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August, 2003
 This season the Kitimat River had a record run of Pink Salmon.
All creeks and tributaries are choked with these fish. I
attached a picture of a small creek in the Kitimat area for
you to have a look at, a spectacle.
Now that we are entering the month of September the Coho
are coming in.
We are currently targeting Silvers in the Kitimat arm and
the schools of fish are again immense. With the small rise
in tides lately these fish are stacking up at the rivers
mouth. I find that we are having excellent success in the
saltwater trolling at a speed of 2-3 knots. I usually run
3-4 rods off the back of the boat at different depths. We
had a triple header last week as trolling through these schools
of Coho are a never miss. We adjusted our depths from 25-60
ft in places. But when you see schools in the tens finning
the real fun is on the fly. Stripping fly line in 2-3 ft
pulls is what works the best. Bucktails as well as many other
polar bear flies are our top producer. With the clarity of
the water you can actually see them take your fly. When two
to five Coho's are aggressively chasing your fly its like
trying to hold back when a Steelie hits your dry.
Hooking a saltwater Silver is something all avid fly anglers
should try. When a fresh Silver hits your fly it is a take
that you must experience. We were fortunate to have conditions
where the waters were lake like and a belly boat was actually
possible to use.
 We have also been drifting the Kitimat River as a push of
fish has arrived.
The long weekend is home to the Kitimat fish derby so we
have stayed in the upper stretches to avoid the crowds. Fish
in the 15lb range have been average and very fresh as you
can see in the river pics attached.
Retention is two per day over 50cm. Our guests are having
allot of fun this past few weeks and for good reason with
ten to twenty hook-ups daily.
 This year the bear watching has been extra special. Last
week we watched from across the river in Kitimat, a Grizzly
feed in a small back eddy. As well as frolic and play. He
was standing in the middle of a deep pool literally boxing
spawning pinks, then grabbing one, sampling it and doing
this over and over. We managed numerous photo opportunities
of this fellas before he decided to move on. The sheen off
his wet coat in the brilliant sunlight was a awesome view.
The Skeena is also getting a nice run of fresh Steelhead
and some Coho in the mainstem. The Skeena is shaping up to
be a fly anglers dream.
Steelhead water is showing itself as levels are dropping
and the green color is appearing. Upper Skeena watershed
is reporting numerous Steelhead, so the Copper and Kalum
Steelies are closing in. Regulations change on the
Skeena in September so be sure to ask at the local tackle
shops as to what systems are classified and unclassified.
Or send me a e-mail if your not sure.
 I have also added two new pages to the website. "The
flyshop" is going to be up and running soon so anglers
who want that recipe for Skeena and
Kitimat flies, this will be your opportunity to tie the best
Salmon and Steelhead flies that have been created by experienced
fly tyers in the region. The other page is a local weather
forecast, so you fellas from sunny California and across
the globe who join us have a heads up on the local conditions
and will help you in packing for your trip to the worlds
finest freshwater streams.
As we always have a few cancellations, space is available
for persons who are flexible and can come with a weeks notice.
Tracey John Hittel
Kitimat BC Canada
250 632-9880
250 639-4277
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