Greetings from Terrace:

Today I finished a five day steelhead fishing trip on the Skeena drainage in Northern British Columbia.  A “weather event” occurred at the beginning of the week which brought the river levels up and out of their banks, and turned the normally crystal clear water an angry chocolate brown.  My fellow steelhead enthusiasts, Ron Hooven and Peter Zelov were undaunted.  Our first day on the Skeena was punctuated with 40 mph wind gusts and sideways rain.  We fished hard for two days, but failed to land a steelhead.  On the third day, a Skeena tributary, the Copper River started to recede and clear up.  Our guides, Brad Zeerip and Scott Young launched inflatable rafts and we braved some exciting rapids to reach the best runs.  We used 13’ spey rods with Rio Skagit fly line systems and light sinking tips.  Spey rod casting is fun and easy to learn.  Our combined statistics were modest for the Summer Steelhead run in the Copper River, but very acceptable under the conditions.  We had 25 bites and released 9 steelhead over our final three days, with Peter Zelov leading the way, while exhibiting some very fine casting.  One of the many high lights of the trip for me was hooking, fighting and releasing this 15 pound buck using a spey rod that was given to Brad by the great Lani Waller.

Credit for our enormously enjoyable trip goes to our fine team of river guides: Brad and Scott from Z-Boat River Lodge Guides, LTD.  www.zboatbc.com.  The success of a trip can not be defined by numbers, but rather the fun and camaraderie of the participants.  This trip was outstanding. We were surrounded by the beauty of Northern British Columbia. The adrenalin rushes of rafting through white water rapids interspersed by spectacular contests with large, bright steelhead were memorable.  The hilarious episodes that occur when Peter and I fish together were a bonus.  My trip for next year is already booked, and I invite you to join me.

Austin Hepburn
UncommonVentures.com
610.585.7583

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