Fish Watching

Visitors to the Bella Coola Valley in late July and August are often suprised to see the streams full of live and dead chum and pink salmon, all in the peak of spawning activity.  "It seems early" is the comment often heard, but a general rule for salmon spawning on the Pacific Coast of North America is that the earliest spawners in Alaska start in June (Bristol Bay Sockeye) and as you go south the spawning slides later into the season, with the Central Coast where we are at being about mid summer.  As you get south into southern BC and Washington the pink and chum salmon go on into October.  It's all based on the shorter seasonal opportunities in the north of suitable water and weather conditions.
 

We had a bit of change in weather today, with some needed light rain starting mid day, giving the valley a nice light soaking which will help to lower the forest fire hazard.  It's supposed to get hot again after that.  Grizzly