The idea for the book was sealed with a handshake on the bank of the river with the two men agreeing from the outset that the story of the Babine had to be something more than just another "how to catch them, where to fish" manual.

To achieve this goal they listened to and now present the voices and images of a large and distinguished cast of Babine fishermen. Contributors include Joy (Madsen) Jenkins, window of Ejnar Madsen, the pioneering lodge owner who left Denmark for Canada in 1952 when he was 26.

The following year Ejnar was working for Mac Anderson, another pioneering visionary whose dream it was to see Norlakes, and its even now remote wilderness setting, recognized as an internationally famous destination for discerning rainbow trout and steelhead anglers.

Within a matter of a few years Ejnar and his first partners had bought Norlakes and he had married Joy, then just out of high school. Together they raised their family of two sons and a daughter and welcomed their Babine guests until Ejnar's death in 1983. Three years later the Madsens decided to sell the property and Norlakes continued to build its reputation under new owners, the Cleggs.

The ensuing quarter century has given Pierce Clegg a unique view of the fishery and of the entire Babine watershed, one that has led him to become a dedicated and often vocal champion of its fish and wildlife and indeed of its entire ecosystem.

Pierce Clegg, originally from Corvallis, OR has owned and guided at Babine Norlakes Trout Lodge and Steelhead Camp since 1986. When he is not in camp, he lives with his wife, Anita, and their family in Smithers, British Columbia.

Pierce Clegg's profile page

Peter McMullan has been writing about fly-fishing for almost 60 years. Trained as a newspaper reporter and later as a sports and fishing journalist, he came to Canada from Belfast, Northern Ireland, in 1971, with his wife Daphne and two young sons, to edit a daily paper. He later moved into corporate and then professional-sports communications. Peter has been passionate about fishing all his life, contributing to magazines and newspapers in Ireland, England, Scotland, Finland and Canada. Along the way his fly rods have been tested by Atlantic and Pacific salmon, steelhead, brown and rainbow trout and from time to time by other species as well. It was the big-fish reputation of the Babine River in British Columbia and its long-standing sport fishing traditions that in 2010 led Peter to conceive and co-author the book Babine: A 50-Year Celebration of a World-Famous Steelhead and Trout River (Frank Amato Publications). He lives in Nanaimo, British Columbia.

Peter McMullan's profile page