ROB BROWN

A perfect guide
FEW YEARS ago fly fishers Ron
Cordes and Gary LaFontaine pub-
lished an excellent little streamside
guide containing the essential in-
formation for a trout fisher.

Now Ehor Boyanowsky and Jay Roland,
members of the Totem Flyfishers of Vancouver,
have put together a Pocket Guide to Fly Fish-
ing for Steelhead. Like the Cordes/LaFontaine
guide, the steclhead version will fit into a fly
vest packet and leave enough room for a flybox.

The paper is as thick as the hide cf a shark and
coated with plastic, an important feature for a
book intended to be used in the field. The bind-
ing is wire, also coated with plastic. If I were
emperor, all books would be bound this way.

Because hardcover books are so damned ex-
pensive and the library either does not have the
esoteric books I crave (and, even if they did I
wouldn’t be able to write in the margins) the
fishing department of my handy home library is
filled with pocket books which have been glued
together in the conventional manner.

Since knowledge seems to quickly get lost in
the folds of my graying cerebrum these days, I
find myself returning to favourite books on bugs
and flies and fishing techniques frequently,

After numerous consultations the spines crack
and pages float to the ground with the in-
evilability of autumn leaves. These coil bound
fellows, however, open effortlessly, lay fat, and
are good for unlimited appointments.

Everything about this book says “handy.” On
the inside cover is a check list. I’ve arrived at
the river without a picce of necessary tackle so
often it’s embarrassing to write about it. And,
I'm not just talking about leaving Junch or a box
of flies at home; I’m talking of those frustrating
moments when you discover you’re waderless,
or rodless or missing a reel. With this check list
— containing a whopping 44 items —~ you'll
nol be caught with your waders down around
your ankles.

The glossy coating of the pages is a boon
here; one simply takes the book from one's vest,
checks off each item with a felt pen, then wipes
the slate clean once the chore is complete.

There are 13 tough liltle tabs marking the
guide’s 26 sections for quick reference, The
first section sets out the kind of rods you'll need
to fish steelhead in all conditions,

Yes, I’m sorry to say one rod will not suffice
for steclhead fishing — but, you can get by with
two, Boyanawsky and Rowland can help you
make the selection with their terse discussion of
rod lengths and actions, and their applications.
There is a similar section devoted to reels.

With double tapers, and triangle tapers, grains
and sink rates, the selection of an appropriate
fly line can be a vexing matter, The authors
devote two pages to the topic. After reading
them, all wiil be clear, | guarantee it

Leaders for trout fishing are critical to suc-
cess; discovering, then typing the proper tapers
can be a complicated matter. For steelheaders,
leaders are simple, The tolems give concise,
clear directions of what breaking test to use for
the different situations.

There are only a few reliable knots needed for
steelheading and they’re bere — all cight of
them.

What fly to you select? Now, there’s a hoary
conundrum. Rowland and Boyanowsky give
nine well-known, readily available, wet-fly pat-
terns, suggest how they should be fished, then
separate them into palterns for all types of water
conditions,

For dry flies, the authors give three basic ap-
proaches, six pattems and suggestions as to
when they should be fished, Their advice is
sound, though in both scctions they fail to men-
tion the most common, and often most effective
approach, of surface and subsurface techniques,
namely the quartering downstream.

For me the most interesting section of the
guide deals with how steelhead move, and how
to differentiate the tell-tale signs of their mave-
ments from those of other salmon. I've not seen
this information set out anywhere before, at
least not this concisely and completely,

The most helpful part of this book will per-
haps be the five pages given over to the
anatomy of a steelhead river. Every part of a
river is described, along wilh suggestions for
the proper approach to each.

The amount of useful advice packed into this
tiny book is really amazing. Under the heading
of strategy there are 10 useful tips which, if ob-
served, will enhance the angler's ability to find
and catch steclhead. How to hook and release
steelhead, angling ethics, and how to calculate
the weight of a fish after releasing it are all here.
The formula and checklist atane justify the cost
of a Pocket Guide to Fly Fishing for Steelhead.
It is published by Umpqua and available at Fish
Tales Tackle Shop.

