David Wei Article

Ken Nastrom seemed unperturbed by our late start. It was two o'clock in the afternoon, and we had already missed the first heavy flush after the tide change. It was my fault for not looking at the ferry schedule. I assumed that the first sailing would be at 7:00 a.m. as it had been for a number of years. Arriving at the Horseshoe Bay Terminal at 6:30, I was shocked to learn that we had just missed the ferry. If there was a good side, we were at least first in line for the 8:30 sailing.

Ken reassured me that starting out late wouldn't make any difference. He said that if I had gotten into Campbell River at 11:00 a.m. as planned, he would have had to delay our fishing charter anyway, as the new owner of the Riptide Striker Lures, he used the two extra hours to prepare a large order of his lures for shipment back east.

The "HUMP"is a gently sloping underwater hill just south of the Cape Mudge Lighthouse on Quadra Island. The top of the hill lies at a depth of about 140 feet, and it gradually drops off into about 270 feet. Ken found the crest of the HUMP, then maneuvered the boat so he could back- troll to control our drift against the heavy tide flow of the big flood tide.

All around us, small Boston Whaler guide boats from other lodges jockeyed for position to keep their clients mooching gear relatively vertical. A few larger boats trolled around the edge of the moochers, a huge herd of seals cavorted in the tide eddies, waiting for the sound of the clicker on a reel to scream out a dinner call. Normally shy Dalls porpoises swam lazily right through the fleet, their small black dorsal fins cutting gentle wakes behind them. There was something wrong with this idyllic scene; no one was playing a fish.

The Lowrance 55A sonar showed 147 feet on the backside of the Hump. Ken asked us to drop our 6- ounce needlefish Strikers, in the latest Army Truck color, to within 10 feet of the bottom. As we drifted, the depth quickly dropped to 170 feet. Ken started up the main motor, slipped it into reverse to slow our progress, and allowed the lines to go vertical.

I lifted on the rod, then quickly lowered the tip to let the jig flutter down. A bump telegraphed its way up the T.U.F 100% Spectra superline. I pulled up hard on the rod. Something on the line pulled back, and dragged the tip of the rod back into the water. I put my thumb on the spool and drove the hooks in with a short but solid stroke. Line spilled off the reel, went slack for a split second, and spilled off again in a supercharged run.

Ken yelled only one word: "seal!" He spun the boat around and followed the fish. I frantically wound the slack line. When I felt the weight again, it didn't feel like a seal had grabbed my fish- I was sure I felt only the solid tugs and runs of a large chinook. Just to be certain, Ken kept the boat right over my fish the rest of the fight. After another ten minutes of dogged battle, Ken slipped the net around my 20-pound chinook.

Ken grunted with satisfaction as he showed me that I had driven two prongs of the barbless treble hook into the fishes mouth. We also noticed a jagged line on the tail where a seal had indeed grabbed the fish early in the fight. Lucky me, within five minutes of our very first drift Ken had set me into a trophy chinook, and there was more to come.!

Ken Nastrom is the owner of King Jigger Charters in Campbell River. While Ken will use any legitimate method to catch salmon, he believes that jigging with Riptide Striker Lures will outfish all other techniques by a seven-to-one ratio. He has such faith in the jig that he bought the Riptide Striker Company in 1997, and now manufactures the lures in Campbell River.

While my wife Suzanne and I have caught salmon on a variety of jigs, we still needed some convincing that the Striker was that much better. On our second drift, Suzanne and I each got several bumps but missed setting the hooks. The guides and their clients in the other boats were starting to look at us more closely. Most of the others hadn't even had a nibble since they started fishing hours earlier.

On the third pass, as we again drifted over the 17o-foot depth, a vicious strike almost ripped the rod out of my hands. Line peeled off the reel immediately. I only needed to put my thumb on the spool for a split second to drive the hooks in solidly. The fish suddenly turned back towards the boat, and I had to raise the rod high over my head and reel to feel it again. Ken reminded me to keep the line tight, since we were using barbless hooks.

I appreciated the walk around deck of Kens Campion Explorer. The fish came to the surface and thrashed wildly for a few seconds before racing under the bow of the boat. I plunged the tip into the water and ran forward. As the rod cleared the bow, Ken put the motor into forward and followed the fish.

The boats around us parted courteously so we could have a clear path. Standing at the bow, I was able to direct Ken, and also to indicate to the other anglers where the fish was heading. Ken wanted to keep right on top of the fish because of the seals, but had quite a time of it as my fish made one sizzling run after the other.

The tight drag took its toll. I could see the fish about ten feet down in the clear water, still swimming head-down, but only at the same speed as the boat. Its broad green back with dark spots snaked through the water.

I had to be careful now. With a big fish on a short line, one powerful sweep of its tail could sling the jig back at my head if the hooks pulled out. I eased the tension, and the fish swam to the surface on its own. When it finally rolled over, I leaned back on the rod and Ken bagged my 22-pound Oregon stubby chinook in the net.

