The Summerland-Princeton road - Published BC Outdoors Sept/Oct 2010

The Summerland-Princeton road
A kinder, gentler backroad experience

Story and photos by Trevor Shpeley




Roughly following the old Kettle Valley Railroad which has recently become a popular section of the Trans/Canada Trail, the Summerland-Princeton road isn't the longest backroad you will ever see chronicled on these pages. Nor is it the most rugged, in fact this road is very well suited for most any type of vehicle including big dual purpose touring motorcycles as long as they are driven sensibly and with caution. What it is however is a riveting, beautiful drive past cottage ringed lakes, meandering streams and emerald valleys that lie beneath grass covered mountainsides that would not seem out of place on a Swiss postcard.

The Kettle Valley Railroad was completed in 1914 to allow for the transportation of silver from the bustling mines of the Kootneys, through the mountains and down to the BC coast. Considered an engineering marvel even today, the KVR was decommissioned in the 1980's and it's 600KM of track, bridges and tunnels left to fade gracefully into disrepair and eventual oblivion. Happily however this was not to be the fate of this understated treasure and in recent years, community fund raising and contributions from both provincial and federal governments have combined to partially preserve the historic railbed for multi-use recreation.

In 1992, large chunks of the KVR were proposed for incorporation into the Trans/Canada Trail network and what was once a little known rail right-of-way has since become known the world over as a unique sought-after destination for adventurous cyclists and hikers. The Summerland-Princeton road crosses the KVR railbed several times and many relics of the golden age of rail travel are visible from the road where the two paths run in proximity. You can even ride in a lovingly restored 1912 steam engine train along 16 kilometres of scenic track on the Kettle Valley Steam Railway. Check the website for schedules and more information. http://www.kettlevalleyrail.org/

The Summerland-Princeton road can be travelled in either direction but for the purposes of this article all kilometre references will be made from the Summerland end. Distances are approximate due to the vagaries of odometer calibration and an off road mapbook used in conjunction with a GPS device is highly recommended.

Every journey has a beginning and ours is in the sleepy village of Summerland. The quiet town of 12000 residents rests in the cool green hills above Okanagan Lake, just north of the city of Penticton. It is the perfect place to load up on fresh Okanagan fruit and locally sourced ice cream before you head out on your backroad adventure. From downtown, take the Prairie Valley road until you reach Denike road. When you come to a “T” intersection, turn right onto the Summerland-Princeton road. Set your odometer to zero at this point.

The first part of the drive has you climbing up from the Okanagan valley as Trout Creek descends through the valley to your left. Cattle roam freely beside, on and across the road and running over one is unlikely to win you any friends with the local ranchers, your insurance adjuster or the cow for that matter. Drive with care and expect livestock on the road at every turn.

Hawks surf the updraughts over the fields looking for tasty rodents on the ground while the local deer do their best to ignore you completely as they wander around doing whatever it is deer do when they aren't in any particular hurry. To treat this road as a 'point A” to “point B” thoroughfare would be to totally miss the point of the trip. Wildlife and scenic vistas are all around you every step of the way and it would be criminal not to open your eyes and take it all in so by all means, take your time and enjoy everything the area has to offer.

At K11, you come to the first of many Forestry Recreation Campsites. At the time of this writing there is no sign to be found on the roadside either naming this site or pointing out the access road however you will have no problem spotting the half dozen or so clean well-spaced campsites perched on the top of a precipitous hillside overlooking the Trout Creek valley. Watch for the access road that crosses the field to the camping area. The view is expansive, the breeze refreshing and there is plenty of room in the undeveloped area for overflow or a quick game of Frisbee with the dog.

20 kilometres in, the road drops down to cross Trout Creek for the first time. A small rec site of four campsites runs alongside the creek. Like most of the roadside recreation sites on this trip, there are outhouse facilities and visitors do a pretty good job keeping them clean. This seems like as good a place as any to ask you, the visitor, to also do your part. If you pack it in, pack it out. Nobody is going to clean up after you so a little consideration will go a long way towards keeping this area a destination worth travelling to.

For the next 10 kilometres you will travel alongside Trout Creek as it meanders through low brush and forested canyon on its wandering journey through the valley. Scattered unimproved campsites line the creekside and if you look carefully, you can see the continuing efforts of the Okanagan First Nations peoples and local forestry companies in rehabilitating Trout Creek to improve habitat for its namesake. Both Rainbow Trout and Brook Trout exist in the creek and although the fish have recently faced significant challenges, work continues towards this goal.

At K29, the valley opens up to fields of long grass sprinkled with the ruins of old pioneer cabins, rickety bridges and fences that look like they were made the hard way. Nesting boxes from the Northern Interior Bluebird Trail pop up here and there along the roadside and it goes without saying that the boxes should be left unmolested, even by people with the best of intentions.

This area is a photographers dream and on a sunny day the siren call of the burbling stream and the lush green field can be overwhelming but please remember that much of this area is the private property of a working ranch and should not be trespassed upon except by permission of the ranch owners. If you do secure permission to cross private property be sure to respect the gates and never, ever, leave an opening in a fence where a person’s livelihood can escape.

A large open camping area popular with the ATV and off-road motorcycle crowd sits just off the road at K32. This is also where the Glen Lake FSR meets up with the Summerland-Princeton road and leads up into the hills towards the Headwaters lakes, Brenda Mine rd and points beyond including Hathume Lake, Penask Lake and many others before finally dropping down into Bear Creek Park across the lake from the city of Kelowna. To take this route you would want to have a high clearance vehicle and a solid understanding of how to use the previously discussed mapbooks and GPS.

