BA - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, August 26, 1998

"CHRISTIANA WIENS

SKEENA ANGLER
ROB BROWN

Less is more,
more or less

ess is more. I’m not sure whether

this is a Zen koan or just a North

American apothegm that’s been

passed around from mouth to ear for
so long it’s in need of shave. Whatever the case,
trucr words were never spoken.

If less is more than more must be less, more or
less. This is deep stuff, but my intention is to
avoid getting lost in some semantic thicket. Suf-
fice it to say that, this chestnut is as true in an-
gling general and flyfishing specifically as it is in
any other endeavour,

Every time I go fishing I leam more about fish-
ing. I’ve gone fishing a lot over the years, and
now afier all that time. I’ve discovered more
pleasure is extracted from the sport with less gear.
This is good news for beginners. In fact, if you
are just starting out, you should clip this column
and regard it as a coupon that will save you thou-
sands of dollars. ;

I started out with a fly rod. In short time I had
half a dozen and was drooling over the latest high
modulus graphite featured in the latest Oy fishing
‘zines, After all, | reasoned, there are all kinds
fishing situations and all kinds of fish, obviously
one needed a lake rod, and stream rod, a rod for
big game and one for tads. Similarly, big rivers
need different rods than do small rivers. Wrong.
Pool sharks don’t have a different cue for dif-
ferent kinds of shots, golfers don’t whip out a

new putter for each green, and fly fishers can get

by with one pole. I have ‘two: a 14-foot two, band-.,.
erI use.in the winter and on the Skeena — an eX:
travagance ] could teally do without and ‘a six-
weight, nine-foot Hardy.

The Hardy six weight is over 10 years old. It
was made of graphite (or carbon fibre, as the Brits
like to call the stuff) when there was only one
kind. It is a timber rod that flexes down to the
cork and because of its sweet uniform action it
can be spey cast, roll cast and overhead cast beau-
lifully, a versatility the high modulus, high priced
poker stiff sticks do not have,

The last time I had the "Hardy Favourite" out I
caught steelhead,.a cutthroat trout newly arrived
from the sea, and a couple of pinks. I use 12-
‘pound test and I pull bard on my rods. The old
Hardy handled them all comfortably,

As far as casting is concemed, tackle manufac-
turers would like you to believe you have to
throw to the far side of the river, and they have all
kinds of rods and lines to help you do this.
Listen: the fish you catch will be on your side of
the river, and they will be a lot closer to shore
than you think. Forty-five feet is a long cast, 60
feet is really putting it out there, and if your fly is
out any farther than that, it’s right out of control,

Every season [ meet someone who brags they
can cast a 100 feet. Your average fly line is 90
feet. Take out your rod, hook a fly to a tree and
walk away until the entire line is stretched out be-
fore you. Now look at it. Can you cast that far
even with a wind at your back? If you could how
inuch influence would you have over your fly?
I've fished with some pretty talented and effective
fly fishermen. All bad the ability to throw long,
but none of them did. What they did is put their
flies in the right places ever mindful of the fly
man’s mantra, speed and deplh, depth and speed.

So this brings me to lines. Repeat after me:
double tapered floater. Double tapered fly lines
handle well, they are the most pleasure to cast
(don’t forget we angle for pleasure), and they are
the least expensive. The tap of the tine double
tapered floater will cost you about seventy
loonies. After fishing it heavily for four or five
years you can attach the front end of the line to
the backing and fish the olber half for four or five
years more,

l catch fish afl year round on a floating line. By
carefully selecting your flies and leaders, there is
no reason Why you can’t cither. Some people will
tell you tleed heavy weight forward lines to catch
fish. This is not so, though the Jim Teeny lines
and similar monstrosities will help you jig fish —
but then that’s illegal, For the life of me I can’t
understand why anyone would endure the
awkward and liring act of casting these awful
lines. Casting a spoon is much more enjoyable
and much more effective.

When it comes (to ics another saying comes to
mind, ‘If it ain't broke, don’t fix it?’ A Silver
Brown, a dark-wet fly, and tinsel-bodied streamer
all size six, a few muddler minnows and a Tom
Thumb in assorted sizes and some small soft
hackles in red, green, and orange and will do the
trick, just be sure to keep them ail sparse.

