Yumi and I lucked into spotting one returning chum spawner in Byrne Creek today at around 12:30.
We were standing at the side of the creek just downstream of the wooden footbridge in the ravine when she (Yumi insists it was a girl) came zooming up the creek in an energetic sprint through the riffles.
She then disappeared into the deeper, murky water beneath the bridge and we didn't see her again.
It's not uncommon to see a male not far behind, and while we continued to watch for about 10-15 minutes we didn't see any suitors in pursuit.
We checked the rest of the creek fairly carefully as far down as Byrne Bridge, however it was too deep and murky in most places to see anything.
It was raining steadily the whole time. The sediement pond in the habitat was slightly overflowing, and the water temperature at the lower end was 12.5C, and beneath the footbridge it was 12C. Air temperature was 10C.
Last year the first returning spawning chum salmon were spotted on Oct. 18, so today's result was very consistent.
Posted by Paul at October 17, 2004 04:48 PM