eee vinta epee The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 23, 1992 - Page B3 MERRY CHRISTMAS, SPORTS NEWS TERRACE STANDARD MALCOLM BAXTER 638-7283 EVERYONE! Mid Midges are the midgets of the insect world -- near microscopic bi-winged buzzers who, though cousins to nasty “nosecums and marauding mosquitoes, “are gentle, unobtrusive creatures. To other outdoors people the midge - is benign, but to the angler he can be a source of much irrilation. The midge, you sec, is almost invisible to the hu- man eye, but to the wily trout he looks like a deluxe hamburger. * “Etymologists tell us there are more ‘than 2,000 species of midge. Further- more, the little devils like to batch all "year round. '* [t must take a lot of midges to pro- vide a square meal for Mr. Trout, but, because of the lacksidaisical way they engage in reproduction, the bugs are captured with minimal energy expendi- ture, As a result, midges make up the largest part of a trout’s diet The pupal stage is a dangerous age for the midecg, hanging precariously fromthe watery ceiling above hungry lrout. Tempted by the prospect of dining on midge flesh, the wariest of trout will leave the security of his well hidden lair for shallower waters, An angler ignorant of the ways of midge will spot the bulging rises of big “trout and spend fruitless hours pitching the contents of bis fly boxes al them. To fool midging trout you must first follow that hoary, but golden rule of fly fishing that says never make a long cast when you can make a short one. A short cast is a controlled cast, and fishing the fly dry is very much a mat- ter of control. A midging trout must be stalked: ‘Fortunately trout plucking gh-are auch, easier to get close to. ose in-deeperflows, «<. : Po tiidérstanding how a" iout'sees Will ‘help us appreciate this. To visualize a Uhaerme he “f trout’s. field of vision, imagine an in- " verted cone extending from its eyes up- ward, Within this imaginary cone the trout’s view is uncanny. But, anything -.,beyond.the surface of the water is quite 1” distorted, As the fish nears the surface its field of vision decreases as the cone be- comes-shorter and narrower, Trout sip- ping midges must do so just under the surface film allowing the careful angler to get within 15 feet of him. Now, the trick is to show the feeding fish a believable fraud. A chunky midge pupa might be a whopping six- teenth of. an inch long, most will be staaller. To make a good imitation you will have to use the minuscule, short- shanked hooks for a skeleton upon which‘you will need to wind a strand of floss,’or make a small, thin body of dubbed fur. ” Young midges come in greens, greys, browns and tans, so the well prepared ‘angler will have a good assortment. Leader and tippet are also problems. Since hooks used for midge dressings ‘are'so small, the fisherman is forced to use nylon of very small diameter, - Fortunately the Japanese (who else?) have’ come up with strong, supple monofilament as fine as doll’s hair. “The best imitation in the world will not arouse a (rout if it is fished un- nalurally, Toa emulate the travels of midge pupa an angler should cast at a steep angle upstream and keep control of the lineas it floats back to bim. Oue way loensure the = strike is scen is:to grease the leader (o a point a foot away from the fly and track it dur- ing the drift. Another method is to fish a small dry fly a short distance above the pupa. Since fishing two flies is illegal in B.C. for some mysterious reason, you will have ta snip the barb from the floating fly. So an assault on midging trout should unfold like this: you get to the Stream and notice fish rising; upon closer examination you sce smafl in- sects buzzing above the water; you knol a small, simply dressed imilation to your 6X tippelt and approach the rises from downstream; a short ac- Curate cast causing a minimum of dis- turbance alights on the skin of the water; as the fly drifts back you follow the dry fly attached to the line above the imitation; it twitches and you lift the rod, gently tightening the line; a wonderful trout leaps and bolls downstream: the soft rod cushions the fish’s weight and you bring him to the _ net after some anxious moments. pela Although the Bluebacks weren’t able to Win their home mect, coach Mike Car- lyle says he’s pleased with the per- formances (ured in at the McDonalds Invilational, Nine local aquatic speedsters came away from the Dec. 11-13 event with medals -- including four gold -- and three