A Very Friendly Salmon

I'd heard that there were spawning salmon in Chuckanut Creek. Since I hadn't yet seen any this year, I resolved to go there this weekend. It was still overcast today, but it wasn't raining, so I decided to go.

By the time I figured out how to access the creek it was quite dark under the trees, and it took me a while to locate any fish. Most of the salmon had already spawned -- some had already died, and I could smell the distinctive aroma of rotting carcasses. I did see some fish spawning, but they were beyond the reach of my lens. My zoom lens was too slow to get any decent images of the more active fish in the rapid current, although my attempts produced a few abstract-looking shots.

I was ready to give up and head for home, when a strange thing happened. A salmon swam right up to the edge of the creek very close to me. I could have bent over and touched it. But the strangest thing was that it stayed there for over five minutes, as if it wanted to be photographed. I was happy to oblige.

I hope this salmon produces equally photogenic progeny.