SKEENA-ANGLER.
ROB BROWN

No luck at all

HE GLOWING letters on the

digital clock said 6:15 pm

Harold had seen a lot of changes

in his 81 years and this was.a
good one.

He didn’t need the tick of an old alarm clock
to mark the passage of time.

There were a lot more Pleasant reminders
and the change of colours in the Kispiox Val-
ley was one, the retum of the steelhead anoth-
er.

- He pulled the chain on the lamp illuminating
a briat, his glasses and a box of flies.

His joints told. him the temperature had
dropped again, It had been getting colder and

the river had dropped and cleared a little with
_. each day.
Jn the first seasons of his 23 on the river, he

"had cursed the fall rains. Now they were wel-

come; for the increasing scarcity of wild fish
had ‘more fishermen on the river, younger,
agile fishermen with drift boats.

Jn the last:five years it had become hard to
find a spot. This season he had yet to wet a

Jo dine.
But the ‘flood ‘walers had changed all that,
‘he ‘youngsters Icaving in droves.

The fish would-be older and slower now as
-“: well, but then so was he and he would have a
“s. ghance at them.

“=! "The tops of the yellow trees were shrouded.
:,. In fog. The day would be clear and cold.

Harold made a menial ched waders, yes

flicg; rod =“ as he climbeld‘in ;

cold, t iver'still-black. = ine

” He tumed toward the fish camps and pulled
‘aver at the cottonwoods. He could hear the
Tush of water as he pulled on his waders -- it
“took a long time. By the time he had finished,
“2. there was cnough light to sec the river.

It was clean and cold and it was holding
- fish. Beautiful, large, unmoksted fish.

Harold watched ir
amazement as Fay found -
fish after fish. While playing
the sixth, however, he
stumbled.

‘A ‘didn’t have the stamina to fish them. The com-

S /Sapped his strength. -

“. What to do? Here were fish, and they had to be
“fished Someone had to catch. them.
‘Then it came to him: who better than Fay?

than anyone.

“ Harold dragged himself back to the car and
Grove the mile to Walker’s. Thankfully, Fay was
“already up, drinking a coffee and looking out
across the frosted fields. ;

” Harold told of the fish.

7 “Why didn’t you cover them,’’ Fay asked.
‘«. ‘Aching joints,” replied Harold.

” Fay understood. He skipped breakfast and the
“two of them pol into the car and returned to the
._ Tun,

-» Tt was still unoccupied.

_sitipped off some line. Though not described in
“any book, his technique was perfection,

He cast with economy, fishing an impossibly
“heavy line so the fly would sweep through the

‘water inches from the bottom.
>In no time he hooked a fish. Harold shouted en-

 conragement. Fay released the creature and soon

‘found another,
. Harold watched in amazement as Fay found fish

“after fish. While playing the sixth, however, he

~Stambled.
Harold realized the strain was too much; “after

"all Fay was only five years his junior.
“‘Come on out now,’’ he. called.-But Fay con-

_ext hour.

-» When he finally emerged ‘from thé run he was:
‘breathing hard and shaking from the cold. Harold
‘led him. up. the path like @ trainer leading his
fighter from the ring.”

~The sun had burned off the mist and started ta
"warm then as they put away the gear

“vests clean and rads sparkling in the sunlight,
- “Any luck?’? one enquired.
“No Iuék,”: Harold replied. “No luck at all.

and looked at Fay. ©
arf it Sell just shell of a lot of ki

= Het looked down ashe ciossed the Bailey.
bridge. -The walls of the eanyon were 6 wel and :

But ij in a that horrible instant Harold realized he:

‘ Fay who for the past decade had fished this run .
almost exclusively and probably knew it betier

. Harold watched as Fay knotted fly to leader and .

| _ tinued fishing, finding two nore steelhead in the

"A car full of young Gshermen pulled up, their ;

He folded himself into the car, closed fice 2 ae

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 15, 1993 - B13

WEIGHING IN for a new season is 5 Matt Kerby, returning to the -
Terrace schools wrestling team after a year's absence. And he
made it a galden one at the opening meetin Prince Rupert.

STRONG INDIVIDUAL per-
formances, including three gold,
powered the Terrace schools
wrestling team to a strong sea-
son’s debut,

Picking up where he Icft off last
year,- captain Greg Buck domi-
nated to take spot in the 70kg
division at the Prince Rupert In-
vitational.

Buck was last year voted ithe
northwest = zore’s © outstanding
wresiler.

Back in the fray after a year off,

_ Matt Kerby showed he’d lost —

none of his edge as he added an-
other golden gong in the B2kg
class,

In doing so, Kerby made team-
mate Frank Carpino, one of the
team’s lop performers fast season,
settle for silver.

Completing Terrace’s trio of
golds was Agit Jaswal at 39kg-
Lakhbir Jaswal, another returnee,
added to the medal haul with a
silver at 63kg.

And Terrace took two of three
at a couple of other weights, Jim
Edgar and Shane Wilson picking
up silver and bronze in the 57kg
division while John ‘Veilleux and
Rob Doane duplicated at 60kg.

