EENA ANGLER
ROB BROWN

The first fish

ne day the sky is lead gray, and

there are no birds. A day Jater

everything is lit up, the willow in

the front yard is full of birds, the air

is full of their chattering, and the cats sit on the

sill twitching with each movement of the flock.

T'm behind the pane too, sipping coffee, Aipping

through diaries, wondering where best to find
the first trout of the year.

Finlay was by a week ago, Randy Dozzi, he

said, walked over the melting snow to Herman’s

Point, mainly to practise casting his new double

handed fly rod. He caught only one of the '

whitefish that, other than over wintering steel-
head and sculpins, are the only species that
Spent winter in the river. And he saw some rises
in the sLow water between the pool and the lake,

Midges, Fin was sure of it. What else would
provoke rises at that time of year? He was sure
some good fishing was there for somcone who
took the trouble to slug a boat down the trail to
paddle upstream to that part of the pool.

Webb arrives. The birds scatter as he walks up
the walk. The cats, who have hunkered down,
sit up and vibrate. We toss around a number of
ideas. Because of the early thaw, the Kalum is
on the high side, and a little dirty in the places
where newly arrived steelhead are found. The
Copper suffers from the same affliction. We de-
cide to check out Finlay’s theory,

Only a few years ago we'd race to the river
then fish hard from carly morning. until night.
Nowadays we stop at Bert’s Deli for a couple of
the world’s meatiest sandwiches — on dark rye,
of course —- made by the friendliest people wha
ever dispensed meat and cheese.

Don Dumont is giving the Beam Station a
manicure, Where we meet the road is to narrow
for grader and pickup. Don waves as he passes.
There’s wind yet the lake is calm.

‘Oh no,”’ moans Webb. ‘*1l’s still iced over.’’

Not ice, actually, The lake is slush the road
around it to the outflow is mush, We consider
this situation for a few minutes, walk to the lake
to confirm that canoeing is aut of the question,
walk back and decide to fill the canoe with gear
then drag it over the snow, down the road, the
spot where the ice ends,

The beat slides easily. We slide it half a mile,
tien slide it into the weed filled channel leading
out of the Jake. It’s quiet, calm. Nothing
dimples the walter. Even the smallest sound is
large in this context. I toss a leech out. Webb
trolls a dragon behind the boat.

[ take out the Nikons and fasten onto a cluster
of white mounds that tum out to be four
trumpeters — cob, pen and a pair of cygnets, As
we plide nearer the birds begin to make low mu-
sical, bubbling sounds. They lel us get within a
long cast then slip off the ice shelf and paddle
downstream their conversalion gets louder,
more agilated, ana more varied. I listen careful-
ly and swear no two phrases are identical. Final-
ly, they decide the direclion we’re pushing them
is not where they want to be. They lift them-
selves from the water with long graceful wing
strokes, cut through the air in a wide arc, their
flight feathers riffling in the wind like shuffling
playing cards as they pass us, Jow and close
overhead.

I’m still following the flight of the swans
when Webb sights a disturbance in the water
downstream. Until it dives with sinuous curve
and with no waming slap we think it’s a beaver.
Now we’re sure it’s an otter. It is. A large,
healthy male, we guess, thal scrambles up on an
ice shelf, chewing something, I bring him into
focus. He rolls like a contented dog then sits up
and cranes his neck to look at us before sliding
in the waler once more,

The breeze still full of winter rifles the water.
1 reel in an knot on a muddle: minnow then
whip it back out to trail behind. Moments later
we spot anolher otter, Smaller, thinner, with
beautiful white markings under her chin and on
her chest. [ guess she’s paired up with the larger
animal we encountered upstream. She hunts in
the same manner, under the edge ice.