At K36 you can look through the trees and spy the impressive newly rebuilt spillway and curved concrete wall of the Thirsk Lake reservoir dam. The dam and spillway were raised 15 feet in 2006 in response to crippling water shortages downstream in Summerland that necessitated the complete shutdown of water flow in Trout Creek for a time during the summer of 2004. The 2005 Trout Creek Water Use Plan Agreement which called for a 96% increase in water storage capacity, expanding the Thirsk Reservoir by 3100 million litres also set triggers for water restriction that have helped to ensure the water is never again turned off to the fish in the creek while still maintaining a reliable water supply for the residents of Summerland.

Reports suggest that fish populations are rebounding in Trout Creek however the expansion of the Thirsk reservoir has resulted in the flooding of the recreation campsite there and the decommissioning of the lake access road. Visitors are greeted by a tall chain link fence that runs alongside the road the whole length of the lake but happily, there are a number of traveller friendly waters just a short drive down the road.

K46 is the end of the dirt road and the start of the Osprey Lake cottage country. People have been vacationing in the Osprey Lake area for a very long time but the area has lost little of its slow paced country charm. Bruce Merit, owner of the Osprey Lake Retreat has lived on Osprey Lake for five years and in that time has seen the fishing improve significantly in numbers if not in size. Four pound rainbows are still found occasionally among the generally medium sized fish more commonly encountered and trollers happily rub elbows with flyfishers on this popular lake. Bruce recommends flyfishers bring along some Pumpkin heads in various colours, a selection of micro-leaches and to tie their Chironomids with a peacock or dubbed fur thorax.

B&B's and private campgrounds are sprinkled liberally throughout the lake zone and range from the rustic to the truly decadent. Travellers with time on their hands could do far worse than to spend a few days enjoying this area.

A quick left turn onto Aguar rd at K49 will lead you down a short drive to the recreation site on Link Lake. Smaller than its neighbour Osprey Lake, Link is much better suited to flyfishers and is reputed to have somewhat larger fish. It is also better sheltered from the prevailing winds and on the day I was there earlier this year there was a huge Chironomid hatch in progress. The recreation site is roomy and trailer friendly. The Mountain Pine Beetle has had its way here but the site has fared better than some of the other campgrounds in the interior.

At K50, You will come to the Tee-Pee lakes store and resort. The three semi-private lakes collectively known as Tee-Pee lakes have had a continuously operating fishing lodge since at least the 1940's. I remember seeing their ads in BC outdoors for as long as I've been reading the magazine and as a young teen, I finally got to go on a trip to this fabled (for me anyway) destination. The trip marked a number of firsts. It was my first trip to a real fish camp, the first time I got to accompany my Dad and his cronies on a guy weekend and the first time I ever had a fishing rod yanked out of my boat by a fish.

I had only turned away for a moment when there was a scrape, then a splash, then nothing but a ripple where my fishing rod had been. I was devastated, fishing rods didn't grow on trees in those days, even less so than now, but after only about 10 minutes of making long faces at the water, the bubble float my nymph had been suspended under popped to the surface and I was able to grab it and the fish that had tried to steal my gear. The Rainbow was all of nine inches long and it was delicious, made more so by the heartfelt relief of recovering my rod.

I learned two important lessons that day. One, it aint over till it's over, a little patience will often get your gear back provided something on it floats and two, always hang on to your rod, a fish doesn't have to be huge to pull it over the side.

It's been more than 30 years since that trip but other than the addition of some fancy new cabins and the subtraction of a few trees, the resort hasn't changed much at all. There are the same old wooden cabins and the lakes still look and fish pretty much exactly as they did back then. A happy half hour spent watching the spawning channel proved to me that there are still some decent fish to be had. If you go, be sure to pick up the key to the gate at the store BEFORE you head up the road to the lakes.

For the truly adventurous, Eastmere and Westmere lakes are two walk in lakes being managed as quality fisheries in the hills high above Osprey lake. If you decide to try and find them, you are going to need a good four wheel drive (a truck, not an AWD soccer-mom special) and you are going to need that mapbook and GPS. You are also going to need to bring a friend that you can talk into walking back down the mountain to get help if you get stuck.

BTW – If you see a pair of jeans with mud soaked up to the pockets stuck to some branches over a washout, you probably shouldn't take that as a challenge and try to cross it anyway. Don't ask me how I know.

Back down in the valley on the paved road heading west once again you pass through the community of Bakier and alongside Chain Lake. Chain is very long and narrow and has cottages and B&B's most of the way around it. The fish are not huge here but it's an idyllic lake to putt along in a small boat on a long afternoon and it's not always about big fish right?

Several small to medium sized campsites line the roadside on Chain Lake and these are the last rec sites before Princeton.

From Chain Lake to the grasslands near Princeton and beyond the road is a motorcyclists dream but would not be too big of a handful for travellers with large trailers or motorhomes. The valley is carpeted in Lodgepole Pine and hidden driveways discourage high speed travel. The inhabitants are an eclectic mix of rugged iconoclasts, gentleman ranchers, sprawling retirement estates and plain hard working country folk. They co-exist in a harmony that shouldn't really work but does somehow. Million dollar homes stand next to house trailers and nothing looks out of place.

10 kilometres from Princeton the terrain turns to wide open range land and the rest of the trip is a roller coaster ride past cattle grazing the grassy hillsides among the groves of birch trees whose leaves twinkle in the breeze and narrow wooded ravines with their resident deer, hawks and porcupines.

