Friends for Life

It was the fall of 2023 and I had just finished posting some photos from that year steelhead adventures on facebook looking to maybe catch someone's eye and bring in new clients. After all, I was looking for new bookings as I wanted to build my business back up after leaving the industry for 7 years. The guide industry is very competitive and the majority of places offer you the world but hardly deliver. I wanted to change that. This is why I started Roamers Custom Adventures at the worst possible time because I love to prove to myself that I can do anything. What a better time to do it than when the world is shut down. I guess that with everything shut down I could finally smell the sea breeze again and it allowed me to reconnect with what was important to me.  A few hours after I posted, I had a DM come through to my inbox asking about costs to come over and fish. I had never spoken to this gentleman before but we had a good chat I gave him some info and he sure seemed keen to book. A few days later I sent off an invoice and heard nothing back. 4 months had passed and I wondered what went wrong so I sent him a message. Turns out someone else came in at about half the price of my trip. Something I face year after year. The guide industry is a tough one, everyone selling different packages and as a foreigner you are going in blind. This is frustrating but it's part of the business. When it comes to business, I know that it's not easy to come by so when I get clients I make sure I hang onto them. There was no hard feelings, the other place got lots of attention based on price over the years but the experience wasn't even close to what we offered. I explained that I totally understand but we aren't even in the same category, and my experience would be much more personalized as I focus on private groups only. After our second conversation I felt pretty good just sticking to my guns and believing in what I was bringing to the table. We focus on the fishing and food but base the entire trip around fishing optimal times and sparing no expense when it comes to getting into the best spot for success. This was Stevies birthday present to himself and would be a once in a lifetime trip. I intended to deliver on what I promise. A week later Stevie rang me and he was ready to book. I know from running other operations what anglers are looking for and what is delivered doesn’t seem to jive so I made it my personal testiment to do right by these guys like I do with all my customers. He gave me a shot and I told him I wouldn't let him down. Deposits were sent and we were locked in. 

Fast forward 6 months and the boys arrived a day before scheduled start so they booked into a hotel. There were some delays on their journey so they hadn't eaten anything all trip. Stevie rang me to tell me about the delay and said he'd be in Terrace in a couple of hours. This gave me some time so I fixed them up some fresh caught sockeye cakes with rice avocado and some miso mayo and headed to the airport to fetch them. It was there that I finally got to shake hands with my new friends, Stevie and Sammy. Sammy quite a bit older than Stevie maybe in his late 60s early 70s with a thick Scottish accent and Stevie with a bit of and Irish accent. I'm pretty good with understanding accents, but Sammy's was a proper thick highland accent and it took me some time to get it together. Sammy is also partially deaf. You may be wondering what this has to do with anything but we'll get to that later. 

