All's Well at Norlakes

This past weekend we arrived back from the Babine River. The last two weeks of October had us hosting 2 separate groups with Babine Norlakes Steelhead Lodge. For those who didn't know, this was the first year in almost 30 that Pierce Clegg was not at the helm. Pierce and Anita Clegg sold the Norlakes operations to Billy Labonte and Carrie Collingwood this past spring.

Those of us who have fished at Norlakes for many years couldn't help but wonder "how will it be?".

There are those, yours truly, who are somewhat resistant to change when something is just fine so the annual fall trip to the Babine was tinged with apprehension.

A lot of continuity from past years, Darren Wright still guides,  Missy and Larry still make sure all is perfect with our trip. Former camp employee, Joel Nowlin, guided his first year and did a fine job.

Over the span of two weeks you can get a pretty good feel of how things are working and get to know a person. Without question Norlakes is in good hands! Things are all good still on the Upper Babine.

Billy and Carrie are no strangers to this gig. Carrie comes from very established outfitting family and Billy has guided anglers on the Lower Babine since his teens. Their experience shows through very quickly. To find out more about Norlakes, as well as Billy and Carrie, go to http://www.babinenorlakes.com/about.html

Morning steam at Lower Trail

 When our first group arrived in camp on October 19, it was immediately evident that Biily and Carrie had already made a commitment to improvements. Upgrades to the main lodge/dining area looked very nice, some nice new touches in the cabins, and plans for even more infrastructure improvements for next year left me with the impression they are committed to making this historic camp even better.

Conversations with both Billy and Carrie left me with the impression that, while they want to make improvements at many levels, they still wish to honour and remember the history of Norlakes.

Billy could have done a little better job on the weather. 

 To sum things up....we'll always miss the one of a kind Pierce Clegg and his stabilizing anchor, Anita but things at Norlakes are in good hands. Here's to the next 30 years!

We'll have a more fishing specific report on our trips this week......

Sage One 8136-4 Review

Seems like, for the most part, I have written the product reviews over the last while. Here's a little change, recieved this from Terry Antoniuk regarding his brande new Sage One 8136-4 Two handed Rod.....

Sustat Hen on the 8136
Terry Antoniuk Photo

Had an opportunity to fish the Sage One 8136-4 two hand rod on several Skeena tributaries over 3 weeks in October. Also talked with others who were fishing the same rod, and have decided that this is now my go-to rod for rivers with chances at larger fish. Why? Well the rod has a huge sweet spot and is very forgiving of caster error - it added over 10 feet to my casts with no additional effort and was a pleasure to fish with all day because its much lighter than my Sage Z Axis and other equivalents. When compared to the Z Axis, it has a more progressive action, is better at pulling sinking tips from the water, and allows both bottom hand and top hand power application (although as with all spey rods, bottom hand dominant is the better way to go with Skagit lines). The butt's not as powerful as the Sage TCX series, but I personally prefer the way that this rod casts and fights fish. The new handle style was comfortable and the downlocking reel seat really balanced the rod with my old school Van Staal reel.


I tend to like heavier Skagit heads, but found that it fished well with the recommended 550 gr Rio Skagit Flight head when throwing Type 3, 6, and 8 tips and lightly to heavily weighted flies. It easily handled 15 feet of T-14 and 12 feet of T-17 when dredging deep winter holding waters, but I'd probably use a 575 gr Skagit head if doing this exclusively. I'm really looking forward to trying other spey models in the Sage One line.

Terry Antoniuk
November 2012

New One on the Bulkley
Terry Antoniuk Photo

2013 Saturday Morning Seminars

Calling all anglers, we are currently working on the 2013 seminar calender and are looking for your requests! Let us know what you are interested in learning about. For those that are unfamiliar, Country Pleasures hosts FREE Saturday morning seminars on a variety of fly fishing topics during the winter months. We have some great topics already planned, feel free to email, post or call us with your requests or ideas.

