BC in B/W

A British Columbia adventure for steelhead, coho, chum, chinook, sockeye, cutthroat - even sturgeon.

Tail The sturgeon is a a beautiful fish in spite of its ancient strangeness.
	Baiting - waiting One reason (of many) why I flyfish rather than bait fish: the waiting time. Watching a rod tip for hours is not my kind of thrill. But sure: hooking and fighting the fish is equally fun.
Timid monster The sturgeon have a timid, gentle appearance and is a fascinting group of fish. This small specimen is obviously just waiting to be returned to the water - which it will be right after this shot.
	Release A small sturgeaon returns to the depths of the Fraser River near Vancouver British Columbia, Canada.
The Global BaitFisher One of my 100 lbs (50 kilo) sturgeon prior to its release. It is our guide Fred Helmer of Fred's Fishing Adventures to the left, myself to the right and the sturgeon all over the place. And no, it was NOT caught on a fly!
	Baitcasting reels The sturgeon boats are equipped with some really nice baitcasting gear.
Harrison The Harrison River is a beatiful, clear tributary to the Fraser. We fished it for pacific salmon together with fly fishing guide Jens Erik Skaaning - of Danish heritage, actually.
	Beached Fly fishing guide Jens Erik Skaaning's boat beached on the banks of the Harrison while we fish.
Low clouds... ...or high fog. This is actually the fog lifting as the sun burns it off to reveal another beautiful, sunny British Columbia day.
	Coho hunter Ole hunting for milling coho in a quiet backwater on the Harrison.
Twoeyes Jens Erik Skaaning's pattern for Pacific Salmon. This fly did well for us, as did a small beaded sculpin pattern. Erik calls the pattern "Egg and Eye"
	Ole and the coho Ole into a coho on the Harrison
Rods! Fred's Custom Tackle in Chilliwack close to the Vedder has a large selection of tackle - catering both to spin fishers and fly fishers.
	Spey rod on the Vedder Ole casting for a King Salmon on the Vedder near Chilliwack
Vedder at sundown We tried the Vedder for Kings close to Chilliwack. I hooked one, but lost it after it had taken a powerful run downstream. Apart from that we had no luck. But the river sure was beautiful and easily accessible.
	Unknown BC river When flying over British Columbia you see so many rivers that you know that no one would be able to fish them in a lifetime.
Terrace view The promising view from Terrace's small airport.
	Foggy ride We did a lot of car driving and had a lot of fog. This picture combines both.
Carscape Driving in Canada is like driving in the US: you notice how the roads and cities are built for cars. Great when you're driving, but poor pedestrians!
	Fixing Ole fixing his line late at night before the first fishing day in the Terrace area.
Skeena bridge We took a walk from the Desiderata Lodge into Terrace and back crossing the old railway bridge and the newer road bridge - seen here - over the Skeena.
	Boat launch Fellow angler Ken from Vancouver and our guide Gill McKean from the Westcoast Fishing Adventures launching the boat into the Mighty Skeena.
Skeena tributary A view up one of the many tributaries to the Skeena.
	Ole and Don Ole (close) and Don (further down) fishing in the low sun over a Skeena tributary.
Don and coho Fellow angler Don McLaughlin from Florida with a coho.
	Papa bear was here The fresh foot prints from a smaller bear in the sand right next to the water where we were fishing.
Bank summit Ole and Don talking tactics on the river bank.
	Idyll Hard to imagine more beautiful settings for a fishing trip, isn't it?
Wouldn't you... ...like to be here right now? I would!
	Misty Rick's boat moored close to the bank one of the many places where we fished for steelhead on the Skeena.
Angler in the mist Ole probing the water close to the bank with his spey rod and leech fly on a misty morning on the Skeena.
	Chromer The steelhead of the Skeena are indeed beautiful fish! This is even a small one!
Jet boat The sturdy aluminum jet boats were just banked while we fished.
	Floating The owner of the Nicolas Dean Lodge - Dustin - floated a couple of clients down the Skeena.
Hell's Gate A great run on the Skeena.
	Leech The infallible egg sucking leech was the weapon of choice for steelhead.
Close quarters There is a good reason to use a spey rod and a spey or underhand cast when fishing with the forrest right in your back as here.
	Snagged Snags are the order of the day when you fish fast sinking leaders and heavy flies on a rocky river like the Skeena.
Burning off The morning fog burining off to let the sun come through.
	Deeper part A deeper part of the Skeena just upstream a long riffle.
Glacier From the airplane we saw many a glacier in the breathtaking Canadian landscape.
	Vancouver oval skyline Vancouver is a fairly laid back and very nice city, not really marred by highrisers. These oval ones downtown did catch my eyes.

Did you find the above interesting?

This other story related to "spey rods" might also interest you: Juro Mukai's shooting head setup Interchangable: Juro Mukai is a old aquaintant from the Flyfish@ mailing list. I had the pleasure of fishing with him in the Seattle area, and was intrigued by the 'modular' line setup that he uses on his two hand spey rod for steelhead. Go to the story Click to see other stories with the keyword "spey rods"

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