At about 12 pm the next day Stevie rang me and they were ready to come over to check into the lodging we had organized for the week. We were waterfront overlooking the mainstem Skeena River just east of Terrace. They couldn't believe the location, the sheer beauty and the scale of the river valley. We weren't scheduled to start until the following day but I suggested if they were keen, we could go get acquainted with the river and see where we were at. Excitedly they geared up and we pushed off at about 2 pm with jet boat in tow. The drive would be about 40 mins south west towards the tidal section of the mainstem Skeena also known as Skeena 1. When we arrived all the other operations and clients were leaving for the day so we took our time getting the boat in the water. I explained to both of the guys we would be targeting steelhead and if they got bites not to set the hook on them. They like to grab, chew and turn on the fly and if they tried to strike it would more than likely result in dropped fish or poor hookups. Stevie and Sammy both acknowledged, or so I thought. A five-minute boat ride and we were fishing. I usually spend the first day analyzing new client’s skill and giving instruction or pointers but as Stevie said, “We were skilled and have no issue wading or casting” so it was just point and shoot. Stevie and I stayed close to the boat fishing a beautiful tail-out coming out of a bit of a narrow shoot. Sammy didn’t like to be too close so he marched up a good 300 yards to a little riffle at the bottom of what appeared to be a lake. No bites for Stevie and I in the tail-out so after about 20 mins of fishing I suggested we move up. We hopped into the boat and headed to pick-up Sammy. When all of a sudden from a distance the water erupted and Sammy stood there in disbelief, like he had just been struck by lightning. Once he got into the boat and explained what he had felt, I knew it was a steelhead. The plan was that we would stop in the next run above to try to get back on top of them. That run above happened to be one of my favourite runs of the year producing a lot of good chances thus far. The water level was absolutely perfect so I parked the boat at the very top of the run in a nice pillow and we started about 20m below. Not but 20 casts in Stevie was onto a big buck. The fish erupted and did typical buck things thrashing about pulling like a tractor on plough. We managed to get the fish to net in a reasonable time without any hiccups. Stevie turned to me and said "That right there makes the entire trip mate. That's probably the nicest fish I've ever fought." It was a 13-15lb bullet chrome sea lice buck (PHOTO 1). We shook hands Sammy gave Stevie a pat on the back and we were again fishing. About 10 casts later Sammy hooked up right where STEVIE had hooked the buck. It was a 12-13lb doe who was tail walking across the surface of the water before the barbless hook popped. I knew we were about to have a good start to the week. 0-2 steelhead for Sammy now. Soon after, Stevie was onto another absolute shit kicker of a fish. He got pulled down into the tail-out and it must have peeled off 75m of backing and the entire 30m running line before it turned and came straight back at him creating slack. These boys new how to fish but this was an entirely different ball game than what they were used to. Stevie was in sheer disbelief of the raw power of these fish. Steelhead are a sea run rainbow trout that will spend months to years at sea before they return and they have the thickest and largest tails of all the salmonoids making them the most powerful. They can return multiple times to spawn and travel distances over hundred km in a day if they wanted. They were no joke and as I see it, they are the best freshwater game fish on the planet, bar none. Out there on the lower end of the mainstem Skeena, we are fishing the pinnacle of this wild species. Nothing can compare but if I had to say the closest second I've experienced would be the sea trout in Patagonia. Guys talk about the Dean, the Bulkely, and Kispiox, but nothing can compare to a hot Skeena fish right out of the salt on a huge body of water. This species should be on every serious fly anglers bucket list. Once they get a hold of you they are a hard thing to shake. 

Back to fishing- Sammy hooked up behind Stevie after the dropped fish and landed a hen about 10 pound, brimming with live sea lice. It was a lovely fish with not a scale missing(2). Things went quiet for another 30 minutes so again in the boat and up the river we went, hoping to get back on top of that push of fresh fish. To our luck we were into them again. The boys were having such a go, they said they'd like it that I wet a line. So I did. I put them into the grease of the run and walked up a good 40 yards to the head of the run where the back eddy started to level out and push evenly across the pool. On the first cast I hooked up, turned and sprinted up the bank but it wasn't enough as the fish I hooked started cartwheeling towards me and I got slack line. We are fishing single barbless hooks so it happens and I personally didn't mind because we're putting them back anyways. I got to see and feel the power of the fish and that was more than half the fun.  Stevie hooked a couple of salmon in the mid-section of the run and Sammy a nice bar chrome Chum(3). We could see it jumping its way down the river with Sammy in tow so I had to quickly hop into the boat and zoom down river to help. It had taken so much line we were now over a hundred yards from where it was originally hooked. We took a few photos and into the river it went back on its way to its soon to be spawning grounds. Sammy took a five-minute breather and went back to it. Within a few casts he hit another steelhead which immediately broke surface of the water. It gave us one giant leap reaching eye level capturing our gaze before spitting the hook. Fishing was hot. We went on to fish a few more hours and I think we finished the first evening session landing a good 10 fish. Steelhead, coho, and chum with another lost 5 or 6 other steelhead. It was a great start to a once-in-a-lifetime trip. 

Day two we started a bit later and but took our time getting to the river. This day we did okay targeting just above the tidal section in Skeena 2 and I showed the gentleman what all the other fisherman were doing. The boys left the day with sore backs and arms with over 50 salmon to the bank each. This was a day for numbers and seeing what was happening in that stretch. We discussed the day over some beef tenderloin with salad and came up with a game plan for what the rest of the week would look like. They much preferred the steelhead fishing to the salmon fishing so for the next 7 days that was the plan. Light tips, virgin water, and a whole lot of hunting for the elusive fish of a thousand casts everywhere but here fishing on the Skeena.

