SKEENA: ANGLER.
ROB BROWN

A few grains
sually I’m the one who wants to go
out after cutthroat trout in the mid-
dle of steelhead season — a fas-
cination Finlay is unwittingly
responsible for nurturing back in the days when
he was able to get out to the river on a regular

basis — but this Remembrance Day weekend it.

is Webb who wants to chase them. I’m quick to
agree, partly because I have more flexibility

than my partner,
{t’s too cumbersome to take two rods to the
river.  Conservation-minded _steelheading

demands a tough rod: a six weight at the very
least, and catching even a robust specimen of a
trout on such a rod is not terribly satisfying.
Faced with a river where the chance of catching
both trout and steelhead are present, Doug has
to choose between his beautiful, wispy four
weight and a two fisted ten weight salmon rod.

1, on the other hand, have my beloved Hardy,
a flexible pole made when graphite first came
on the market, and ali the better for that, I’ve
caught decent sized steelhead with the Hardy
yet itis light and supple enough to make fight-
ing a twelve inch trout enjoyable. On a river
like the Lakelse it lets me fish with freedom,
without fear of being wrecked by bigger game
than I'd bargained for.

The well-worn path to Herman Point is cov-
cred with tracks that attest to the heavy tralfic of
the day before, but there are no new prints.
When we emerge from the woods a flock of
trumpeter swans confirms that we are alone and
at the pole position. The big birds, recently ar-
rived from their summer home on the Alaskan
coast emit muted honking noises and paddle
calmly toward the sanctuary of the lake as I
knot on a muddler minnow that could hook just
about anything in the river and Doug ties some
kind of salmon egg imitation on his thin lippet,

There are probably more trout at Herman’s
Point, now that the coho are all spawning, than
at any other place in the river, Webb stays there
as 1 fish hurriedly downstream, probing the
places that have served me up steelhead with
some consistency over the last two decades, A
good hour has passed by the time I reach the
end of the flats and am rounding the bend to en-
ter the steeper part of the river that leads to Up-
per Coldwater without a trout — or even a bite
— to show for my exertions. There have been
some bulges behind and under the skittering
muddler, Lut these, [’m sure, are hook-nosed
male coho slashing at an odd locking intruder
into their spawning rituals.

Iswim the muddler past a log pile then over a
pack of red coho provoking a head and tail trout
like rise from what must certainly be the largest
male in the squad. While be runs out line I fum-
ble through my vest and find pair cf pliers, The
tod is bent double and vibrating like a twig in
the current by the time I have the buck along-
side, His head is black, his mouth hooked and
toothy, Before I can clasp the fly, he twists his
head, and, after a snap, Icaves, wearing one of
my carefully tied steclhead muddlers.

I hope this demonstration is exceptional, but it
is not. I book three more cohoes, all males, and
lose three more muddlers on my way to Cold-
water Creek. These are the same fish that will
resolutely disdain any fly that is not swum
within a centimetre of their mouths three weeks
ago a short seven miles downstream. I'd wager
an angler could stand and fish a muddler at the
end of a floating line over newly-arrived
Lakelse coho for a week wilhout even a rise,

Frustrated and amazed at the lack of action of
any kind, I make my way upstream where Webb
reports the same kind of dismal fishing. We
returm to Herman’s for one last attempt, neither
of us hopeful, given that Webb’s egg flies have
failed. I tie ane of my eggs on anyway and
quickly catch a char as wide as it is long.

Next I get a cutthroat, then a pair of big
whitefish then three more trout on an epg that is
identical to Webb's, except, as he astutely
notices, for the hook which, though it is the
same size, is tied ona slightly heavier iron. He
puts on one like it, lands two trout then slicks
fast to a large fish that pulls him downstream
Without showing itself.

While he struggles I book a summer steelhead
that runs upstream so fast my puny reel can't
keep up, then heads the other way so fast my
ree] howls until it’s given up almost all its back-
ing. I lose it just as Webb is wrestling his fish to
the beach. It’s a rainbow or cuitbow hybrid, and
it's magnificent. I've caught bundreds of
Lakelse cutthroat, so has Webb, This is the
largest we've scen.

“*Pve leamed something today,’’ Doug says.

We both have, A few grains will take a hook
. down a litle deeper and make your day.

__ 638-7283

Boys MESSed up at Zones

THE CAL boys’ volleyball team started the Zone Finals well, but couldn't finish off
a tough Mount Elizabeth Secondary School squad visiting from Kitimat.

THEIR SEASON may be
over naw, bul the Cal boys’
volleyball team went out
fighting at the Northwest
Zone Finals eld at
Caledonia on the tong
weekend.

The boys romped through
the round robin portion of
the tournament, playing
solidly both offensively and
defensively,

Everything clicked for the
Cal team in their first games
against visiting arch-rivals
Mount — Elizabeth ~— from
Kitimat. The boys took the
first game handily, cruising
to a 15-8 win. The second
game was closer, but Cal
Still prevailed, fighting it out
to win 15-12,

However, Mount
Elizabeth wasn’t about to
give up. They bounced back
to win two straight over
Smithers. And while the
Smithers squad was. still
licking their = wounds,
Caledonia irampled them
15-4 and 15-9.

