The Adams Lake Salmon Run

“Fawn,” said Spot. “Mr. and Mrs. Hansen want to go for a drive today and they want to know if you and I want to go with them.”

“Sure,” said Fawn. “Where are we going to go?”

“We are going to Adams Lake,” said Spot. “Apparently there is something there that is very interesting. They won’t tell me what it is. They want it to be a surprise.”

“Adams Lake,” said Fawn. “That name rings a bell. I’ve read something about that place in the newspaper.”

“Yeah me too,” said Spot. “But I can’t remember what?”

Fawn and Spot went with Mr. and Mrs. Hansen to Adams Lake. As soon as they drove through Chase, BC, Fawn and Spot both remembered what it was they had read about Adams Lake because there were road signs every two seconds pointing the way to the Adams Lake salmon run.

“We’re going see the salmon,” said Fawn and Spot, happily.

Being from Ontario they had only seen a salmon run once and it was chinook salmon. They had never seen sockeye salmon and they were in for a real treat. Adams Lake, BC is the sockeye salmon spawning grounds and this, the fourth year of the salmon’s cycle, is supposed to have a couple of million salmon.

“Oh my!” exclaimed Fawn, holding his nose as they walked toward the area where the salmon are. “What is that smell?”

“That smell,” said Mr. Hansen. “Is the smell of dead salmon.”

“But,” said Fawn. “I thought we were coming here to see live salmon. I don’t want to see salmon that are already dead.”

“Just put up with the smell a few seconds longer,” said Mrs. Hansen.

“Oh my!” exclaimed Fawn, looking down into the deep river water. “Look at all that salmon!”

“Yes,” said Spot, taking a look too. “There are so many of them and look how big they are!”

Fawn and Spot had a wonderful time watching the salmon in the river. The salmon were bright red in colour and they had dark green mouths.

“Oh look,” said Fawn, pointing to a dead salmon in the river. “How come that one is dead?”

“If you take a good look around you,” said Mr. Hansen. “You will see lots of dead salmon.”

Mr. Hansen explained to Fawn how the salmon were actually born in that very spot four years ago and how every year they return to that spot. He explained to him how the salmon return to the river and spawn or lay their eggs and then die.

“Is that really fair to the salmon?” asked Fawn.

“No,” said Mr. Hansen. “It isn’t fair, but that is how the salmon live and that is how they have lived since the days of the ice age.”

Fawn and Spot learned a lot about salmon that day and they also learned that they should appreciate life and what they have.