CHRISTIANA WIENS

ROB BROWN

ven though it magnifies the sounds of

the fand and sends them longer dis-

tances, snow softens the landscape

overall while, paradoxically, giving it

sharper definition. The first ephemeral
snow lights on the valley bottoms on Nov. 17 this
year; there is not enough of it to bring the snow
plows out, and by noon the dog and I are riding
bare pavement east along the Skeena looking for
a new place to fish.

Within an hour’s drive of Terrace over a 100
miles of free-flowing river is easily accessible,
and this is the main stem of the Skeena alone, It is
only the main stem of the river [’m interested in
these days for the big river is the sum total of
thousands of small rivers disguised as back chan-
nels sloughs, beaver ponds and creeks. I like
surprises and Skeena Main is full of surprises;
like the cutthroat trout that revealed themselves in
a solitary rise as Webb and I prowled Esker Bar
on a clear, sharply-defined fall day when
trumpeters and geese flew over our heads as we
caught 50 trout; surprises like the two sockeye
salmon that miraculously transformed into
salmon-sized marauding dolly varden when I
threw a spell over them with my four-weight
wand and a rolled muddler, surprises like the four
shiny pinks, two steclhead, one cutthroat and one
coho that surged up from the depths to snatch the
small muddler I fished through the water just be-
low the confluence of Kleanza and Skeena one
afternoon this summer.

It was Finiay who first alerted me to the magic
of the Skeena; it was he that showed me how to
reduce its vast expanses of acreage into compre-

-hensible chunks of fishing real estate, We'd walk
out onto a strand of gravel a mite long. Fin Would |
lift his green rod like a diviner then wave its tip at
two or three places to me indistinguishable from
all the water along the beach, and predict fish. In-
variably, fish would be there. It was Fin who
helped me appreciate the rhythms of the river, and
how fishing for trout and char made you ap-
preciate salmon and steelhead more,

TIGER WILLIAMS signs autographs for devoted fans at the Terrace Kitimat Air-

TERRACE STANDARD

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, December 2, 1998 - B7

port before the Oldtimer’s Hockey Game in Kitimat Thursday, Nov. 27.

638-7283

Skating with
the greats

Local

fans get
whipped by the
NHL oldtimers in a
11-0 shoot out at
Kitimat’s Tamitik
Arena.

IT WAS A night 22-year-
old Bret Vilness will re-
..member forever.

Vilness was one of the
few lucky players to skate
against 12 hockey players
at Kitimat’s Oldtimer’s

* Hockey Challenge last
week and he just couldn’t
believe his eyes.

‘Tt was unreal,’’ be said.

: “Nat like watching them on
TV at all —] was really im-
pressed by their skill ievel.”’

His favourite player to
skate against was Richard

: ‘the king’ Brodeur who the

22-year-old Vilness says he
can’t remember watching
but bas followed for ages.

He's young enough not to
remember very many of the
NHL players on profes-
sional icc but says he does
remember Tiger Williams,
who said he loves to play
Oldtimer’s games because
they’re a lot of fun,

“He's a great guy, really
funny in person,” Vilness
said, He was lucky not to
get checked on the ice by
the. ex-Vancouver heavy
weight ‘but says Williams
really dng up his brother,
Chris, on theice,

And even though Vil-

ness’s team lost by a whap-
ping 11 goals (3 goals in the
first period, 5 in the second
and 3 in the third), Vilness
says it was worth it just to
witness the professional’s
moves on the ice.

‘They could pass from
end to end — right on the
stick,’’ be said with awe.

Vilnesss- and the Pest of
the Kitimat squad are al-
teady planning next year’s
revenge, he said even
though 1998 was meant to
be Kitimat’s year after
losing by just one point in a
4-3 match in 1997,

“We're planning our
strategies to make them
pay,’ said event organizer
Jeanette Szmata of. the
Kitimat Crimestoppers As-
sociation.

She said the arena was
overflowing, surpassing its
3,000 seating limit as
organizers squeezed ‘stand-
ing room only’ fans in.

