Bret Stuart, of 24/7 Guide Service, is dialed in to McKenzie springers. Here he prepares to release a wild fish. Photo by Scott Haugen.

As darkness gave way to morning light, we could finally see well enough to secure a fresh cluster of cured eggs onto our hooks. In the hole where we sat, the first few casts of a day had always seemed the most productive, so Dad and I waited with eager anticipation. We'd launched our drift boat three hours before legal fishing light, hoping to be the first ones to the hole. Our efforts paid off.

Dad was first to hook a hard-fighting salmon, as is typically the case. Back-bouncing eggs down the side of a rock ledge, the way he's been doing in this hole for nearly the past half-century, Dad put a fish in the box on his second cast. Three casts later, I had my first Chinook, a wild fish that required release.

Within an hour we'd land five fish in that hole. Three were fin-clipped keepers. The smallest weighed 13 pounds, the largest one 24, about the norm for this river. To round out our limit we'd pull anchor and drift downstream, me on the oars, Dad pumping the rod, back-bouncing as we went. By 9 a.m. we had our limit of spring Chinook -- and fulfilled the needs of the TV show we were shooting. The best part is that the action stayed like this for several days.

At the take-out, we met up with good friend and noted McKenzie River guide Bret Stuart of 24/7 Guide Service (at 541-521-4694). His two clients landed 14 fish before tagging their keepers, and the day before that, he'd hooked into 16 Chinook. For those who love springer fishing, the McKenzie River has been the place to be over the past few seasons, and this year looks to be promising as well.

Renowned for its native rainbows and hard-fighting steelhead, the McKenzie has long enjoyed a run of spring Chinook. Both my grandfathers began fishing this river in the 1930s, and today the family is still catching fish, many in the same holes where our ancestors found success.

Born of Cascade Range glaciers, snow fields and mountain tributaries, the hub of spring Chinook fishing on the McKenzie lies 24 miles east of the city of Springfield. Traveling along Interstate-5, take exit 194A on to I-105, which heads east, bisecting Springfield. Follow the road signs up scenic Highway 126 and soon you'll pass through the tiny town of Leaburg. A few miles later, at Leaburg Dam, turn right and cross the McKenzie River.

Crossing Leaburg Dam puts you on the east bank of the river, at Leaburg Fish Hatchery. Though a number of springers make it over the dam, these fish are rarely pursued that high in the system, simply because they spread out too much. Fact is, most of the fish hang below the dam, thanks to ideal holding water, perfect spawning habitat and a salmon hatchery located a few miles downstream from the dam.