‘TERRACE STANDARD

SPORTS

To ER

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, January 10, 1996 - BS

Terrace Longs Logging and the Kitimat Knights of Columbus tournament. For many of the young players this was their first
battle it out at the Terrace arena during a 14 team novice hockey formal tournament on {ull ice.

Bantam hosts take third

First tourney here draws cheers

THE FIRST ever Bantam Rep
hockey tournament held in
Terrace is being called a great
success,

Four teams participated in
the double Round Robin styic
play, which went December
27-29,

Smithers came out on top in
the championship game,
defeating Whitehorse 5-3.

Colin Hiedeman notched two
goals for Smithers, while Joh-
nathan Osborn had two goals
for Whitehorse.

Terrace finished third, with
three wins and three losses.

AVALANCHE RECALLED

In first round play, they fell
to Smithers 4-3, and didn’t
fare much better against
Whitehorse, losing 6-3.

. They recorded their Cirst win
of the tournament in a high-
scoring game with Burns
Lake, The final score was 8-6.

In second round play, Ter-
Tace again dropped their first
game to Smithers 4-2, but later
rallied to down Whitehorse by
the same score,

They ended the tournament
on an up nole by defeating

Burns Lake 8-4. Burns Lake ~

went home without a single

Memorial ri

TWO TERRACE - snow-
mobilers killed in an avalan-
che six years ago were remem-
bered during the Sixth Annual
Memorial Ride on Sunday at
the Sterling Recreation Area.

Perrie Turner and Peter
Dobler dicd while riding on
Copper Mountain.

A number of other riders
with them at the time managed
to escape.

Local snowmobiler Ron
Niesner says the event has be-
come a great family outing,
despite the tragic event it
marks.

“It’s a way to get people up
on the mountain and remem-
ber the guys who died,” says
Niesner. ‘Some people ride

for only a few hours, and °

others make a whole day out
of it,”

“It’s basically a day depend-
ing on how much sledding you
want to do and how much fuel
you pack,”’

He says the event gives local
snowmobilers a chance to get
together and compare notes on

Hitting the trails

THE KITIMAT _ cross
country ski club is gearing
up for another great season.

Groomers have been busy
on the Onion Lake and
Kitimat Cross Country ski
trails and word has it that
the tracks are laying down
perfectly, and skiing is noth-
Ing short of fantastic!

And there's no shortage of

win, finishing fourth.

Bantam Rep spokesman
Terry Prinz says he's im-
pressed with the number of

people who turned out for the~

action.

There were over 200 on hand
for the championship game.

But he adds the tournament
was only possible because an-
olher scheduled event at the
arena was bumped up a few
months.

“This is the first time Ter-
race has had a chance to host a
Bantam Rep tournament main-
ly because of a shortage of

WINTER WONDERLAND: Area snowmobilers spent the day Sunday on Starling Mountain for tha

ice,’’ he said. ‘‘We just don’t
have enough ice here,’’

Prinz hopes the tournament
can become annual event, and

“he hopes double the number of ©’

teams will be involved next
year.

In peewee rep action last
weekend the Kitimat Kiwanis
came out on top of the four
team tournament, downing
Terrace Skeena Cellulose in
the championship game 6-2.

Smithers went home in third
place. Fort St. James took
fourth.

de a family affair ;

6th annual memorial ride for two Terrace men who diad on Copper Mountain,

their machines and discuss up-
coming events,
The Terrace. Snowmobile

opportunities coming up for
you to strap on your skis and
hit the trails,

IF you're interested in
skiing with a Masters
Group, Terry Brown is the
one to call at 798-2227,

The emphasis {s on fun, fit-
ness and Instruction,

For those between 8 and
13, why not try out the BC

Club is planning a number of
weekend rides in the upcom-
ing weeks.

Niesner says about 75 to 80
riders usually participate in the
Memorial Ride,

at Onion Lake

Rabbit Club in either Ter-
race or Kitimat.

For more information call
Paula at 638-1638, or Sue at
632-7632,

And junior racers can join
the Development Team or
the Kitimat Racers,

Both groups train 2 or 3
times per week, You'll have
fun while learning how to

cross-country ski in a recrea-
tional and competitive en-
vironment.

For more information call
Walter at 632-7632 or Terry
at 798-2227,

And remember if you're
using the trails, you must
have either a season pass or
have paid the day use fee,

638-7283

Ney