British Columbia Costal Exploration
It is easy to get caught up in the excitement of up coming adventure travels. I just returned from a trip that was planned out in great detail for months. It all started last fall with the purchase of the SunCrest, which is a 46’ retired fishing boat, that was built in 1959. The boat is a beauty and makes for the perfect vessel for exploring British Columbia’s coastline. So a merry band of steelhead addicts boarded the Suncrest, along with a couple of jetboats in tow and off we went. Everything had gone exactly as planned up to this point, and the ice cold Canadians were tasting mighty good as I stood and watched the dimming lights of the small port fad to nothing. 
A full day later found us tucked away in a beautiful hidden harbor, with great access to a beautiful river that we fully expected was filling with wild steelhead. So after months of preparation we found ourselves just minutes from the promise land.
It took us only minutes to assemble our gear and head for the river. I was running my jetboat about as fast as it would go, and my adrenaline was already pumping with anticipation. We rolled in to the estuary, and something didn’t seem right. Where is all the water??? And is that SNOW????
Closer inspection that consisted of one of the scariest jetboat rides I have ever been on, provided us with far to much detail about our situation. Not only was the river low, but it was filthy dirty. None of us had ever seen such a situation, and everyone agreed that if the river was this low, it should at least be clear. And to make matters worse there was snow and ice pack along most of the river banks, and in several areas it was well over 8 feet tall. 
That first day we managed to get a couple of fish, so our spirits were brightening some. We decided to leave early that day and hopefully round up some crabs for dinner, which turned out to be insanely easy. We had crabs flying in all directions, and once we had the cooker rolling and wine flowing, we once again began to envision how this was all going to work out fine. We only needed a little rain and everything would be GREAT!!
It poured all night..........
We woke to a downpour that didn’t seem to be letting up. After a couple of pots of coffee we decided to run over and check the river anyway. We were sure what we would fine, and we were not surprised when we found the river was up a good 2 feet, and the visibility was pretty much ZERO. The rain soon moved north, so we went about our business of crabbing and even managed to drop in some shrimp nets. The only thing we knew for sure, was that we were not going to starve.
We woke the next morning to a bluebird sky, and once again our spirits soared. We skipped breakfast and headed straight to the river. With great anticipation we approached the river........and,,,,,and;;;;;;and....... it was right back to its original low levels of the first day, only dirtier.... Holy Crap.....
After a few more days and a hundred more dents in my boat, we decided to bag it. The trip was a bust!!! Or was it? Thinking back I can’t help but think about that little hidden harbor that was full of crabs and shrimp. The shear beauty of the coastline is stunning, even when the river is low, and I did manage to hang out with some great guys who have dedicated most of their lives trying to save wild places.
Well the dust has settled, and I am back in Idaho. Its not the trip I had dreamt of, but
I got to spend time with my good friends Bruce Hill and Gerald Amos of the Headwaters Initiative and learn much more about the potential threats to the coast by the Enbridge Pipeline. And my great friend and steelhead mentor Dylan Tomine was along for the trip, so I was able to dig for more of his secrets and even stole a few of his flies. So all and all I would call the trip a success. Just not the success you would measure in the number of fish landed, but more about just living life.
And anybody interested in a slighted dented up 17’ Wille boat please give me a shout......