At 87K the Summerland-Princeton road ends and this phase of your trip is over. From this point you can take a short drive into the historic town of Princeton and take advantage of all the amenities it has to offer. If you haven't had enough backroads travel, continue on across the hwy and take a drive up to Coalmont, Tullameen and beyond on one of Southern BC's most scenic lightly travelled roads, but that would be another story for another day.

Published BC Outdoors, Summer 2010

Fishing the Christian Valley
More lakes than you can shake a graphite stick at

Story by Trevor Shpeley
Photos by Travis Shpeley


It was a summer long weekend two summers ago and I had a yearning for a couple of days fishing at a quiet lake I had never fished before. The location I chose is six kilometres up a remote 4x4 road, there are only about four campsites and the fish aren't reputed to be particularly large. This meant that the chances of multitudes of casual car campers or trophy hungry fishermen invading my mountaintop getaway was fairly slim. I was all set for a peaceful weekend with only a couple of like minded souls for company, or so I thought.

I arrived to find the lake shrouded in thick morning mist, not a soul in the campground and only the sounds of dripping dew and the soft plop of rising fish to keep me company. I hit the water without bothering to set up camp and was having a great morning until the tell-tale clatter of an approaching vehicle caused me to pull anchor and head for shore to claim my campsite.

When I arrived I took in the unlikely sight of an old van and about 22 feet of vintage American automobile pulling into the common area. How they got those two overloaded, completely unsuitable vehicles up that road I'll never know but as soon as they had shuddered to a stop they split open and spilled their contents like hatching spiders on an unsuspecting garden path.

A whirlwind of teen testosterone tore through the open doors of the two vehicles, each armed with swinging hatchets and cracking voices permanently set to maximum volume and within seconds, the peace of the mountain lake was destroyed by the thwack and wang of dull steel turning dead trees into kindling, in preparation for what could only be a long sleepless night for yours truly.

I shared a shrug with the two harried guardians of our shining future and loaded up my boat to set out for greener pastures, greener in this case meaning with much less of a boisterous youth-group presence. Luckily for me I had chosen to spend my long weekend in the Christian Valley and with 16 of the Boundary Country's approximately 20 lakes in close proximity, I had plenty to choose from.

The Christian valley is located in the sparsely populated area between the Okanagan and West Kootney regions of Southern BC. The fishing described in this article is mostly to be found on a rolling Plateau of lodgepole pine that lies in the shadow of Big White mountain. For detailed directions and helpful information such as road conditions, local history and other points of interest, check out Murphy Sawchuck's excellent backroads article in the May 2010 issue of BC Outdoors Sportfishing.

Lakes in the Christian Valley tend to be Mesotrophic which means they are considered “Moderately productive” and will generally support a smaller, slower growing fish population than those of the more fertile Eutrophic lakes such as those found in the central interior and Kamloops regions. That's not to say you can't find big fish here, it just means you are going to have to work a little harder to find them. However if catching plenty of small to medium sized fish in idyllic surroundings is to your taste, you would have a hard time throwing a rock in any direction here without it making a splash in a lake that would meet your needs.

Before we get to the lakes themselves, a few tips to make your exploration and fishing more productive.

Buy an outdoor map book AND a portable GPS. Back in the day I would never have bothered with either. I don't get lost easily and I know enough about BC terrain that I have little difficulty finding my way out, or to, anywhere. I've since come to understand that venturing into the woods without either of these indispensable tools is not only foolhardy, it's self limiting. A good set of backroad map books such as the fine offerings from the Mussio brothers and a half decent GPS with removable storage and backroad mapping software will set you back about as much as a good flyrod and I guarantee it will do more to improve your fishing than any $300 stick of high end plastic could ever hope to do.

Using the maps and a GPS unit together will make the task of forest navigation much easier than using either one on it's own. I use the books to figure out where I want to go and the GPS to make sure I'm on the right track to get there. I find it very useful to be able to look at the GPS and see that the road I thought was the right one is actually leading me away from the lake I was trying to reach. I've lost track of how many times I've found a lake I didn't know existed within 100 meters of a roadway I had travelled dozens of times just by watching my GPS as I travel.

The one thing the map book and a GPS won't do is tell you which lakes have big fish and I'm not going to do that in this article either. Tracking down the big fish water is half the fun of catching a big fish and there are a few tricks you can use to make the task a little easier.

The first place you want to visit online will be Fishwizard. (http://www.fishwizard.com) Fishwizard is a website run by Gofish BC that will tell you how many fish and more importantly, what kind of fish have been stocked in any of the lakes they service. I recommend viewing the tutorial and be patient, the Fishwizard site can have it's off-days.

When big fish hunting you are looking to find lakes stocked with AF3N or Triploids. These fish are altered in the egg to be sterile when they mature resulting in a longer living, faster growing, brighter fish since no energy is lost to the reproductive process. They also tend to be larger, sometimes much larger than their unaltered, sex crazed brethren.

High numbers of stocked fish usually represent high angling pressure and an out of the way, hard to reach lake with regular stocking of smallish numbers of AF3N fish is usually worth checking out.

The second place to look would be the fishing regulations. Look for special regs such as “fly fishing only” “catch and release only” and restrictive bag limits such as “one fish over 50cm” These special regulations suggest that that water is being managed as a quality fishery and it would be reasonable to expect larger fish to be present.

Of course the usual fish hunting rules apply. The farther a lake is from the road, the better chance it has of having quality fishing. It's a sad commentary on our fitness as a society but the face of the average angler staring down a 3k hike with 40 pounds of gear on his back is likely to become the face of an angler staring down at his map book trying to find a decent lake closer to the road. Your lazy neighbours loss is your gain when you take the path less travelled to the lake less fished.

