ROB Seren Midwinter’s spring aving Spring in the middle of winter this year has presented anglers who hunt in the waters of the lower Skeena and Kitimat Rivers an array of unusual and exciting situa- tions. Normally, large sections of both rivers are plugged with ice in January and February, This year our streams are wide open, clear, inviting and as low as I’ve seen them at any time. Rif- fles, spills, tantalizing glides, and intriguing in- side corners that previously flowed unseen and uniouched are revealed. Seals normally kept out of the Skeena by a wall of ice are now brazenly prowling the gravel bars; over the last two months I’ve seen their shiny black heads at Esker, Shames, Remo, and Dasque. They are there for steelhead ] assume, though they could be after the large bull trout I’ve hooked on those outings. Last Saturday, on the 19th of February, | spotted a lange flock of geese flying up and over the Kitimat Valley on their way to Terrace, a phenomenon usually reserved for late March and April. The next day the high pitched, stac- cato call of a woodpecker had the dog cocking her head and her ear in the direction from whence it came before I loaded the gear, and ber, into the car. There were other signs on the trip down a high water channel to the bar below Komaham including budding willow, of all things, and the song of the bird I’ve heard every ‘ spting. and early summer since] ¢aa rethember ' hearing bird song. J don’t know if I’ve ever seen “the songster but his call, consisting of two notes falling from somewhere near the first ‘‘g” above middie ‘‘c’’ to a note somewhere near “e” a minor third below, is unmistakable. Other novelties afforded by this winter/spring are the possibility of getting to the river over the snow-fee ground more quickly than in other Februarys as well as the ability to range morse widely once there. So it was on the Sunday in question. We scrambled over a bank then made our way along a high water channel. The sun . was oul, There was no wind. The air was warm, so warm the wool mitts stayed in the back pock- et of my rain coat. Pawsome raced over rocks and ice remnants after her shadow. Her ears flew wildly enhanc- ing her border collie lines. The transition from tock to ice was a difficult one, Once or twice she didn’t make it, skittering madly, legs akimbo for a few seconds before regaining her thythm. Each time I let her run about a hundred yards then fetched her back with a whistle, We crossed a water filled channel. The retriever part of my pup emerged. She swam strongly, shook vigorously, ears slapping, collar rattling, then waited paliently for me to make my way across. Given the low water, a floating line was in or- der. [ knotted together ten feet of leader then, out of respect for the stunning beauly of the sur- roundings, selected an clegant dark pattern with a sparse wing of black bear hair, a copper rib, a dark red tail of dyed pheasant crest fetched with dark blue grizzly hackle, A fish took it on the first swing, It was a hefty bull trout, proba-: bly about four pounds, The dog began making sounds like person makes when they are trying to suppress a cough, a kind of ubff, uhff, then she began to bark in earmest, I looked where she was looking. A moose clattered out onto the beach then ran to the water’s edge at a speed that would have made a quarter horse proud and splashed in. Moose are well served by their thick coat of hollow hair. Even though the river is deep where the animal crossed, it floated so high it appeared to be walking on the bottom. In two minutes the moose had crossed the Skeena and was loping for the thick brush on our side. Pawsome was beside herself now, ] wondered’ why until I looked back across the river. A trio of wolves had emerged from the dry river bed. | They sniffed around the spot where the moose | had entered the river; they clambered over the ice packed against the shore there; they ap-° peared agitated, { yearned for my field glasses, which I'd left hanging over a kitchen chair. I've seen plesity of wolf spoor along the snow filled trails over the years, much of it fresh, but this was the first time I'd actually seen the creatures, Paws' barking, I realized, was masked by the rush of the river against the ice on wolves’ side ‘ of the river. I grabbed her by the collar and led her to a log where we watched her wild cousins, who had given up on the moose hunt in favour of play, gambcl for what seemed like a long time. Then, in an instant they disappeared be- hind the ice. “This,” I said to my pooch, ‘‘is a special day in a special year, in a special place.’ She looked at me for a moment then roared off after - her shadow. TERRACE STANDARD SPORTS 638-7283 Baniams take Zone Finals CAPTAIN HOOK: Kitimat Poawee players use a little stick-work to try and slow down a Terrace player making a break. This game was a tight one, with great chances on both sides. Terrace lost in overtime 3-2. a Local Peewees forced to settle for second place FOR ONE team it was exhilarating, for another, heart- breaking. Terrace’s Bantam rep hockey team won the Zone. Championships over the weekend and will be heading to the Provincials. Meanwhile, the Peewees lost their bid for the zone title, going down in two straight to a tough Kitimat squad. The Bantams beat out Kitimat in a gut-wrenching series, two games to none. Both games went into overtime, with the clincher going to double-overtime. Terrace won their first game Feb. 27, 5-4 at Tamitik arena in Kitimat, The winning goal was scored seven minutes into the first overtime period. The second game, held in Terrace, was another nail-biter, That one went into the second overtime period before Ter- race potted the winner and took the game 4-3 before a tumultuous crowd at the