TYEE
FISHING CLUB
"FISH DISQUALIFICATION The following acts or omissions will disqualify a catch: (...) shooting a fish." - Excerpt from the rules and regulations of the Tyee Club of British Columbia
The rules are deceptively simple. You have to catch a salmon that weighs over thirty pounds. In a specific stretch of water off the town of Campbell River on Vancouver Island. Using a maximum 20 pound test line. On an artificial lure with a single hook. And a hand operated reel. From a row boat.
Think you can fish?
Those that can gain entrance into one of the most exclusive fishing clubs in the world. You can't buy, beg or sneak in to the Tyee Club of British Columbia, you have to angle your way in. The King of Siam did it (47 pounds). So did Harpo Marx (43 pounds). The youngest member is six (39 pounds) and the oldest is 86 (44 pounds). And a good proportion of Tyee Men are women.
It all started in 1896 when Sir Richard Musgrave wrote a ripping yarn in the British magazine THE FIELD about the splendid fishing around Campbell River. Knowing his claims of catching monster salmon might be considered, er, fishy, he had a model made of a 70 pounder he had hooked. The model was displayed at Wards in Picadilly and faster than you can say "no, really, it was THIS big", Vancouver Island was established as an angler's Nirvana.
Over the years the numbers of rod-wielding hopefuls making the pilgrimage to Campbell River increased to the point of: "flooding the place with all types and conditions of fishermen". Including seals that steal the fish off your line and orcas that inhale the entire school.
Finally, in 1925, the Tyee Club (Tyee is coastal Native language for 'Chief') was formed in an attempt to "foster the ideals of sportsmanship, ethics and conservation". Charter members included the Governor General of Bermuda and Lord Astor. Sadly, the original plan of letting the person who caught the biggest fish become president had to be abandoned as impractical.
Over the next few decades, Campbell River became THE place to salmon fish on the West Coast. Bob Hope, Susan Hayward, John Wayne, Glen Ford, and our very own Dief the Tyee all tried to tame a head shaking, line breaking, thrashing pieces of lox. Many became addicted. One man from the Channel Islands caught his first Tyee in 1929. He kept coming back until he caught another. It took 56 years but in 1985, at age 73, he did it again.
The women of the Tyee Club are equally keen. Mrs. W.C. Butler from Washington State caught the biggest fish of 1934 (60 1/2 pounds). While wearing her furs. She enjoyed herself so much, she endowed the original Club House.
Some of the more serious anglers even moved to the area. Legendary magistrate, conservationist, fly-fisherman and writer, Roderick Haig-Brown, lived within feet of the Campbell.
Another local legend, past Tyee Club president Mike Gage, used to be a motor-boat-and-live-bait kind of fishing guy until he was saw the Tyee light and was converted: "it's far more fun on light tackle. You have to be gentle with the fish, you can't strong-arm it. I'm not a fish psychologist, but you do sort of start to think like them."
Even Mike, a big, strong, road construction supervisor by day, can get misty eyed at the sight of a freshly caught Tyee. Recently, while looking at a photos of a qualifying catch he murmured: "Just look at that. That's just a beautiful fish. Look at that face. What a lovely fish."
There is no doubt Campbell River loves its salmon. Unfortunately so do the rest of the world. Whereas, at one time, twenty Tyee used to be caught in a day, in 1998, only fourteen were caught all year. Studies are showing that less than 5% of returning fish are wild, the rest are hatchery. And only 1% of the hatchery fish released are managing to evade fishing boats and other predators and return.
As fish stocks started disappearing in the 70s and 80s, the Tyee Club, first under the leadership near mythic president Dr. Richard Murphy and then under Mike Gage, took the lead in local conservation efforts. They raised millions for habitat refurbishment. They closed their season early to protect spawners. They encouraged catch and release. And they work almost as a field research team for the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. All that effort is paying off. In 2002, 93 Tyee were landed.
As Mike Gage says: "we are special [here in Campbell River]. We are very leading edge when it comes to conservation and salmon enhancement." And it's a good thing too, or else the Tyee Club, and the Campbell River salmon run, would have long ago gone the way of fishing in furs.
IF YOU GO
The Tyee Club is based out of a little green club house on Tyee Spit, featuring the Official Tyee Club Weighing Station. It costs around $10 to register for the year (the fishing season is mid-August to mid-September). The money goes for conservation. The Club can supply all the equipment, including a boat and rower. You have to supply the fish. Tyee Club, P.O. Box 338, Campbell River, Vancouver Island, B.C., V9W 5B6. www.tyeeclub.org.
There is an exhibit of great Tyee Club photos (including one of Mrs. Butler, furs and all) at Painter's Lodge in Campbell River. And who can resist their display of historic lures? More to the point, they row you out in a rowboat and record your inevitable Tyee catch. Painter's Lodge, 1625 MacDonald Road, Campbell River, B.C., V9W 5C1, tel: (800) 663-7090 or (250) 598-3366. www.painterslodge.com.
You can learn more about the late Roderick Haig-Brown (and even sleep in his house and fish in his stream) by visiting the Haig-Brown House Education Centre and B&B, 2250 Campbell River Road, Campbell River, B.C., V9W 4N7. Tel: (250) 286-6646. www.heritage.gov.bc.ca.
