Fishing Downtown

It was a beautiful sunny day -- a very welcome change from the storms of the last few days. After taking a Trooper-load of stuff to the thrift store in the afternoon, I stopped in downtown Bellingham to watch these people fishing for chum salmon in Whatcom Creek. The fish are reared in a hatchery to the left of where I stood to take the photo, and the hatchery fish ladder is just downstream. This shoulder to shoulder fishing is sometimes referred to as combat fishing. It's even more crowded at the weekend -- not my idea of fun.

I saw a half dozen fish caught in about 45 minutes. A few were foul-hooked and, as required by the fishing regulations, were placed in the hatchery holding pond. The white-haired gent on the opposite bank was one of the successful anglers. You can see a photo of him with his catch, and a few other photos, by clicking here.