CHRISTIANA WIENS _

SKEEN'A, AN
ROB BROWN

Sinking lines

he Deer Creek riffle starts just be-

low the Bridge that takes the road

through Oso then across the Stil-

laguamish River to Whitehorse,

Darrington and points east. To
fisherman, the place is historic. Zane Grey
wrote about adventurous steelheading on Deer
Creek. On a day off from work at a nearby log-
ging camp Roderick Haig-Brown, then a young
British immigrant, caught a couple of dolly var-
den there and wondered if they were steelhead.

Before a hatchery was built upstream all of
the Stillaquamish summer run steelhead were
spawned in Deer Creek. Most of them rested in
the Deer Creek Riffle at Oso and the runs below
it, making those waters the natural habitat of
Washington State steelheading pioneers. It was
there that steelheading pioneers like Walt
Johnson, Al Knudsen, Wes Drain, Ralph Wahl,
and Harry Lemire developed angling techniques
and fly patterns still central to the sport.

When I visited the Stilly, some 15 years now,
the Deer Creek Run was not doing well. Some
careless logging had destabilized a bank and
triggered a mud slide on Deer Creek. As a
result, silt was ruining the fishing and choking
the creek’s spawning beds, Most of the regulars
had left for greener pastures with the notable
exception of Walt Johnson who still regularly
made the short walk from his home to the river
to hunt the few wild steelhead remaining in the
dwindling Deer Creek run.

One hot cloudless day I spotted an angler I
thought might be Walt playing a fish, in Deer.
Creek Riffle. As I neared him I realized the
.~ fisherman wasn’t Walt;-who always~fished“tis~*
delicate pastel flies a small cane rod and float-
ing line. This fellow had a stout glass rod and
stripping basket for gathering running line. By
the time I was standing beside him the old
fisherman had the steelhead at his fect. He
grumbled something about wild fish then gave
the line jerk. The leader snapped. The fish
bolted with the fly still in its jaw, Because they
are so rare wild steelhead in Washington State
are protected; The gent I was standing next was
out to catch a few dinners. He was.visibly upset,
that the fish he’d hooked" had: an adipose fin, yy
distinguishing it from hatchery stock. ~~

As he stood staring at the place where the fish.-
had disappeared, I introduced myself and asked
a few bland questions about the fishing. He
growled about how it wasn’t much good
anymore. As we talked it became clear that the
old guy knew his way around a steelhead
stream. He agreed that many summer steelhead
could be tricked into taking a dry fly, but he
liked to cat fish, and day-in day-out, he argued,
more fish can be taken on a sinking line.
“Bither way,” he said to me like a school-
master talking to grade schooler, ‘‘you’ve got to
fish your fly in the film or on the stones.”’

He was right. Years ago the line makers
marketed what they called ‘hi-speed, hi-
density" sinking tip fly tines. We bought them
and fished them confident that we were close to
the stream beds, and we caught a few steelhead,
more by luck than by design, for while the belly
of those lines sank quickly, the tips swung
through the drifts in the mid depths dragging
our flies closely behind.

Since then line manufacturing technology has
made giant leaps forward. The major line
manufacturers build lines that float like corks,
and others that sink like stones, and sink
uniformly. These lines are not inexpensive.
Fortunately there is a way to get the same effect
that hearkens back to the sinking line, stripping
basket set ups first invented by the likes of the
old curmudgeon J met on the Deer Creck riffle,

You can buy vinyl coated lead core line at
about two bits a foot. This is heavy stuff; it’s
thin and culs through the water like a hot knife
through butter, All one needs to do is buck off
the tapered portion of an inexpensive double
taper floating line in, say, a nine weight, then
put a loop on the end with braided monofila-
ment, or heavy nylon,

Next, take a 15-foot length of lead core, pul a
loop on it and take the whole works to the river.
Start casting, cutting siviall chunks from the lead °
line until it turns over comfortably. My-experi-
ence is that when you reach that point you will
find that your fly is still ticking the bottom from
time to time even if the flow is quite heavy.

Of course when you encounter slower water
you'll probably hang up with frustrating regu-
larity whereupon you will have a choice: either
strip in your line (a very effective technique that
is rarely used) or make a shorter lead core head
from another piece of line. You'll find plenty of
steelhead with this rig, but it’s best‘use is for
coho, chinook, sockeye and chum.

Remember: the top or the bottom, the water in
between is a desert for anglers. -

evetything™ aon” “the ‘goo: : :

&

638-7283

THEY MAY BE young, but
this group of swimmers
know what they want and
how to get there,

More mornings than not,
Jenine Barton, Thomas
Demetzer and Kyle Narzt
head to the poo] to tain
with their coach Mike Car-
lyle and other swimmers.

They’re in the water by

7:00 a.m. to practice length
after fength of swimming
drills.

So when the youth see
theie names among Cana-
da’s top-50 swimmers in
their age groups it gives
them incentive to swim’
faster,

Kyle Narzt is Terrace’s
newest entry to the top-50
standings.

When he was 14, Narzt.
was the number 34 swim-’
mer in Canada in the 200-
metre backstroke, swim-
ming it in 2:25.63 seconds,

He also had a number 37
ranking in the 100-metre
backstroke at 1:07.93 sec-,
onds, a time the now 15-
year-old Narzt beat at a
Prince George meet on Nov.
13 by 1.67 seconds.

