© _B4 - The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, May 24, 2006 _ MARGARET SPEIRS. a ROB BROWN _ _ May day ‘ging road, scouting for quicker access to a_ aretes; “9 _ int ‘we . took a walk’ along a derelict log * favourite pool. It was another radiant day, - o Ey -easily warm enough to bring down the‘ab- © aad ie nofmally extended cornices perched on n the distant, ; ‘The track was s open fora ‘long way. Alder: crowd- © ed the way; creating the effect ofa bower through a. . cultivated garden. -_. Pawsome ran ahead, flitting from scent ‘to scent. | _The alders ended. The road became a swamp. The. || - temperature shot up as we stepped into the open. ° Red winged black birds trilled,-other songbirds ‘ warbled ‘and. whistled as ducks .chortled away. “Ss somewhere i in the brush-filled expanse of stagnant ; “Satisfied ‘that this wasn "tan expeditious way to. ~ the'river, I returned to the truck to suit up and make J. my way to the Canyon Pool. We arrived at noon.to | ‘find the river at a moderate height and, other than a few. ayflies rising in the still air, nothing much was happening..: -~ © ~ We. hunkered down. beside the pool’s. tail. and shared : a chunk of havarti cheese and.a tin of sock-. eye, which Iwas forced to eat with the blade of my: ~y leatherman as I'd forgotten the fork. As we chewed, -a giant stone fly the size of a hummingbird, flopped _ onto the water at midstream and began a perilous float that ended in an abrupt splash a very short dis- tance downstream. . «Thanks, [ thought;. then quickly stuck my rod. : “together, cut back my’ tippet, knotted a hefty: Tom ~ ‘Thumb to it, climbed down. the bank, slipped into the river and pushed stealthily through the channel to within casting range. I peeled off what I judged to be the right length of line,let the stream straighten it out below me ‘before sending it out and over the feeding lane. The second time I did this, there was a silver flash as a trout nailed the fly. Perfect, I thought. ‘I. watched the trout fight the pull of the line _ against the light sand then realized, as I brought it close that my Pakistani forceps with the handy slot on their tips that makes it. possible to release fish without touching them, was at home with my lunch free without embedding the hook in my. hand. “As I got my gear in order in preparation for the next throw, a steelhead came out of.a fast. slot below me and cruised into the pool. It gracefully. || swam:by, no more than a rod’s length away, then ~ : disappeared into the depths upstream. It reappeared moments later and. made a circuit of the pool, as if inspecting it, before it disappeared into the channel | from whence it had come. . ASL paid out line once, the steelhead appeared again and took another glide through the pool, ob- _ fork. I managed to grab the fly and shake the trout , viously. unconcerned _by my presence, then disap- . peared again. I sent out another cast at last. In the time it took to drift down to a point op- - posite me, the fish returned once more. Following it, were five more, shattering my long held belief that steelhead don’t migrate in bright daylight. I’ve devoted a lot of time to watching steelhead, ‘most of them spawners, but this behaviour was new to me: It was almost as if that first fish was a scout sent on reconnaissance by the others. | I moved downstream, ‘looking for rises and found some under some alders downstream of a ' small creek. I drifted my fly over the spot a few times before it was taken down by a cutthroat. It ’ was a foot-long fish. _ When I had it beside me, I discovered that it had » inhaled the fly. I clumsily pried it free, yearning for my forceps. It drifted away anaemically trailing _ blood. I tried to grab it, but it was too late. Damn it! I thought, and, as if that small unwit- ting murder had triggered it, a strong wind began to shake the trees. The rises stopped. Clouds scudded overhead: The olive brown water darkened and was carpeted with small transparent bits of conifers and ‘flecks of pollen. I made my way to shore and discovered the re- mains of a fire. A few metres below that burn two skeins of steelhead milt lay on the beach. My mood soured. .I made a few perfunctory casts opposite the Ball Park and was about to leave when the trout ’ drifted. by, still struggling for life. I reached down and grabbed it. Its mouth was moving as I took i it to shore and killed it. . _ After slipping the fish into my pack, I broke down my rod and made my way home where I cleaned my trout then removed its slime and scales with the help of vinegar. — Karen cooked it in onions and garlic and lemon. | It