DAY 3- This morning we chose to fish Skeena 1 again, but this time we would fish with the entire incoming tide. Although fishing wasn’t productive, we shared lots of laughs, great scenery and an awesome lunch. Both guys managed a salmon each and a few other pulls but the river seemed to be dead. We confirmed it was dead and later found out there was a commercial fish opening which would explain the void. With this information we decided to head way up and try to catch the fish from week prior. Here we headed to fish Skeena 4 a 65km stretch of river East of Terrace. The conditions were bright and sunny with clear water. Not great steelhead weather but with a little luck on our side and the right spot, we could have success. We fished hard all morning with a few really poor bites so I knew the fish in the stretch we were either hooked or couldn’t see the fly properly as they were not committing. I knew there were holding fish in the area so with current conditions we made a move. We setup so the sun would be behind the fish and they'd have a better chance to see the fly and feel more comfortable to have a go at it. We pulled into a run called Devil’s Elbow. It's a nasty shoot of heavy current met with big boulders and a rock wall. The tail-out had some lovely football size boulders and a nice walking speed water. I dropped Sammy at the top and he made his way down to about the half way mark before he hooked into a very large steelhead. He reconned was well into the 20lb range. It peeled off a good 200m of line cartwheeling 7 times as it headed back to the sea. Sammy was in for the fight of his life that soon ended with him laid out on the beach and a slack line. After getting back to his feet Sammy dragged his was down to the boat with a look of defeat on his face.  He climbed into the boat and sat slumped over while Stevie looked at him with a feeling of contentment. Sammy is a tough old guy but he was knackered. The sound of rushing water was dominating the moment when Sammy who was now shaking his head picked up and said, "mate this is a different ball game, these fish are something. Salmon fishing is shiet! When I hooked that, I thought this can't be a fish. It must be a fish and a fuckin seal!" We erupted with laughter. I handed Sammy a water while Stevie finished his smoke. Stevie said right lads I'm off and hopped out of the boat. I followed Stevie up the bank a good 50 m before we decided ‘right here’ was about the spot Sammy hooked up and stopped fishing. First cast Stevie was onto a belter. Five eye level jumps while tearing the line well into the backing not once but three times. Stevie was well chuffed with this fish and said "This is worth the whole trip right here". It was a 11lb hen steelhead with a lovely dark back and blush pink side the entire length of the fish. A perfect specimen(photo 4). We fished around the area for a few more hours and picked up a couple of Coho salmon before watching the sunset and heading home.

Day 5 we dropped the boat in beside the house and shot up the river for a morning session. We anticipated the fish we were on day one would be up around the lodge by now, either today or tomorrow. We put in a Valliant effort to stick around and find out. We did a morning session digging around a good 7 km stretch of water and picked up the odd salmon but not the steelhead we'd been looking for. We were approaching the bank to pull the boat out from the morning session when Stevie said “I just saw a big steelhead roll out there where I was fishing mate.” I said "Really eh?" being the Canadian I am. I quickly made a u turn and backed down the river to the other bank. Sammy was first through. BANG! Swing and a miss. Stevie looked at me and said ‘What you think about going heavier behind him?” I said “Great call let's do a fly change.” Stevie pulled out a red Snaelda tied by his mate John Richardson and about the 7th cast, steelhead on! It was a beautiful little hen about 6 pound that put on one hell of an acrobatic show for us giving four or five jumps and somersaults over a meter high right across the other side of the channel (5 photo). That concluded our morning session. We went back down to Skeena 1 in the evening and fetched some beautiful coho and a missed a couple of steelhead. This was the life.