The lakes of the Christian Valley

*Be sure to check the freshwater fishing synopsis for closures and special regulations for any water you are considering fishing.*

Bisson
Bisson lake is at the far Northern end of the Christian Valley/Kettle River roads. Accessed by a rough 4x4 road this smallish, high mountain lake is bordered by fields of crumbling basalt, old growth fir and Cedar trees. The fish in this scenic lake can be moody as with any high altitude lake but the beautiful surroundings make the trip worthwhile. A forestry site tucked in the trees at the side of the lake has room for four or five small camps. I wouldn't try to reach this lake in a car or other low clearance vehicle unless I had a real strong desire to find out exactly how much it costs to get an off-road wrecker out into the middle of nowhere.

Clark
Clark lake is a walk-in reached by a 1k trail starting near Lassie lake on the Lassie FSR. As with most of the lakes identified as “walk-in” the trailheads are marked by brown 4x4 poles at the side of the road with the lakes name in white lettering. There is a small forestry recreation site available for those that make the trek.

Upper and Lower Collier
The Upper and Lower Collier lakes, are also being managed as walk-in lakes. Lower Collier lake is reached by a 1k trail from Sago Creek on the Beaverdell/State FSR. Upper Collier is approximately one kilometre past the first lake.

The Collier lakes are popular with folk who don't mind a little exercise along with their fishing and visiting anglers would be well advised to stock their boxes with a good selection of Leeches, Flying Ants and Mayflies. Both lakes have good shoals and fishing is best in Spring and Fall.

Copperkettle
Copperkettle lake is a short hike from a trailhead located off the kettle River road approximately 66km North of Westbridge. The lake has a small campground and a self sustaining population of Rainbow trout. Chironomids work very well here as do Sedge patterns in the early summer. Copperkettle fishes well throughout the open-water season and visitors can expect lively top water hatches all summer long.

Cup
Cup Lake sits right on the side of the Lassie FSR and as you might expect, receives a fair amount of angler pressure during the summer months. Visitors in the late fall and early spring however can expect to have this pretty little lake almost entirely to themselves. For something a little different, set up your camp on the larger island out in the middle of the lake. A small forestry site gives you somewhere to park your gear while you tease a leech past either of the islands or bob a chironomid over a muddy bottom for steady action on the heavily stocked lake.

Joan
Another walk in, Joan lake is a medium sized lake with a small picnic area and lovely sandy beach beside lightly tea stained water. I walked the 1km to the lake earlier this year about two weeks after the snow had melted off the nicely groomed trail that winds through the wetlands and old blowdowns. The smell of wet earth and standing pine that scented the cool breeze was exactly the medicine I needed after a long cold winter and I left the lake in a much better frame of mind than when I started out.

Fishing can be good on this lonely lake and it is large enough that you will have no problem believing you are the only person there, even if you are not. Pick flies with a little flash in them and if you are like me and you have a spouse who enjoys a sandy beach, bring them along for a picnic and a lazy day in the sun.

Lassie
Lassie lake has the largest campground in this part of the Christian Valley and that combined with the inspiring view of Big White looming over the North end of the lake make this one of the most heavily visited lakes in the area. Stocking numbers reflect the heavy angling pressure and ensure the fishing will be good no matter how many people show up on a long weekend.

Don't be fooled by the abundance of pan-sized fish in the lake, there are bruisers in there that will drag the rod of an inattentive fisherman over the side and into the depths forever.

Maloney
A rough gravel road will take you to this small lake which can be found a couple of kilometres South of Cup Lake. There is a small Rec site at the lake.

Nevertouch
Nevertouch was once very popular with the generator and 24 hour Elvis-station crowd. A large forest fire in 2007 changed all that but the lake with it's feisty top water loving trout still remains and fishes well. Flying ants, Elk hair caddis and other high floaters are all good bets throughout the summer. Check with BC Forestry as to the status of the recreational site if you plan to camp. If you go, beware of the standing burnt timber which can come crashing down without warning at anytime. This is not a place to let your kids run free.

Sandrift 1,2,3
The Sandrift lakes are three very pretty lakes with very different characters. Sandrift 1 has extensive lily pads and a family friendly campsite with approx eight clean campsites. This is a great lake for the kids to fish and just about anything chucked in the general direction of the water will bring in a tasty breakfast. Sandrift 2 is more of a grasslands sort of lake with a a few campsites while Sandrift 3 is a walk in off the Sandrift FSR.

The fish in these three lakes aren't real picky but don't be surprised if the “snag” you feel when your line stops dead starts to swim away.

State
A popular walk-in, State is located just South of the Sandrift lake chain. The fish population is self sustaining and the lake is managed as “Flyfishing only”. Dredge a Leech along the drop-offs or fish a mayfly nymph or Chironomid on the shoals. The ever popular flying ant, is also a good bet .

Thone
Thone lake sit alone in this article as the only lake accessed off the East side of the Kettle River. Reached up the Thone creek FSR, just off the East Kettle FSR, Thone lake is relatively deep with steep drop-offs quite close to shore. The fish in this tiny mountain hideaway are feisty and quick to bite. There is a good Caddis hatch in early summer and shoreline fishing is quite possible.

The Kettle River
The Kettle river in the upper reaches supports a reasonable population of small trout and whitefish and for a nice getaway from the kids before they wake up it's tough to beat an early morning stroll up the river with a light fly rod catching and releasing a few of these surprisingly picky fish. Check the regulations before you go as rehabilitation efforts are underway and regulations are subject to change.

