B6 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, May 7, 1997

DAVE TAYLOR

-SKEENA ANGL
ROB BROWN

A mighty minnow
1S the season, so. here are this
year’s brief thoughts on fry tying
and fry fishing. Fry wriggle out of
their gravel incubators in Spring.

Usually the first wave of sparkling humpback
young are out and about when the willows arc
budding and the woods are full fragrance.

There are other forage fish in the rivers before
the salmon juveniles come on stream. And there
-are trout out after them. The fact that they blend
into their environs so well leaves the impression
that sculpins are scarce. In fact, as I found out
after a day of trapping, they are everywhere in |
the Lakelse, and, I suspect, quite abundant in
other places, Every snare I set to sample
Lakelse fish came up plugged with brown |
mottled bullheads, some were as small as the
baby finger of a baby, others were the size of a
newly born kitten.

Only the mouth of a large mouth bass or pug-
nacious pike can accommodate a large sculpin. I
doubt whether trout bother with the smaller
ones, Besides, without split shot, or a fly so
heavily weighted casting it will put you at risk,
it’s impossible to impersonate fish that walk’
along river bottoms on their pecs.

Stickleback are another matter. Fat feisty’
mates — blue, green, and red when they are in!
the rut — can be found in many of our rivers:
and ponds. There are times: when a fraudulent
stickler will brighten up an otherwise drab day’s
fishing.

With something in the order of a million pink
salmon running into it each summer, the
Lakelse River hosts the largest run of junior
bumpies in the lower Skeena.

The peak migration of Lakelse humpback fry
tends to coincide with the greening of the.
deciduous strips on Terrace Mountain, though
the first fry are in the system earlier than that.
En masse these little fishes drive cutthroat,’
whitefish, steelhead smolis and char to forget
their water table manners and indulge in orgies
of ravenous feeding that would make Caligula
blush.

This — though the notion is likely to make a
dry fly man shudder — is the first important
hatch of the year.

When moving seaward, schools of young
pinks flash with an astonishing brightness.
Those silvered underwater winks are a tip off to
trout. Thus, almost anything silver, swimmming
about in the current will draw some action.

When it comcs to aping pink fry the Silver
Minnow is as good as any other pattem except
that after being chewed by few needle toothed
cutthroat the pattem is sure to come unraveled.

Many fishers believe that shredded minnows
— having more reflective facets in that dis-
heveled state — are more alluring to trout. This
is probably truc, but Silver Minnows lure as

_many, if not more, wee trout as they do big

‘ones. The teeth on the tads are every bit as sharp
as those of their elders. After six 6-inchers
many an angler has discovered only the skeletal
Temains of his minnow dangling from the end of
his tippet. For this reason I use an armoured
minnow, a hybrid amalgam of Murray’s Rolled
Muddler and the Silver Minnow,

To tie this durable fly you'll need a Tiemco
200 in a size 8 or 10. These Japanese irons are
elegant machines that make an ideal backbone
fora minnow. Cover the shank of the hook with
hot orange thread then lash a few — and I mean
a few for this lure is anorexic when tied proper-
ly — fibres of barred mallard,

Next tie in a suitable length of clear vinyl lace
at the front of the fly then wind the thread over
it, pulling the material as you proceed to a point
above where the barb used to be before you Hat-
tened it. This vinyl lace is sold on spools. Buy
the smallest size, and make sure the flat side is
next to the hook when you lie it in. Now
advance the thread to the front, take a length of
flat mylar tinsel, also small, tie it in so the silver
side will show when you wind it backward then
back over itself before tying it off.

Wind the vinyl forward with snug tums then
tie it off and trim the tag end. Dub a smail band
of scarlet seal fur as a gili, then nick the centre

‘from a symmetrical pearl mallard feather and tie
it tent style over the top. Finally take a pinch of
deer hair and cinch it down at the head of the fly
so it flares. Don’t let it spin. Finish off the head,
apply some cement, and behold the
Scotchman’s dream, an indestructible minnow,

Ali you need to do now is figure the best way
to fish it given the Infinite permutations of light,
water temperature, stream flow, and other even
more mysterious ecological dynamics.

TERRACE STANDARD

SPORTS.

Ac

IF THE sound of a tennis ball hitting the sweet spot on
your racket makes you smile, then you should check out

the Terrace tennis club,

The club is getting ready for an active summer with its
first tournament lined up for the May long weekend. This
is a closed tournament, with singles, doubles, and mixed
doubles options, and it takes place at the Halliwell court.

