DAN SIMMONS Sportsman's Quest MORE COLUMNS SPECIAL TO THE PVT Peter Simmons shows off one of his catches on a recent fishing trip. Advertisement

This fishing excursion follows in the tracks of the well-known trailbrazer and packer, known as Cataline. He was born Jean Caux, in the Catalonia region near the Spanish/French border, and blazed trails from central to northern British Columbia, Canada.

The numerous gold rushes and homesteaders kept him busy supplying their camps during the 1860's, when much of the country was untouched. He was able to experience an untouched wilderness full of fish and game.

This region still has some of the best rainbow trout fishing on the continent; moose, bear, caribou, mountain goats and sheep are plentiful too in this mountain region.

My recent excursion followed in his footsteps from Clinton, B.C., in the south to Babine Lake in the north. He traveled on foot with a pack train of as many as 80 mules, following old Indian and wild game trails where he could, and "bushwacked" where he couldn't.

My travel began on a 737 jet from Las Vegas and continued with a 4x4 where possible, and boat or canoe where not. My purpose was to test the fishing possibilities of this vast region, some of which you read about in last week's column.

Cataline's home base was in the community of Clinton, B.C., where, when not on the trail, he had a room at the Frontier Hotel, later known as the Cariboo Lodge, which is now owned by Darla and Michael Slater.

It is said that his ghost still wanders the lodge's halls and kitchen. Staff members have seen shadows moving on the walls, heard voices calling their names and noticed pots being moved on the shelves. They now ignore them or ask Ol' Cataline to go to another room.

After a 1980 fire destroyed the original building, a new log structure was built in 1985. At the time it was one of the largest single-roofed log structures ever built. It still stands as a landmark in Clinton, and is where I began my fishing explorations.

Kelly Lake to the south provides excellent rainbow fishing using downriggers or slip weights in its deep waters. Big Bar and Long Lakes also provide great large lake fishing, while the region's seemingly uncountable small lakes and streams never fail to offer good sport and a fine meal of red meated rainbows.

When the wagon roads and civilization became too numerous for Cataline, he moved north, first to the Quesnel area, then to Bulky Valley, where he continued to be the sole method of transport for the area's settlers, trappers and miners.

He later moved to Babine Lake, and then to his final home in Hazelton, B.C., where he made his last trip in 1913, when the Grand Trunk Pacific Railway reached this outpost. This remained his home, where he lived peacefully until his death in 1922. His mule trails eventually became roads and his exploits legends.

I enjoyed fishing Babine Lake. It is one of the longest in Canada, is under-fished and offers large rainbows when trolled deep, and an abundance of two- to three-pounders in its tributaries. The Babine River has one of the greatest steelhead trout fisheries and one of the largest sockeye salmon fisheries in the region. This area is still a paradise for the sportsman / adventurer.

Hazelton is not to be outdone. It's on the world famous Skeena River and offers some of the best coho and king salmon fishing on the continent. Have you ever seen a 60- or 70-pound king salmon? Can you imagine the challenge of bringing one of these in on a river? Let me save that for a future story.

Follow the route of one of our historic trailblazers; be ready to relive a chapter from our past and create a new chapter for the present. Travel, adventure, hunting and fishing go together, but like Cataline, it's up to us to strike out into unfamiliar territory and put our boots to the ground.

What's new

If you would like to read more about Cataline, the Cariboo and this central to northern B.C. region, take a look at one of the books by Chris Kind. He has been a cowboy, hunting guide, trapper and adventurer for more than 40 years in this region, and knows its trails from first hand experience. As they say "He's been there and done that."

For cowboy and huntin' stories there is no better storyteller. His award winning books are full of detailed information on where to go and how to do it.

For more information on Chris and his books, e-mail him at safari60@hotmail.com, or give him a call at 250-320-3249.

Recipe of the week

Here is a simple recipe that can be prepared along the trail, or appreciated at a nice rustic lodge. It uses simple ingredients that keep well and are available in any small rural outpost.

If an oven is not available, the cast iron pot works well, and is perhaps even superior.

Dan's Trail Casserole

Ingredients: 2 cups trout, cooked and flaked; 6 tbsps butter; 6 tbsps flour; 2 cups milk; 1 cup peas, cooked; 1/2 cup olives, sliced; 1/2 cup almonds, blanched and chopped; 1/2 cup buttered crumbs.

Directions: Make a white sauce by combining the melted butter, flour, and milk. Cook over low heat until thickened. Season to taste. Add the flaked fish, peas and olives; pour into greased casserole. Top the casserole with buttered crumbs and almonds, bake in a moderate oven 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes.