For the three of us planning to go one-on-one with a finned
adversary, there was one important thing to keep in mind:
Catch-and-release is de rigueur in eco-friendly B.C. (see "Fields
and Streams," at left). But I had no problem with that. The fish I
did snag were off the barbless hooks in no time. I knew the real
thrill was just being there, standing knee-deep in a clear stream
below mist-hidden cedars near a waterfall the size of a skyscraper.
I actually found myself casting flies with the odd hope that no
fish would take an interest and disturb my reverie.
But there were distractions. One afternoon while trolling for
halibut, I was diverted by three massive humpback whales that
surfaced on our port side.
Beyond them, on the shoreline rocks, a colony of sea lions belched
like bad dinner guests, and lurking above everything in several of
the treetops was a band of bald eagles.
Another day, after flying out to a secluded estuary, I was
practicing my newly learned casting style - which, initially at
least, seemed to find more trees than water. The shallow water was
so rife with salmon, I joked that I could have caught more of them
with a bucket, but I was determined to keep practicing my
burgeoning skills - until, that is, our guide spotted something big
and hairy moving in the nearby woods. We crouched down to watch a
black bear emerge from the trees, wade into the stream, and
demonstrate a much more low-tech fishing approach: stand upstream,
wait for a salmon to swim between your ankles, and then swat it up
to the
bank. (Guess he hadn't heard about the catch-and-release
rule.)
Lest you think traveling to one of the few truly isolated areas
left in the world means you'll be toughing it out in a rough-hewn
outpost designed strictly for drinking beer and telling fish
stories, you'll be happy to hear that, for one, King Pacific
Lodge's accommodations feature king-size beds, down duvets, and
soaker tubs. Yes, you can still get the beer, but it'll be offered
in a tall glass along with a dinner of delicacies such as marinated
black cod with corn pancakes and pan-seared spring salmon and
tarragon noodles.