was delicious. As I sipped a glass of Merlot afterwards I thought - of the Chinese aphorism which says if you kill a fish then cook it poorly, the fish has died in vain. This cutthroat, my accidental dinner, most cer- tainly hadn't. ~ RYLAND MACDONALD. - STOCKCAR fans were treated to bomber, thunder . and pro- -stock racing under gorgeous weather for . ‘the Mother’s Day. racing season debut. _ __ Although the car count was down from last» year — several cars either were not quite ready or ~ had mechanical problems | — ‘spectators witnessed: plenty of side-by-side races and close finishes. . Dave Reinhardt dominated the pro-stock class, winning all but one race, but just by inches in six, ‘tight races between him and Darcy McKeown, the only two pro-stocks to drive. ‘Fans held their breath when : Reinhardt and McKeown both spun out while rounding corner number one: but both drivers managed: to avoid. - hitting each other. After McKeown was pushed back onto the - track from the damp infield, the race was restart- -ed. “They both just got into the corner a little too _ hard by the looks of it,” said Blair Loset, stock car * aSsociation spokesperson, adding he believes the Playoff exit frustrates. Flaherty By DUSTIN QUEZADA A STELLAR season in the American Hockey League didn’t end the way Wade Flaherty had hoped. Flaherty, the Terrace-born starting goalie for the Manitoba Moose, suf- fered a groin injury early in Game 6 of the North Division Final ~ a game the team would win 3-1. _ However, he could only watch as his, teammates squandered: a three- ' goal lead in Game 7 to the Grand - _ Rapids Griffins, ending their quest for the Calder Cup in the second round. “It was very difficult.” Flaherty said. “To end the season sitting up -in the stands, especially losing a 4-1 lead, was disappointing and frustrat- | Midget hockey — player wins award by unanimous. vote each other. . Lorne Fell and Margo Fleming. took. all the checkered flags in the thunder class. A variety of drivers shared the victories in the bomber class including rookie drivers Lisa Gray- 7 don and Audrey Kerr.. ered flag. past at the finish. : The weather didn’ t play a ‘pat i in the lack of vehicles on the track. ing. 9” Flaherty finished the playoffs with a record of seven wins and five losses, a 2.04 goals against average and a 92.3 save percentage. The 38-year-old, who signed with the NHL's Vancouver Canucks prior to the lockout season of 2004-05, will be an unrestricted free agent July 1. ’ The Canucks already have three capable NHL goalies in Dan Clouti- er, Alex Auld and. Mika Noronen so Flaherty may have played his last game for the organization. and the Moose. “It's definitely possible that I’ve played my last game as a Moose,” Flaherty said, adding the way the. , Season ended adds to his frustration. pair chose to spin out, off. the track rather than, hit _ Justin Loset, the youngest driver, came ‘within ‘inches of winning his first race but was overtaken _ ‘by Adam Waters as the Pair arrived at the check- . The duo came arourid comer four with Loset in the lead but Waters cut cown and just slipped “No, no there were a lot of cars thatj just weren vt. ready by the start of the first race,” he said, adding that many cars either sit all winter without being driven'or haven’t been tested at the track before -Tace day. “A lot of the first race is getting: the bugs a ~ DARCY MCKEOWN # #92 and Dave F einharat #55 race. their pro-stock ¢ cars side by side down the back stretch of the speedway May 14. Photo finishes highlight o opening day of stock car racing season © worked out.” He and pals Dave Reinhardt and Guy Lynch ; loaded their new thunder car onto a trailer bound for the track only to discover oil spewing from the — transmission, a problem shared by other drivers. ° The thunder car competition is expected to, be fierce once all the vehicles are ready. said: “It looks like everybody’s done their home-" work and.has some- decent cars out there,” Loset a The stands. will be full when ‘locals Dave. Rein- -June 3. hardt, Ian Black and Darcy McKeown join visit-: ‘ing-WESCAR racers to tear.up the 3/8-mile track’ Fans are advised to come out early to get | a ‘good seat. Race time-is 6 p.m. 635-9060. * “Tye ‘enjoyed my time here, it’s the best AHL team I’ve played for by far — they treat you like an NHL organization.” - Flaherty never did suit up for the Canucks during his two-year con- tract, an especially: frustrating sce-. nario this past season when a new rule prevented the parent club from: tecalling the 18-year pro without risking losing him to another team. _- That rule; said Flaherty