Nicholas Dean Outdoors | Terrace, BC, Canada

Hello Anglers,

I'm happy to report that I can finally say, "hello from sunny Terrace, BC." It's been an unusually cool spring this year, so having several warm, sunny days in a row has been a definite plus. The delay in warmer weather has also had its own implications, however, as it appears that the early runs of Summer Chinook Salmon that typically appear in late May and early June are late in arriving. Over the weekend, and for several days this week, we had clients out fishing on the Skeena and Kitimat Rivers, and though a few fish were caught, it's been slow fishing for this time of year. The Skeena River still remains high even though its levels are dropping, and was borderline fishable last week. The the Kitimat was at the opposite end of the spectrum. Owing to its relatively small watershed when compared to the Skeena drainage, the Kitimat tends to rise and fall faster than the Skeena, so conditions between the two rivers are often quite different. Last week, the Kitimat was low, clean and dropping - not necessarily the best conditions for bringing fresh Chinook in from the Ocean. However, Ron Wakita of City Centre Hardware in Kitimat, has mentioned that there have been some higher than normal tides, which should bring more fresh fish into the rivers. Moreover, with all the rain forecast for the weekend, flows in the Kitimat will likely rise and bring with it a wave of fish waiting in the Douglas Channel harbour. And, as the season progresses, the Chinook run will continue to build, and provide more reliable fishing for anglers wanting to feel the headshakes of a heavy fish...

Over the last week, we've also had a few "celebrities" in our boats. Gionata Paolicchi, a renowned journalist and writer from Italy, as well as famous soccer player, Ighli Vanucchi, joined our friend and Italian booking agent, Stefano Gay, of Le Reve House Adventures (www.lerevehouseadventure.com), for 4 days of fishing. Gionata has been an avid angler throughout his lifetime, and has written for several different magazines in Italy. Ighli is a famous midfielder and also team captain for Empoli, and fishing just so happens to be his favourite pastime when not training or playing soccer. Both anglers were successful in hooking into Chinook last week on the Ocean and in the Kitimat. After a slow first day of fishing on the Skeena, we arranged for them to fish with guide Wes Owen aboard his boat in Douglas Channel, and Ighli started the day off right by landing a 28 lb chrome Chinook. Not long after, Gionata followed up with another Chinook around 20 lbs. When Chinook Salmon are bright and in good physical condition, they are renowned for their fight whether it is in the Ocean, or the river, and this day was no exception. When I picked up Gionata, Ighli, Stefano and group in Kitimat, you could tell that they felt a little more rejuvenated after having a successful day on the Ocean, and tying into Chinook for which the northwest is well known for.

On a different note, you never really know what a day of fishing can bring, whether it's the number of fish caught, or other rare, humourous expriences. After having dinner one night, I asked Stefano if the group had had a chance to take some good photos. In response, Gionata picked up his laptop and we started going through several of the photos. There were some great pictures of fish and of the group, scenic river shots, and panoramas, but there were a few pictures of a bald eagle that caught my eye. Earlier that day on the Kitimat, one of the guests had been fishing a spoon, and a small trout had been hooked. Without warning, this particular bald eagle swooped down to the river's edge and scooped up the trout in its talons and flew off. Well, it's not every day that you see this happen, but it's even more rare to actually see your line flying through the air! With the hook from the spoon still embedded in the trout's mouth, it was a precarious situation, as you certainly didn't want the hook to come out of the fish and into the eagle. So, Sky decided to take action, and I will always have the picture that followed etched into my mind. On a large gravel bar, Sky is holding a stout Chinook spinning rod, which is bent quite heavily down to the cork, and at the other end of the photo, a large eagle is flying desperately in the opposite direction, trying to get away from the force that is pulling on its prized catch. Luckily, for both the eagle and Sky and the guests, the eagle dropped the fish and wasn't hooked. I guess you never really know what to expect on a day of fishing...

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Until next week, tight lines and screaming reels.

Chad Black
Operations Manager
Nicholas Dean Lodge
http://www.nicholasdean.com/
chadblack@nicholasdean.com
(250) 635-5295