Skeena country--take the kids fishing!

[Sharphooks]

My 21 y.o. daughter is flying the coop---off to Prague to study international biz. So I ask her if she wants to do an end of summer trip---maybe go to Vancouver or Victoria, stay in a hotel, eat some good food. No, Papa, she sez---I want you to take me steelheading up in Skeena country...

I just about fell out of my chair. Are you sure??? I ask. Are you doing this for me? No, I'm doing this for us, she says.

So I load up the camper, the Yamaha, the Avon, the dog, and about 100 rods and reels and hit the road. A picture, as they say, is worth 1,000 words:

her middle name is one of my favorite fishing spots so we had to stop there first:

learning to use a double hander fly rod:

Insane weather for the entire week....sunshine in Skeena country---unheard of!!!!

A quiet moment down in the canyon:

 

[Sharphooks]

Fish On!!!

Dad get's Lucky Under a Hot Sun:

Hiking back out of a gorgeous canyon:

End of a Really Nice Day In Skeena Country:

 

[Sharphooks]

Daughter takes pic of Dad pretending he knows how to cast:

Dag Gets Lucky on the Skeena:

And Then Finally a Fish With some SHOULDERS:

Just Remember---If You Take Your Kids To The River, Don't Wear Them Out Or They Won't Come Back For a Second Helping:

 

[hambone]

Thanks for sharing, looks like fun! Is that an old Hardy reel you're using?

 

[Lipripper]

This thread is.....

 

[Sharphooks]

Hey Hambone

Each fish I got that trip was caught on a different Hardy. They're all old Brass Faced Perfects. Here's a pic of part of my collection:

My favorite:

a 3" Brass Faced Perfect :

And the meat and potatoes 4" Perfect:

They're all over a century old---the noise they make when you have a HOT fish on is unreal!

 

[hambone]

the noise they make when you have a HOT fish on is unreal!

I bet!! I love the scream of a hardy. Nice collection you have there!!

 

[Discus]

wow, Those photos are beautiful. You and your daughter had lot of fun with lovely warm day!

Thank you for sharing photos are so amazing!

 

[NautiGirl]

It looks like you had a great trip. When the sun shines on the Skeena it's magical. It's great when you can share those moments with family. I used to jump in the car and race from the Prince Rupert rain, over mountains towards Terrace 95km after work for late sunset fishing several times per week in the summers. Good times.

 

[Pippen]

Hey Sharphooks......missed this thread! Outstanding!! Great shots!!


I have a good friend who lives in Smithers and he keeps telling me to come up and fish with him on the Skeena and other rivers up there...I know the country is beautiful but just haven't been able to coordinate a trip yet!

 

[Sharphooks]

Hey Pippen---thanks for that. It's God's Country up there, no doubt. I lived in Alaska for years and Skeena Country has that part of the world trumped big time--no other place like it on the globe. I've done that trip every year since '76. The Regs are starting to get really squirrelly for guys like me but I can't stay away (no fishing on weekends---I mean, WTF???).

My daughter took her first steps on the Kispiox over 20 years ago so going up there with her this year was something special. I'm still pinching myself wondering if that trip really happened....

 

[Englishman]

Sharphooks,

This is a terrific thread with some super photos.

You have a great daughter there. My 26 year old daughter is very happy to come out on the boat on the chuck but I don't think she would hike down into any Skeena canyons!!

Love your antique reels. Amazing you are using them for real, even though most serious anglers would question the lack of sophisticated drag system etc! I love my old wooden Peetz on the chuck and the slight tightening of the wing-nut plus palming the rim is all the drag I need.....

 

[Sharphooks]

hey Englishman--

thanks for that. Daughters are cool fishing companions whether its on a river or out on the chuck. I did a sun-dance before the trip, though--chicks get real gloomy when it rains...

Regarding antique reels--the ones I use are all over a century old but with all due respects, those old Hardy Perfects DO have a sophisticated drag---maybe the most effective one ever invented---the human hand.

If you pick one up, the first thing you realize is that with the exposed faceplate (rather then an exposed rim like a modern Hardy) you can hold the rod with your left hand, then drape your fingers down over the spinning faceplate. You can slow down a smoking unit, or back off just as quick to let her peel off more line and hear the sound of that grinding coffee...

Nobody's ever taken a picture of me fighting a fish before because 99.9% of the time I fish alone, but my daughter snapped this one--- you can see I've got my thumb draped on the faceplate of an old Hardy and I'm hand-lining the fish to the beach with my free hand. (I use long rods. This one was a No.7 so hand-lining in a tight-spot is what I always do so I don't hear that wonderful snapping sound when you high-stick a light graphite rod)

If the fish decided to make a run for the border, I would have just dropped the line and let her do her thing, my thumb ready to slow her down---they really are amazingly designed reels!

 

[Metal Breath]

My wife and I were just up there and had an awesome time. In fact, I recognize the bridge your daughter is standing on. Great times and great job raising her right!

 

[Olde School]

Hello.

I too have a daughter of about that age, and treasure every moment in the outdoors with her.
There aren't enough fathers out there sharing this type of time with their kids, and especially girls.

The attitudes they develop being outside means that their future male partners will owe us big!

Envious of your trip!

 

[Sharphooks]

hey Smiley

X-2 on that. I just lost a GF because she said I fished "too much"---obviously her father never got her outdoors enough when she was growing up!

 

[GirlsFishToo]

love the 4th pic!