Hunting steelhead with the swung fly is, for many, the pinnacle of game-fishing. Have you got what it takes? asks Matt Harris.
ONE BY ONE, the last vestiges of civilization fell away behind us, and after a while, we found ourselves flying over an endless wilderness of dense spruce and gleaming, bottle green rivers. The vast spires of British Columbia’s Coastal Range rose all around us, looming over the broad valleys, and we left the twenty-first century behind. The deep greens of the forest gave way to a monochromatic carpet of thick white snow, as Tom the pilot lifted the little helicopter up over the vast saddle that separates our desolate, wild little valley from the rest of the world. I was gazing up at the serried ramparts of the snowy crags all around, when Tom came crackling over the intercom.
“Bear.”
Below us, a huge grizzly foraged in the thick snow. On hearing the whirring blades of the chopper overhead, the creature panicked, scattering snow and snapping saplings like match sticks until it was lost from view in the thick brush. Slowly the white blanket receded as we dropped altitude into the valley, and we glimpsed smoke curling up from the tiny camp, nestled among a grove of spruce and cottonwood trees perched high above the river.
Anglers are drawn to streams like this from all around the globe, not only to experience the savage beauty of the Pacific Northwest, but to attempt to catch the iconic fish that run these remote watercourses.
Steelhead.
Sea-run rainbow trout.
Heroic fish.
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة February 2017 من Trout & Salmon.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك ? تسجيل الدخول
هذه القصة مأخوذة من طبعة February 2017 من Trout & Salmon.
ابدأ النسخة التجريبية المجانية من Magzter GOLD لمدة 7 أيام للوصول إلى آلاف القصص المتميزة المنسقة وأكثر من 9,000 مجلة وصحيفة.
بالفعل مشترك? تسجيل الدخول
Mr Goldhead And The Grayling
Lawrence Catlow fishes the rapidly recovering River Irfon in Powys.
Moody Beasts
Stan Headley searches for the elusive sea-trout of Loch Ailsh in the northwest Highlands.
Alone On The River
Cliff Hatton encounters a mighty Wye salmon.
Hop To It
Richard Donkin has a no-nonsense approach to tackle and amphibians.
River Blackwater
THE BLACKWATER rises in the boglands of County Kerry, and although the peaty tinge it carries gives rise to its name it also flows through limestone and that helps it to support a diverse range of fly-life which provides plenty of sustenance for salmon parr and trout. The river is one of Ireland’s most productive salmon fisheries, along with the River Moy.
Hampshire Avon
THERE CAN be few places in fishing more famous than the Royalty Fishery on the Hampshire Avon, even Mr Crabtree has fished its illustrious waters. Two seasons ago an enormous salmon of 40lb was caught in the spring at the Royalty and big salmon are regularly caught in the early months of the season.
A Strange Kind Of Magic
Charles van straubenzee introduces a salmon fly that combines the most unlikely colours and materials to deadly effect.
A Deep-Water Experiment
Stan Headley hatches a plan to catch three species of fish in one day at Loch Calder in Caithness.
Rutland's Old Warriors
James Beeson enjoys supercharged surface sport with Rutland Water’s fry-feeders.
Plucked From The Jaws
Looking for affordable back-end sport? Andrew Flitcroft recommends the challenging Chollerton beat on the North Tyne.