The next morning, I put together poached pear pancakes with pecans and lemon cream for Sammy's birthday breakfast. The boys were living good, the steelhead were here and biting well and plenty of fish had come to the bank over the first few days. Our plan today was to get Sammy a nice big birthday steelhead. Unfortunately, the morning didn't go so well as Sammy had only been offered one bite. Stevie was well ahead of Sammy with about 5 steelhead under his belt to Sammy's 1. We fished the day in the beat by the lodge for both sessions. We did all we could from singing him happy birthday, giving the man a good breakfast and fishing all the best spots first but things just weren't clicking. He had dropped the only bite he had got when I was working with Stevie up river. We got to talking and Sammy was getting really down on himself being such an experienced Atlantic Salmon angler, he couldn't understand why he kept dropping the steelhead. I asked him if he's setting the hook and he immediately confirmed that he was. Me and Stevie both looked at one another and Stevie said “For fuck-sake it was the first damn thing he told us. No wonder you're not getting them.” Sammy said “I didn't hear that” which then it clicked, and I remembered…the man was partially deaf.  We all had a good laugh and Sammy's spirit was lifted. We decided to go back to the spot where Stevie had the fish the day before, to have one last crack at a birthday steelhead. Sammy did the death march up to the top and started making his was down. Stevie rested in the boat having a smoke and a drink and I leisurely made my way up the bank toward Sammy. About three-quarters of the way there I realized I had forgotten my net so I turned back when I heard the shout, “Got Ya!” Sammy was onto his birthday steelhead. Stevie was just out of sight over the bank but heard the shout so he came running ever so abruptly with the net. The scramble left all of us huffing and puffing with excitement and we all celebrated as she slid into the net. It was a beautiful 10 lb hen chrome with a few sea lice marks on her (6). After the celebration we went back up to another spot we fished the day before. Stevie hooked 3 more back-to-back-to-back and landed 2(photo 7). Stevie also hooked a Chinook in a little pocket behind a rock but it the fish was dark and we couldn't even budge the thing so it ended up coming off. It was here we called it a day. Our plan was to hit the sack early and head way up river the next morning and drop back down onto the fish we had just located. It was in fact the push of fish we hit day one and we knew approximately how far they were moving each day.