A short time after that we hear a high pitch
crackling sound: the kind of call a raven will
make, bul these are no ravens, We look up and
see a flock of nineteen swan-like birds, bigger
than geese but smaller than trumpeters,

While we're wondering what kind of fowl
these are my rod tip twitches once, twice.
‘*Yan’ve gata fish,” Doug says, Indeed I do. A
small firm little {cllow no more than ten inches,
small but firm and pretty. The first fish of the
year. As it turns out, the only one we catch ona
tranquil, rejuvenaling day.

(The above is a corrected version of what ap-
peared last week, yo

FAMILY FUN. That's how Rose Paupst and Jim Weightman describe go-karting. They're starting up a
karting association in Terrace and hope to see all ages get Involved, Brenton and Jilliam Paupst and

The Terrace Standard, Wednesday, April 3, 1996 - C1

Jennifer Spencer, all pictured here, can hardly wait to get out on to the track,

HOW REY

638-7283

Putting
the pedal
to the
metal

THE ORGANIZERS are calling
il a sport that anyone between the
ages of 8 to 88 can become in-
volved in.

Rose Paupst and Jim
Weightman of Terrace are in the
midst of getting the Northwest
Karting Association off the
ground, and they say the club will
offer something for the whole
family.

Paupst says they’re looking at
Staging races at the stock car
track, and are now in the process
of finding out how much it would
cost lo pave a new section the
club could use.

She says they've been ap-
proached to do a half time show
at the track on Mother’s Day -
the Terrace Stock Car Club's first
race of the season.

Weightman says the sport is
growing in leaps and bounds all
over the country.

“lve been involved with all
kinds of racing,’’ he says.

“‘And this is the only kind you
can take kids with you and Ict
them get involved,”’

And it’s the family aspect of the
sport that he says is the big attrac-
tion fo the participants.

For young people Paupst says it
satisfies their desire for speed
without having to go out on the
road.

Weightman agrees.

“It’s areal thrill,’’ he says.

Most adults will race carts at
Speeds of up to 50 lonvh, while
specds on the younger people's
carts will be limiled to about 30
km/h,

Paupst says an all-around fam-
ily cart can be bought for about
$3,200.

If you’re interest in finding out
more about the Northwest Kart-
ing Association, you can phone
Rose or Jim at 635-6235 or 635-
7244,

ALL ALONE. This member of Precision Builder's Blues is in the fell wo games to none ih the ina series “against Noms Auto
perfect position for a pass. But perhaps he didn't get it The Blues - Refinishing in the men's recreational hockey league,

Firsts for Timerbermen, Norm’s Auto

PLAY HAS wrapped up for the scason in the —

men’s recreational and oldtimers hockey
leagues.

The Terrace Timbermen shut out the North-
em Motor Inn Okies in the one game final in
the oldtimers league.

Grant Casper had two goals and onc assist in’ -

the 4-0 win.

Goalie Rick Marko earned the shut-out.

Norm's Auta Refinishing and Precision
Builders Blues squared off. for the best-of-
three final in the recleague,

Norm's took game one 1-0, ©

Troy Farkvam scored the only goal and the
shut-out went to Bernie Carlson.

And it was all over with game two.

Norm's came out on top 3-1,

Dennis Bannister had two goals and onc as-
sist.

Steven Turner got the cmpty-net goal in the
dying moments of the game.

Rick Ferguson scored the only goal for Pre-

“cision,

Play will resume again in September.
There are already wait lists for both leagues,

but if you'r te interested in signing "Ps youc can

call Roger Harris at 635-3400.
KkKkkkk

IN PEEWEE rep league hockey action the
Terrace squad finished 6th at a 12 team
tournament in Westbank March 22-24,

Terrace won the first couple of games over
Nanaimo and Cloverdale 4-3 and 5-1.

But they fost the next two games, 4-2 to
Peninsula and 4-3 to Kamloops.

Dan Bentham, Corrie Wood and Brandon
Cormier were all named offensive stars.

Defensive star awards went to Brad
L’Heureux, JJ. Boudreault, Tanner Hill and
Gareth Earl,