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'SKEENA ANGLER
ROB BROWN

Radio steelhead

he Ministry of the Environment

saw that radio telemetry, already

used by bear biologists, bad the

potential to provide vital informa-
tion about steclhead,

The Skeena River Radio program was imple-
mented by the Fish and Wildlife Branch in
1978, Its primary objective was to identify
specific stocks of steelhead as they entered the
drainage and to determine the rale of movement
of the fish within it.

Led by Mike Lough, veteran steelhcaders Ron
Tetreau, Gord Wadley, George Schultz, and
Chuck Hanley--who, unshaven and wearing
broad brimmed hats fletched with eagle
feathers, looked more like mountain men than
technicians--set oul lo implant radio transmitters
the size of flashlight batteries in steelhead.

To radio activate a steclhead you must first
catch it. For the novice implanters this proved a
bigger problem than anticipated. Monofilament
gillnets were used in the hope thal the steelhead
would get caught up by their teeth and noses,

Unfortunately these nets worked with the
deadly efficiency of their conventional counter-
parts, with the result that most of the fish turned

up dead or too damaged to carry a transmitter -

successfully.

In the first phase of the program a large, wire
mesh overgrown minnow trap, 18 feet long and
Slightly over nine fect in diameter was brought
in. Originally used by commercial fishermen on
the Sacramento River, the California Fyke Trap
had to be trucked up and down the lower
Skeena below Terrace on a flat bed truck.

While the trap had done well on smaller rivers

south of the border, the powerful currents of the °

Skeena pulled heavily on the contraption, in one
instance bending 2 inch steel poles as if they
were noodles.

The unwieldy nature of the trap, and the fact °
that fish shied away from it in a year when the -

Skeena was extraordinarily clear, made it all
but useless, Only a handful of salmon and a
small seal were enmeshed. Steclhead escaped its
clutches entirely. Succumbing to the lobby from

his crew, Lough decided the best, and probably -
least stressful method, for collecting stcelhead ”

might well be angling.

There was only a small band of die hard
fishermen working the expansive gravel bars
between Terrace and tide water in those days,
Lough’s steclheading team learned of Esker Bar
from some of them, went there, and caught 16
steelhead during their first full day of fishing,

The tagging procedure was brutal and simple:
the fish--which could range in size from cight to
thirty pounds--were played quickly then brought
lo the shallows, While one crew member held
the victin the wrist, another member pushed the
transmilter down the animal’s gullet into its
esophagus.

With this phase of the operation complete,
two numbered, plastic, spaghettini sized tags
were punched through the steclhead’s hide on
both sides of its dorsal fin. A sampling of scales
was then ripped from the same place so that the
their rings could be read to age the fish. The
poor animal then had to-endure measurement
before it was finally returned to the river where
it was held until revived.

Fish after fish were manhandled because there
was simply no other way. Would they survive?
Most of the fish held in the cold water,
reoriented themselves, drew. on some hidden
source of energy and bolted inlo the deeper
water seemingly unaffected by the body pierc-
ing and the radio in their guts; superficially their
chances of enduring looked good.

‘There was one bizarre exception that first
year,’’? Lough noted. To give the steclhead as

great a chance of survival as possible, the crew‘

packed holding tubes, submersible holding pens
where fish thal appeared shaken after tagging
could be held for observation before release,

One robust creature that should have with-'

stood the operation began to list from side to
side. As the crew watched, the fish weakened.
Tetreau killed the buck with a blow to the head,
pulled out bis knife and performed the autopsy
as the crew looked on.

The stomach of this male was full. Ron slit the
organ and pulled out small net bag of filled with
liquor filled candies wrapped in silver and pur-
ple paper bearing the label “Bourbon
Lumonde’’. Some of the treats had ruptured
during the tagging blecding booze into the stecl-
head's blood stream,

The men shook their heads and stared in

amazement at what was probably the first fish

of any kind to get drunk.
Nexi week: More tagging adventures,

TERRACE STANDARD.

SPORT

| ‘Strike!

A VANDERHOOF PLAYER makes .a valiant attempt to knock one out of the park Saturday,.as. teams...
fought lo see who would represent the zone In the 14-year-old division at the Provincials.

Swimmers smash records

SOME OF Terrace’s finest young
swimmers were in top form at the
Eurocan [nvilational swim meet in
Kilimat last week,

The Blucbacks competed against
teams from Kitimat and Prince
Rupert. A total of 39 athletes swam.

The Blucbacks fared very well,
being responsible for four of the six
pool records that were broken at the
meet

Tristan Brown, Thomas Demetzer,

were all record-breakers,- Vanderlee’s
effort smashed the previous 11-year-
old best-time by three seconds.

points, Jenine Barton placed second in

SHE’S ONLY 16 and she’s already a soc-
cer superstar.

So far this year she’s played on three dif-
ferent soccer teams, won several awards,
and she still managed to make her high
school honour roll in academics,

Life’s pretty busy for Roxanne Chow.

Born and raised in Terrace, Chow moved
with her family to Port Moody last year,

“When i's not raining, ‘ils beautiful,”
Chow says of her new hometown, “And
we can play soccer all year round.””.