New Fly Tying Stuff In Stock

Some new items in stock on the fly tying walls. Orders have been coming in and were getting things filled up.

Grade "A" Jungle Cock Capes now in for those Steelhead and Salmon tyers.

Ice Dub Minnow Back Shimmer Fringe
Very cool stuff with amazing color mixes. And easy to use.

Senyo's Intruder Trailer Hook Wire
Colors match to Intruder shanks

Magnum Frostip Rabbit Strips
Very cool look.

Aqua Glow Crazy Legs
For your Permit and Bonefish flies

Alaskan Purple Haze
First there was Fuschia, now there's purple.

Clearance Sale at Country Pleasures

Inventory Clearance Sale

“gotta make room for new stuff”

*Orvis Helios Freshwater Fly Rods 25% Off

*Orvis Helios Saltwater Fly Rods 30% Off

*Sage Vantage and Flight Fly Rods 40% Off

*All remaining SA mastery Fly Lines 50% Off

* Simms G4 Guide Boots 30% Off

*Patagonia Freewheeler Max Rolling Duffles 30% Off

* Patagonia Great Dividers 40% Off

*Patagonia River Crampons 50% Off

* All remaining Orvis Wonderlines $30

*Simms Flyte Jackets 40% Off

* Simms Stone Cold Shirts 40% Off

* Simms Pursuit GTX Low and Mid Shoes 50% Off

(In-stock items only.)

Thanksgiving at Country Pleasures

We wanted to wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!

One of the things to be thankful for is a beautiful weekend coming up so get out and enoy it.

The shop hours for the holiday weekend are as follows:

Saturday: 9 AM to 5 PM

Sunday: Closed

Thanksgiving Monday: Closed

The shop resumes regular winter hours on Tuesday, October 9.

Have an enjoyable, safe weekend!

Mike, Maureen, Caitlin, Kevin, Jason, Terry, and Brent

Autumn on the Bow

Mike Guinn took these photos while guiding late last week. Everything is very pretty (with the exception of Guinn) on the river right now. And with this extended warm weather we a ctually get to see the fall colors for a little longer than usual!

Orvis Helios 2 Fly Rods

Some might know, some not, that Orvis is introducing a new rod for 2013.

the Helios series will be replaced by the Helios 2.

I got a chance to get out on the river with a bunch of the new H2 rods this past weekend. Without a doubt, there are some major differences between Helios and Helios 2. Dispensing with the usual marketing stuff, the changes I found were:

- the H2s have way more "jam". Significantly more power than their predecessor.

- Although they're not lighter, they're lighter in the tip, giving them a crisper feel.

- The H2 tracks as well, or better, than anything I've cast. They're darn accurate!

- Way prettier! The blanks are stunning. And the fittings (reel seats, guides) blow you away.

All in all, after being somewhat disappointed that Helios is to be replaced, I'm very excited about this new rod!

Before anyone gets too excited, the H2 isn't available right away. We have 9 foot, 5, 8, and 9 weights arriving in November but the balance of model offerings won't be available until early 2013. But they're worth waiting for!

New Products from Cliff's Outdoors

Got a big shipment of stuff from Cliff's Outdoors! A lot of the usual suspects with some new stuff for 2013.

The new "Deuce Box". Carry your pre-rigged hopper/dropper rigs.

Articulator Box. For your articulated flies, but it fits in a pocket.

Intruder Box. We tried to get these last year but they were out. Like the Beasts, only for your articulated flies.

Drop by the shop, give us a call, or go to http://www.countrypleasures.com/store/ to check 'em out!

Winter Hours

Well, it seems like only a few weeks a go we went to summer hours but that time has come.....effective today, we are now on winter hours until May.

Effective today, our hours are as follows:

Monday-Friday: 10 AM to 6 PM
Saturday: 9 AM to 5 PM
Sundays: Closed

Thanks to everyone for all your support this past year!