The event raised $6,000
for two Crimestoppers ‘pro-
grams in Terrace and
Kitimat with 75 per cent of
the money going to the
Kitimat organizers.

An additional $970 will go
to Kitimat Crimestoppers
for the sale of event pro-
grams. And $1,173 was
raised from the 30-50 draw
at the arena, .

And -to Vilness who.
managed to snag autographs
from Bobby Hull and Tony
Tanti, among others, the
event was well worth it,

uw 2
owen nee! National equestrian coach
boats, now that summer is gone. Pawsome, co re
alarmed by the big trucks rolling wp and down the 1 .
highway, squeezes between my legs making it
difficult to pull my boots on. When I’m suited up T fa [ a S . Nn O rt h We ST U aa e rs Board
she bounds down the short unruly trail to the r
river, melting through brush I have to whack Terrace Minor
down with my staff, squeezing under logs I have IT’S NOT everyday, horse riders up here week at the youth-oriented horse facilities Hockey:
to climb over, There is a small clear creek at the get to train with an international coach. just outside of Terrace. isi
foot of the path. We cross it and make our way But, thanks to Lorraine Leframboise Ritchey, a level one coach herself, says Atom division
through the wet brush, coming out onto the river a horse enthusiasts here have been able todo that to find a coach of Leframboise’s games to Nov 21.
short distance above a small bluff. that for the last four months. calibre, people here would have to travel to Saturday, Nov. 21
As we round the rock two eagles burst from the _Leframboise coached Canada’s national the Okanagon or Lower Mainland. All West Trading 6
cove in the middle of it followed by a raven. The level team in 1992 at the Barcelona ‘Nobody would come up here specifical- Lazelle Mini-Storage 0
eagles move silently pushing through the air Olympics through to the World ly todo horse things,” she said. ‘‘We really
toward a stand of cottonwoods on the far side of Championships ai The Hague in 1994, lucked out.”” The Bargain Shop 2
the river. The raven barks and chortles then When she decided she needed a break Some of Leframboise’s Iegacy will in- Lazelle Mini-Storage 2
makes a loop back disappearing into the thicket from competitive horse-training circles, clude the eagerness she’s instilled in Conperside Foods 10
behind us. On the wet, gray sand before us lies a || Leframboise headed here to help friends set younger generations of riders, said Ritchey. Al West Tradin 5
ted coho with a filet cut from its side with surgi- up the Cedar River Physiotherapy Clinic. Still others says it’s her attention to the s
cal precision. The raven, I understand now, was But her reputation followed her and word — horse’s health and characteristics that mat- «
waiting for leftovers. Pickings are slim now that | of her experience soon spread. Lefram- ters. Novice division
most of the salmon have died and had their boise found herself teaching English § ‘‘It’s her medical and physical knowledge ames to Nov 22
remains sponged up by their surroundings. equestrian classes at the Thornhill Com- of the horse,’ said Lisa Hamer a level one g
There is a log jam to clamber over before we [| munity Grounds. coach in the area who has been certified for Sunday, Nov. 22
can reach the bar below it. This one is giant, “We're really lucky to have her,’’ said more than four years. 0 Construct a
sprawling over the head of the bar like a beached Karen Ritchey who moved her horse to | “I thought she was going to laugh, when [Raa nstruction
whale. Junk: bits of piastic, labelless cans, a lawn Copperside Stables this September when she started training us,’’. said Hamer. ‘But Long’s Lagging 4
chair, are pinned under the wreckage, Pawsome Leframboise started teaching two days a she didn’t, she’s greal,’” Lorraine Leframboise | Terrace Elks 3
finds a white and black soccer ball, lacking just we . ,
enough air to enable her to pick it up. Afier a ' Friday, Nov. 20
short game, she tires of the sport and we clamber MEN'S SOCCER Long's Logging 4.
over the bleached bones of the jam to beach. Ikon 8
The water is big. I scan it with the binoculars F ate ee .