A bag to hold your lunch, a raincoat and a pair
of scissors, a durable pair of boot foot PVC
waders securely belted around the waist, a leader
tapering to 10 pound, a spool of tlppet material
and your outfit ls complete. So go fishing. And,
if you get skunked, reinember, less is more.

Anyti

TERRACE STANDARD.

me

is upside
down time

LEARNING a new sport is
never casy, Ict alone one
that puts you on a one per-
son raft in the middle of
twisting rapids,

So it takes a’ patient
teacher and a few slow steps
before you feel ready to hit
the whitewater.

To many kayaking stu-
dents in and around Kitimat
and Terrace, that instructor

is Kitimat born ’n_ bred
Richard Watt.
Watt's been kayaking

since 1981 and teaching
courses to proups of begin-
ners since 1989,

In 1995 he started teach-
ing officially, planning les-
sons on a regular basis fromm
spring until fall,

“It’s nice to watch begin-
ners go through that learn-
ing curve,’’ said Watt ad-
ding that once people get
the hang of the basics, their
excitement for the sport can
be overwhelming.

His course usually starts
on Onion Lake, where
beginners learn how to gel
in and out of the kayak safe-
ly, selfrescue tips, and
basic strokes and braces.

Here, in the calmness of
the lake, Watt also has

|.» People try. their first, eskimo...

roll — going upside-down

Men's Soccer:

League standings
to Aug. 16

Team Pts.
1, Super BM 39
2 Park V&M 32
3. Western Pacific 28
4. Forestry 24
5. Home Hardware 21
6. Internationals 16
7. Stompers 14
8. Greenville 13

Game results

Aug 15
Super BM 5
Forestry 0

Home Hardware 4
Internationals 1

+

and flipping yourself over
while —- and here’s the
clincher — slaying in the
kayak, a trick that can take
years to learn properly.

After their first lesson
kayakers move to the
Kitimat River where they
practice their skills and
learn to ‘read the river’ by
maneuvering in a current,

Wait says most of the
remaining three lessons are
just practice — vital to gain-
ing confidence and reacting
under pressure to what can
be a dangerous situation.

Though Watt says every-
onc progresses at different
rates and that newcomers
shouldn’t push themselves,
the women he teaches usual-
ly fare beller than the men.

“They make sure they
really understand a move
before moving on, allowing
them to react better under
pressurc,”” said Watt.

“Its quite sick,” he said
laughing.

He experienced his first
injury lo a group member,
July 1, when a woman in a
recreational group he was
out with smacked her head
in low water,

“She. .panicked,’’ said

they should have noticed

Women’s Soccer:

vr eviensacen

638-7283

rrecaaaC

SPLASH: Who says a dry suit keeps you dry? That's Sandy heading to shore
after doing an upside down exit on Onion Lake. Beginners start in calm water then
move to the rapids of the Kitimat before graduating from Watt's five-day course,  ”

she was nervous.

To Watt, the dangers of
kayaking are minimized by
the experience itself.

“The Firth River near In-
uvik was beautiful,’’ he said
after travelling two-and-a-
half days of canyon. With a
few friends he saw musk ox,
caribou and ficlds of flowers
from his kayak.

Locally, Watt says the
northwest has some off the
best unpopulated river
potential in all B.C.

Williams Creek, says Walt
is a world class: river;:with

the visiting in 199878! «.

HANG ON: Sabine: and. Laurie! touch base .while. .
Watt. adding, that.as.a_group.-..kayakers from: Germany-ar and -- ~trying:toearn proper: ‘hip: flicks’: needed to: start an~

eskimo roll at Onion Lake two weeks ago.

Artistic Hair takes all

WHO SAYS women’s soc-
cer can’t be tough?

- The Terrace women’s soc-

cer playoffs were clinched
in tight shoot outs. Aug. 18
at Thornhill Primary fields.

In the final matchup
league underdogs, the Green
Horiets scored first as new-
comer Tracey Faith nailed
the shot,

Add to that a "strong

‘defence and fine goal tend-

ing by Roseanne Komilos
aud Artistic Hair was left

:More than a litte anxious
‘. for the rest of the game.

