kevbine

Yes although it's pretty crazy the length people will go to to make their Instagram posts look like they slay the browns.

Elk River might be doing them again, give them a call

Love the Vibram soles for all the rivers that don't have slime covered rocks or giant boulders like the Thompson for example. You definitely need to adjust your wading style though and I never fish the Bow so I can't comment on that. If you think the Vibram is bad you should try the new Simms Riprap shoe. That's been my go-to summer footwear for wet wading for the last five years and all of sudden, Simms changed the soles on them. They went with their own 'proprietary' rubber. These are many times worse than the Vibram soles! Fell on my face on non slime covered rocks the first time I wore them. They are for sale by the way...lol!

I've been making an annual pilgrimage to the area for the last 12 years. One thing I've noticed as the years pass is that it's not just about catching fish, it's about the whole experience of being up there with friends, camping in the bush, and standing in a beautiful river, swinging flies for hours on end. My point with this statement is that I will go no matter what the Tyee says. Last year the test fishery indicated a very large run of steelhead. Those that were up there in the Fall of 2016 will attest that it was not any more productive for the most part to any of the previous years. The numbers from this test fishery can be taken with a grain of salt. Also the amount of fish that return to spawn each year varies greatly and in accordance to a cycle that we know very little about. When anyone says poor ocean survival, that's an excuse used to say we haven't the slightest idea of what's happened to the run this year. If there has been very little gillnetting this year, then what is happening out at sea that is harming our steelhead?

With rolltops you have to make sure it's wrapped tight or it can unravel a bit and let water in. Sounds quite obvious but if you were to open it, remove an item, you then need to roll it a bit tighter than before. And as has been mentionned, you have to be careful with the T-zips too, the last centimeter or so is harder to close so you have to pay attention. And yes using the provided lube on these zippers helps a lot. The Fishponds are nice too, the fabric is not as thick on them as on the Patagonia and Simms bags, but they are less money too.

I have a bit of an obsession with these packs and have had the Patagonia Stromfront backpack with the waterproof zipper, then the same but in the sling version, and now I have the Stromfront rolltop backpack. I usually always carry my Canon 7D so that is why I really enjoy a watertight bag. What I didn't like with the original Stromfront pack is that it didn't have a waist belt on it, the new version does but it also retails at $365 in Canada. So I then gravitated towards the sling as it looks really cool and is not as much $ as the backpack. I also thought it would be better for casting. That is not the case however and you are better to lay the pack on the bank if you're fishing a big run... The sling works great as long as you are not putting a lot of weight in it. In my case with a DSLR camera and a full nalgene bottle, plus fly boxes, it was quite heavy. Seeing as all the weight is on one shoulder, you feel quite unbalanced. It makes more sense to go for the backpack. So now I use the Stromfront rolltop. It's quite a bit less money than the zipper version. Waterproof zippers are very expensive. Secondly these waterproof zippers aren't that easy to open anyways, so you are not giving away much convenience by opting for the rolltop.

Abel or Simms. Don't cheap out on nippers, it's the one tool you use constantly. I like the Abel the best as they cut more flush than the Simms. I still like the Simms as they're less $$$ and you can replace the cutters on them yourself. I have two pairs of the Abels (one is my wife's) that need to be sent back so that they can be fit with new cutters. I seem to always think of sending them off at the worst time, like right now, the start of the season!

Yeah I am fishing flies that are about 5 inches long. Longer than that it becomes very difficult to speycast, You could at this point use your same setup and do an overhead cast and bomb huge flies 80 or so feet out there.

And it really depends on the manufacturer too. Sometimes a 7 is really an 8, case in point the Sage TCX 7126 Deathstar... I'd say they are both good and on average you are hooking steelies in the 6-12 pound range and for that the 7 is way more fun. Start with a 7 and then you'll have some much fun you're going to want an 8 the next year!

I'm using a Scott T3h 11 foot 6 weight with a 275 gr. Commando head and Lazar 35 lbs. running line. You have to pick and choose the right flies for this setup but it will cast some pretty big ones, especially does that shed water better. A good example of this would be a large articulated wooly bugger. The only problem is that I catch probably 20 or more cutties for every bull that I hook into. Cutties love big streamers too. Make sure to use size 4 or preferably size 6 hooks to not put too much hurt on said cutties. Also: Commando heads are super short so you need to do a lot of stripping, which is annoying in steelheading but great for trout fishing as a lot of the strikes come on the strip.

I had this same problem when I started fishing speys and switches for trout. Strip set with the rod pointed directly at the fish cured this problem. A small and extra sticky trailing hook seems to hold the fish on there pretty good as well. Check your fly regularly to make sure the hook hasn't fouled, this is common in spey casting.

The Flathead has incredibly pure water and very few cutties. The Michel has a mine at its headwaters and is full of large, hook scarred cutties. Go figure! Apparently the really good cuthroat water is on the Montana side, in the Bob Marshall Wilderness and you need a horse to pack in a raft so that you can float it. Helis are not allowed in there. Bring a shotgun! And the Flathead in BC is not classified waters, probably because the fishing is not that great... Worth a trip though, the views are great and some bulls do spawn there.

I dont even go near that place anymore, many of those cutties get caught twice a day, nymphed in the am, then on dries during the daily hatch.

This is true but I would not be opposed to seeing fewer guide days available on the river as well. Having said that, I'm not an outfitter and have no say whatsoever in the processes involved.