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I was biking with my daughter this morning along the Bow in Inglewood and noticed a dude with 2 rods, one on the ground pointing upwards with a bell attached to the tip while he was rigging up another. It was obviously someone who was fishing with bait. I called it in, and a conservation officer was there in 15 minutes. He watched from afar with binoculars to make sure he had enough evidence, just in case the guy snipped his line. I just received a follow-up call and he said that this guy was caught last week by another conservation officer in Strathmore... 4 illegal walleye. The conservation officer said this is a perfect example of why we should ALWAYS call in poachers and bait fishers. If it's a father-son out fishing and making an honest mistake, then the officers deal with them differently with a warning. However, with a repeat offender like this guy, they will definitely be a bit more harsh. It was great to see these guys at work and how much they care for the river. This officer is an avid flyfisher so he's quite passionate about protecting rivers like the Bow. One less bad guy on the water!

Got the opportunity to head up to Aniak River Lodge in Western Alaska. Home to 12 species and some of Alaska best mousing for big Rainbows. We were pretty lucky weather wise, only 5 minutes of rain on one of the days, rest of the days were very comfortable. We got a goldilocks week, as we were the only paying guests, there was the dad of one of the guides and Todd Moen and Brian O'kiefe were up there doing some filming for the next issue of Catch Magazine and IF4. If I am lucky, the back of my head might be in one of the videos....hahaha But what this meant is that we had the 50 miles of Ania river to ourselves. No other lodges, no floaters. Just us, a guide, the wildlife and copious amounts of fish per mile. The welcome committee: When you get off the plane you are greeted by the guides, and taken to the welcoming lodge in Aniak. You quickly wader up, get on your jet boat and head up the river for an hour or so to the main lodge. The lodge is well appointed with a big dining hall. Heading up the kuskoswim to the mid lodge: The Aniak river is a tributary to the MUCH larger Kusko. Was worried when we were flying in at the color. But the Aniak itself is crystal clear. The Mid River Lodge: We spent 4 days fishing out of this lodge: Walking up to the dining hall View from the lodge, looking at the Aniak The Cabin: Outside The Cabin: Inside Up River Tent Camp: We spent 3 nights fishing out of the tent camp Tents. Very comfortable, and gives you more of that camping/rugged alaska feel. Waiting on Supper, Chillin by the fire Supper Time!!! Breakfast and Suppers were amazing. Chef Corey preparing the nights suasage, tri tip and brisket. Every night left you fully satisfied! Lots of wildlife around. Guides are packing the heat. But we only saw one juvenile bear the entire time, and he was none to interested in sticking around. The Daily routine. Coffee is ready at 7, breakfast is served at 7:30, 9 you meet your guide and head off for the day. Get back to the lodge around 6:30, supper waiting for you at 7:30. Your Chariots waiting for you: The fishing: Its not really fishing, but more like catching. We caught UNGODLY numbers of fish, if I threw a number out there, you probably wouldn't believe me. Most of my fishing was done with single handed 6 or 7wt rod. No need for two handers or light tippet here. You primarily fish from the boat, as they back drift with the motor. We fished most methods that they use up there: Streamers, beads and mousing. Mousing is by far my favourite, but conditions arent always optimal for it. Had one really spectacular day on the mouse, with about 15-20 big rainbows landed on the mouse and bunch of grayling in the mix. When I wanst mousing in the front of the boat, you would kill time by catching dollys, chums, or grayling on every cast of your streamer. They get get returns of all 5 species of pacific salmon ( everything except coho was in the system when we were there), leopard rainbows, grayling, sea run dollys, artic char, sheefish and pike. Most days you caught 6 or 7 differebt species of fish. Sheefish and Coho were the only ones that we were unable to catch while there. Rainbows (These girls are the prettiest rainbows I have ever seen. Their colors are just WOW. That red streak....amazing. They pull like tanks, get them up top of water column or you arent landing it. They are all over, and when you got one on you know it right away. We caught so many over 20" that I stopped counting the first day. Getting out of the wood and on top on mouse patterns was my favourite way of targeting them) Sight fished in a flat water spring. Beautiful colors, and those shoulders are meant for pulling. Hydroman with a a chunky Bow! Double Rainbow......But what does it mean? Sea Run Dolly (these girls are super abundant, you have to get past them and the grayling to catch the big bows. They are in feeding heavily on eggs being dropped by the Chum) Double Dolly Duty!!! Look at those dorito mouths...... Lots of color variation in the Dollys, some are really light, some very dark King Salmon ( you cannot target them, but you catch the odd one accidently. Must stay in the water and be let go as soon as possible. This was a little 15-20 pounder in her spawning colors) Grayling (rub his head to get his fin up......lots of these guys, like the Dollys, they eat your fly as fast as possible, caught many the beat my PB grayling. Ranged in colors from very light to very dark. They will eat mice, streamers, eggs whatever) Chum Dog. Catch lots of these guys, awesome pull on the line. They get a run of about 800,000 of these guys in the river. As you jet up, it is a parting of the Chum. But these guys provide a ton of nutrient for the entire ecosystem, whether that is their eggs or decaying bodies. Everything feeds on them. Which is why the Dolly, Bows and Grayling are so big. Watch your fingers with this set of chompers. Artic Char: Tough to tell them apart from the Dollys sometimes. But this is a good example of a more typical Char. In the lower stretches and a trib called the Doestok, you can catch some very nice Pike.. Everyone should try to experience Alaska at least once. Whether it be this lodge or somewhere else. The time and money is worth the adventure that awaits you.