One quick note on the trails used to access the walk-in lakes. Many of these trails are wide enough for quad off-road vehicles. Please respect the spirit of the term “walk-in” and use your feet instead of your wheels. Walk-in lakes provide a special sort of relatively untouched outdoor recreation and many go out of their way to experience it. Don't ruin the experience of your fellow outdoors persons by introducing engine noise to what should be the natural sounds of an undeveloped lake.

The filthiest joke ever told

One toe over the line,

One toe over the line,
\
A fisherman's primer for middle age
By Trevor Shpeley
Photos by Travis Shpeley

Published BC Outdoors Magazine, April 2010




My doctor made a face like that of a bulldog chewing a wasp.

With the enthusiasm only a person who is sure they have an inoperable tumour can muster I detailed the physical problems that had been plaguing me. Every morning I hurt as though I had worked out yet in reality the closest I had come to a gym was picking up Blizzards from the Dairy Queen next door. My joints hurt, eyes were fuzzy, someone was regularly hiding my car keys. He let me ramble on for about 15 minutes and when I was done he asked me, “How old are you?” I had just turned 45 and told him so. He informed me with far more brevity than I had allowed him, “go home, get over it, you're getting older. It happens to the best of us” I left his office to face my life as a middle aged man.

I don't feel middle aged but my body is telling me that I am; so is the cute girl at the grocery store when she calls me sir and offers to carry my groceries. Certain irreversible changes occur in most people at around 40 years of age. Your eyes lose their ability to focus on close objects even though your long range vision might be perfect. You can't consider a hike up a lonely mountain trail without thinking about the heart you've been ignoring for four decades, and your fingers, former wizards of manipulation, start to feel like hotdogs wrapped in rubber bands. You've reached your best-before date and it's time to make a few adjustments.

If the preceding paragraphs don't describe your own recent experiences, please go back to your x-box and skinny-leg jeans, the grown ups need to talk.

I've been fortunate in my life to be blessed with exceptional eyesight. You can imagine my shock when I tried on a pair of reading glasses at the grocery store and looked at the palm of my hand only to see dozens of little lines that simply weren't visible without them. I took off the glasses and looked again just to be sure and there was no mistake, my vision was flawed. The $10 reading glasses declared it and the $75 opticians appointment confirmed it. The $75 Optometrist suggested I buy a pair of $10 reading glasses....

Cheap reading glasses work fine if you don't mind swapping them back and forth with your regular polarized glasses but why not pick yourself up one of the really nice polarized lens/reading glass combos available at your local flyshop? The optics in these bifocal type glasses are superb, but like most things in life you can expect to pay for quality. If you would rather not contend with bifocals you can get very good clip-on readers that attach to your sunglasses and flip out of the way when not needed.

These speciality lenses are available in a wide range of tints and coatings and a quick internet search will help you to find a suitable pair in your price range. Be sure to stop at the grocery store and try on a few pairs of reading glasses to find the right magnification before you order.

When you are at home tying a few flies you can't beat a large magnifier with a light around the outside of the lens. Your tying will improve, and you will tie more flies and not become fatigued as quickly due to eye strain. There are plenty of smaller magnifiers that attach to your bench and are widely available but I find it hard to beat the large unit that looks like you stole it from your dentist. In fact go ahead and steal one from your dentist, it will teach him for jamming needles the size of umbrellas into your gums for the last 40 years. When you are middle aged that's called “being a character.”

Now that you can once again tell the difference between a #12 black/red rib and a #14 black/copper rib, it's time to focus on the balloon animals you use for hands on cold days. I feel your pain, when the weather is cold I will sometimes leave an unproductive fly on my line for hours because I can't face the prospect of tying another microscopic fly on an invisible thread with fingers I can't bend. Fingerless gloves help a lot and there are some fine ones available, but the flexibility you had even 5 years ago just isn't there anymore. Fortunately, there are solutions as long as you are willing to stretch your sense of tradition.... just a bit.

The first thing you need to accept is that a tiny piece of metal is not going to turn your carefully tied fly into a hideous beast that no self respecting fish would cross the pond to spit on. We've all seen the little kid with the giant brass snap swivel bolted to a #10 Spratley out-fish everybody else in the boat. Repeatedly.

A very small clip or barrel swivel is not going to scare a fish under most conditions. Tiny steel loops that allow you to quickly and easily change flies are readily available in almost any tackle store and are nearly invisible in the water. I overlooked these little gems for years until I noticed that a friend of mine who also happens to be one of the finest fishermen I know uses them regularly and still catches more fish than me. I use them now, my fingers thank me and yours will too.

Another dexterity related problem can be tying tippet to leader. To solve this, buy a pack of barrel swivels in the smallest size you can find. (Buy them in black and pay the extra 50 cents for the good ones.) Tying on all new tippet becomes a snap and there is the added benefit of eliminating the floro/mono line cutting issues sometimes encountered with direct line connections. A swivel placed between leader and tippet will also aid in turning over extremely long leaders while chironomid fishing.

All fishermen take pride in their ability to tie knots; not just any knot but the right knot for the right application at the right time. That sounds great in theory, but once the age-train starts building up steam and chugging up the long hill towards checkered pants and bad hairpieces it's time to accept a little help in the knot tying department.

Knot tiers have been around almost as long as knots, and are well worth the frustrating few minutes of fiddling required to become proficient in their use. Whip finishers in particular are very easy to use, once figured out and nail knot tools are absolutely indispensable on the river when your leader gets so short the fishes teeth are actually cutting your flyline. Fly shops carry many varieties and the proprietors will be happy to point you in the direction of the models that are the easiest to master.

