Paye B4 — Tarrace Standard, Wednesday, September 12,1980 .

Like his fellows, Rob had_a
taste for good Scotch whiskey

— actually he had a taste for all:

Scotch whiskey, even the stuff
that made his eyes water and
felt like hacksaw. blades as it
rolled down his throat. But it
was for the smocth, golden nec-

tar only his clients could afford.

that he reserved a special fond-
ness.

above the other ghillies botk.in
stature and in his undisputed
prowess at finding salmon, Rob
o* the Trews was often handed
the flask by a grateful angler
when a burly salmon came
ashore after a skillful gaffing.
Rob was a master at his craft
and his proud bearing advertis-
ed his expertise,

With his enormous great
coat, tweed hat, well-worn
wellies, and the gaff resembling
a shepherd’s crook, Rob was a

Standing head and shoulders

formidable figure indeed...
Rob's river was one of the

largest in-Scotland. The beats.
“upon which Rob led his sports -

were imposing. For that reason
they. were fished with the stout
greenheart rads no less than 14

feet in length. With four-inch |

Hardy Perfects attached, these
poles weighed many -pounds.
Working them all day required
a combination of: strength and
sharply honed technique.

Salmon. anglers raised in the
tradition of the-Isles were Rob's
exclusive domain until-the day
Lord Howe asked him to guide
the American,

"We're after salmon, sir, not
trout,”’ “offered Rob as. the
American pulled an eight-foot
glass fibre rod from its tube. -

“This sweetheart,’ said the
American ~ flexing the little
brown ‘rod,
large fish all over the world.”’

“has caught me.

The Skeena
Angier
by Rob Brown

salmon ‘fry. ‘from his hat and
held it up for the American’ to
see,“ How will ye throw this wi’
tha’ tiny rod, sir?” |

“T'll be usin’ this,’ said the

American, holding Up a wee fly
suitable-for tench or some other

small, ‘coatse fish — not ‘for’:

Salmo the king of fishes, ‘And
cali me.Billy,”’ he added.
Rob winced, “Shall we be
off, sir?”? ot
The American pulled on
breast waders,’

Rob pulled a three-inch-long

a kind of

waistcoat of many pockets with. .

all manner of silvery tools pinn-
ed to it, and a hat that would.
have looked fine on the.cricket
field.”

What a silty sight; thought

' Rob-as the two of them struck’

out through the pouring rain to
the river,

The American cast well. Soon
he was onto a good fish. Rob
was amazed at how well the
diminutive rod handled the
large salmon. When he saw the
fish for the first time, Rob knew

it was over 20 ‘pounds, He

reached for the gaff, . |
“No, no,” yelled the Yank. :

_**Tail it and let it go: 1 only keep ©
fish aver 30 pounds.t?.

Rob.-was ‘stunned.: ‘When he
regained his equilibrium, he did

_ as his’ Sport requested, ‘then wat-~

ched #8 the latter took a strong,

celebratory: pull, on a‘ flask of:

Scotch.: oo
The: rain - continued: to fall: ast”
they. fished down the beat, Rob
suggested: a distant drift, the’
American threw to it with pin--* e

‘point accuracy and rose another.”

fine salmon, 28
When it came to shore, Rob

_ gauged it close to 30 pounds,

but the ‘American directed Rob

_to release it too, While the fish

was revived’ and freed
something Rob had never done
to a salmon before -~ the flask
reappeared. The American
tilted it skyward twice. The rain

SPORTS NEW

JEFF NAGEL 638-7283

TERRACE STANDARD

‘was: $onrelenting, They moved
“ond: Lo
At the next run the American an
‘hooked: a third fish. Like., its’
, predecessors, it too - failed to .
‘reach'the magic mark and had:
to be released. After another
drink, ‘the American fumbled in
his vest and pulled out a packet
of cigarettes. Rob looked at the
packet.as the’ ‘American put it
away. Lucky Strikes, it said.)
‘The. American’: struck” cs
wooden match. It fizzled “and
went out. He. struck’ another
with the same result, then look-
ed up into the ‘rain. A’ third
match spluttered against the
zipper of his raincoat. * ‘
‘Ysn’t there a dry spot .
anywhere in this damn
country,’? cursed the Yankee. —
Rob shouldered the gaff and
headed for-the fishing hut. ‘'Ye
might’ try the back ‘0’ me
throat,’ he called back.

¥
Bot ig
Ae at a’ 4
Ay,

# second in the novice axe-throwing event. Terrace’s

OBSTACLE POLE BUCKING like a pro, Smithers’ Dan
Kerr, above, carves his way to a quick second place
in the novice event at the 1990 Logger Sports. Below
left, Margaret Kerr beat out several loggers to pick up

John Guertin and Steve Gagne, bottom right, got a
more than @ couple of tastes of cold water at the log
burling pond.

TERRACE — Fans packed into
the stands at the Thornhill
Community Grounds on the
Labour Day weekend to witness
another triumphant return of
Logger Sports.

The 1990 installment was on-_

ly the second since the ex-
travaganza was resurrected last
year after an absence of several
years.

Once again it was a big
crowd-pleaser, drawing spec-
tators away from other Fall Fair
events on the fair grounds.

It also drew competitors from

‘across the province, including
some from Washington State.

FOUR TEAMS clashed this year in the Logger Sports tug-of-war, and when the dust had settled, the
Bear Creek team still had the rope, defeating the pro loggers for top spot.

Logger Sports

High points ranged from the
log burling event, to Margret
Kerr’s near-victory in novice
axe-throwing, to Lake
Cowichan logger Brad
Laughlin's win in the world-

championship pole falling |

event.
Here are the results:
Axe-throwing (novice)
Ist —- Dan Kerr
2nd — Margret Kerr
3rd — Wayne Faggo
Chokermen’s Race (novice)
_ Ist — Steeve Gagne
2nd -~ Shane Cummings
3rd — Greg Inkster
Underhand Log Chop (novice)

Maths pe ae te cade! attack

+ th tabdatet et eta

Ist — Bruce Kerr .

2nd — DanKerr — .

3rd — Larry Shkuratoff -
Obstacle Pole Bucking (novice)

Ist — Doug Kerr

2nd — Dan Kerr —

3rd — Shane Cummings
Powersaw Bucking — Stock

Saw (novice) .

ist — Dan Kerr

‘2nd — Wayne Faggo 7

3rd — Larry Shkuratoff _
Single Hand Bucking (movies) _

‘Ist — Dan Kerr

2nd — Wayne Faggo

3rd — Raymond Bartram

Standing Block Chop

cont'd. B5

erry

+ taht : . ay 4
eel iia anit ep oc), dire peut wae weet