‘SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN SKEENA ANGLER. - ROB BROWN Lines On Lines t's my mushroom money rod,” said I Bill Burke holding out a shiny Sage for my inspection. I took it, then handed him my pole. “How long is it?” “Twelve feet. It’s a six-weight.’ Sage tods are too much money considering they are no better than the poles put out by Daiwa. and Fenwick, to name just two consider- ably less expensive brands that carry equally good guarantees against breakage, That is not to say that the Sage rods are not well made. With the top quality guides perfectly wrapped (by - machine, I'm guessing) a durable metal reel seat and the highest quality cork grips, they cer-, “tainly are, but paying close to a thousand dol- ‘lars for a plastic rod seems excessive. Bill’s rod was the top of the line. Its action was something the Sage marketeers call “the European Spey.” The line designation decal above the handle was 6/7. This is supposed ta mean that the rod will reach its casting poten- tial when loaded with a six double taper or seven weight forward line. That’s the line that. Bill had on it, and although 1 could cast it, I could feel that the rod wasn’t loading fully. Sage is not the only rod manufacturer guilty of underrating rods. The House of Hardy is notor- ious for labeling its graphite (the Brits like to call it carbon fibre) rods one or two line sizes under the line that will flex them properly, This ‘may be a throwback to the early days of gra- _phite red technology when insecurity with the ‘mew material may have prompted the rod ma- “ers tO recommend lines that couldn’t possibly , stress their poles. ' ‘So, how much stress will a graphite rod take? - Two years ago I met a USAmerican Combat fisherman who was casting a line he’d spliced: together at home. He was throwing well over a 100 feet effortlessly on his 15 foot Sage nine- weight rod. His line was built of a dozen feet of 124 grain sinking line connected to a length of 16 weight floating line which was attached to a ‘length of 14 weight floating line spliced in turn to a 12 weight floater. “Graphite rods,” he told me as he sent out ‘another 100 foot blast, “are a lot stronger than people think they are.“ Bill had armed the rod with one of Sage's disc drag loop style reels. ] don’t care much for these new, salt water style soundless winches that make fighting fish easier and therefore strip the sport of one of its essential challenges, but I was intrigued by the line he had on it. It had a changeable head system, a tan coloured belly followed by a section of bright yellaw level line and another section of running line coloured hot orange. Bill said it was a “Mid Spey” made by Rie, a company owned by Jim Vincent, another USAmerican Combat fisherman. Rio lines, along with two-fisted Sage rods, breathable waders, and high-end rain coats and ‘giant leech like flies, are essential pieces of equipment for today’s steelheader, Theyre fine twine, with a rugged coating and a wide setec- tion of lapers. Vincent took a leaf from the handbook of ve- teran steelheaders who discovered long ago that they could snip off the front end of a double ta- pered line, make a loop on both ends of the in- cision and, after coating them with Pliobond, .make the same kind of loops on lengths of sink- ing line, or heads, thus creating an interchange- . able system that would enable the angler to adapt readily to varying water flows. Building these lines was tedious. Rio’s mutti-tipped lines have made the one- rous.and unhealthy task of building such a line unnecessary, provided one is prepared or able to The problem with the lines is that, in all but the smallest sizes, their loops tend to catch on the rod guides ~ a tendency that is generally just plain irritating but could be catastrophic if it happens at the end of a struggle with a trophy fish. Atr-Flo lines have solved this problem. These British lines have smooth clear loops that whis- tle through guides. They come with a five year ; guarantee against breaking or cracking, and their finish is as slick as as an algae coated stone. The only drawback to the Air-Flo multi-tip is one it shares with all multi-tips: il gives the an- gler too much choice. Do I stay with the floater? Do I go to the tip. that sinks at three inches a second, or is a fast sinker better? At the end the end of the day it may be bet- ter to fish. floating line, leave some sanctuary to the fish and be. unencumbered by those Weighty decisions, spend over a hundred and a quarter on a fly line. | TERRACE STANDARD The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, October 29, 2003 - BS Local nabs bronze at world champs By SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN VAL JEFFERY should be proud of the bronze medal hanging around her neck but instead she’s a little disappointed. "T think [ had higher ex- pectations of myself, maybe unrealistically,” says Jeffery of her first shot as a global competi- tion, “It was very emotion- al