In true frontier fashion and in light of an almost legendary reluctance to spend money on things I can build myself I put together a real nice boat rack that allows me to load and unload my boat by myself. Unfortunately this process is usually accompanied by a lot of grunting, swearing, slipping and back wrenching twists as the boat teeters between peacefully resting on the top of my rack and violently tumbling back down to the water leaving nothing but a dented truck and a fisherman shaped smear in it's wake.

Of course there is no need to put yourself through that kind of annoyance, (and danger.) When you absolutely must put your boat on top of something by yourself, automatic boat loaders take all the grunt work out of getting your boat on and off your vehicle. These devices work from the front, back or side of your vehicle and generally work very well. Autoloaders don't run cheap but how much is six months recuperation from injury worth to you? After you decide which type of loader suits your needs your local boat or RV dealer will be able to set you up and your days of fearing the end of day pack-up are over.

Once the boat is on the ground, you need a decent set of wheels to move the cumbersome beast to the water. These come in a number of varieties from the type that permanently attach to the transom of your boat to those that attach with brackets to the sides. Very light dollies that make long treks to the water with a fully loaded boat nearly effortless are also available.

Don't forget that although your boat moves like it's weightless on a good set of wheels, it still has mass. If that boat has your motor, battery, lunch, safety equipment, fishing gear, dog, etc loaded into it then it has a whole lot of mass, and if the path to the lake is steep you better have a friend to help you or at least have a total disregard for personal safety and property loss.

It's hard to believe when you look at me now but I used to race mountain bikes; I could hike all day into far away lakes and many times I did. The farthest thing from my mind was the family history of heart disease and diabetes but I think about that a lot now that I'm pushing 50. In fact it's a factor in every decision I make these days. I've learned to enjoy multi-grain bread, I try to avoid fast food, I walk to the store and I no longer think vegetables are something food eats. I look at every hill I walk up with an eye towards it's survivability, and I think a lot about how long it would take an ambulance to find and rescue me given that I spend most of my free time as far away from pavement as I can manage. If you are over 40, it's time to add a new dimension of safety to everything you do outdoors.

When far away from civilization everybody should have a reliable method of communication. Satellite phones are nice but not really practical due to cost. Normal cell phones have range limitations but are still better than nothing in a pinch as small bands of coverage can be found in the oddest places.

The best bet for my money and it really doesn't cost a lot of money is the “Spot Messenger System.” For the price of a good flyline you get a small waterproof satellite messenger unit, and for about that much money again you receive a year of Spot's monitoring service. With the Spot unit you can send messages such as: “I'm OK”, “send assistance”, “a prerecorded special message,” or “send search and rescue, emergency!” Your messages go to whomever you want and they get a google earth map with your location pinpointed on it; they can even follow your progress online if you choose to allow it.

OK, I know that the last time you were able to get a good look at your legs they were like mighty tree trunks. Well, guess what? Things have changed over the last few years. Your legs may turn to jelly halfway across the river you used to cross at will and before you know it you'll be swimming and shedding gear like a sinking shopping cart full of pop cans . The old tree trunks just ain't what they used to be and you'd best take some precautions before you tackle the flow.

Firstly, you'll need a wading staff; your favourite tackle shop will have plenty to choose from. A good wading staff should be collapsible and have a good long loop to wrap around your wrist. It should be longer than a typical hiking staff or ski pole, and about shoulder height will allow you to get some decent triangulation when the river starts to push.

You will also need a good inflatable vest or harness. The type that auto inflate when they hit water are the best and they should all have a manual inflation valve in case of propellent failure. Vests typically have roomy pockets, and harnesses can be quite comfortable on hot days because of their open design. This is not an area where you want to try to save money so you should go with a vest that your dealer or fellow fishers recommend. When the water starts tickling your nose is a lousy time to find out your fancy new vest is useless.

So is middle age a big deal? Not really. It would be foolish to ignore the fact that your body is changing with age, but you're not going to fall apart like a cheap lawn chair the day after you turn 40. As long as you are willing to make a few changes in your normal routine and maybe pick up a few gadgets designed to make your life easier there is no reason why you shouldn't be buying cheap licenses and telling outrageous lies about the fish you never caught for many years to come.

Book Review

Stillwater Selections, a collection of proven patterns - By Phillip Rowley

Learning with the Pro's, Stillwater Fly Tying Volume One – By Phillip Rowley and Brian Chan

Reviewed by Trevor Shpeley

The first time I met Phil Rowley outside of watching one of his presentations was at a course he was teaching at the ski resort in Fernie. I was immediately struck with how friendly and unassuming he was in real life as opposed to some other media personalities I have been acquainted with who were one person for the camera and another for the stream. I was also struck by how easy it was to pry him away from his teaching duties and get him into the nearby St Mary river for a little “on the water training” When push comes to shove Phil fishes because he loves to fish and he talks about fishing because he loves to talk to people who love to fish. He is very genuine and it shows.

Phil is no stranger to the members of FlyBC. In the 25 years since he started fly fishing he has written for most every fly fishing magazine in North America, put out a number of benchmark DVD's, marketed a line of stillwater specific tying materials and is currently splashing around in the waters of television while working on the New Flyfisher series.

He is also, should you happen to have not been paying attention, one of the prestigious members of our very own pro-forum where he takes time from his busy schedule to answer your questions both big and small with the kind of enthusiasm you just can't fake. I was therefore thrilled when I was asked if I wanted a copy of his new book “Still Water Selections” and his new DVD, “learning with the pros” to review for the FlyBC website.

