Canada high

 

THE KID IS DRIVING me to the airport in his T-Bird. My luggage is crammed into the back seat on account of the fact that the boot is taken up with the amplifiers for his in-car stereo, which could probably lift the roof off the Usher Hall. He is playing heavy rock, which I like, and chattering on about pulling chicks at the carwash, a pursuit long behind me, so as the rain sheets down I concentrate on the rhythm of the windscreen wipers and reflect ... I have just been to heaven.

When I was 50, an old and somewhat pessimistic friend told me: "The way fishing is now, you'll be lucky if you catch another 100 salmon in your lifetime." I think he was wrong. In one week I have come way past halfway to the total, and I'm still living in hope.

Unfortunately, it didn't happen in Scotland, even though last year's catches were the best for years and the signs are that this season may be as good, if not better.

No, I had to travel to the other side of the world, to British Columbia, to catch so many fish in a day that my arms and back ached with the effort. Oh, but what a lovely ache!

If everything is bigger in America, everything in Canada seems MUCH bigger. After fishing the mighty River Tay in pursuit of salmon for more than 30 years, it comes as something of a shock to find there are rivers that make it look like a middling sized burn. Rivers as wide as Loch Lomond and with millions more fish.

British Columbia is an angler's paradise, with upwards of 20 million fish - some say nearer 40 million - travelling the Fraser River and its tributaries. Yet there is only one fishing lodge catering for enthusiasts.

But what a camp and what a location. The Fraser River Fishing Lodge is a purpose-built log cabin complex with eight double rooms and two suites on either side of a main living-dining area. It's set close to the Fraser River and in the shadow of Mount Cheam, which towers nearly 7,000ft above sea level, with snow-clad peaks and gullies that are the stuff of picture postcards. The accommodation and food are first class and the service impeccable.

For any fishing enthusiast, this is the holiday of a lifetime. For spouses and partners who want to go along but aren't turned on by matters piscatorial, there is a wealth of things to do and places to see, from the hot springs and spa at nearby Harrison, to museums, art exhibitions, walks and treks. Vancouver, with its welter of good restaurants and theatres, is not much more than an hour away.

But for the angler, this is heaven on earth. Where else could you take a crack, as I did, at three different species of salmon and that leviathan of the river, the sturgeon? In one day I caught eight of these monsters, the biggest of which was 8ft long and estimated at 250lbs in weight. Sport? You ain't heard nothing yet.

I arrived on a bright, cold, November Saturday afternoon in time to meet three Americans just coming off the water. The fishing had been less than productive and I consoled Dave, the father of young Mikey, with a dram of my Macallan. Mike, the youngster's godfather, was a giant of a man with an infinite capacity for vodka and fine wines.

There being just the four of us at the lodge, we were scheduled to fish together on the Sunday with John as our guide. John is a harum-scarum kinda guy, 31-years-old, going on 17. But he knows where the fish are - and it isn't the Fraser River, he tells us. Having been on my feet or on board planes for the best part of 27 hours, I was in bed by 8:30pm for the 6:15am start. Nobody told me that the clocks changed that night, and I wandered in for breakfast at 4:45am.

It's half an hour to the launch point and another 30 minutes in John's 350hp flat-bottomed jet boat up the Harrison River to the gravel bank where we start fishing. I have my 14ft Alltmor fly rod, which is looked at somewhat askance by the Americans, who are fishing with 9ft rods.

But the Alltmor casts 100ft of line to their 60ft and soon proves its worth, since I have two beautiful silver coho on the beach by 9:20am while they have yet to touch a fish. The fly looks like a joke. It's a bare hook, trimmed with strands of tinsel and called, appropriately enough, a Christmas Tree. But, hey, always respect local knowledge - and it works.

Later, I try my 11ft Lochmor spinning rod and after landing a respectable 12lb chum salmon, encounter something different. It grabs my Toby lure, which has a single barbless hook, and in seconds has ripped 150 yards of line off the reel. I even burn my thumb on the drum, trying to slow it down. A 15-minute battle ensues as I bring it to the bank and it takes off again. Eventually it breaks my 20lb line.

"Yeah," says John. "A king (Chinook) salmon. They go to 60lb." I am shaken and definitely stirred.

On Monday the rain starts. It's forecast that three inches will fall in 24 hours. By mid-morning my gloves are wet, my hands numb and we are all frozen to the bone. We retire to the comfort of the boat to swap stories and drink beer and fish for chum. John wants the roe as bait for sturgeon (more of which later), a wheeze which would get you drummed out of the Brownies and very possibly jailed in Britain.

Tuesday saw me confined to bed with the worst cold in years, but on Wednesday - the Americans having gone home and been replaced by another group of six rabid Republicans, who try in vain to get me to toast President Bush - John and I are on our own.

The rain has blown out the Harrison, so we take to the Fraser itself to hunt sturgeon. Eight. I swear it. Eight. The smallest was 5ft long and weighed in at around 90lbs. And didn't John have fun trying to lift it back into the water. The biggest was 8ft long and around 250lbs, John said. These fish, like something from a prehistoric age, are awesome.

When hooked, they take off like an express train, ripping yards of line from the screaming reel as though there was no drag at all. Then they erupt from the water like a Trident missile. It is, without doubt, the fishing thrill of a lifetime. That night I seemed to ache in every muscle, but it felt good.

Coho are a prized species and are bred in hatcheries for release into the wild. Hatchery fish have the adipose fin removed and can be legally killed. Not so their wild cousins, who, still possessing the "fin of freedom", must by law be released unharmed. Thursday saw me capture a wild coho of around 11lbs, which gave a fabulous account of itself, so I was happy to comply with the law.

I caught more salmon in a week than I had done in four or five years put together, but Friday was still to come. John wanted to catch chum for the roe and that's what we did. I really do not know how many I caught. Most were males, which took the float-fished "fly" - a lump of cerise marabou, weighted at the head - and fought with a tenacity that lived up to their tiger stripes. We got our quota of females and retired to the lodge to drink "rusty nails".

If this all sounds like a fisherman's diary, that's because that's what it is. The diary of the most exciting week in one crusty old angler's life.

Yes, it's exclusive and yes, at around £2,000 it's expensive, but it isn't out of reach when you consider it is truly the holiday of a lifetime. Only one British company operates trips to The Fraser River Fishing Lodge (see fact box). The season operates all year round, with other species at different times, and there's even a five-river expedition.

When the T-Bird stopped at the airport, the kid had to shake me out of my reverie. I think it took him a second or two. After all, when you've been to heaven, it's hard to come back down to earth.

Fact File British Columbia

How to get there

• Fly2Fish offers a week-long package staying at the Fraser River Fishing Lodge from £2,000. The price includes flights from Glasgow to Amsterdam (KLM) and Amsterdam to Vancouver, plus private transfers between Vancouver Airport and the lodge, some 70 miles away.

• For more details visit www.fly2fish.com; the site has a link to www.fraserriverlodge.com

Where to stay

• The Fraser River Fishing Lodge has eight double bedrooms, two suites, hot tub and games room. All meals - cooked breakfast, packed lunch and a sumptuous dinner prepared by a British chef - are included. Alcohol and tips are not included, but a fishing licence, transport to the water, rods, reels, flies and lures, waders and guide are (though you may wish to bring your own gear).