Us Kids used to lie on our stomaches in Ellis creek and slowly, very slowly, ease out into the current till we were surrounded by Spawning Kokanee. You'd select the biggest brightest Male you could see and gently run your hand under its belly down to its tail then grasp its tail as tight as you could and huck it ashore. Then We'd get the heck out of there because the run is in the late fall and that water was really really cold. When we all had a fish or two ( about 2-3 lbs each ) We'd dry off by a huge bonfire and then when dry we'd ride our bikes home to the accolades of our parents.
Kokanee are landlocked salmon and tasty as all get out.
Ps. A conservation officer once pointed it out to us that believe it or don't it is now illegal in BC to catch a fish with your hands as that is not one of the recognised methods of angling according to the regulations.
The bonfire is now also illegal a the creek is inside the city limits.
I was taught how to properly catch fish that way by an old native gentleman that I met while perfecting the method myself. Prior to him teaching us we'd just try to grab the tail or the head. He taught us that by stroking the belly the fish seem to go into a kind of stupor and are easier to grab.
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