But Mui Luc prevailed by

scoring the tic-breaker tak-
ing the game to a three-
round shoot out.

In a tense battle Artistic
goalie, Shannon Merritt let
in goals by Mary Martins
and Heidi Siebring. Then,
Monica Rauter, Mui Luc
and Sonya Dhami bulleted
another three goals past the
Homet keeper, ending the
game 4-3,

Third and fourth place
were decided earlier that
night when a scoreless
match tumed into another
tough shoot out between
Almwood contracting

(Beginners Luck) and Cen-

tral Flowers (Mother
Goose),
Beginners Luck just

couldn't avoid the Goose
goalie and when the shoot
out ended, Mother Goose
ended up winners 2-0.
Becky Heenen and Naomi

Thibodeau scored the
games’ only goals.
Final league standings

placed Artistic Hair first
with the Green Hornets,
Mother Goose, Beginner’s
Lick, Oasis Sports Club and
Blessings Children’s Wear
finishing last.

Commander takes charge

mander. The pair rode to

SHERRY KIRSCH with her winning horse, Com-

victory once again at the

Thornhill Timber'and horse show August 16 and 16.

By ANITA DOLMAN

' SHERRY Kirsch is modest

‘about her accomplishments

- but she and ber horse, Com-
mander, have torn up the-

riding circuit this year.

The pair continued a
phenomenal season with ten
more wins at the Timber-
land horse show August 15
and 16 in Thornhill.

They competed against 54
other horses and their riders
to finish with the weekend's
highest points totals for
senior riders and horses.

Commander, a 5 and a
half-ycar-old Dutch X geld-
ing, is stoving to be a hot
ticket.

‘He's a one in a million
horse,” says Kirsch,

Although Commander was
bred te ride, Kirsch says no
one had expected him to do
so well.

In only his second year on
the riding circuit, he has
becn winning consistently
all season,

Kirsch, who also trained
Coinmander, says she has
gotten several offers to buy
him but she has no intention
of selling.

“‘He’s my best friend,”
she says.

Kirsch has had the hone

since he was a foal and both
of her four-year-old twins
also ride him.

But she sees big things for
his future.

The two missed the B.C.
Summer games this year be-
cause of a scheduling con-
flict bul next year Kirsch in-
tends to ride Commander at
Spruce Meadows and Van-
couver.

The {6.1 hand gelding
will be competing in jump-
ing and dressage competi-
tious and will try his luck at
three-day eventing.

He’s a one in a mil-
lion horse.

Other riders also had a
good weekend at the Tim-
berland show,

Ellie Bone won the most
points for Junior C, with
J.C.’3 Fancy Pants while
Rachel Muller rode to the
highest total for Junior B
and A on Bright Skipalleta.

Riders competed in over
60 categories at the 34th an-
. nual Thomhill show,

Competitors will get their
next charice at the Fall Fair
horse show.

Sports

Scope

Coffee for’

coaches

TERRACE YOUTH Soc-
cer Association invites all
1998 coaches to the Chris-
tie Park meeting room’
after cach regular season
game Aug. 25-31.

Meant as a time to relax
and mingle with other
coaches, the meeting. will
provide coaches with a
chance to chat about next
season.

invitational
soccer

YOU AND your team are
invited to play in the first
Bell Pole Invitational
Tourmament Sept. 4-7.

Each team will play ina
round-robin qualifier to
join an cight-team single
knockout tournament. |
Teams are guaranteed to
play at least three games
and the tournament entry
fee is $250 per team. Call
Jacques at 635-4368 1a
register.

He shoots,

he scores

HOCKEY LEGENDS
Guy Lafleur and Tiger

Williams will battle
Kitimat’s Allstars hockey
team at Tamilik Arena
Thursday, Nov. 12 at 7.
p.m, as part of the Old-
timers’ Hockey Challenge.
The cnallenge .is part of
60-city North American
tour All proceeds for the
Oldtimers’ Hockey Chal-
lenge go to the
Kitimat/Terrace
Crimestoppers program.
Single and farnily-of four
tickets are avallable now
for $16 or $48 by calling
1-800-661-0178,