Always one of Terrace’s top female
allictes, Chow hasn’t slowed down in her
new locale.

“Things have been pretly hectic,’ Chow
says.

Hectic may be an understatement.

Chow plays onthe: "A" team of the
Under-17 Provincial All-Stars, She also
plays on the Burnaby Under-19 Scleet

team, which recently won the Icague

championships.

And she is on the Port Moody Senior
Secondary girls team. Playing for ber
school at the high school . Provincial
Championships carlicr this mouth in Kam-
loops, she picked up second all-star

There’s more.

Two weeks ago her school held ils awards
ceremony, Chow picked up Most Valuable
Player in both soccer and basketball, nol to
menlion Athlete of the Year and her ‘name
on the honour roll: a ; an

“I was pretty heavy when I left the
ceremonics,’’ says Chow, referring to all

the medals she received. "It was exciting, .

especially since I'm only in grade 11.”
But Chow says she couldn’t have done if

alone, and credits those in Terrace who *

have helped her along.

points in the female 9-10 group and
Natalie Gour was fourth,

The 11-12 group was dominated by
Kitimat swimmers, although Terrace's
Judy Stevenson also did well, placing
seventh. This was Stevenson’s last
chance to qualify for age-group
Provincials, and she succeeded,

Marina Checkley and Audrey Erb
swam second and third for points in
the female. 13-14 group, while Julie
Vanderlee was third in the 15-and-
Dylan Evans and Julie Vanderlee over group.

Thomas Demetzer handily cruised
to a Ligh points win in the 9-10 age
group, with several other Bluebacks
Several Blucbacks also fared well in also making the top 10.

Dylan Evans tied for first in the 11-

Roxanne rockets to the top

ond and third.

niece.

“Pm very grateful to the Bujtas’,’’ she
says. ‘‘And to Blaine Kluss, He was a very
influential coach, Everyone always wanted
to play on his teams,’”

Chow doesn’t have too much free time ta
hang out with friends, so she is really look-
ing forward to sumnier holidays.

*‘I see most of my friends at school or at
practice,’’ she says. ‘‘After exams J’Il final-
ly have some free time to relax and write
my friends in Terrace,’

But Chow won’t be slowing down too
much. She’s heading to California June 30
with her provincial team to take part in ‘the
Coastal Cup. Then she heads to the Interior
Challenge, and if her team docs well, they
go to the Nationals in Regina July 15,

Chow says ils tough to keep up with her
training and study for exams at the same
time,

“Pm supposed to be lifting weights and
running,’’ she says. ‘But it’s hard to find
the lime for everything,”’

Her excellence in both academics and
sports have led Chow to sign onto a pro-
gram that distributes names to college
scouts. She says she would like to attend
universily in the United States, studying
sciences — probably kinesiology.
“Hopefully ] can get-a scholarship,” she
says, “T like lo go to different places, try
new things and meet new people. I like
change.”

Chow says her dream is to play for the
Canadian National Women’s team, al-
though she says she faces stiff competition.

"T would love to play in the 2000 Sum-
mer Olympics,’’ she says. “It will be
tough, but I’m willing to work for it,’’

If her success so far is any ‘indication,
she'll be there, .

12 group and Cole Nystrom was
fourth. Tristan Brown also tied for
first place in the 13-14 group.

Aud in the 15-and-over group, Seth
Downs and Chris Kerman swam sec-

Coach Mike Carlyle says that the
club accomplished its poals for the

"We wanted the kids to have con-
fidetice going into the Provincials,”’
he says. ‘‘And for those not going to
Vancouver, we wanted them to end
theirscason with a bang.”

Fourteen Bluebacks will have their
next meet at the Provincials ‘in Van-
couver July 12-14, ,

Open
attracts
golfing
greats

GOLFING enthusiasts ‘from
around the northwest will be
converging in Terrace this
weekend for: the annual
Skeena Valley Open,

The tournament is apen to
anyone with a valid BCGA
handicap card, and Skeena
Valley Club Captain’ John
Ross says it will be a full
house,

“There will be a field of
104,” Ross says. “And it
will be a sell oul’?

There’ are no handicap
limits for the event, which is

divided“ into’ four fights,

with prizes in each fight.

“This: year is bound to be
exciting,’ - Ross — says.
“There’s no char odds-on
winner and at least 10 real
contenders, It will be a tight
mace’?

The greens.aze now cut to
summer lengths, so they
will be fast, and Ross says
the course is in good shape
for the event.

Toumament prizes include
big-screen televisions, golf
clubs and fishing equip-
ment.

‘The number two hole
Should prove especially ex-
citing. [1 will have. six flags,
cach representing a different
continent, “Avhale-itiave” it
any of them will win a trip
to that location. Lots of
olher hole-in-ane prizes, in-
cluding a brand new pickup
are also available.

The open kicks off Friday
night with a practice round
and a social get-together.
Serious golfing begins Sat-
urday,

The toumament will also
offer entrants a chance to

‘| see plans for the back nine

holes, which Ross says will

Ooplimistically be open in

1999,

On. the July 5-7 weekend,
the club will host the Ladies
Open, and. then July 12-14,
the Junior Open,

For mare information call
the club at 635-2542

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