B6 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, May 6, 1998 - SKEENA ANGLER. | ROB BROWN Chinook warm anglers’ souls N ALASKA the spring salmon is king. Scientists formally refer to him as Onchorhynchus Tshawyischa, which is a mouthful, to be sure, but unofficially they, like most of us, probably refer to the largest of Pacific sglmons as chinook. The name Chinook comes from the Tsinuk, a group of native tribes that once fished the heavy waters of the mighty Columbia. The tribe also Shared their name with the anomalous wind that sweeps up the river valleys of the norihwest filing them with warm air in cold seasons. Here, in the valleys of the Skeena, chinook is the right name for the strong silver fish with black jaws that sweep upriver in April warming the souls of anglers. The Kitsumkalum is ong of the few rivers on the coast that hosts these highly prized early run chinook. Sadjy, not much is known about them, except that their numbers are declining. Since they move into the system before the commencement of the ‘summer fishery at the mouth of the Skeena thé spring chinook of the Kalum dodge that particular hazard, but are there others? Are they taken in troll fisheries or Alaska _ net fisheries? Is their decline due to dramatic changes in the ocean’s environment? Are the fish in trouble because of sportfishing predation? A 1995 study conducted jointly by The Terrace Salnonid Enhancement Society, LGL Environ- mental Consultants and the North Coast Division of the Federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans went a long way, toward addressing the last question and revealed some other valuable in- formation about the mysterious peregrinations of the early returning Kalum River chinook. Fisheries scientists have been implanting radio transmitters in steelhead for over two decades now, Over the course of these programs steelhead have shown they are an exceptionally hardy breed. Only a very small percentage of radio lagged steelhead succumbed before spawning. Some fish survived after being hooked and landed a number of times. One particularly robust specimen returned ta sea with a radio transmitter filling most of its stomach, gained a few pounds, and retuned to be caught and killed the next sea- son, The ability of steelhead — a primitive hard- headed breed — to withstand abuse has been well known for some time, The odds of survival for a chinook caught then released were assumed poor, possibly because they fought so long and hard when booked by sportsmen. The Kalum study proved otherwise, Locals Stan Doll and Gordon McDonald, both experienced chinook anglers, oversaw a crew of thirty volunteer fishermen From April 18 to June 25 fifty-four chinook salmon were angled using bait and conventional gear. Once landed the chinook were then lifted from the water and placed in a foam-lined, water-filled box shaped like a ¥ to facilitate the tagging. While one worker held. the fish another crew member pushed the radio down the fish’s maw with a metal probe far enough to minimize the chance of regurgitation. This accomplished, the taggers then punched two metal tags into the” operculum, or gill plate, of the fish. After measur- ing the length of the fish from fork of tail to tip of nose, determining its sex, removing a few scales for later analysis, and clipping part of the fish's adipose fin, the antenna protruding from the sal- mon’s mouth was bent so that it could trail safely alongside the side of the fish. The entire operation took about two minutes, If, - after all this handling in an alien environment, the specimen looked particularly stressed, or was bleeding, it was held in a tube until it had recovered before being released. Once on its way, packing its unique frequency,” the chinook was then tracked by boatbarne, air- bore, foot-borne, truck-bome and stationary | receivers. At the end of the run ground crews scoured the spawning locations for the carcasses of tagged fish. There were some surprises during the Kalum lagging program. One chinook tagged in the Kalum wound up some two hundred or more -. miles upstream at the fisheries fence on the upper’ Babine River. Another chinook tagged in the lower Kalum was captured alive, but thinner, by a gillnetter at the mouth of the Skeena. The most interesting data generated by the Kalum radio telemetry experiment was the fact that of the fifty-four chinook tagged only four could not be located at the end of the program. Even if we assume these four animals died as a result of the tagging (which is by no means certain) and ignore the fact that they endured ex- traordinarily rough handling, the mortality rate was 8 percent. This suggests that catch and release may be a viable option for 4 chinook sportfishery. TERRACE STANDARD wa. SPORTS wx Ultimate offers fast fun Growing sport draws legions of devout followers IT’S THE fastest-growing sport in the world, but one of the simplest to play. You don’t need expensive equipment or fancy facilities. You just need some cleats, a field and a frisbee, It’s called ultimate, and the reason so many people are flocking to the sport is partly because of that simplicity. Heck, you don’t even necd a referee. Ultimate is cheap, exciting, and a great workout. Just ask any of the 15-30 people who tum out to play in Terrace every Sunday afternoon of Wednesday and Friday evenings. “It’s a combination of the physical aspects, the energy and the skills involved,’’ enthusiast Dan Kovac explains. ‘‘But the biggest thing is the emphasis on sportsmanship above all else,”’ Kovac explains that all ultimate matches are selErefereed, even at the World Championships. If someoue steps out of bounds or fouls anolher player, one of the players is supposed to call it. ‘You don’t argue about the calls and you never berate the other players. “Tf you lose your temper you'll get a thrash- ing from your own team,’” Kovac says. ‘'To. truly play ultimate you can’t cheat, otherwise you aren’t playing ultimate.’’ The rules of the game are pretty simple. The playing area consists of a 70 metre ficld with two 25 metre end zones at each end. A team advances up the field by passing the disc between players — running with the disc is forbidden. Each player has 10 seconds to make a pass, Defending players cannot touch the dise holder, but can stand a disc-width away to try to- black a pass. The defending team goes on the offense if the disc is intercepted or if a pass is incomplete. One point is scored whenever a team member catches the disc in the opposing team’s end zone, Games are usually played to 13 or 15° poiuts, There are various strategies to help the of-. fensive team move up the field, but mosily it in- volves a Jot of running and quick footwork to get away from defenders. JUMP DISC: Dan Kovac leaps over a de- fender to make a catch. GYMNASTICS Peaks land in top spot TIGHT DEFENSE: Body contact isn't allowed in the fast-growing sport of ultimate set eS defenders can get within a disc-width of the offensive players to block a pass. The action is fast and furious as players burst down the field to go for a long pass, leap over their defenders to make a catch or dive to inter- cept a pass. “It’s an incredible workout,’” Kovac says. ‘‘I think even more than soccer,” As players become more skilled, they learn different types of passes including the forehand, backhand, ‘‘air-bounce’’ and the “hammer,”’ which is thrown vertically and can fly high over a group of players, then drop straight down into” the hands of a receiver. Kovac has been playing ultimate for six years. He started while living in Vancouver and got hooked. Since then he’s watched the sport ex- pand faster and further than anyone expected. “Six years ago there were 23 ultimate teams in Vancouver,”’ he says. “Now there 145. It’s grown like that everywhere. My prediction is that in less than 50 years, ultimate will become as well known as soccer or football.’’ Besides being a great workout, another big draw to the sport is that it’s almost ‘always co- ed. In Vancouver, for example, there are no men’s or women’s leagues, all teams are mixed. *'That’s a unique thing about it,’” Kovac says. “It adds an interesting dynamic. None of Terrace’s other ultimate euthusiasts are nearly as experienced as Kovac. Most just started playing last year, but they are already hooked on the spart. “It’s just a great game,’’ says player Dave Jones, who slaried playing last summer. *'There’s no room for attitude in ultimate. It’s been like that right since the beginning. Sports- manship is the most important element.” Three tournaments are coming up this summer in the northwest, with Smithers and Kitimat NICE CATCH: Ultimate is almost always co-ed, a unique feature of the sport. both fielding teams this year. And Kovac says that’s just the beginning, as he expects more and more people to get involved in the fastest- growing sport in the world, Organizers are always looking for more players who want to give the game a try. For more information, call Cailin at 635-1134 or Anderson at 638-1457, TERRACE PEAKS Gymnasts topped five other clubs at their meet here two weekends ago. And Peaks gymnast Annadelle Kurtz took top honours for the highest points in all areas. She placed first in open level 4 competi- tion in on total points, recording first place performances on the vault and floor, and seconds on the bar and beam, National level competition saw Terrace’s Eva Mateus score two seconds and two thirds in competition for a third-place rank- ing overall in her group, In open level 3 action, the Peaks’? Kim Rooker placed first on total points, with first place finishes on the floor and beam, second on the bar and third vaulting. Sharing the poditm with her was Amanda Parks, who took third on lotal points, with two second place finishes and two third places, The Peaks made a grand sweep of the medals in open fevel 2 competition, with Melissa Hambuis taking first on total — points, followed by Chelsea Schulmeister in second, and Stephanie Jacobs in third place. , Midget level 2 action saw Maria Schul- meister score a solid second place on points, with one first place perfomance on the beam and seconds in the other three events, Terrace’s Jennifer Fisher edged out two Queen Charlotte Islands competitors to fin- ish second in open level 1 points, behind Kitimat’s Vivian Hugian, Fisher scored firsts on the bar and beam, second on her floor routine and fourth on the vault. The Peaks’ Kylic Amdam and Taryn Schulmeister finished second and fourth in total points in the competitive midget level 1 class. Amdam had two firsts — in vaull- ing and the bar — and second on the beam. Schulmeister tied for second in her floor routine with first-place winner Andrea Menuosa, of Kitimat, The Peaks were off to Pritice George this past weekend for a meet there May 2-3, | mg Count ’em YUP, THEY'RE ALL THERE: First baseman Mat- thew Crawford checks his pinkies after some wild safiball action in Mighty Mites division Thursday.