. for a few minutes before I can read it. There is O rest [ ta es SECO f) ace . .
some structure far out, but too far out to fish ef- Recreational
fectively, and some res above a v ick lide INDOOR soccer action at Clarence Michiel Elementary team fought for room to mancuver, the referce had ta cau- hockey
about a quarter of a mi © cown stream, | make my Sunday, Nov. 22 saw four nerve-wracking finishes and [ots tion several players to make sure play stayed within the Tuesday, Nov. 24
way there quickly stopping to make a few casts of potential for last-minute goals. Thanks to good nel- rules of the game. White Spot 8
along the way. Distances are deceptive on valle y minding from some avid goalkcepers, the play was compe- Back Eddy 4
floor. It’s quite a while before we reach the spill. sitive and put Forestry FC four points behind Super BM. WESTERN PACIFIC 3 — FORESTRY FC 4
The water looks disappointingly fast and flat. Western Pacific and Forestry battled each other in a bid fi All Season's 0
I put on a length of fast sinking line and a black ester Pacific and Forestry battled each other ina bid for | eeena Cab! 5
woolly worm, cast long and strip in slowly at first SUPER BM 3— CANADIAN TIRE 2 second place in the league. Forestry started out strong with avle
then more quickly; this looks like dolly varden Tempers flared as the league leaders battied a struggling solid passing and good defensive play while scoring three Thursday, Nov. 19
water; dollies like moving targets. I continue this Canadian Tire team in an aggressive, physical game. times in the first half. The play of keeper Gil Rego kept White Spot , 4
way until my hands are so wet and cold they por- Super BM took a three-point lead carly in the game but Westem Pacific in the game until his team scored a goal of Skeena Cable 10
suade me to make my last cast of what looks like saw that lead dwindle as Canadian Tire worked hard to their own before the end of the half. Western Pacific con- ia
a fishless afternoon, I make a 60-foot throw, let it score two goals against them. The game almost became a tinued their comeback in the second half, tying the game, Oldtimer’s . mm
drift 10 feet then strip in hand over hand far too 3-3 tie as Canadian Tire's Seamus O’Riordon rang ahard __ before Forestry scored against the flow of the game to hock, 2a
rapidly to catch a fish, I think, until the fly is shot off the goal post in the last minute of the game. retake the lead. Forestry was able to hold on to their lead ockey
taken with a jarring strike c. , despite numerous chances by Western Pacific, including Sunday, Nov. 22
I awkwardly grab the rod, and in the two sec- INTERNATIONALS 8 — NORTHERN KNIGHT 5 _ several breakaways stopped by Forestry’s keeper, Tony Northern Okies 7
onds it takes to do so, my fly line is gone and The night's second game saw quick scoring as both teams Ribeiro. SRD Blues 4
dacron backing is whipping through the guides. exchanged goals early in the game. .
The fish doesn’t jump, it runs hard and long. 1 The Internationals took a one-goal lead at the end of the LEAGUE STANDINGS TO NOV. 22. 1998 Subway i
‘reteleve the line two more times only to see it dis- first ane al wh Nouthe net hatf, laking @ com “es Timbermen
appear in quick bursts. It’s a long time before the manding 7-4 lead. Nosthern Night didn’t give up an
fu js at may feet: a hen steelhead as white as the despite numerous scoring chances were only able to put super BM oo GA ge w L T Pls “8 Wednesday, Nov. 18 3
snow [set the rod genly beside her: 36 inches. one more behind the Internationals keeper, Frank Marrelli. Forestry EC a4 16 42060 Cdk ae Northem Okies 8
other surprise: a beautiful fish in water I’ve Internattonals 372467033 #1 Mowe os
_ never fished intl today. She disappears in the INTERNATIONALS 2 — CANADIAN TIRE 2 Westen Pacific 23 19 6 32 1 10 © SRD Blues _ 3
direction of Dasque Creek where snow that will Canadian Tire and the Internationals battled it out in their © NorthemKnight 23 63 7 1 5 1 4-5) Timbermen 3
stay until May is falling heavily. second games for another tight-checking match. Aseach © CanadlanTire = 20 31 7 OL 42 3