Salmon Come Home

Teeter totter break...

The chum blend in VERY well with the creek stones but there were about 7 different fish in these photos. The males cluster around the females as they swim upstream, stopping here and there underneath a low branch to make little resting places for eggs. The sperm come out in a bright white cloud underwater and the female is fought over by males of varying ages. The real old and tired ones generally die along the way and later on in the season we will smell their dead carcasses along the edges of the creekbed. Watching the salmon make their journey is actually quite eventful and fun, however slow going. You can stand in one portion of the creek for an hour or more as they move up and then slide back down, then move up and then tussle or jump and then slide back down.