But if Narzt is Terrace’s
newest entry, 13-year-old,
Jenine Barton is the town’s

£
Fs
i

most experienced top-50
swimmer.

From January to Septem-
ber, 1998 Barton had five
separate:,top-50 -entries.in-

mctfe-Hééstyle te the 4x50
individual medley. Her top
placing was a thirteenth
placing in the 200-meire

butterfly at 2:43:20 seconds,
an almost seven second im-
provement over her 1997
time,

Not to be _ outdone,
Thomas Demetzer, 13, had
nine listings in Canada’s
best 11 and 12-year-old
boys category last year.

‘While most of Demetzér’s

rankings are’ in freestyle . .
events, Demetzer boasts“*a STANDING PROUD: Local Blueback swimmers Jenine Barton, Thomas Demet-

top-10 ranking in the 200- Zet_and Kyle Narzt after an early-moming practice on Saturday, Nov. 21. Each of
metre backstroke and a top- the ‘teenagers made Canada's top 50 list for their age groups. Together, the trio
15 ranking in the 100-metre helped push Points North — a mix of northwest swimclubs -—— to a number 31
backstroke, ranking natianwide, The ranking is the club's best this early in the swim season.

COACH OF THE YEAR

Your coaches’ last hope

SO YOU’VE been thinking about submit- every ballot counts.
tng an entry form for The Terrace Stan- Don’t get us wrong, we’re not trying to
dard’s, Kermodei Beverages and Mul- harass you but, this is your last week, The
ligan’s Just Kiddin’ 1998 Coach of the deadline for entry forms to the Standard is
Year contest. Friday, Nov. 27 at 5 p.m. Just fill out the
You know who you'd like to see win that nomination form in this weck’s copy of the
hefty gym bag full of sporting accessories Standard and turn it in to us at 3210 Clinton
for you favourite sports guru. ‘You just Street. Our fax number is 638-8432 and we
baven’t put pen to paper and filled out that can be reached by e-mail. at stan-
entry form yet. dard@kermode.net, Winners will be an-
Better hurry! The entry forms are rolling nounced in the Dec. 3i issuc of the Terrace
in and we don’t want to miss anyone so Standard,

MEN'S SOCCER

League standings tight

DURING THE first game of indoor soccer play on Nov. The night’s third matchup saw Super BM battle Northern
15, Canadian Tire took an early 5-1 lead on the Northern Knight in both teams’ second games of the night. Super
Knights. BM took the early lead with three quick goals and did not
But, led by five goals from Corey Trogi, the Knights [ct up. Knight keeper, Colin Davies, kept his team in the
battled back in the second half to tie the game just minutes game for a while with great saves, but Super BM kept
before the game’s end, And Trogi’s five goals are sure to | scoring, ending the game 12-1.

bounce him up the scoring race. The night's last game featured the Internationals as they
In the night’s second match, two league stalwarts went battled Western Pacific ina close match-that ended 5-4 for

“head-to-head as Forestry..FC challenged Super BM. The Western Pacific. Nick Kolias played his first season game

solid tight-checking game was a physical battle which after suffering a serious injury at the end of the summer.
gave the opposition little room to move the ball.

With Tony Ribeiro's strong goai-keeping and Clint
Shepard’s two goals In the first half, Forestry took the ear-
ly lead although Super BM had good shots on goal.

League standings to Nov, 15, 1995

Then, with five minutes left in the game, Mike Super BM i a
Denomme brought Super BM within one goal ona one- wWestenPacific. 22 15 5 3 1 1 10
timer off a corner kick. Forestry held off Super BM during . ForestryFC == «20 «16 «5. 3 200.9.
the last few minutes to win the game, tighten up the league © Infermationals- - 27-17 5. 2 3.0 0°76"
standings considerably and beat Super BM for the first NorthernKnight 20.55. 5:0 2 4 100 bo,
time in three years of indoor or outdoor play. - Canadian Tire 16°26 5. FE 3° -i 2

Score
Board

Terrace Minor
Hockey

Novice games
to Nov. 11

Wednesday, Nov. 11

Long’s Logging 6
Tkon 4
R-40 Construction 4
Terrace Elks 3

Recreational!
hockey to
Nov, 17

Tuesday, Nov. 17
White Spot
Chapter One

wae

All Season’s
Back Eddy

bo oo

Sunday, Nov. 15
Back Eddy
Skeena Cable

All Season’s
Precision Builders

we or

Saturday, Nov. 14
Back Eddy
Chapter One

wb

Thursday, Nov. 12
All Season’s
Chapter One

sw

Tuesday, Nov. 10
Skeena Cable
Precision Builders

White Spot
All Season’s

Oldtimer’s
hockey

Saturday, Nov. 14
Northem Okies 6
SRD Blues 1

Wednesday, Nov, 11
Northern Okies 4
Timbermen 4

Full-contact
hockey

Saturday, Nov. 14
Terrace All-Stars 4
Prince Rupert Chiefs 1

Sunday, Nov. 15

Terrace All-Stars 5
Prince Rupert Chicts 7

Mini-
basketball
November 13:

Buils 19
Magic 49

Lakers 56
Suns 30

Celtics 58
Sonics 46
Grizzlies 50°
Raptors _ 48

To have your team’s
results posted in the
Terrace Standard, fax
them to us at 638-
8432,
| Results can also be

» ‘Clinton St. in Terrace
-or email us at stan-
- dard@kermode.net.

NN ff O

hand-delivered to 3210 |