PPS Destinations Report
Silver Hilton Lodge, Babine River, BC, Canada
Date: October 2007
Reported by Dr. Chris Travis, CA, USA
Eight of us helicoptered into the remote
Our destination…. The Silver Hilton
Lodge, where elegance, fine dining, wonderful wines, and great guides are the
standard. My roommate and fishing partner was none other than Lani Waller,
the famed 3M Scientific Anglers star of four fly-fishing-for-steelhead movies.
He is the author of books and articles, an ardent conservationist who champions
the cause to save our steelhead and the rivers they migrate to spawn. He is one
hell of a guy too….the real deal.
The weather cooperated with some light
mist and snow. Temperatures stayed
low enough so runoff was not a problem with the river. Conditions were great for
the steelhead migration and our fishing. However, steelhead numbers were
down in 2007 because the Canadian government allowed the Commercial fishery to
net along the BC coast for 64 days, almost twice the amount normally allotted.
This was after fisheries biologists told the DFO (Department of Fisheries
and Oceans) that salmon and steelhead numbers were already at dangerously low
numbers….Go Figure. Well, the Canadian Government got caught because
they tried to hush the biologists and their research and they went public.
New policies are now in effect and many DFO people involved are not
working there now. So, maybe the
steelhead will fare better in the future.
In any event,
we knew coming in, the numbers were down but the size of steelhead were up.
So, the amp meter was high, to say the least. The minute the
chopper landed, I ran to my cabin, changed clothes and grabbed a lunch sack and
headed to one of the best runs on the river for an afternoon, plying the waters
of Dave’s Drift (now called Canadian…eh?). This, the first day, is
changeover day and the guides were out checking the drifts by fishing themselves
while the guests stayed close to the lodge, fine tuning the gear and working on
spey casting while getting used to wading in moving water.
It is a great time to unwind from the hectic schedule back home.
The next day came early. The guides woke
us up with fresh coffee and a fire in the pot bellied stoves as they informed us
of the conditions and where we will fish for the day.
We ate a hearty breakfast, donned our wading gear, and headed to the jet
boats where the guides took us to our drifts. Each day after had us
fishing different sections of the Babine allowing the runs to rest for a day or
so. The advantage is significant.
The steelhead are not educated to the point of becoming
leader and fly shy. They are
aggressive and will strike a fly readily.
During
the week, I was able to hook 23 steelhead and lucky enough to land 17.
On my last day, a large 21 pound buck took my fly deep into my backing.
Twenty minutes later, I was fortunate to land him.
Lani was there to take photos for his new book.
My guide, Dave Holland, meticulously netted the fish, measured, weighed,
and took photos, as well. One
of the other anglers in camp, Steve Scott, landed a huge 31 pound buck,
measuring over 45 inches long.
Being Lani’s roommate was the
highlight of the trip for me. He
truly is a renaissance man, not only in fly fishing, but in other avenues of
life. For example, he is an
accomplished bowyer, crafting recurve-bows from plied rare hard woods for
hunting. This is a tedious job where
one must be meticulous in every step in bow making. Obviously, being a
world famous fly fisherman, has allowed him to travel worldwide to exotic locals
and entertain one adventure after another. He
weaved his stories as we sat there riveted next to the huge fire. He has not had
a dull life.
The week went too fast and before I knew
it, we were given a CD of photos for the week and whisked by helicopter back to
reality. Way too quick, dude.
Chris Travis
