Summer In Skeena Country
By Tracey John Hittel
Summer in Skeena Country is a wonderful time of year,
Salmon and Steelhead are running and the fish are always
splashing as you Jetboat the green emerald water.
This day begins with a misty morning as I start the motor on
the Jetboat. The fog is so thick I can see maybe 10 meters in
front of me. I idle the boat from the small creek and suddenly
feel the force of the mainstem Skeena River, and it turns the
boat and wants to take us down river. I power up and the
boat is now getting an upstream motion, I barely see the sand
bar in front of me, it is littered with a dead fall of logs, probably
from many miles above. I cut back on the throttle to get my
bearings straight. My client for the day is Mr. Hirakawa, he
looks at me with confidence and I wonder if I should pull over
and wait for the hot sun to burn off the morning mist. I think not,
and find my route into paradise and upstream we go. Within a
minute or two the sun peaks thru the morning freshness and we
arrive at a pool I call 'Forever'. Surrounded by waterfalls and
jagged mountains this pool is a full day fish, not many walk the
entire distance without a break.
Hirakawa makes effortless casts time and time again waiting
for that pull of a sea run Steelhead. As you can see in the pictures
below Hirakawa has a tight line on a chrome hen and she is priceless.
Also shown is Big Steelie Phil with a beauty 80cm Skeena Steelhead.
Our threesome Alexi, Eric and the German Boy did a overnighter with
me and we traveled the area for Chinooks on the fly, Alexi did just the
thing and his video is on Hook TV. When the Chinook felt the pull of
the spey rod, he went ballistic and the sound of Alex's drag singing is
what makes us drool! Eric did a fine job banking some fresh fish during
his stay and the golfer from Ontario is all smiles for the camera.
River conditions are coloring up as the hot sun has the rivers on rise
and some of the tributaries are milking the Skeena, still a lot of fish
moving thru for the next month or so. Tight lines. ~ Tracey John Hittel, Kitimat, BC Canada
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