Tt will be good practice for the B.C. Summer Games
qualifier toumament, being held on May 31 at the same

courts, This is open to anyone.

The next tournament is being held at Lakelse Lake June
21. It’s open to other tennis club members in the region.

Tennis club president Bill Redpath says the club is open
to players of every level, except complete beginners.

‘**A lot of people are hesitant to join,”’
they shouldn’t be. There’s a good range of players in the

club, from novice to expert.

There are about 50 players in the club, and it costs $60 to
join. Club fees in the past have been used to upgrade
courts and nets, and also go towards BBQs held at most

tournaments.

Members of the tennis club are also eligible to take Ies-

sons at a discounted rate.

Lessons have also started for kids under the age of 16.
Called Junior Volleys, the program just started and runs till
the end of June. Any student can join and there’s a small

fee.

If you’re interested, call Ada Sarsiat at 635-9695.

And if you'd like to check out the tennis club, they mect
Tuesday, Thursday and Sunday nights, after 6 p.m. at the
Hailiwell courts. You don’t need a partner, as one will

likely be provided for you,

Committed

to fitness

A LOCAL woman will use a provin-
cial fitness championship as a spring-
board to a national event this Septem-
ber in Montreal.

Bernadine Drake, 25, took first
place at the B.C. Fitness
Championships two weekends ago in
Bumaby.

Trina Mateus, 19, also from Terrace,
placed fourth in the event.

Fitness championships — based on
poise, body symmetry, strength,
flexibility, coordination, choreogra-
phy, cardiovascular endurance, stage
presence and attire -— are relatively
new to the Canadian scene,

Choreographer Laurie Monture said
the sirong showings by Drake and
Mateus point to their commitment and
training.

Drake competed last year at the
first-ever nationals when’ it was an
open event designed to attract interest.

This time, though, those going to the
nationals have to place in the top three
of provincial ones.

Drake will be able to ease back on
her training for a month or so but will
soon be back in the gym honing her
skills for the Sept. 6 national chal-
lenge.

‘YT know it’s going to gct tougher
every year,’’ said Drake last week
after returning from Burnaby. ‘‘The

“This isn’t a beauty pageant,

This is about overall fitness,”

comments backstage were that our
provinclals were very strong in com-
rison to the nationals.”
“TI know the farther you climb, the
tougher it gets,”

he ‘says, adding

PROVINCIAL FITNESS champion Bernadine Drake hopes to do well at

the Nationals this fall, This will be her second time at the competition.

She said those curious about the
sport shouldn’t regard it as the search
for a body beautiful,

“This isn’t a beauty pageant. This is
about overall fitness,’’ Drake con-
tinued.

Thai commitment to fitness extends
to diet and to keeping exact records of
what Drake eats,

‘Every person's diet is different ac-
cording to. their body type,” says
Drake.

Drake has ambitions to turn her in-
volvement into a profession, but says
that shouldn't happen at the expense
of the enjoyment of what she does,

“You need to remember who you

-are and to stay in focus,’’ she adds.

Drake is also scheduled to appear in
at least one magazine connected to fit-
ness.

A photographer from Muscle Mag
spent two and a half hours in a photo
session with Drake at the provincials.

638-7283

A run for
charity

SKEENA STUDENTS
raised over $1,600 in a milk
run held April 23.

The money will go
towards the B.C. Epilepsy
Society and the B.C. Sport
and Fitness Council for the
disabled.

Runners and walkers did a
3km loop in the horseshoe
area,

The top time was won by
Nathan Northridge, who did
the loop in 12 minutes and
three seconds. Second place
went to Tyrel Hill, who was
just 12 seconds behind
Northridge,

Heather Kelly and Clair
Marinis were the first girls
past the finish line in a time
of 14 minutes and 15 sec-
onds.

They beat out the top

teacher at Skeena, Terry

Zilkie, who ran the loop in
15 minutes, ten seconds.

Skeena held another kind
of competition — to see
which class could raise the
most money. G-Block won
the honour, and for their ef-
forts got to devour pizzas
made by the foods class,
They raised money by a
number of methods, includ-
ing a bake sale and ice-
cTeam cone sales,

Three of the French
classes also did well, raising
about $300 each.

The foods class was also
busy making decorative
cakes for a cake auction.
Teachers and students bid
about $150 in total,