Devil's Club and Blazes by SWCC

It's well over 2 years since I visited Skeena Country and it's memory stays strong inside me.  The place is pure magic

Here's a great video the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition put together way back in 2009 as they began their journey of helping to map the native cultural areas in the upper watershed.  

To me, their group is an inspiration of what normal folks can do to stand up and defeat giants.  Good on them for all the great work they do.

Enjoy the show!

The Artwork of Leah Pipe....

In the little town of Old Hazelton, BC, just off the banks of the Skeena River is the home of to some of the most beautiful outdoor art you have ever seen.

Leah Pipe and her gallery Art + Antler is a showcase of "her deep love and respect for the great north and it's history, culture, wildlife and magical experiences"

Not all fish centric, her native themed art is amazing.

But to me, the stars of her artwork are the salmon and steelhead prints and originals that are full of life and detail

Leah's artwork is affordable (prints starting for as little as $70) and payment plans are available.  If you're in the market for something like this, I highly suggest you give her a call or email

Visit Art + Antler's FB site by clicking HERE

and her FB page that showcases her paintings by clicking HERE

and shoot her an email to artantler@gmail.com

Skeena Anglers Auction March 3-7th...

The waters of the Skeena River System left their mark on me more than any other flows that I have ever stepped into.

And now here's your chance to help the Skeena Watershed Conservation Coalition in their effort to protect their watershed for years to come through a pretty nice online auction set to roll next week.

Companies like Patagonia and Hardy have donated some sweet gear, there's great custom fly rods, apparel, hand tied flies and so much more.  All the money donated goes to an amazing cause, so I highly encourage taking a look and test your luck in the auction.


View the goods by clicking HERE

Casting a Voice--Skeena Watershed Protection

Listen to the voices in this video.

They're on the ground, they're in the water, they know what they're talking about

I made my first trip to this glorious land and the unrelenting beauty of the land and the people who live there just doesn't stop.   We should all do a little bit to ensure that it's there for our children to experience.

Just knowing it's there, nature in it's raw form is a wonderful thing to this humble little blogger.

Dont you feel the same way?

Get more info by visiting the Skeena Watershed web site.

Donate some bones, share the video, get to know what they're facing up there and you will soon realize that beyond the Pebble Mine, there's no other greater place we need to take a stand against interests that hope to extract from some of the most sensitive ecological zones left in the planet.  This is not to mention the plans that Enbridge wants to run a pipeline from the interior out to the coast directly over and along the Morice/Bulkley/Skeena system.

Makes a lot of sense, doesnt it????

Get on it folks, get on it!

Wake Up With The Sacred Headwaters Blend...

It's the little things that you remember from a big trip like our journey north to fish the Skeena River System and it's tributaries.

Mostly, beyond the fish and the rivers they inhabit, it's the people and they're dedication to places they live and the creative ways that they work to ensure it's future.

As detailed before, the people of the area....First Nations and everyone alike is locked into a struggle to protect the Sacred Headwaters of the Skeena, Nass and Stakine from coalbed methane "fracking by major oil and gas entities like Shell.   They arent against oil and gas, it's that they're extremely opposed to oil and gas exploration in mega sensitive habitat like the headwaters one of the most fertile salmon and steelhead river systems in the planet.  That's not even talking about the cultural significance of the headwaters to the First Nation Tribes who call that special valley their birthplace.

What I find interesting is how everyone is doing their part to help the cause.  Right around the corner from the Sacred Headwaters office in Hazelton, BC, is the great little coffee shop Mercedes Beans.  While looking for a good cup of coffee and maybe a souvenir or two, we discovered theier Sacred Headwaters Blend.

As I sit here and write this, I am sipping on one hell of a cup of coffee from Mercedes Beans that dry roasts (very unique I am told)  and takes the profits from this specific blend of coffee and donates it back to the fight to protect the Sacred Headwaters. 

They ship throughout North America and I have to tell you....this coffee's amazing.   Do yourself a favor and wake up with this blend and you get the small satisfaction that you did a little part in helping fund an organization that is kicking the shit out of companies who think it's ok to drill and mine in one of the most amazing and wild places left on earth.

Visit Mercedes Beans by clicking HERE and ask for the Sacred Headwaters Blend today.

The Sacred Skeena System...

You have to see it.  You have to put your boots in it.   You have to interact with the people.

The Skeena River system is an enchanting place.  It's a place that gets in your soul.

The week long trip to BC to fish the legendary rivers and stream of the Skeena River system was a week to remember, but not for just catching fish.  No, it was the impact on the three guys that shared a truck, tent and raft for 9 days.

22 hours of travel and we arrived, fishing tributaries like the Bulkley and the Morice.  The rivers up there are made for Steelhead and Salmon and it's amazing to see a intact river system without dams and with the habitat needed for continued and sustained runs.

The floats we made were different every day, from the broad runs on the Bulkley, the S curves of the Morice and the intimate low water conditions we found on the Kispiox.  Plain and simple, after the first day where we felt like kings on the end of the day was very tough.  High sun and low water doesn't always equal paydirt.

I will always remember walking around a bend on the first morning with the fog lifting on the river to see my father and buddy Taylor in sync with their D loops ready to spring forward into action.

The fish or I should say, several fish, that I will remember are the ones that gave the tip off that they were there with slight pulls and big tugs but never came connected. 

Those are the ones that will bring me back another time to soak up the greatness of the region.

Next up....a profile on an organization of Hooligans that are kicking the shite out of major oil consortiums  in their effort to protect the Skeena's Sacred Headwaters.

Don't miss it.

Swim the Skeena in Spokane

If you are looking for an impactful way to spend this Friday night, I highly endorse going to this film at the Magic Lantern Theatre in Spokane.  Check out the particulars and find your way downtown on Friday.

A family obligation might keep me from seeing it this time, but it's buzzworthy event that should be seen.