Jim Gilbert and Saanich Inlet

This first shot is Jimmy at 4 months. The fish beside him, a 53 pound Chinook, was the largest salmon taken in the Inlet, in 1932. When you are beside fish this big when you are small, little wonder that you would grow up wanting to catch them. (Image 633)

 

And not so many years later, Jim, around 12, winning the youth derby with a hefty chinook of his own. The tackle box was a prize. (Image 681)

Jim as a young man with a brace of Saanich Inlet chinook, and perhaps a blueback or two (grilse coho). Please note that the salmon with black mouths are chinook, one of the identifying marks of the species.

And a classic shot at Mouse Beach on the Nahmint River estuary, Alberni Inlet. Jim is in the middle, near the camera flash. You will note how many chinook were taken in a morning's fish, something that no longer happens, as DFO has not maintained runs as they should have. The river mouth was a good opportunity as the Nahmint was one of the few basins where legitimate 50 pound chinook were taken regularly. (Image 584)

Many more images to come.