Your weekly online magazine for
Fishing and Outdoor Recreation
in northern British Columbia, Canada

Published each Friday

I received a rare and beautiful gift the other day. A gift that will forever remain untarnished in my memory, and one that I can withdraw at any time to play again. What was the gift? Like they say, "Here is the rest of the story."

Casting course

Daniel and his partner had taken my fly-casting course a couple of years ago. The eight hours of instruction had only whetted their appetite. They each bought a fly rod, fly vest, waders, and the rest of the necessary gear. Trout fishing had produced some success, but alas, the steelhead god had not smiled upon them. They watched Lefty Kreh's excellent casting videos and Lani Waller's steelhead videos, they read some of the great books and constantly asked questions in the thirst for more knowledge. They were doing all the right things except for the catching.

Daniel phoned me last week, to see if I could give him a few pointers on the roll cast. We set things up for Wednesday night right after work. When I got to the prearranged pool, Dan and his partner were dutifully practicing their casting. We worked on the casts and showed them a new cast -the snap T, a great cast when you have no room for a back cast.

Work the pool

Dusk was settling in, but there was still enough light for another 15 minutes of fishing. We went to the head of the pool and tied a fly on. I explained how we worked a pool with a fan of casts to cover every lie. After you cast your maximum effective distance you take a couple of steps down and repeat to cover the run. I told Dan to expect a fish at any moment.

Bang...

The second cast down a fish took, jumped twice and ran down the pool. I handed the rod to Daniel, and he was fast into his first fly rod steelhead. Watching his face as the hen made four or five more jumps and runs, brought back my memories of my first steelhead on the fly. Daniel kept saying "...so strong, so strong..." as he fought the fish.

Finally the fresh hen was at our feet, a faint blush of pink down her side and not a mark on her. "...So beautiful, so beautifu...," they whispered to each other as they cradled the fish. We eased the guinea orange and purple hook out of the corner of her mouth, let her rest a few minutes and as she swam away said, "Thanks sweetheart, go make a few more babies just like you."

Thanks

No one spoke for a few minutes, each of us lost in that indelible moment. Dan turned to me and said "Thanks." Dan thought I had given him the gift of the steelhead, but really it was I who had received the gift.

(All previous issues are stored in the ARCHIVE for your convenience)

Years ago

Many years ago a friend, Gary, had given me that gift and now it was my turn to pass it on. Sometimes by giving the gift, you receive much more back. Dan came in this morning saying he had dreamt about the fish all night. I knew what he felt because I had also had the dreams.

Today's tips:

Quiet

Sound carries four times better underwater than above. If you want to catch more fish, imitate the Great Blue Heron, a pretty good angler in its own right. When wading, wade slowly and carefully, don't advertise your presence by splashing around, rolling rocks etc. Fish can pick up these vibrations along their lateral line and can be easily spooked.

Being quiet applies to the boat angler as well. Avoid gear rolling around the bottom of the boat, dogs walking, scuffing feet, etc.

Into the sun

Avoid trolling directly into the sun, fish do not come equipped with Ray Bans, and like us, cannot see looking straight into the sun. Troll at right angles to the sun and you will have better success.

Clean

Clean your hands with a biodegradable soap to remove all odors offensive to the very sensitive nose of the salmonids.

Wading

Many fish are missed by the angler wading much too far out in the river. As a general rule you seldom have to wade deeper than calf deep to catch.

Color

Many anglers are put off by colored water. Try this. If you think the water is off, fill a clear bottle and hold it up to the light. You will notice very little color. The fish are on the bottom looking upwards to a light sky and can see much better than we can looking down to a dark bottom. However, when the water is the color of coffee with double cream it might be better to catch up on the honey-do list.

Hooks

When pinching barbs down on hooks, mandatory on our rivers, pinch the barb down in line with the hook. If you mash the barb at right angles to the hook you may break the hook.
When replacing treble hooks with single siwash hook for your river spoons and spinners, squeeze the open eye of the siwash shut slowly. Highly tempered hooks such as Gamakatsu will break if pressure is applied too quickly.
Enjoy your weekend.

Check the Photo page for Bob's Kitimat River photos.