quarters of the Blueback entry re- corded personal best times. That, said Carlyle, was a strong show- all bchind a strong Kitimat Marlins team. Gold medalists for Terrace were Audrey Erb in the girls 9-10 years divi- sion, Garth Coxford (boys 11-12 years), David Vanderice (boys 13-14 years) and Aimee Peacock (girls 15 years and up). Tori MacKenzie finished runner-up to Peacock for the silver, Kevin Andol fatto added another with his second to Cox- ford and. Liam Murphy made it three in boys 8-under. Tristan Brown (bays 9-10) with bronzes. While Peacock and Coxford have made a habit of winning the gold at regional meets this season, the Invila- tional saw several swimmers move to a higher podium. Vanderlee’s top spot finish completed a progression which began with bronze in Prince Rupert and silver al last month’s Kitimat meet. He secured the gold by posting seven wins and two sec- ing given it’s only three weeks since the © Completing the medal haul were onds. last meet. Terrace finished second over- Keagan Soutar (boys 8-under) and Kevin Andolfatio’s silver was also one : 1 LEP - a WING Kermodes pour it on for visitors Caledonia’s “senior boys ‘basketball drew first blood in this season’s battle with the Prince Rupert Rainmakers. The Rainmakers were in town last week to renew a rivalry which will cul- minate in February’s AAA zone playoffs. And the Kermodes welcomed the visitors to the new year by shelling them 96-59, The game was a close one in the carly stages, Cal emerging from the first quarter 21-15 up and only 43-38 clear at the half. However, lhe Kermodes came out roar- ing in the third quarter, the offence rack- ing up 27 points while freezing out Prince Rupert at the back for just six points. Although the Rainmakers were able ta find the basket more often in the final frame, the Kermodes remained in firm control, outscoring them 26-15 to cruise to victory. Kurt Muller (21 pts.) and Fernando Milbomens (20) led the Cal attack while John Shepherd and Jassic Osei-Tutu added anather 14 and 12 points respec- tively. While pleased with the team’s effort, Kermode coach Cam MacKay pointed out the Rainmakers were without two of their starters and that had certainly made a difference. “They (Prince Rupert) are going to be strong this year,’’ McKay cautioned, noting the team had a strong bench to draw from. The coast squad also benefited from the presence of a couple players who, while only about 6'2”, were ‘‘wide- bodied” and took up a fair amount of room under the opponent’s basket. While Cal could boast greater height -- Dean Beeson is 6'S*' and Fraser McKay 6°3"' -- ‘we need to put on a few more pounds,’? MacKay said. However, he was confident the Kermodes would be ready when the zones rotled around. “1 think we'll improve more than they will,” he said. And there is room for improvement on Cal’s part. For all their scoring, MacKay said the players are still missing too many opportunities to put points on the board, kek kk Next up for the Kermodes is their lbree-game series with the Wellington Wildcats. With a Dec, 31-Jan. 2 schedule, Cal have a chance to make the passing of the year a Victorious one, But, says MacKay, they'll have to get by a good team to doit. Wellington, from Nanaimo, beid a top five raling in AA ball until recent lasses, but still rate an ‘hotiourable mention’ on rankings released Friday afternoon. LIFT OFF. Competitors at the McDonalds Invitational show a contrast in styles as they launch themselves into the water for a free style race. The Kitimat Mar- lins club took home the hardware for most team points but the host Bluebacks had reason to be happy with their perfor {above, right), after taking bronze and silver in the season's earlier meets, finally got to wear the gold. He was one of several Bluebacks who had taken a step up the medal ladder by the end of the meet. mances. David Vanderlee Bluebacks keep on improving rung up the medal ladder from his Kitimat performance and was carned through 10 first four finishes. And Audrey Erb’s gold was a step up for her as well afler having had to settle for the runner-up spot at both the earlier meek, For the trio of Murphy, Soutar and Brown, the medats were their first of the scason. Brown also had the satisfaction of clocking his first AAA time with a 42.86 in the 50m *Fly, more than two seconds inside the qualifying mark. Bryan Palahicky became the fourth Blueback to make the AAA championship when he stipped inside the qualifying time with a 49.14 in the 50m