The big hen Chinook and the hundred-odd salmon around her had beaten the odds. The kings had been on the move for four years and had effectively avoided the seals, sharks and killer whales that wished to make them their next meal. Now the hen, bloated with roe, was on the final leg of her journey, instinctively pushed along the coastline toward her natal river.

Spawning would come soon enough. For now the hen focused on eating as much as possible before reaching fresh water. Dark water and overcast skies gave the hen and her cohorts perfect concealment as they cruised 35 feet below the surface along a drop-off that plunged into 200 feet of water.

Periodically, masses of bait passed above the salmon. Even though she couldn't see them in the dark water, the big hen was aware of them. She could sense the rhythmic vibrations of their tails and knew they were healthy and agile.

Suddenly she sensed the erratic spasmodic vibrations that betrayed a baitfish in distress. Bolting upward in a race against the other salmon, she used her senses to home in on the vibrations. She closed the distance and finally caught sight of an anchovy pulsing and rotating through the water, unable to stay upright. With a final surge of power she snatched the anchovy by the tail and instantly felt the cold steel of an angler's hook as it passed through the corner of her mouth.

That angler's hook was no mistake. It was the product of much tinkering.

For many years, anglers targeted salmon using primitive gear. They trolled over fathom lines, blindly pulling flashers, dodgers and other rigs through somewhat productive areas, finding salmon through trial and error, while watching for color changes in the water and working birds. For bait they used anchovies and herring in combination with heavy weights.

During the '70s the availability of sonar units and downriggers began to rapidly change the face of salmon fishing. With sonar it became possible to pinpoint the depth at which the salmon and baitfish were holding. Then, using a downrigger, it was simply a matter of placing bait at that exact depth.

By the '80s the use of sonar and downriggers had become commonplace, and for a time the evolution of salmon fishing gear slowed. Today's pioneers in the sport, using modern technology and sound scientific observations concerning the physiology and behavior of salmon, have sparked yet another revolution in targeting Pacific Coast salmon.