Here is some very cool footage from the 1920s(?) of anglers steelheading on Canada’s Vancouver Island. Brigadier General Noel Money fishes the Stamp River with traditional Spey gear, and it looks like he is money with a fly rod in his hands. It’s tough to watch them gaff such gorgeous wild fish—something that would appall and anger us today—but this was long before the catch-and-release ethic took hold. You gotta love the angling attire, though.
It’s rare that we get such a peek into the history of our sport, which makes this all the more fascinating. The good news is that the Stamp still offers good steelheading to day, as evidenced by the video below, but one suspects that things were downright spectacular when “Seeking Steelhead” was made by the Canadian government to promote the area.
Truly a different time back then. Gaffing a steelhead?
That was dinner then, now it is sport for some. Although I do believe some people forget the true purpose of why the fish are there in the first place and a reminder of this circle of life is a good thing. It is like hunting or farming cattle. Eventually a life is taken and a family is fed. That is where the respect to our sport and steelhead comes from in my opinion.
They give General Money an awful lot of praise for just some simple overhead casting. After that buildup I was expecting at least a double snake roll and some shooting line.
holy crap… he gaffed it!
hahaha