8 THE STEELHEADER NEWS Spring 2003 Edition

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extent scuds. And as a matter of anecdotal reference Rowleysays that trout are predominantly in the upper column or thebottom column of water or somewhere near the top orbottom similar to rivers. The last gadget that Rowley recommends are binoculars. In concluding his seminar on basic trout lake angling Philreiterated two points: 1) Comfort (zone) - propertemperature, oxygen and barometric pressure and 2)Protection - water surface, light, structure/vegetation andwater depth. Phil recommended focusing on weed beds,shoal areas, insect life cycles, food sources and behaviors. After the seminar came the tour of the hot items for sale atunbelievable prices that Roger Dornan, owner of Hub Sportsin Abbotsford, is known for – ie. , float tubes for $59.95 . . .unbelievable. To round off the day Kevin Longard taught all of us arefresher on fly casting in his comedic and entertainingmanner. The loop was the most important part of casting and wepayed particular attention to it ie. , if you move your wristback and forth while casting your loop formation goes all topot – so to speak. During casting it’s important to keep yourarm at your side and to use a rigid wrist. Two casts reviewed as well, which incidentally areextremely important in river fishing, are the roll cast whereyou lift the rod in front of you and flip the loop out and thesteeple cast where the cast is sent up high in the air at abouta one o’clock angle almost straight up from the back of yourhead. Both casts are used in restricted back cast scenarios. During normal casting circumstances, looking at the casterfrom the side, the actual casting angles are between about11am and 1pm on the clock – with a drop in the rod tip afterthe forward cast. When casting into the wind Longard crouched down andcasted horizontal to the surface and from the side. As well,while casting into the wind Longard attempted a tighter loop. Longard also reviewed the double haul – the cast I still haveproblems with - the line hand makes a jerky down and upmotion while lifting the line off the water and again whenpropelling the loop from the back cast. Kevin made thedouble haul look so easy and rhythmic in contrast to myattempts which looked like a drunken boxing match. With what appears to be the certain demise of pacificsalmon on the west coast of BC it’s comforting to know thatthere will almost always be trout to fish in the lakes of thisgreat province. You can’t go too far wrong with the fly.

Rowley From pg. 7

VANCOUVER, BC -Forthe second year in a row, theOkanagan River has earnedtop spot on the province’s“ten most endangered riv-ers” list. It is followedclosely by the EnglishmanRiver and the Taku River,both of which face immedi-ate and serious threats. “The Endangered RiversList highlights the manythreats confronting our wa-terways while also illustrat-ing the need to better care forour rivers” notes MarkAngelo, Chair of the Out-door Recreation Council’sEndangered Rivers Commit-tee. The Okanagan River isunder serious threat due tothe impacts of water extrac-tion, channelization, urbanencroachment, riparian habi-tat loss and the building ofdams and weirs. Fish habitathas been severely degradedand, in many sections, thewaterway resembles more ofa ditch than a river. In spite ofthis, the Okanagan continuesto sustain one of the fewviable sockeye populationsin the Columbia system andhas great potential for asignificant river restorationprogram. Second on the list is theEnglishman River onVancouver Island. Steelheadstocks on the Englishman areat crisis levels and, on many

river systems throughout theGeorgia Basin, steelheadreturns are just 10 - 15% ofwhat was observed in the1980s. While deterioratingocean conditions may bepartly to blame, the declineof fresh water habitats hasplayed a key role as well.The Englishman is alsofacing new threats as localmajor forest companies be-gin putting large riversidelots of land for sale, com-pounding existing problemswith urbanization, waterextraction, water contami-nationand the destabilization ofsteep banks. In third place is the TakuRiver in northwestern BC.The Taku, BC’s most threat-ened wilderness river, facesthe prospect of a controver-sial mine and 160 km longaccess road along the unde-veloped valley bottom. Creeks, sloughs and aqui-fers of the Fraser farmbeltoccupy fourth place on theEndangered Rivers List thisyear. Fecal coliform andstreptococcal levels havebeen found in high levels inmany irrigation-linked wa-terways, making this a majorenvironmental and healthissue. The major cause is theinappropriate disposal oflarge volumes of manure, inwinter months, in violationof waste management regu-lations. The Fraser, a perennialmember of the list, findsitself in fifth place. New tothe list this year is a

summary of the top manage-ment and policy issues re-lated to BC’s rivers, based onprovince-wide input fromriver enthusiasts. Headingthese concerns is the shortageof staff and funding forprovincial environment agen-cies and the federal DFO.The number 2 issue focuseson the hundreds of smallscale hydro-electric propos-als now being reviewed andthe difficulty in properlyevaluating all these from anenvironmental perspectivewith so few staff. The thirdissue cites growing concernsabout excessive water extrac-tion on some systems at theexpense of fish. In response to the list, saidAngelo, “the Council iscalling on the BC govern-ment to follow through on itscommitment to implement anextensive and effective Liv-ing Rivers Strategy. Such aninitiative would aim toproactively protect fish habi-tat while trying to restorethose rivers that have beendamaged in the past.” The Endangered Rivers Listrepresents the views of riverenthusiasts across BC, aswell as the Council’s 120,000members. In addition, nomi-nations are received fromresource professionalsthroughout the province whoare responsible for managingour rivers. The Council’sEndangered Rivers Commit-tee oversees this process.BC’s ten most endangeredrivers of 2003. Threats toeach river are provided in

brackets.1. Okanagan (channelization,water extraction, agricul-tural runoff)2. Englishman River andother Georgia Basin Steel-head rivers (habitat loss,logging, urbanization, in-dustrialization)3. Taku (mine development,road construction, resourceextraction)4. Creeks, Sloughs andAquifers in the Fraser Val-ley Farmbelt (agriculturepractices and inappropriatemanure disposal)5. Fraser River - with aspecial emphasis on thelower main-stem and theGoat River headwaters area(urbanization, logging, in-dustry, loss of riparianhabitat, contaminated sites,gravel extraction)6. Nechako (dam relatedimpacts, possible new dredg-ing above dam impactingwater quality, temperatureand flow regimes, concernover endangered sturgeon)7. Iskut River (proposedindependent power project,new road construction)8. Rivers of the BroughtonArchipelago (fish farms af-fecting survival of wild pinksalmon on the Kakweiken,Glendale, Wakeman, Lulland Ahnuhati)9. The Zyomoetz (extensivelogging, road development,increased fishing pressure)10. Tied Kiskatinaw andNicola Rivers (excessivewater allocation) (ORC, March 8, 2003)

Okanagan river tops2003 endangered rivers