british columbia 2010

images: 100+ foot log on the banks of the upper skeena, flys-r-us pretty much sums it up, the king of the bush, amanda setting up a afternoon cast, adipose fin on lady steel.

steelies heading home

With cool wet days infiltrating the southwest, I feel hints of fall on most guide days. Some local rivers run high; swollen with rain run-off and some continue to flow cold and clear. Fishing has been good, despite varied conditions, but I find my thoughts turning towards the north. Way north. BC north. A place Amanda and I hope to explore by early October.

BC News:
Todd Stockner reports-"Sounds like Hannah and Wayne might have caught the first steelie on a dry fly last evening . . .. they were fishing in that new micro-low-water pool that forms to the right of the log pile on the island just below sweet deke. They came back all excited about this fish, small around four or five pounds by the sound of it, but bright and "with pink cheeks" .. . . what else could it have been eh?"

From the Babine, Pierce Clegg and Peter McMullan will be offering the book "Babine" some time this month. The book cover the long history of this great river. Fantastic art work, words and images. Get a copy from amazon, or a fine retailer near you. All the proceeds go back to the river. Funds will help in the conservation efforts of this great BC river. Click the link below to find a copy or two.


As for the steelies, it looks like a low water year and numbers look good. Get deke deep!



Expert from "Babine", a contribution to the book by Will Blanchard

Stepping into the Same River Twice

..."Last cast, bright hen - Ejnar’s Last Stand. Snow balls and jet sleds. Jet boat wars. Gorilla warfare in your face, snowball stockpile, broken windows, walls tagged white. Guides and guests. Good vibes surging. Night is back. Campfire burning, hot and high; the firelight glows on bearded faces. Sap snaps on glowing embers as flames lick the night sky. Add a log, tell a story. Dark and deep the night rolls on. One last Scotch, just five fingers. Raised glass, giving thanks. Friendships and tall tales of steelie tails and tail-outs. All the stories from all the seasons, mental snapshots, never fading. All the moments melt together, like the rivers currents."



photo: Amanda ripping a cast late season on the Babine 2009

skeena love

skeena

images: Skeena-the river of mist. An in that order you can end up in a heap of trouble on this logging road.

by the numbers

it's all about the girth

Kathy Stockner and Philip Young break it all down with a lenght and girth weight chart for Kispiox steelhead

north

I was emailed by a friend who wanted to see another shot of this doe. Only have a couple so here is the second shot. She is so damn pretty, i wish i had a head shot but wanted to send her back to her lie. looks like i was impressed with this one eh?

transport

larry falk somewhere way fun

bc snap shots

images: first light on Hudson Bay Mountain, moon over the Morice River, river blur(Morice)

steel

40x21.5 (doe!)gotta love when a wild goose chase pans outon the swingnosing her in
39x21

buck

"I've tried every leech, slub-a-dub, moon, boss and intruder in my box...i wonder what this little orange ball will do?"

Here is a shot of my friend Pierce Clegg. He owns and operates Babine Norlakes Steelhead camp and has a trout lodge on Babine Lake. He is an amazing guy, and as it turns out a wicked angler. His time and energy off the river as a steward for the Babine and entire Skeena system is unmatched. Check older posts for other shots of Pierce.

New AvA Gallery: Kateri Clay and Kispiox Steelies

Kateri Clay rocks-she can fish all day, out drink a logging camp all night and do it all with style and grace. Check out Kateri's gallery at AvA by clicking the link near the top right of the blog.

A day with Pierce Clegg on the Babine River

images: 1) Pierce hooked up late season on the Babine. 2) Landing the steelie, as you can see in the images there is a ton of snow on the banks, so landing can be tricky. 3) Dusky steelhead. 4) Pierce releases the fish back to the deke 5) Late day light in the BC wilderness

BC Adventures

The roar of a boar grizzly punched hard into the ink black night. The haunting sound echoed down the river corridor...my watch said 3:12 am...sure glad I had the fabric of my ultra-light tent between us and them. To hear a grizzly bear growl is one thing, to hear them roar 50 yards away will make the hairs on the back of your neck just fall out. And that was just the first night.

Had the pleasure to set up a four day three night river trip on a trib of the Skeena River in north central BC. The trip was made up of Larry Falk, Gary Flagel, Kispa and myself. The name of the river you ask? Sorry, no can do. I'll just say the trip was full of adventure: mild white water, eagles, ravens, steelies, trout, bull trout, salmon, grizzlies, black bears, great camps, friends and the pure feeling of wilderness. Good fishing was interrupted only by the scenery and wildlife. Kispa proved to be a great bear dog in camp as well as on the river. She informed us a number of times of creatures that were working up or down the river bank, just off our camps. One night a griz growled to let us know it was there, Kispa responded and we could hear the bear charge away up river. We even heard the bear bump into one of the rafts. Just another night in the bush eh?Enjoy the images from this wicked trip.

Kipiox Steelhead-the Kis is a trib of the Skeena

image: Male Kispiox Steelhead from the 06 season. This fish hammered my fly late in the day. photo credit: will blanchard (self timer)

20 days and counting...BC wilderness and steelhead

image: Kispiox tuckered out at Root Pond near Dolores Colorado. photo: will blanchard

Welcome to the blog. This will be a place for friends, family and those who are interested in checking out my adventures, photography, guide service and other random goings-on.

As of right now my focus is on the rest of the guide season and gearing up for British Columbia. I'll be finishing up the main push of my 15th guide season on the 22nd of September. I'll be back to guiding in early December. The 23rd of September will be a day full of packing and snugging up loose ends for the business. As for now, the 24th will be the day we depart for Hazelton BC. My self and Kispa (my 9 month old black lab) will load up in my over-packed 04 Dodge Ram 2500 pick-up and head north for another fall adventure in the wilds of north-central BC.

Check list will include: 12 fly rods, 6 reels, fly lines, flies, fly tying supplies, passport, dog papers, shot gun, ammo, shot gun papers, camp gear, blankets, gloves, hats, Simms waders, clothing, cooler, grub, extra fuel, chainsaw, GPS, cameras, tripods, computer, dry boxes and dry bags, raft, frame, repair, pumps, bike, down jacket, guide jacket, fleece, fleece and more fleece, socks, boots, two-four (the way Canadians say 24 pack of beer) of Ska brew for my buddy Todd Stockner...you get the point.
Stay tuned for more...

Cheers,

Will Blanchard