbour and winter temperatures rarely fall below freezing, so why wouldn’t it offer anglers the same opportunity?
I’ve been fishing enough times with Kevin to know that if anyone was going to be successful fishing off Prince Rupert, it would be him. The idea of getting an early start to the fishing season was beginning to grow on me, when I asked him, “What size of chinook are we talking about here, Kevin?”

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