and overwhelming for me to be there — you feel this pressure for represent- ing your country and your community who helped support you to be there and emotional when you don’t do well because it’s over so quickly.” The local martial artist recently returned from the World Karate/Kickboxing Association’s (WKA) world championships in Ireland when she fought her way to a-bronze medal in continuous fighting. The competition drew 2,500 competitors fighting in dozens of kickboxing and karate disciplines in a variety of divisious based on weight, age and exper- ience. Jeffery competed in the women’s over 35 years, under 65 kilogram division. Participating ‘in both point fighting and contin- VAL JEFFERY shows off the bronze medal she earned in Ireland. SARAH A, ZIMMERMAN PHOTO uous fighting, she found out the hard way how los- ing one’s concentration can put an abrupt end to the competition. With an immediate knock-out format at the tournament, one loss means athletes don’t move on to any more fights and that’s exactly what hap- pened to Jeffery in the point fighting competition. Demons want to put a scare into NHL oldtimers HOCKEY FANS are in for a treat in the not-so distant future as the Kitimat Ice Demons take on the NHL Old- timers in what promises to be a fast-paced, exciling hockey game. With five Terrace players suiting up for the Ice De- mons this year locals will have a chance to cheer some of the hometown players on. “T am totally looking forward to i,” says Terrace right winger Troy Butler. “I played about 10 years. of senior hockey and I’ve never had a chance to play the Oldti- mers before.” Butler predicts the Demons just might be the under- dogs given the line-up scheduled to take to the ice. Former hockey greats including Dale Hawerchuck, Dave Williams, Larry Melnyk and for Edmonton Oiler Glenn Anderson will be suiting up for the game. “We'll have to try to beat them with speed because we'll have youth on our side.” Buller figures the Demons will have to play hard and fast if they’re going to take the hockey heroes. “We'll have to try to beat them with speed because we'll have youth on our side,” Butler says. ' The Oldtimers’ Hockey Challenge comes to Kitimat’s Tamitik arena Nov, 15 at 6 p.m, Tickets are available at the Terrace Standard at 3210 Clinton St. for $20. Pro- ceeds po to the Aluminum City Telethon and Terrace Firefighters local 2685, re Play on Her first match came immediately after the opeiing ceremonies and her focus just wasn’t there, “I don’t really have an excuse except that when I stepped in the ring I knew I wasn’t ready to be in there,” she recalls. The loss was tough to take so early on-in the tournament, but she re- deemed herself in the con- tinuous fighting competi- tion taking part in four matches to clinch the bronze medal. The final match against the eventual gold medal winner from Ireland was her toughest, says her: in- structor Renshi Marwan Abu-Khadra, “With the last fight Val had, it was against a very, very big girl who was a lit- tle heavier as well,” he says. “We train for that, but obviously with the pressure ‘on her and because her focus wasn’t there, it was a really rough fight.” But a bronze at the world level is something to - be proud of and it’s given | Jeffery that extra incentive and experience to train _ even harder for next year, By SARAH A, ZIMMERMAN TERRACE’S Pee Wee reps are startling to gel. That’s the word from assistant coach Roger Tooms after the local team snagged two games away from Kitimat last weekend, “The team. today just started to actually pull to- gether,” said Tooms after Terrace’s decisive 7-2 win over visiting Kitimat Oct. 25. THE CALEDONIA gymnasium was pack Oct. 25 as the Kermodes hosted a senior girls volleyball playday drawing teams from Kitimal, Prince Rupert and Hazelton. It was a chance for area teams to get more games under their. belts before zone playdowns next month. Two Cal players touch hands as one of player bumps th the ball. SARAH A. ZIMMERMAN PHOTOS thelr teammates serves the ball (above). At right-a Gentennial. Christian School PEE WEE captain Sahir Gill prepares for a jace- off against a member of Kiti- mat’s rep team. Gill scored a hat trick in the 7-2 victory over Kitimat Oct. 25, Pee Wees take two Team captain Sahir Gill lead the way in scoring with a hat trick. Taylor Mallett, David Tooms, Kyle Holtom and. Scott Simpson each put one be- tween the pipes to round aut the scoring. Terrace net minder Devon Ames pul in 4 top- notch performance only letting two goals in — one of which was a tense third period penalty shot. The Pee Wees downed Kitimat the previous night by a much tighter score of 3-2. The wins are an indica- tion the team is coming together after splitting a pair of games against Kiti- mat two weeks previous. The team hits the road this weekend as it plays in a tournament in Prince George. The next home game isn’t until Nov. 21-22 when Terrace hosts Smi- thers. 4 1 F i 3 + i i 2 ot ’ z 4 : ‘ ‘ i 638-7283.