last week, will no longer affect him as lobby- ing done by the Professional Hockey - Players’ Association resulted in a change for next season. That change would make goal- tenders who have played more than 180 games as a pro to be exempt a) Thunder.cars and bomber cars take to the track ‘the next day for Kiddies Day . For more information check out www.terrac- were 3.5 espeedway.ci Ca or "call: the" ‘Terrace: Speedway” at from the restrictive waiver rule. Flaherty says he doesn’t expect the Canucks to make any changes until the NHL playoffs are over and that he will wait to see what inter- est the team and others have in his services. Coming offa season when he was named to the AHL’s second All-Star‘ team, Flaherty isn’t ready to quit — playing. — “I’m still playing at a very com- petitive level, playing well and en- joying it)’ he added. After minor knee surgery ‘last week, Flaherty returned to his fam- - ily in Vancouver and expects to visit Terrace to visit friends and family . and to fish in June orJuly. By SARAH ARTIS 17, describes himself as a ~ New teams, longer — playoffs proposed ~ for next CIHL season 638-7283 in Terrace’s minor league - award in early April. “dork”, the guy who likes to make fun of himself. But the rep team coaches hockey association proved he was much more than that by granting him the Len Trudeau _ “This is the premiere award for Terrace minor’ league hockey.” said Mac- Donald’s coach. Roger Har- ris.' “It is a significant award © because it’s not just about playing hockey - it’s about the quality of person you are.” The Len Trudeau award is given to a player who shows - ‘desire, dedication and discipline. This year the coaches unan- imously agreed on the winner, which Harris said is rare. ’ “Sometimes what you do off the ice is more important ~ than what you do on thé ice,” Harris said. “What you do in» the dressing room to bring the best out in others, than some- times what you do yourself. Those are the qualities Ryland - has. Plus he’s a damn good hockey player.” MacDonald. who is professional hockey goalie Wade Flaherty's nephew, has been playing the game for almost 10 years because it’s fun and he loves the intensity, he said. This is MacDonald’s last year in the midget division, but he has already been invited to try out for three junior hockey teams this summer. a MacDonald's name will be added to the Len Trudeau tro- phy permanently displayed in the Terrace arena. ‘Ryland MacDonald By MARGARET SPEIRS SURPRISES highlighted the 2005-2006 Central Interior Hockey League season _ and next year will be just as spectacular, . according to the CIHL league president. With hometown favourite the Houston Luckies unseating the Kitimat Ice De- mons to top the league standings and Kit- _imat coming back to win its second Coy _Cup, the season passed all expectations. “You couldn’t have anything better ~ than that,” said Bill Blacklock May 12. — Blacklock already anticipates another competitive season next year with two new teams ready to join the league. ~ “I’ve got official applications from the . . Hazelton Wolverines and the -Omineca Ice,” said Blacklock May 12. The Omineca team will consist of players. from Vanderhoof and Fraser Lake, he said. Although rumours indicated: that ~ Prince Rupert might be joining the league, Blacklock said the squad isa ‘t joining un- til after next year. . Burns Lake won’t be returning due to a continued lack of players and former Braves who do want to play another sea- son would like to stay on with the Luck- ies, he said. The league’s general meeting in Burns — Lake May 27 will see a vote on wheth- er to accept the new teams, who should | make it into the league, he believes. “Hazelton is well organized,” he said, adding the club has a coach and every- thing else it needs. “We probably will have a split: We’ it have to look at it and see,” he said about whether the league will branch into two divisions. The line separating the eastern and western divisions will probably put Van- -derhoof on the eastern side but nothing will be decided for sure until the league _ discusses it, he said. _ With an uneven nine teams in the league, Vanderhoof would likely have to ‘play sOme games against Houston and Smithers. - Blacklock will introduce a proposal at the meeting to change the schedule back to 16 regular season games from 20 and increase the number of playoff games from three to a best-of-five series. He believes he will continue on as league president for a second year. “Nobody wants ‘it so I guess I'll do it again,” he said. The rest of the league executive will be elected at the meeting. \f se