run . They have long quit feeding , but can be goaded into striking out of habit and short-tempered aggravation .
The estuary is at the north end of the town of Campbell River and has been fished by European descendents for more than a century with both proper English civility and pinchfisted rewards . It ’ s a rigid , tough fishery and the odds are against us all , even the local experts , which for Tyee pool faithfuls like Dwayne Mustard only sweetens the challenge .
This coveted edge of the Inside Pass has been both celebrated and critical to international sportfishing and important in securing support for salmon conservation that such recognition generates . Evidence is the yellowing photos and magnificent fish framed and hung on the walls of Painter ’ s Lodge , the archives in Campbell River Museum , or the 168 pages of history , photos , records and explanation in the trim little 80th Anniversary Edition year book of The Tyee Club of British Columbia .
Hollywood fished here . Goldie Hawn , Susan Hayward , Bob Hope … the list goes on . Hero John Wayne tried and was bested by the fish , then covertly stood for a classic hero photo : The Duke proud and posed — with someone else ’ s trophy Tyee . Action actor Glenn Ford became addicted to the challenge of these prestigious Chinook and pursued them on near-religious annual pilgrimages .
U . S . presidents , assorted foreign kings , princes , dukes and tag-along-royalty traveled huge distances to rule these salmon . Few could . In 1919 author / sportsman Zane Grey turned his back to a hot swordfish bite at Catalina Island and traveled — train , steamship , truck wagon and canoe — to tempt these Vancouver Island kings from cedar dugouts . A barfly complained into his beer , “ fished out . Net boats have ruined it .” Grey ignored the pessimism , caught several 30-pounders and lost a 50-pounder near the gaff .
Tyees , he wrote , “ will call forth all the excitement , skill and work any angler could ask .”
Itinerant fish bums and the wellheeled famous — all are equalized by the snobbish slabs in the cold green over the shifting pea gravel south of the mouth of Campbell River . We ’ ve paid our $ 20 to have a Tyee , if we have a Tyee , recorded by the resident weighmaster in the permanent annals of the Tyee Club .
Operating from the small red building above the pool the 90-year-old club holds the keys , provides a weighmaster , keeps the records , lays down the law , lobbies the regulators and guides the tyee traditions . Placards with the weights of the season and day ’ s top fish are posted in huge block numerals that motivate the pool . Successful anglers are permitted to toll the large bell in the cradle along the walkway ; one ring for every 10 pounds of weight . The clarion gong is audible to the fleet of Tyee hopefuls rigid in tippy varnish-andbrass , leather-and-wood rowing old school plugs and forged spoons with righteous traditions and butterflies of optimism .
Kings and bums , we are all bound by the same rules of ‘ no ’, as in no motors , no gaffs , spears , trebles , doubles or barbed hooks , natural baits , jigs , spinners or still-fishing ; no anchoring , electronics , reels with slip clutches or rods less than six feet or longer than nine .
The permitted is a short list : Sliding sinkers , single barbless hooks and synthetic lines of 26 ¼-pound test or less are approved and leaders are optional .
A Tyee , no matter how staggeringly magnificent , may win international record acclaim , but will be disqualified by the Tyee Club if : The angler ’ s rod breaks , the fish is hand-lined , rod or reel touched by anyone other than the angler , or if the fish is mutilated by sharks , seals or other . There shall be no , “ shooting of fish , throwing a gaff before the leader is within reach , or using a lily iron , harpoon , lance or gaff with a handle longer than four feet .”
It ’ s not a rule but custom declares that hookups shout , “ Fish On ,” and surrounding boats part and the row is maneuvered out of the fleet and into the Inside Pass to be played .
Twice on our first evening row
Elvon Musik with his catch of two fish , both caught on the Campbell .
between 6 p . m . and the full dark at 9:15 p . m . we heard that shout , watched the boats fade into the evening mist and later heard the Tyee Bell toll six times for two tyees in the 30-to 40-pound range .
Mini-outboards , mostly 2 to 5 horse , are cocked up on the narrow transoms of the fishing rowboats . Props are out of water while fishing . The little motors are a concession to distance , winds and safety and are used only to get us here and back . It is a sin ( and a violation of the Canada Shipping Act ) for an outboard to sully the hallowed tyee row water .
Mr . Mustard dips the oars , artistic Sitka spruce creations , steamed and carved with spoon-faced blades . Our rowboat is a delicately balanced classic lapstrake , narrow and tippy enough that we ’ ve been politely warned not to wiggle and commanded not to stand . There is scarcely two inches of freeboard at the stern .
Natalie and I sit rigid as totems ,
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