Stillwater Selections, a collection of proven patterns:

By Phillip Rowley, published by BC Outdoors Magazine

book coverThe first thing you will notice about Stillwater selections is that although they are not fraternal twins, there is a definite family resemblance between this book and his previous offering, Stillwater Solutions Recipes. Gone is the cool little self propping feature of the recipe book but the chocolate brown, spiral bound heavy gloss paper and landscape orientation feels both familiar and welcome on the tying desk.

The second thing you notice is that this book isn't just “all about Phil.” As Phil himself says in the books forward, “this book was written to inform and educate fly fishers” “it is intended to be an educational reference to BC designed and inspired patterns.” Phil's goal in Stillwater Selections was to introduce the readers to new patterns, new techniques and new tiers that they might not be familiar with. FlyBC veterans will recognize many of the names attached to the various patterns, names such as Ken Woodward (Woody), Todd Oishi(Tyson), John Kent(JohnK) and Ron Thompson(Phisherman). There are also more well known names you would expect to see in any collection of this type, Brian Chan, Gord Honey and Steve Jennings. Together they add up to an exciting blend of proven ability and burgeoning new talent.

Phil confesses in his introduction that while he has in the past been guilty of tying flies that look great but are complicated to tie and not as lifelike in the water as they could be. In this book Phil leans towards simple patterns that display a lifelike silhouette and exhibit convincing behaviour in the water. Stillwater Selections assumes the reader to posses a basic understanding of fly tying but honestly, I feel that any reader who has mastered putting a hook in the vice and can tie a knot of some variety is going to be able to tie flies that will work well on almost any BC lake if they follow the instructions as written.

The first pages of the book are given to knot tying. You can have the best fly in the world but it's just a decoration if it comes off your line the second a fish takes an enthusiastic interest in it. Stillwater Selections shows the reader in intricate detail how to tie enough knots to handle almost any fly fishing requirement as well as a short tutorial on how to use a nail knot tool, a skill valuable to all fumble-fingered fly fishers and one never properly explained in the instruction manual that comes with the deceptively simple little devices.

From knot tying the book is divided into eight sections laid out roughly in order of importance to the fish's diet:

Chironomids (20 patterns)

Scuds (3 patterns)

Damsleflies (3 patterns)

Leeches (8 patterns)

Dragonflies (5 patterns)

Caddis (7 patterns)

Mayflies (4 patterns)

Waterboatmen and Backswimmers (5 patterns)

All sections start with a chart showing the availability of a given insect to the fish throughout the seasons as well as when you can expect the most activity from any stage of the insects development. There is also, (and in my personal opinion this is the books real strength,) a number of bullet points for each insect that pretty much cover everything you really need to know about the food source without having to fight your way through a lot of text just to find the nuggets you want. A good and very typical example would be this excerpt from the section on Chironomid Pupae:

Size:

* 3/8 to one inch, hook sizes #8 to #18

* Chironomids tend to be larger in mud bottomed algae type lakes, try pupa patterns from #12 to#8
* In clear water marl/Chara type lakes, chironomids are smaller, #10-#18 work best
* #12 standard hook is an average pupa size and a good starting point
* If trout do not appear to be selective on size, try using a pupa pattern one size larger so your fly stands out from the naturals.

Colour:

* Black, maroon,brown,olive, shades of green, tan
* Dark day, dark pattern, bright day, bright pattern.
* Pupae use trapped air and gasses to aid pupal ascent and adult transformation which gives pupae a distinct silver glow.
* Pupae can change colour as they absorb or replenish trapped air and gasses.
* Chironomid pupae have prominent white gills. Chaoborus pupae do not have white gills.
* Use super white beads in algae stained waters, they do not foul with algae as natural or synthetic materials do.


With this simple yet effective technique Phil manages cram a lot of valuable information in a relatively small space without forcing the reader to decide what is trim and what is tasty steak, it's all steak, no fat here and no trouble digesting what you take in.

As I mentioned earlier, this book is laid out in a “landscape” orientation. The pages are wider than they are tall and are stiff enough that propping them up against your vice or back wall while you tie is not only possible, it's the obvious way to use the book.

boatmenOn the left page of the opened book is a large clear picture of the fly being presented. A short biography on the flies tier or originator is followed by a history of the fly itself and some tips on how, where and when to fish it. A separate window displays the materials needed to tie the fly and for many experienced tiers this is all you will need. For those that would like a little more instruction, especially since many of the techniques discussed are relatively new to most people, a detailed step by step photo-intensive tutorial occupies the facing page for each pattern.

All in all Stillwater Selections is a very useful book, especially to someone like myself who places high value on flies that work well and are simple to tie rather than flies that may dazzle your fishing buddies but have all the life and appeal of a coat hanger tied to an extension cord when in the water.

I daresay most will find something they hadn't thought of within it's pages and for those just starting out, you could save yourself a lot of time and trouble by starting here.

I enjoyed Stillwater Selections very much. I will (and do) recommend it to anybody wishing to both simplify and improve their stillwater fishing.boatmen2


Learning with the Pro's, Stillwater Fly Tying Volume One

By Phillip Rowley and Brian Chan,

produced and directed by Mike Mitchell

dvd coverIn addition to Stillwater Selections, Phil and his longtime friend and fly fishing legend, Brian Chan have released a DVD titled “Learning with the Pro's, Stillwater Fly Tying Volume One” produced and directed by BC Outdoors senior editor, Mike Mitchell

Learning with the Pros showcases a dozen or so very effective BC Stillwater flies and focuses on several tying techniques that may not be familiar to all BC tiers. Each fly demonstration is preceded by a verbal description of the materials needed as well as a recipe screen you can pause on to ensure you have everything you need. The macro video is very clean and well focused and the background is neutral enough that detail is not difficult to follow.

