“SKEENA ANGLER | ROB BROWN Fee increases inlay comes over to talk about trout and trout flies. During our con- versation he asks me about the In- ternet, How does the thing work? Can we use it to find out about fishing in other countries? Do E think we can find out about Syl- vester Nemes and his soft hackled prescriptions or finicky trout? Finlay is 83 (or is it 84) yet, unlike many junior seniors he’s always curious, forever on the move, looking for improvements, dreaming of the next trout, speculating on the newest twist and turn in political arenas provin- cial and federal. I tell Finlay the library has ac- cess to the World Wide Web. We can phone and book a trip on it. A short time later we are on electronic flights to fisheries all over the globe. Finlay is eager to take a trip to County Callender in Scotland, where he was born, and the River Ticth, where he fished as a boy over seventy years ago. I key ‘‘fishing Tieth’’ into the appropriate slot and we are there, stating into a nicely ap- pointed, expensive room in an inn whose pro- prietors will cheerfully rent you fishing rods to fish the public water of the Tieth for Atlantic Salmon. That water isn’t much says Fin, who took a trip there four ycars ago. The chance of catching a salmon on one of these drab beats is slim, yct you must buy a ticket for a day’s fish- ing and pay more than twice as much for it as you do ta fish wild steelhead in this province. All of Britain it’s the same. The best water is owned by Lords or controlled by exclusive fish- ing clubs, The average bloke has about as much chance of ending up on choice salmon water at season’s peak as he does of winning a few mil- lion pounds in the football pools. Instead he fishes for tench, or roach, or dace, or carp. Sai- mon were once abundant in the rivers of Europe. Now adequate runs exist only where rivers have been protected by private owner- ship. Control of a fishing resource by an elite is foreign to the frontier mentality of North Amer- ican sportsmen who until recently didn’t have to worry about crowding and depletion. We need to worry about such things now, especially in the case of steelhead. Is there a way to maintain quality fishing and preserve easy access for the people who live in the communities near the rivers? On the advice of the people who have thought long and hard about these things, the provincial government has chosen to emphasize wild steelhead and opted to manage angling pressure by controlling lime restrictions and increasing feés for non- residents. In Terrace the reaction from retailers and guides has been vociferous, while many lo- cal fishers I’ve talked to welcome the fee in- creases, Predictably, the increase in fees for non-residents has infuriated many of the Amer- ican anglers who like to camp alongside our rivers, despite the fact that even though the dai- ly fee to fish classified waters for wild salmon will cost them Jess than a decent meal in a restausant, and much less than a day on a premier ski hill, But not all American fishers hold that opinion. Flyfisherman Magazine has an electronic version on the Internet. In reply to the complaints of a countryman another Amer- ican angler posted this: “Ross, thank you for the ‘‘heads up”’. I have fished some of the B.C. steelhead rivers and would like do so again. Unfortunately, this is not the point B.C. is a province in Canada, a sovereign nation. Premier steelhead rivers arc a limited natural resource, It is the responsibility of the provincial gov't to manage its resource, in this case steelhead fish, for the wisest and best use for the province. If their perception is that the best use is made by limiting, or eliminating the presence of U.S. anglers, this is their prerogative. Our only recourse is to write and try to persuade them with our tourism dol- jars, but the article suggests that money is not the point. We U.S. citizens apparently represent loo large a share of the crowd, and there are very large crowds on these rivers at times, In that respect I don’t blame them. B.C, should nat have to feel like some third world nation where foreigners come in and extract most of the value of their natural resources. Even with catch and release, we do extract value, every foreign angler takes up time and space on a stream that theorelically, at least, could have been utilized by a B.C. citizen. We don’t have to like it, but we must respect their sovereignty. Consider this zany alternalive: we go to war with Canada so we can annex B.C., Then we subject the steelhead: rivers to our land-use methods and fishing regulations, Then those B.C. rivers will offer the same degraded fishing experience that can be had in WA or OR, eliminating the reason for golng there in the first place and causing all the crowding. (NO, I am NOT recommending this alternative).”’ TERRACE STANDARD. SPORTS The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, April 9, 1997 - BS ~ 638-7283 Nuyens goes over the top Local arm wrestler readies for Russia . FRANK NUYENS has never been in a weight room. So what? You say, your mind starting to wander, _ thinking maybe you should skip this story and read about the horse at the bot- tom of the page. But wait, Frank Nuyens has also twice won the Montana State arm wres- ing championships, placed third in the 1990 Canadian Championships and has gathered up more than 30 trophies in his career. How is that possible? “You don’t have ta be a powerlifter. I’ve seen guys 150 lbs go up against hulks who can press 600 Ibs over their heads and the litle guy beats them like nothing,” Nuyens says. ‘‘It really freaks the bodybuilders out.’’ Nuyens held an armwres- tling clinic here on Friday night, to help show people the ight techniques in- volved and get more people interested in his sport. He says most people’s views on what it takes to be an armwrestler are way off base. “You do have to be strong”? the 31-year-old says. ‘But specd and tech- nique are much more impor- tani. The average conpeti- tion only lasts about ten sec- onds and a lot of stuff hap- pens in that time.”’ According to Nuyens, the two most common amnwres- tling styles are ihe top roll and the hook. The hook is when a wrest- ler curls his (or ber) wrist 2 LOCAL ARM WRESTLER Frank Nuyens gives a few tips to Marc Battle at an armwrestling clinic last Friday. inwards, locks wrists with his competitor, and then tries to pull the arm down. The top roll occurs when a wrestler lets his grip slide over his opponent’s thumb and pulis down on his fin- gers. The opponent is then left trying to wrestle essen- tially using just his fingers for leverage — a very dif- ficuit position to be in. While all this is happening on top of the wrestling table, below the table competitors are wrapping their legs around the table legs, plant- ing their feet into comers or hanging back — anything to get the best leverage (except for kicking your opponent in the groin, although that may be tempting if you're losing). ‘*¥ou want to win and get it over quickly,”’ Nuyens says. “Matches can go for four or five minutes. That’s what you don’t want. You don't want to get tired and risk injury.” Strict miles enforced by referees further reduce the risk of injury by keeping comipetitor’s arms and bodies in the right positions. “Plus it’s very important to keep your arms warm,”’ says Nuyens. And he should know. Nuyens’ successes have prompted the Canadian Na- tional team to invite him to go to a huge international tournament in Russia with them next year. Nuyens says Canada is ac- tually one of the power- houses in the armwrestling world. “Canada always places in the top three at international events,’’ he says. ‘‘We have some of the best armwrest- lers in the world righ now.’? The sport is gaining popularity too, and it could be a demonstration sport at the next Olympics — some- thing that only makes sense, according to Nuyens. “Everyone has arm- wrestled af some point in their lives,’’ he says. ‘But how many people have tried synchronized swimming?’ And Nuyens says if enough people in Terrace are interested, he would like to start up an armwrestling club here. ‘It's a great sport. Hope- fully a couple of kids here will pick it up and keep going with it like I did,”’ be says. “Some people think that it’s really rough and in- volves bar roam brawls or something, but it’s not like that. I’ve never seen two guys walk away from the table mad at each other and I’ve never seen a fight.’” Ski club gears up for summer IT’S HARD to believe, but summer is just around the comer —- complete with sun, sand and watersports, And waterskiers here are looking forward to their first ever trip to the BC Summer Games. “This is the first time that Zone Seven bas been able to send a ski team to the games,'’ says Mark Poppleton. Poppleton is trying to organize a waterskiing club in Terrace, with hopes of sending a team of 10 to the games. "We've sort of had a club before,’’ he says. “But it was always very informal. This time we have io really organize and plan out the season well in advance.”’ The club will be open to people of all ages and abilities, but the minimum age for athletes at the games is 13. There is no maximum age, however, so in theory grandparents could be on the same team as their grandchildren. And Poppleton says that ihe competition aspect shouldn’t scare anyone away. “The games are really a developmental tournament,’’ he says. ‘“They’re for anyone looking to move up from recreational skiing to more advanced stuff.’’ Poppleton says the focus of the games will be teamwork, It's the overall team score that matters, not individual performances,’? he says. ‘‘That takes some of the pressure off of the competitors.” The team will work through a combination of events, including slalom, tricks and jumps. At least one of the members has to be a wakeboar- der, and one has to be barefooter. The club recently made its first purchase — a new slalom course which will be set out on Lakelse Lake once the ice thaws, Poppleton says the first skiing of the year will probably be some time in early May, but the sooner the better because there’s lots of practic- ing to be done before the summer games — which take place July 24-27 in Burnaby. Those wishing to be on the games team also have to take part in a run-off at Nukko Lake near Prince George, June 22. The club’s inaugural meeting will be held at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 19 at the Inn of the West, For more information, call Mark Poppleton at 635-1447, CANADIAN NATIONAL APPALOOSA sHOW Pian : KIRSTEN MULLER high atop her Appaloosa at the Canadian Nationals in Regina. Appaloosa fan off to Australia A LOCAL horse enthusiast is getting down. Down under, that is. Seventeen-year-old Kirsten Muller is one of only five youths from across the country who have been chosen to go to Alstralia with the Appaloosa Club of Canada, Muller will head south on May 2, to Tam- worth, a city ocar Sydney in the Australian state of New South Wales, There, Muller will compete at a big. fall fair show (the seasons there are opposite to here) in the Appaloosa competition. She could be riding in a wide variety of English and Wester styles, including dres- sage — where a horse and rider have to do a serles of figures at a variety of paces, jump courses or hunter courses — where she'll be judged on her position. On top of all that, she has no idea what kind of horse she’ll be riding, But in spite of all the uncertainties, Muller isn’t too ner- vous, “It’s exciting,”’ she says. “I’m really looking forward to it."’ Selection for the Canadian team is not based solely on riding ability. Instead, the number of horses ridden, school matks and . commitment to the sport are all taken into account. mo Muller is certainly no stranger to horses. Her family has elght of them, most of which she rides. In fact, she’s been riding since she was three, and competing at horse shows since she was four. Over the years, Muller has competed in many events, including the national Ap- paloosa show. And two years ago, she went to the BC Summer Games and came in fourth overall — the best placing in this region. But all that experience docsn’t mean Kir- sten doesn’t still have a lot to leam. *‘I’m taking lessons,’’ she says. ‘'] have fo concentrate on my scat and my posi- tion,”’ And although it’s a lot of work, Kirsten says thestrip should be fun. *T will be riding a lot, but it wiil be a like a Vacation too,”’ she says. ‘‘It will be inter- esting to see the differences in the horses there.”’ OF course, getting all the way to Australia is very expensive, 50 Kirsten is looking for sponsors to help oul. It’s’ even tax- deductable, Anyone interested can call ber at 635- 9401. oe