Breast. Erb and Coxford had qualified at car- lier meets for the trip to Victoria in early March. So far, seven Blucbacks are heading for the AA championships: Andolfaito, Sarah Thompson, Marina Checkley, lan Taylor Chris Kerman, Jamie Kerman and Jason Kumpolt. However, Carlyle said he hapes to add io that number, noting there were a couple of other swimmers who were hit- ting close to the required times, And heading for Vancouver for the Jan. —- 30-31 senior — provincial championships will be Peacock, David Vanderlec, Jocelyn Coxford, Tori Mack- enzic and Denise Vanderlee. The Bluebacks took this weck off, bul Carlyle said they'll be coming back to some hard training text week as prepara- tions begin for the Eurocan Invitational in Kitimat, Jan. 22-24, That's the last chance swimmers will have to post qualifying times for the AA championships, he added. Two out of three ain’t good enough. Terrace Bantams discovered the truth of that equation in the playoff game for a berth in the Northern BC Winter Games. Down two-zip less than five minutes into the game on goals by Hazelton’s Ryan Turner and Mitch Hobenshicld, Terrace struck back quickly. Just 33 seconds afler Hobenshicld’s marker, Ryan Stevenson went in. un- assisted to haul onc back and then got the helper on Marceau’s equalizer with §:42 left in the period. So far, sa good. - Then came the second stanza. In a ‘how did it get in ihere’’ play, Terrace’s goalie Giligan dropped on the puck only to find Hazelton’s Jeff Sanka had somehow dug it out and stuffed it in for the lead al 4:54. | - The gap widened to two just 23 scc- onds later when Warren Claremont Ict one po to beat Giligan on the shart side. Turner and Scott Simms picked up as- sists. . . ae . Pumped, Hazelton swept in agaii just seconds later bul this tine the Terrace keeper caine up wilh the save. And, Terrace having failed to. capital- ize on a power play, Hazelton found the period only to be denied again by Giligan, this time on a point blank shot, SWARMING Terrace Bantams have Hazelton goalie Cory Croft down, but on this, like too many of their last period attacks, they couldn't turn the red light on. Second period a killer themselves one man up half way through But the visilors were not ta be denied, With Giligan down after two quick saves, Sanka swept round the back of the net and centred the puck to an untouched Hobenshicld who calmly potted his sec- ond to give Hazelton a 5-2 lead, That prompted a Terrace goalie change with Jamie Austin taking over between ihe posts. , Unfortunately, that substitution did not change the inability of the Terrace defence to keep the visitors at bay and Austin had io come up big soon after his arrival to keep the gap at three. Terrace continued to be plagued by attacks that broke down Terrace’s offence got on track from the opening minute of the third but thal track slopped short of the goal linc. Hazelton began to fight back at the six minute mark, bul Austin kept his per- sonal shutoul alive with a big save on a slapshot from just Inside the blue line and another close in when a deflection took a bad bop. He had to perform heroics again with cight minutes left but the end result was Austin flat out an the ice and a Hazelton Riding a three goal cushion built up in the second pe- riod, Hazelton went on to win 6-3 and earn the north- western berth in the Quesnel Northern B.C. Games. forward looking ata gaping net. Fortunately, he lifted it over the top lo keep the home team’s faint hopes alive. Those hopes got another boost with just 2:42 left when Devon Van Hulle snapped the team's 44 minute scoring drought on assists from Roberison and Derrick to make it 5-3. Terrace kept up the pressure for the re- mainder of the game but continued to be plagued by attacks thal broke down when close to the goal. But it was Hazelton that struck next for what proved to be the final goal when Turner flipped in another point blank chance, Claremont and Mark Muldoe gelting the assists. Final score, 6-3 and Hazelton were on their way to the Games. The result was frusteating for Terrace. Having been squeezed out 8-7 by Hazelton in opening qualifying round ac- tion, the Bantams had demotished their eventual final opponents 9-3 in the sec- ond meeting. Worse, Terrace bad overwhelmed Kitimat 5-1 two nights before the final and ‘then watched Kitimat hold the casterners to a 3-3 tic the following morning. However, when push came to shove, Terrace could not confirm that form line atid now have to wait for next year,