Phil and Brian take turns demonstrating various ties and both have a soothing, easy to follow narrative style. It is worth noting that while they are both master tiers, their techniques differ enough that it is to the viewers benefit to observe them both do the same techniques in very different ways as it demonstrates very well that there is more than one way to scale a fish.

I learned many things I either didn't know or didn't fully understand just by watching them tie on the crisp high definition video. I learned for example how to properly hold scissors while I tie, how to double up materials very neatly and how to glue a Peacock thorax without making it a matted crusty mess. I've been tying quite awhile, you would think I would know those things but I didn't. I do now though.

Every fly demonstration is followed by a trip out to a very rainy Morgan lake to discuss and demonstrate how to properly fish the fly that was just tied. If you ever wanted to know how to fish chironomids naked, what leader to use and how to tie it, etc, you won't want to miss these sections. I love that it's obvious they couldn't care less about the rain, they're there to catch a few fish, have some fun and spread a little of their knowledge while they do what they would probably be doing on that day anyway. It's clear that Brian and Phil love their jobs.

So there you have it. Stillwater Selections and the Learning with the Pros DVD. To be honest I was a little nervous about accepting the assignment to review this book and DVD. I don't know Brian and Phil real well but I know them both at least casually and I respect them both tremendously so I had to ask myself, “what if I don't like the book?” “What if the DVD is as sleep inducing as some of the other tying videos out there?” “What if Brian and Phil know where I live?” I'm happy to say all those worries turned out to be a non-issue. I thought the book and the DVD were great. I'd buy them myself and actually use them which is a little unusual for me, I tend to do my own thing but this book and DVD merge seamlessly with my own style of tying and fishing so I expect to see these on my desk for some time. Check them out for yourself, I think you will too.

Stillwater Selection and Lerning with the pros are both available on the BC Outdoors website:

http://www.bcosportfishing.com/

Snapes on a plane

I am NOT a geek!

I am NOT a geek!

I am a nerd.

I get called a geek all the time. My own wife calls me a geek. I am not a geek. I'm not smart enough, educated enough or ironic enough to be a geek. Sure I am an early adopter of technology, I like science fiction, fantasy and animation, I dress like I don't own a mirror and I don't play well with others but I'm not smart enough to write software and if I make any kind of effort to dress like a hipster, I look like an idiot. I do not work in a start-up. I live in the dark bathed in the glow of my computer screen. I am probably looking at porn not writing code. I am a nerd.

Nerds are the great wannabes of the social underclass. They are typically 30 IQ points, 40 pounds and 3.5 years of schooling away from being a geek. They are so close, they can almost taste it and they want so very badly to taste it. A geek has legitimacy, they are so uncool they are ultra cool. They can be hot,,,,very hot. A geek girl is as alluring as she is unattainable, beautiful without seeming to know it, casually rumpled, bespectacled and as impossible to ignore as a dead raccoon on a hot sidewalk.

It doesn't help that friends and family who don't know any better insist on calling you a geek. Do you know how to format windows? Fix a simple virus? Connect a router? Maybe even hook up a printer and find a driver for it? If you answered yes to any of these questions then as far as your technology-phobic family is concerned, you are a geek.

Never mind that you know better. Never mind that a real geek would sniff you out in a heart beat. Never mind that you may not even be a nerd much less a geek. As far as the civilians are concerned, you are a geek forever doomed to dispensing computer advice you are not qualified to give while occupying the no-mans land between normal people and people who think they are normal people.

You are a nerd. You are lonely because nerds are not herd animals. We walk the empty streets alone, well, mostly alone. We communicate on social media sites, we rarely meet in person. When we do it's awkward, short lived and uncomfortable. We can smell our own kind, see the shame and envy in each others eyes as we tickle the edges of the unselfconsciously techno glitterati, the true geek masses, the no-go zone for those such as you or I.

You are a nerd. I am a nerd. We are not pretty, we are not proud. We grind no axe and we leave no lasting mark. We are lovable in movies but only in the first one, the sequels always fail. By the second movie people have stopped emphasizing, stopped feeling sorry for the hapless nerd, stopped wanting to see the underdog “pull one off” there is nothing romantic or enviable about being a nerd.

But,,,,

Being a nerd is still being “something”. We do enjoy ourselves. Chocolate milk, pizza, a couple of bong hits and a stack of firefly DVDs is a spanking good time and well within the reach of even the most poverty stricken of the socially impaired. No need to dress up, nerd culture is almost never a face to face affair. Come as you are, nobody knows or cares that you haven't left your bedroom in two days or that your nuts are currently stuck to the cold vinyl of your computer chair as you sit typing out pearls of wisdom and pithy hilarity to “friends” you may or may not have ever actually met in person.

To live the life of a nerd is to live the life of the chronic underachiever. A nerd is typically under less pressure than the shower nozzle at a Super 8 motel. Nobody expects anything from a nerd. We are undependable, we promise solutions we cannot provide, nobody with any common sense depends on a nerd to come through in the crunch and therein lies the problem.

Geeks do get the job done. Geeks have the tools, the drive and the confidence to do the job and do it right. In fact, they will usually do it better than you originally asked for it to be done. Geeks are overachievers in an understated way. It's part of what makes nerds wish they were geeks even though none of us really have the energy to follow through with it were the geek faerie to wave her magic wand and give us what we think we want. Call a nerd a geek and you place expectations on his or her shoulders they cannot possibly live up to. It's not fair and it's beyond our control.

Geeks are geeks. I am not a geek, please stop calling me one. ;)