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December, 2004
 I would like to start this winter report by sending a Christmas greeting to
you and your family. The Christmas season is devoted to family and being thankful for what we have in our lives.
My wife and I were blessed in June with a baby boy and we are very excited as the days
go by watching him grow. This by far is the finest catch of the year
for us at Steelhead Heaven. With the seasons came some changes with our
operation. We are now an incorporated company and we are also proud
owners of classified rod-days for the Kalum River. This makes us one of
few outfitters for this world class fishery and now gives us flexibility
for our Steelhead and Salmon guided trips. With the location of the
Upper Kalum Lodge we can offer a serene day drifting 1st class Steelhead
water for years to come, including the convenience of our private boat
launch at the base of the lodge.
We have also purchased a new fly-fishing raft with all the platforms
for fishing safely from the boat.
The fishing in region 6 lately has been interesting as I did spend one
day on the local streams in mid December. The family traveled to
Terrace from our home in Kitimat to fish the Kalum River for winter
Steelheads. With access minimal I was going to head up the native side
of the Kalum River but found that the gate was locked for the season. This
makes it difficult to access upper reaches, oh well I guess a drift is
in order for the New Year. I then headed over to the Copper and fished
the bottom stretches with the Spey rod. With the rod guides freezing
and my wife sauntering the shoreline with the young fella snuggled in
the back, a sense of Christmas passed thru my body, as a perfect swung fly
was attacked, the ice shearing from the rod guides, a Steelhead? Not to be as a
large Dolly Varden is released. That was all I had time for as the young fella was not into watching dad fish..
My wife still Christmas shopping, dropped me off at the Kalum canyon where I walked down the steep embankment, a local dog barking his presence in my direction. Once I
reached the water I realized the last rain we had affected this system
once again and high milky water was the story here. An hour or so later
we were back on the road headed for home.
 As for the local salt fishery, it is excellent this time of year as we spent a few
days trolling for winter springs. Walking from the truck at the marina
with a foot of snow on the docks, I wondered why we were here. It took no
more than dropping the first line and a fish was on, oh ya! that’s why were
here. We landed a nice 7lb spring on that pull. Minutes later with both
rods down at various depths, wham! another, this one 15lbs. and a nice job of
landing this brute, see the attached pic as well the bend on the rod. We
hunkered down close to the propane heater when times were slow and the
winter gloves and toques were on. Any of you wondering what a toque is,
we'll it’s a Canadian thing, eh. It’s a ski hat for you fellas that are not
sure. The wind chill brings us into the -10C mark and on the water it’s
colder. The quiet on the water was awesome, the snow capped mountains, a
friendly smile from a sea lion as he was quite interested in what we were doing.
The Crabbing and Prawning is excellent as fresh feeds of seafood are always on the menu.
We will be visiting sunny California in February attending the
sportsmen expo in San Mateo, I look forward to meeting you at this
time.
It is now Boxing Day and we are having a green Christmas cold and clear. All the
best as see you in 2005.
Tracey John Hittel
Kitimat BC Canada
250 632-9880
250 639-4277
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