arena. Meanwhile, the Peewee reps weren’t having quite as much success against their Kitimat rivals, Their first game Friday night in Terrace was a heartbreaker. More than 100 fans pried themselves away from the Canucks game to cheer on their favourile team, And they weren’t disappointed with the fast end-to-end action the game provided. Kitimat’s Jeff Scott scored first, right at the start of the second period. But Jared Connatty tied itup for Terrace 10 minutes later with a nice shot. Terrace got the lead two minutes into the third on a goal by Grant Commins. Kitimat fought back with another goal at 12:36. In spite of great open-net chances on both sides, the game went into overtime. And with just three minutes left in the first overtime period, Kitimat scored and won 3-2, That win put Kitimat up by one in the best-of-three series, The next game, held at Tamitik in Kitimat, was an- other close one. Once again, the game had to be decided in overtime. And once again, Kitimat came out on top, taking the win in their hometown. Meanwhile, two weekends ago in the Peewee ‘‘B’’ divi- sion, Terrace and Kitimat also squared off. But this time it was Terrace who came out on lop. The Terrace team, comprised of players from the Peewee House Division, beat Kitimat in that best-of-three, two games to none. The win means the team will head to the Challenge Cup in Kamloops, March 16-20. ail Bees PETE SER SIRE RE tyre Super BM favoured as playoffs near. NO ONE can touch them. Jacques Corstanje. They're solid all will follow a single-game knockout formula. Super BM of the Men’s Soccer League have clinched the indoor regular season title. As of Saturday, the team was still undefeated, with an amazing record of 11 wins, zero losses and zero ties, for 33 points. The team sports an impressive offence, but it's in defence and goaltending where Super BM really shines. That’s reflected in the standings. Super BM actually ranks fourth in the league in goals for. And of the top six scorers in the league, Super BM only has one — Brian Barwise. But the team has also only allowed 18 goals against — nearly half as many and number two ranked Western Pacific. “'They’re just a very good team,’’ says league spokesperson. Bowlers advance to Provincial: LOCAL YOUTHS bowled around,”’ Last week, Forestry came close to toppling the giant, leading the game in the first half and keeping it tied up until late in the second. But Super BM still came out victorious. The battle now is for second place in the league, with Western Pacific, the Internationals and Park V&M all within a few points of each other. “It’s tight and it’s been closing up of late,’’ says Corslanje. ‘It’s going to be a great fin- ish.” While Super BM has clinched the regular sea- son, they still have to get through the playoffs to win the championships. Those playoffs start March 22, and could be completes in one day if all goes as planned. It overconfident Fort St. ‘John Super BM is pretty much guaranteed to move through the first round. They ’te playing lowly Albion, who have just one win to their credit this year. This year has been the biggest ever for men’s futsal. For much of the scason, there were players on a waiting list to get involved. But now with the season winding down, and the fields bare, players are already looking for- ward to the coming. outdoor season. The league will be holding its outdoor pre- season mecting Monday, March 23 at 7 p.m, at the library, Anyone interested in entering a team in the coming season should attend, along with players from last season. For more information call Lorenzo at 635- 7871 or Jacques at 635-4368, over the competition at a tournament in Prince George two weekends ago. The youths were in PG for a meet that was the second Stage of the four steps to stardom program for Cana- da’s young bowlers. And they looked great, coming home with a number of individual and team medals. Those who finished in the top spot will now advance to the third step — the Provincials. One of those to advance is 14-year-old Phillip Durand. Durand blew everyone away at the meet, bowling a whopping 285 average for five games. He brought home a gold medal in the Junior Boys category. Meanwhile, the Junior Boys team, consisting of Jesse Mumford, Cole Stephens, Robbie Miller, Michael Dahms, and Douglas Hayes also took gold at the eveat. Terrace’s Senior Girls group aced the toumament too. The team, comprised of Erica’ Francis, Michelle Francis, _ Jamie —_Striker, Tanya Olsson and Tish Heeley, squeezed past an GOLDEN GUYS: That's Terrace's Junior Boys bowi- ing team. They took top spot at a meet two weekends ago and are now going to the Provincials, team and the host team to grab gold, Fort St. John was the favourite going into the meet, but they couldn’t keep up to Terrace, The gold medalists will all be heading to the Provin- cials in two weeks. Other singles who scored medals at the event include Jared Stephens, who picked up silver in the Bantam Boys event, "and David Al- way, who bagged bronze. Bronze medals were also had by the Senior Boys team, which consisted of Ryan = Sergerie, Joey Prevost, James Adams, Norm Gibson and Jon Pelticr. Not to be outdone, the .. Bantam Boys also picked up a bronze, That team consists of Richard Stephens, Jesse Davies, Andrew Dahms, Matthew Kumpolt and Al- lan Saunders. Terrace’s gold medal bowlers, along with many others from each of B.C.’s seven zones, will converge at the Provincials in Vernon, March 21. Top finishers from that meet wil represent B.C, in the fourth and final step — the National Tournament, to be held April 21 in the Fraser Valley. STRIKE SMART: That's Phillip Durand, who's Provincials-bound after taking gold . ata meet in Prince George, Durand averaged an impressive 285 over five games.