That put Caledonia into
the finals apainst Mount
Elizabeth. Both tcams
played well, but the Kitimat

Bad start stifles soccer

THEY CAME together just
a little too late,

Our Cal boys soccer team
went down to the Provincial
Finals in Maple Ridge last
week with high hopes, but
some early losses forced
them fo return with a still
very respectable ninth place
finish.

“We started off really
poorly,’’ says coach Blaine
Kiuss. “‘Our inexperience
definitely hurt us in the first

Martial art hopefuls

couple of games.”

In their firs! match the
boys met the host team,
Maple Ridge — a team that
Kluss says they should have
been able to beat.

“We had the talent and
the drive but couldn't get it
together,’’ he says.

In spite of two Cal goals
by Stuart McIsack and Clint
Sheppard, the boys couldn’t
hold back the Maple Ridge
offense and ended up losing

TAE KWON DO enthusiasts hit the coast by storm onli

the Remembrance Day long weekend at a tourna-I
ment in Prince Rupert. The team picked up eight
medals, That's Wojtek Jewulski who won bronze ini
pattern, Trevor Elkey who took silver in sparring,
Christine Paavola —- another winner of silver in spar-
ring and Michelle Lafferty who won gold in sparring.
Taylor Peters was a double-medal winner, taking sil-@
ver in sparring and bronze in pattern, and Atyn Jones
who won the gold for sparring and a silver for pattern.

Also pictured with the club is teacher Rodel Bautista,

\ ate

5-2.

That loss set the boys back
in spirit, and they couldn’t
pull it together in lime for
their second match against
North Van. The boys went
down 4-1, saved from a
shut-out by a lone goal from
Stuart Mclsack,

“Our defense was really
weak,” says Kluss. “We
didn’t play as a team and
when that happens, the first
thing that goes is defense.”’.

THE TERRACE Tae Kwon
Do Club really kicked at a
tournament in Prince Rupert
on the long weekend.

The club walked into the
match with very little cxpe-
rience, and walked out
draped in medals. The group
won a total of eight medals
at the tournament, including
two bronze, four silvers and
two golds.

“Considering they started
in the middle of September,
they did really well,’’ says
teacher Rodel Bautista. ‘‘
was really impressed with
their performances,”’

The club won medals for

But the next day the boys
came oul flying, brushing
past Port Alberni with goals

from Neil Nailey and Corey -

Trogi and their way toa 2-1
victory.

The lads continued their
winning ways in their fourth
game, shutting out 100 Mile
House 1-0 ona goal by
Corey Trogi.

Then, in. their final game
Cal found themselves up
against Williams Lake —

both sparring aud pattern.
Sparring is fighting, while
pattern is performing a sect
pattern of moves, Both
events require plenty of dis-
cipline and skill to master.

Bautista’ himself is a
second-degree black belt in
Tae Kwon Do. He’s becn
teaching for about seven
years now. He says he loves
the sport, but he teaches
mostly for competition, not
self defense,

That’s tot to say that the
popular sport isn’t physical,
Ninety per cent of it in-
volves kicking — and it’s
fuli-contact so it’s nol for

lads capitalized on all their
chances,

“*We were in every game
of the finals,” says coach
Mark Neid. “But Kitimat
was really on and some of
our boys didn’t play their
best. [ think they might have
been nervous playing in our
gym.””

In the end, Mount
Elizabeth came out on top,
wining all three games 15-
11, 15-9-and 15-12. Carle
Desierto and Chesley
Neufeld of Caledonia
played brilliantly, but un-
fortunately it was a losing
effort.

In spite of the disappoint-
ing loss, the boys still had a
good season and Neid says
everyone would like to
thank the leam’s teacher
sponsor, Scott Stewart for
all his time and effort.

Neid says congratulations
are also in order to Kitimat
for playing so solidly all
year. But with a number of
good grade 11 players
retuming ext season,
Monnt Elizabeth should be
ready for a tough challenge
from Cal,

opes

the team they had gone to a
shoot-out with weeks car-
lier. But this time, there was
no tie to break. It was close,
but Cal came through on
goals from Clint Sheppard
and Corey Trogi to win 2-1.
That win left. the boys
with a strong ninth-place
finish. But with eight
starters returning next year,
Cal could be an even
slronger force next season.

it Rupert

Local club kicks at tourney

the faint of heart.

Even so, the club draws
both men and women of all
sorts interesled in the chal-
lenge of teaming an ancient
martial art. It takes a lot of
discipline too, but Bautista
says he thinks bis group is
up to the challenge,

“They'll do well if they
slick with it,” be says,
“They should have a good
shot at the provincials.”’

Those Provincial
Championships are the next
big challenge facing the
club. They are coming up
this March in Vancouver,