‘CHRISTIANA WIENS. SKEENA ROB BROWN A writer who paints he sky was pale lemon toward the ocean, and a light was on the oyster company. Stars were coming out strongly above, and Inverness glimmered from across the bay as the angler started the long row back. Settling into the rhythm of it, he glanced behind him to look at the fish, but saw first a three-quarter moon rising over the gently rolling hills to the east. In the magic, almost colourless light, the bass plinted fom the bow, its lifeless form stretched over coils of rope. He felt mutely accused and melancholy over this complicated yet unplanned death. The perfect eye, which moments earlier -had guided the fatal chase, no longer saw. But the decision was final, the memory forever etched; he had done as he would do, and in the morning would perhaps arise again before dawn to begin another day of fishing. Russell Chatham is a writer who paints, a painter who writes, in sum — as exemplified by the description of the end of a bass hunt above — his pen is a brush; he paints when he writes, © In The Angler's Coast Chatham at times waxes’ philosophic. Kicking off a chapter ‘entilled “Wading for Godot’, he writes: ' “Everything in nature is essentially inscrutable and certain elements seem to imply through a series of apexes and numinous structures hidden beneath. The grizzly may be a more public ex- ample than the peregrine falcon of ostensible vulnerability, its independence actually” requir. . ing such rigorous maintenance that man’s presence, let alone any distant hint of domesticity, can be enough to reduce the animal to extinction or else drive it more deeply into what unfrequented wilderness may be left.”” “Tt seems feasible to apply a similar principle geographically, as in the instance of Michigan’s - Upper Peninsula, where vast stands of white pine are gone and rivers are now barren of the delicate grayling. California, too, once the most abundant land in America, has suffered a muta- tion of its external face which surpasses the tragic, Its grizzly are extinct, now simply a myth recalled through clumsy silhouette em- broidered upon the stale flag. What few puma and condor remain share the desclation of Ventana wilderness and Sierra Madre, lands so precipitous and arid that man does not want them.”? California in the fourth, fifth, and sixth decades of this century, when its rivers were remnants of the Eden the place once was, is the backdrop for most of Tke Angler’s Coast. This was a lime when, as Chatham writes, ‘‘outdoor | Clothing was either brown or gray, the way it should be.’’ Chatham documents an epoch when 12 million striped bass prowled the waters off California (there are now estimated to be - about a million). He writes of the Russian River where besides catfish, large and smallmouth bass, bluegills, crappies carp suckers, bulihead, flounder, sturgeon, striped bass, salmon, an angler was likely to encounter steelhead. I say likely because thé Russian had enough steel- head in a run lasting from November to April each and every year to provide sportsmen with more fish that now retum to entire Skeena drainage. ‘In the season of 1955-56,’ writes Chatham, ‘‘[the Russian’s] population of whol- ly wild fish was substantial enough to provide a sport catch of 40,000 fish.” Foremost amongst those angters was one Bill Schaadt, who, fishing from first to last light ‘over five of those months, caught 900 steelhead on flies as sinall as size 14, fished on three- pound test tippets. In The Angiler’s Coast, Rus- ‘sell Chatham is Ishmael, and Bill Schaadt is Ahab. Chatham records Schaadt's exploits on the Eel where he became sa successful catching Chinook Salmon up to 60 pounds on fly gear he - had to resort to all kinds of subterfuge in order to lose fishers trailing him in hopes of discover- ing his secrets. The Anglers Coast takes you ta the Umpqua in Oregon and to Vancouver Island, but it is the California fishing —- for herring; for Striped Bass in the waters near Alcatraz; for King Sal- mon on the Eel; and for Shad further inland-- that the book moves from excitement to fascina- tion. As in Roderick Haig-Brown's best works, the _ Narrative of The Angler's Coast is replete with instruction, none of which detracts from the flow. There are also pictures, black and white, many slightly faded or out of focus, but all of ' them apt for a fading time. The colour and gloss in Zhe Angler's Coast is in the rhythmic prose. "The book is published by Clark City Press of Livingston, Montana. (SBN 0-944439-12-8), You "Il probably want to read -it twice. TRAINING TO BE an iron- man takes months of hardcore dedication. That means waking up ear- ly and heading to the pool, eating the proper foods, run-_- ning at lunch or after work and cycling to pump her body up to a level that can compete in one of Canada’s toughest races, But to 28-year-old Terrace resident Danielle Thomp- son, the Subam [ronman Canada’s 3.8 km swim, 180 km bike ride, and 42 km run in Pentiction is a challenge she’s been waiting to take. Thompson qualified for the World Duathlon Championships (biking and running) in Germany last year but couldn't attend be- cause she was moving here to start her job as an occupa- tional therapist at Workable on Kalum Street, And while that could be viewed as a missed op- portunity, the mild- mannered triathlete views her move here as a new be- ginning. “This is the right time to give it my best shot,”’ she found herself thinking after her nove to B.C, Thompson started swim- ming competitively as a youth in Waterloo, Ontario. When she got to the Univer- sity of Toronto's varsity swimming team she decided to vary her rouline and teach masters-level swimming at the local YMCA. Several of the~ master “2 “swiminers ran triaphlon’s 8/80" Thompson — an-avid j jogger — started running with them. She borrowed a Iriend’s wr TERRACE STANDARD.’ ~ SPORTS | She's made of iron The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, November 4, 1998 - B5 bike to enter a triathlon and was hooked, Eventually she bought her § own race bike and started hitting available training space oulside her Toronto home. She said Terrace’s loca- tion has huge advantages to her Toronto home, “The terrain is very similar with long hills as Penticton and there’s lots of roads,’> she said. “Ef can bike in any direction.’’ She said she’d face longer commutes just to get to trainable grounds, and the air here — for the most part — is a Jot cleaner. Of course, if Thompson wants ta compete in the ex- hausting race that’s less than 10 months away she’s going to have to pump up her training time. That means more swim- ming than the hour she puts in at the Terrace pool three ~ [: times a week, more weight- training at Northcoast Fit- ness and more running on treadmills when it’s raining outside and more cycling on her windjammer stationary bike. She knows she'll have to get out on the roads as soon as the snow clears next spring and she worries about keeping her body hydrated when the weather gets hot. : But what really keeps her going is a love of the sport. “It's become a lifestyle for me,’’ she said. ‘When I’m out there I just Jet my mind go, it’s almost therapeutic.” And like a true: athlete, eaten Broce: Fanaa Dee age Es ragy a ecb 638-7283 when she can’t make it to the pool or train for hours she misses it. HEADING' FOR THE BALL: Flower Power's Jody Hubbard, Mary Ann Rudolph and their team members take on Artistically Red in a match up at Cassie Hall Elementary School on Oct. 22. Hard-fought games put Oasis on top By NAOMI THIBODEAU THE TERRACE LADIES soccer league say two competitive games Tuesday, Oct. The Back Eddy Bullets took on Artistical- ly Red in the first game. Silvana Rigsby put Wuerch who broke the deadlock to give the Panthers the 1-0 win. Naomi Thibodeau has been playing soc- cer for 10 years. She moved to Terrace a year ago and plays on the Flower Power team. the Bullets ahead setting the tempo for a fast-paced game. Leanne Kennedy’s penal- ty shot gave Red the break they needed to make the final a 1-1 tie. Tn the second game of the night, Braid Jn- Terrace Women’s Indoor Soccer to Oct. 29 surance battled Flower Power. The game got off to a quick start with two goals from Braid Jnsurance’s Lianne Funk in the open- ing minutes. Flower Power fought back and tled the game in the second half with Pat Kozak’s and Jodie Hubbard’s goals. Thursday’s action saw Beginner's Luck lake on the Back Eddy Bullets. Luck came out strong and were ahead 2-0 at halftime thanks to goals from Diana Wood and Lauri Sager. In the second half the Bullets came back with a goal from Lori Kasperski but minutes later Diana Wood scored her sec- ond of the night to give Beginner's Luck their first win of the season, Later in the evening Braid Insurance took on the Purple Panthers, Both teams played hard but no one found the back of the net Tt was Michelle until late in the match. Leading goalscorers Name Goals Team Pam Kawinsky 5 Oasis Sports Shannon Mertitt 4 Purple Panthers Diana Wood 4 —_ Beginner’s Luck Julie Elwood 3. Oasis Sports Lianne Funk 3. Braid Insurance Michelle Wuerch 3. Purple Panthers Team standings Team Ww L T Pts Oasis 3 ] 0 610 Flower Power 2 Oo 2 10 AttisticallyRed 2 119 Blessings 2 2 oOo 8 Purple Panthers 1 1 2 8 Beginners’ Luck 1 2 1.7 Back Eddy Butleis 1 2-417 "Braid Insurance QO. 3.-1°5 RUNNING LIKE A CHAMPION: Thats Terrace tlathlete Danielle Thompson ~ she heads out of the King of the Mountain race this summer. Thompson was the first female to complete the August race. Sports Swimmers meet TERRACE Blueback Swim Club did as well as could be expected at the Prince Rupert Regional Invitational : swim meet Oct. 24, The team had only weeks to practice and did espe- cially well on turns and starts, said coach Mike Carlyle Friday. Medal winners include 13-year-old Jenine Barton who placed first in 100-metre fly, second in the 200- metre back, and third in the 200-metre medley. Thomas Demetzer, 13, placed first in the 100-metre and 200-metre free, and 200-metre backstroke events. - He also won three second-place finishes in the 100- metre backstroke, 50-metre free and 100-metre oy races. Several other swimmers including Greg Narzt, 17, Kyle Narzt, 15, Evan Palahicky, 12, Petra Robertson, 12, and William Shack, 12, won first-place finishes. In individual races, the Bluebacks won first in the 12- and-under and over-15 50-free relays. They also won’ the 14 and under 50 medley relay. Including relays, 42 per cent of the teams race times were faster than previous times. The meet was meant to show northwest clubs what each other could do and though the Terrace team didn't fare as well as they liked, swimmers were told technin- que, not racing would be tested. Curlers wanted GRAB YOUR broom and curling gear this winter and sign up to curl on Sundays. The Sunday Mixed Curling League is registering in- dividuals or teams for their fun curling league. ’ Beginners or experienced curlers are welcome. Con- lact Lynn Tryon at 638-2044 or the curling rink at 635- 5583 for more Information, Oldtimer’s tickets still available DON’T wait too long to get your hands on tickets for. the Oldtimer’s Hockey Challenge, says the event organizers in Vancouver. Avi Askar says every year the Kitimat event sells out, but not until closer to game day. “This is a last minute decision for a lot of people,” he said Thursday. Hockey legends Guy Lafleur and Tiger Williams will battle Kitimat’s Allstars hockey team at Tamitik Arena Thursday, Nov. 12 at 7 p.m. as part of the Oldiimers’ Hockey Challenge. The challenge is part of 60-city Nort American tour All proceeds for the Oldtimers’ Hockey Challenge go lo the Kitimat/Terrace Crimestoppers program. Single and family-of-four tickets are avaiisble now for $16 ar $48 by calling 1-800-661-0178. :