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[Darko]

Chinook salmon fishing has opened in the non-tidal Fraser River.

https://www-ops2.pac.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/fns-sap/index-eng.cfm?pg=view_notice&DOC_ID=265930&ID=all

well thats exciting. I got out today and finally had success. Also experienced being spooled by a chinook. I think I let my emotions overtake my head too much haha one bad fishing experience isnt always an indicator. One guy got fine for keeping a coho. Happy to see enforcement.

[Rodney]

You got spooled as in all your line ended up in the river?

[Darko]

You got spooled as in all your line ended up in the river?

yep thats why I put the sad face. Hate when stuff like that happens but it happens to the best of us. 

[Rodney]

That's terrible. I've seen a few people reporting that they got spooled. All that line in the water will be killing some birds and wildlife unfortunately.

[4x4]

That's terrible. I've seen a few people reporting that they got spooled. All that line in the water will be killing some birds and wildlife unfortunately.

It still isn't near as bad as all the line in the water from snagged up Sockeye gear.

[chille51]

That's terrible. I've seen a few people reporting that they got spooled. All that line in the water will be killing some birds and wildlife unfortunately.

I've thankfully yet to experience getting spooled, either in the river or the salt.  I've certainly had Chinook take plenty of line and have to chase them downstream a bit, but never to the point I was seeing the bottom of my spool.  Maybe I run my drag too tight, have definitely broken a few off.  Is it just plain bad luck or anything one could do to avoid it?  Seems like worst case could you not just point the rod tip straight at the fish and break it off at the leader like you would a snag, or does it happen too fast for that?  Again, I can only speculate what the options would be, not having been in the situation.

[Wiseguy]

Never ever in my entire 40 yrs fishing career have I been spooled and lost all of my line to a fish. I have chased several downstream and broken a few off before all my line was gone.

[Fish Assassin]

Never have been spooled in my life. Guess I've never caught any fish that is worthy.

[chille51]

Yeah, I figured getting spooled can't be all that common.  I guess one answer to my own question above about how to avoid it is probably to use a reel with adequate line capacity and keep it full - which I do.

[ratfish]

I have hooked a few fish in the past that have almost spooled me. Please don't take the chance of getting spooled again. Wrap your line around your reel and break the fish of when you see your down to 10 or so wraps on the spool. Your line will then break probably at the knot or close. KEEP your ROD straight pointing horizontal towards the fish so you don't damage your rod. This is what I do and have never been spooled. I have however lost alot of line a couple times when the line broke on one of my guides. Make sure your guides also don't have any grooves in them. Rod maintenance is as important as Reel maintenance.

[RalphH]

I guess how much line is on the reel to start with is an important factor. Not hard to blast a big bouncing betty 150 feet or more. If that's close to half what's on the reel getting spooled is a reel possibility.

I am a believer in reels with more than ample capacity. I am sure to fill them. I consider something in the range of 200 yards is a minimum for big strong fish.

Some suggestions; make sure your leader is at least a few lbs lighter than your mainline. If more than half your line shoots out either follow the fish downstream or stop the run either by tightening the drag or stopping the spool with your hand. Use the most strongest knot available to fix the line to the reel arbor. The so called arbor knot isn't meant to withstand that sudden yank that happens when a reel is spooled.

[Darko]

I guess how much line is on the reel to start with is an important factor. Not hard to blast a big bouncing betty 150 feet or more. If that's close to half what's on the reel getting spooled is a reel possibility.

I am a believer in reels with more than ample capacity. I am sure to fill them. I consider something in the range of 200 yards is a minimum for big strong fish.

Some suggestions; make sure your leader is at least a few lbs lighter than your mainline. If more than half your line shoots out either follow the fish downstream or stop the run either by tightening the drag or stopping the spool with your hand. Use the most strongest knot available to fix the line to the reel arbor. The so called arbor knot isn't meant to withstand that sudden yank that happens when a reel is spooled.

I still consider myself new to salmon fishing and dont have the best gear. For today I switched to a 5000 series reel gifted to me by a carp angler, incase it happened again. Luckily I didnt have to deal with it . Still got out with my limit of sockeye tho. I caught 4 sockeye total in 3 trips. I learned a lot about landing big fish and overall not a horrible experience. The fishing gets boring due to the repetitive nature but no fishing is ever that easy so not complaints. I saw conservation each time so im happy most people not following the rules have got punished. For a fishery that only occurs every 4 years and the only opportunity to catch some sockeye semi locally I would go again in the future. The fish are tasty, fight well and good size. For the rest of the salmon season I will be hitting the vedder trying to catch some chinooks and coho and maybe chum in the stave if it opens. Overall very excited for whats to come. Hopefully this rain comes sooner than later.

[Rodney]

I have just been told that the sockeye opening for the non-tidal Fraser was extended to Thursday to coincide with the chinook salmon opening. It's not super clear in the fishery notice for the chinook salmon opening, but it's open...

[santefe]

Might that opening also be for the Sandheads?

[Rodney]

Might that opening also be for the Sandheads?

No I don't think so actually. I'm trying to get specific details this afternoon.