Today was a day of days, one every steelhead angler dreams of having. From what I had seen this year up to that point, it was one of if not the best steelhead days of the year. The game plan was to launch the boat up high and run way down to locate the fish and hope to stay with them as they moved. We did exactly that. The morning sky was grey and overcast when we woke up the river was going brown as it had hammered rain in the early hours the morning. Other guides I know had text to say it was blown out down low so I knew we had to move fast. We might only get a few hours. We pushed off at about 6 am drove 40 minutes east and then ran the boat a good 40km down river. There was not a single boat in sight. Anticipation built as we looked for the perfect spot. I like to fish really soft spots early in the morning. The fish should be resting after swimming a good 20-30km overnight. First spot we hit the jackpot. Sammy walked to the top of the run and we flipped a coin to see who would go first. Stevie was up. The gents made their way down to the gut of the run as I sat back staring into the water. I noticed a huge red striped buck sitting in about 4 feet of water. I walked up to Stevie and told him what I saw and where abouts it was. The anticipation for all of us was palpable. Stevie stepped down laid out a cast and as it came around into the spot he hooked up and landed a great 13 lb buck,(photo 8) but not the fish I saw as the one I saw was in the high teens low 20s. I went back down and stared into the water and couldn't see it. Confused thinking maybe I was wrong I stepped down again a few yards and there I spotted it sitting back about 10 m from where it was originally. As we continued down the fish disappeared and a massive boil came to Stevie’s fly and he felt the grab but with excitement pulled the fly out of its mouth. I asked if the fish felt the hook and Steve confirmed not. I suggested another cast or two and if nothing we'd rest it for 10 to 15 mins and try again. In my experience and knowledge passed to me from one of my mentors, Wade Gienow, when a steelhead bit and didn't get stung, you could rest it and there was a very good chance that it would come back if it was left to get comfortable. Stevie sat back on a mossy covered rock and had a couple of smokes. About ten minutes had passed and we tried again. A few casts later the fish came and toilet bowled on the fly in the shallows with its massive tail the size of a spade breaching the water as it turned. It missed completely and we were never given another chance at it. The boys had a crack at another fish each in that first pass through the run and we decided to move on. Every spot we hit we ran into fish that morning, whether a solo fish or a pod. The rains really started to fall down and the creeks began to swell with tannin coloured water. We were getting absolutely hammered by colossal rain drops and we almost called it off to head back home. One spot on our way up river looked so good we decided to pull in as Sammy still hadn't landed his fish for the day and had only been offered the one bite as Stevie was putting on a clinic. I pulled over with the intention to have Sammy fish this juicy shoot I call the notch would surely be hiding a fish. We stopped and Sammy was taking his sweet time to get to the spot. Stevie was growing impatient of waiting knowing the rain was falling and the day was nearing its end so he made one short cast to get his line ready and immediately hooked up onto a wildly hen of about 12 lb. (photo 9) The fish went bonkers and put on a show, giving us a few cartwheels and backing peeling runs. Sammy was gutted and I could see he was frustrated by his face so I asked Stevie if I could leave him and run Sammy up to a little nook around the corner that I loved to fish. Given the plethora of steelhead we encountered that morning, I knew they had to be in there. Off we went a short jaunt up around the corner. I pulled the boat to shore and we unloaded, walked to the top of the run and started. I said to Sammy, “Right where this corner levels out lay the start of the sweet spot. It would be a great place for one to hold.” Right as he stepped into the spot the line came around and went screaming instantly off his reel. I knew we had a big one, this was going to be an epic battle. It never jumped but just took line meter after meter leaving Sammy breathless. Every time we'd gain line she'd rip more off. We finally coaxed her to shore with Sammy's excellent ability to adjust and execute exactly as instructed. We got her in the net and she was beauty: a 18-20 lb hen, (photo 10) with a light blush pink cheek. We got a few pictures, sent her off, high fived and I said to Sammy I was going to pick up Stevie. Before I could get in the boat, he was onto another beautiful 8lb buck. He landed it, let it go and I ran down to Stevie. When I arrived Stevie was elated, he had hooked 3 fish since I had gone. I told him Sammy just landed a whopper and was into another when I left. He was excited to get up there and as we rounded the bend there Sammy was at the top of the run again tied into another one. I quickly hit the shore and ran up with the net. Sammy was tied into another big buck. This one unfortunately snapped the line right before the net as the leader was likely nicked on a rock from the other fish he'd gotten. It was a total of 4 steelhead there for Sammy and 6 for Steven on the day. We headed up river and as I was running the boat I could see steelhead proposing, swimming up the river. I had never seen so many steelhead in such a big group before. There must have been a 3km stretch of steelhead moving together pushing up the system. It was something that will forever be burned into my mind. We got ahead of that push and made one more stop now in the last hour and a half of light waiting a km or so above where we last saw them. 25 mins had gone by without a bite but we knew they were coming. Just as we were about to depart for home I shouted, “Last cast.” Stevie was walking down winding in and as I stepped off my perch I looked back and saw that Sammy again was hooked onto a buck that was thrashing on the inside about three meters from shore. However, he had hooked it directly below him giving him the worst angle to pin the fish and it came off. That day ended at about 630 pm with more chances than we could count targeting what seemed to be a swimming wall of steelhead. It was one of the top days of the year for us, specifically targeting steelhead on the big river with light flies and light tips, about as exciting and sporty as it gets.

The next day we thought we'd be onto them again but just like as the old story goes, when you expect a certain outcome it doesn’t happen. That's steelhead and fishing in general. When you go into something thinking you’ve got it all figured out, you're too often handed a piece of humble pie. I always see guys come in and the ones who are just there to enjoy and take it all in always seem to do the best. This day we had 3 bites and they wouldn't come back even with smaller presentation so we called the day early and went back for a wee dram of scotch and a big meal. The evening was great we had some time to reflect on the week's adventure, made a plan for the last days and shared stories of our families and adventures in our youth. Life was good. It's these moments that really bring it all together and put it into perspective for me. Here I am now, amongst friends, people who a week ago were total strangers. Somewhere between the tight lines and burnt octane lifetime memories were made and we were now talking openly about our closest treasures. As I look in the rear view mirror I see different faces week after week but they are all friends and this is why I love what I do and will continue to always bring my best forward and deliver on what I sold. It's times like these you cannot put a price tag on and I am truly grateful for. The river always reveals what lays beneath the surface. Friends for life.