In three drifts I had limited out. I set up another rod for Ken, and all three of us jigged to get Suzanne a fish. Each drift we would hit salmon, but couldn't keep them on long enough for Suzanne to gain control. In all we hit over a dozen salmon in less than four hours.

Ken had showed us that he doesn't just talk the talk We only noticed four other salmon being played during the time we were out, and a lot of anglers saying there were no fish. Make no mistake; Ken says there are lots of fish, and one only needs the right lure to get them to hit.

Ken asked if it would be all right for a tackle distributor rep to come out fishing with us the next day. Suzanne suggested we have a 'STAG' trip so she could sleep in, then go shopping. She bagged a beautiful ceramic serving dish, shaped like a mussel shell, from Otter Gallery, and a gift basket of soaps and bath bombs from the Bed and Bathe Shoppe. There are many fine shops to browse in Campbell River.

We had no sooner reached the Hump than Kens cell phone rang. It was Tab Baker, Manager of the local Zellers department store that was featuring Kens Lures, asking if he could still come out fishing. Tab had planned to take the day off, but an executive from head office had wanted to see the store that morning, and had just left. Ken asked me if it would be okay to take Tab out. No problemo; the more the merrier.

Twenty minutes later, we arrived back at the marina. Tab was waiting for us, still in his business suit, holding what looked like a pair of boxer shorts. Looking a bit uneasy, he mumbled something about picking up something more appropriate to wear on his way out of the store. As we raced back out to the fishing spot, Tab disappeared into the cuddy cabin. When he re-emerged, he was such a sight that Ken and I couldn't help laughing--barefoot, white dress shirt, and boxer shorts!

Tab took the teasing with good grace. Two passes after arriving at the Hump, he set into a good chinook that bent his rod over double. He admitted that he hadn't played many salmon before, and we reminded him to keep the rod up, wind in the slack, let the fish run, and so on. After about five minutes of playing the fish, with Ken and me giving him advice, Tab got the hang of it.

Just in time! Tab's fish suddenly got very active. It peeled off line at will. Ken chased the fish through the pack of boats, then hovered over it when it sounded, Tab did the pump-and-wind to slowly work back some of the line. The fish kept swimming under the boat, so Tab also had to go from one side of the boat to the other, occasionally sticking his rod deep into the water to clear the prop. Just when we could see the fish under the boat, it would streak off again.

As the fishs runs got shorter, a sheen of perspiration on Tab's face showed how hard he had been working. He really wanted this fish. A final desperate splashing and rolling on the surface gave Tab some worrisome moments just before Ken netted the lovely 20-pounder - Tab's biggest so trophy so far!

The cell phone rang again just after I finished taking photos of Tab and his prize. It was Scott Makway, Representative for Maurice Sporting goods, the other guest Ken had hoped to take fishing. Scott wanted to see how well Riptide Strikers would work before recommending them to his company for distribution across Canada and the U.S.A in Large chains like Walmart as well as Zellers. He was in Courtney, about a half hour south of Campbell River, on his way up. Could he still join us? We picked Scott up at Big Rock Boat Launch, just west of where we were fishing.

Within minutes of fishing again, I missed a strike and Scott slammed into a feisty 18-pounder. The Strikers were working well. Ten minutes Later, Tab had his limit with a nice 15-pounder. A final 11-pounder from Scott and it was time to go.

While Scott and Tab were hooking their strikes, Ken and I had a number of hits, but none stayed on. I learned very quickly that salmon hit on the downstroke, when it was harder to get a hookset. Dogfish, on the other hand, are often hooked on the upstroke, and are on almost instantly if one happens to snag a needlefish on the bottom. The guys all laughed as I became dogfish champ. I was staying in the shark zone because I wanted Halibut, Only a few days before we arrived, one of Ken,s quests landed a 70-pound Hali right where we were fishing. All the salmon that we had landed were stuffed with Needlefish. The Army Truck color on the jig resembled the actual coloration of a real needlefish. No wonder these new Strikers are so effective.

Ken convincingly showed us that if there are salmon around, his Striker jigs are a very effective way to catch them. Each time we went out, we had at least a dozen salmon hit our Striker jigs when many of the other boats around us weren't even getting even a single strike.

Ken offers fully guided fishing and sightseeing charters in Campbell River, and can arrange for accommodations. He also has fully guided fishing on the American Plan when he fishes Nootka Sound out of Tahsis. Ken enjoys taking kids fishing, and his family charters have a substancial discount for children. Riptide Striker Lures are sold in most tackle shops, notably at Nikka, Zellers and Walmart. Ken makes six sizes of Strikers, from one to seven ounces, in a myriad of colors that can match whatever feed is present.

The line-counter reel, when used in conjunction with Sonar, is especially effective to drop a jig just above or bellow bait balls, to within 10 feet of the bottom, or right above a hovering salmon.

Ken Nastrom can be reached by phone at 1-888-910-2288: by FAX 250-923-3340; or by e-mail at nastrom@island.net His wife Danita Nastrom, has created a wonderful and informative website at