Wilson went one better at the

- SECTION Cc
_MALCOLM BAXT ER 638-7283

strong start for wrestlers —

team’ S next outing, the Hazelton
Invitational Dec.4, coming home
witha silver.

Buck also had to settle for silver
at that meet, losing the final bout
to last year’s provincial bronze ’
medalist.

Agit Jaswal, Lakhbir Jaswal
and Kerby all took bronze in their
divisions while Veilleux and
Edgar both turned in strong per-
formances in finishing fourth.

‘Although third at Prince Rupert

and ninth of nine at Hazelton in
the final standings, coach Joe
Murphy was lappy with the sca-
son’s start.
” Because the Terrace team was
comparatively small, it was im-
possible to score more points than
most of the others, he explained.

“These meets are basically
trying to gel our wrestlers as
much experience and variety as
possible,” he added.

‘*1t’s along season,” le added.

By the time it’s over, Terrace
wrestlers will have done a bit of
traveling as well.

Apart from other regional
meets, they'll be sending a group
to the Northem B.C. Winter

cont’d page B15

ou House breaker

ALL EYES are glued to this attempted freez
action at the weekend's boys curling zone p

@ in first round winner would earn a berth in the B.C. Winter Games in iM
Jaydowns. The Smithers. Sea next week's Standard for news of the winner. we

A FEW EXTRA points here and
there would lave meant a very

. different result for the Caledonia

girls volleyball team.
That was the assessment of
coach Clayton Lioyd-Jones after

the Kermodes finished 12th at the
"B.C. championships.

“We won 4 lot of games, Just
not many matches,’’
noting the. margin of defeat in
several was a tarrowane.

If Cal had been able to convert
on a couple of their round robin
games, they could have * found

themselves playing off for a»

much higher final placing, he ex-
plained.
Lloyd-Jones ‘said the team

definitely missed the presence of

starter Tina Minius. ~
‘A German exchange. student,

Minius helped the Kermodes {o ©

ihe zone title but had to ‘retum
home befére the championship.
“She would have made a big

. difference to our attack,”’ he
pointed out, noting her ‘knack of
coming up wilh the big pley when .

_ apoint was really needed... -

- However, Lloyd-Jones - empha-
's blaed, the remainder of the tea
bad performed well and.the-result

he said,

3, CONVER = -Asland’s
eat the full three

had been aboul what he expected
going in.

Cal found themselves in tough

from the outset, facing Lower
Mainland top team Richmond
who dropped them two straight.

That brought up- the Fraser Val-

ley’s. best, \Simiamoo, and a

‘match that in some ways was. a

turning pal int.

games, Cal dropping the decider
15-10.

Recalling the match had pro-
duced excellent . rallies, Lloyd-
Jones said the result could have
been reversed if the Kermodes
had been able to take some of
those,

__ Afler opening day two with a
dreadful hammering at the hands

“We had them on: the ropes, but we just |

couldn ‘t finish them off.”........... LLOYD-JONES

“We had them.on the ropes,”’

-Lloyd-Jones «sald, “‘but we just

couldn’t finish them off,””
AsS~a result, Simiamoo were

able to squeeze out a 15-13 win.

in the deciding third game.

“Had ft gone the “other. way, »

“They (Kermades) would have

-Jeartied what it. takes. to: win,’ he.
: suggested, we
And :that. lesson ‘would have -

come in useful In thelr next-out--.. oe :
: in what: ‘Lloyd-Jones described.

as ‘'a good baltle”’, the Kermodes .
took: game: one: 16-14, dropped be
the 8 second Aes) then hung on jo

ing, against Max Cameron, Van-
umber one

of Penticton, the team rebounded
following a ‘‘pep talk” from tke
coaches. -

However,- the winning formsth

continued to elude them and 2-1 -
losses .to Terry Fox and ‘Queen 7

Elizabeth followed,

“ranked number six at the slatt af
the tourney. hk,

The goose ogg - was finally ,
broken “against. John’ Oliver, ~

~ the match 15-8, 15-10.

take the rubber 15-12 for their
first viclory,

That left Cal tied for eighth
with Terry Fox at the end of the ©
round robin.

Whipped two straight by West
Vancouver in their opening
playoff game, ihe Kermodes suf-
fered probably their most frustra-
ting loss against G.P, Vanier.

Having built up a 13-8 lead in
the first game, a string of mental

crrors saw Cal give up seven un-
answered points.

There were similar problems in
game two, a commanding 9-2
lead slipping to a tight 15-12 Cal
win. Vanitr then’ ‘swept the
.Kermodes aside in the decider to’
sen them to the playoff for
11th/12th,

- And that brought them full cir-
cle, their opponents being Rich-
mond once more...

Lioyd-Jones said both” teams
used the opportunity to play their
entire roster, Richmond’ taking

Summarizing” the Kermodes
championship’ bid, Lloyd-Jones -
_conciuded, *'We had some. éx-

cellent matches,
virge. * “3

we were ont the oe