I snagged a beaver once. We’ve been married for 35 years...

It's not a monster, but this 24 incher is the biggest one I've caught since my 28 incher 10 years ago! Caught on my last cast somewhere in SW Alberta. It's a miracle I landed this with my 7.5 ft 4 wt rod using 5X tippet! Fish was landed quickly and sent back to her home.

I am excited! For many years it seems like the trout lakes in Alberta have been stocked based on tradition. Starting with Mitchell Lake and an angler request for a fall spawners [browns or brookies] to complement the spring spawners [rainbows], Brown trout were stocked in 2003. Angler acceptance of the mixed species resulted in a further experiment in Birch Lake with Brook, Rainbow and Brown trout stocked in 2013. At the request of many anglers, after either experiencing the Tiger Trout fishing in Manitoba or seeing the pictures, Tiger trout are now being stocked in several places throughout Alberta. After many years of catching Brown Trout from Europe, Brook Trout from some bog from in a New England state and Rainbows from British Columbia or the US, we are now on the cusp of a brand new mostly made in Alberta Rainbow. In conversation with Craig Copeland, Fish Culture Manager of Alberta Environment and Parks, I learned that a different Rainbow Trout is now being cultured for stocking . These Rainbow Trout, which are near 95% purity of Athabasca Trout, are one of the Native Trout of Alberta. The brood stock came from an end pit lake in an active coal mine. Clearly, as the trout are not 100% purity, they cannot be called Athabasca Trout for the purposes of identification. To reflect their mixed linage, they are designated as PLPL species in the stocking reports. Mr. Copeland also related that some of the PLPL strain have been added to East Pit Lake near Stoney Plain. He anticipated that somewhere between 100,000 > 150,000 PLPL trout would be stocked by 2020. Personally, as a third generation Albertan, I’m excited as hell to get a chance to catch a Rainbow raised in Alberta from Alberta stocks. My thanks to all involved to make my dream come true. Don Andersen Here are some pictures of the Athabaskas - I know - I know - I'm not supposed to say that but......

While guiding a couple in BC on a small stream they asked me to marry them. Kind of like a captain of a ship I guess. Told them it wouldn't be legal, they said its OK they already where. We did a ceremony under the pines in my old drift boat. Have always received an xmas card from them every year.

Got my rod and reel back Thanks to RedBeard and the forum.

It’s been quite a few years since I’ve put in the time exploring the east slopes of the Rockies, but I rectified that this year. For the past couple of months, I have spent at least two days a week walking and wading a beautiful mountain stream, trying to learn some of its secrets. It’s been food for the soul and I have been rewarded with awesome scenery, beautiful fish and nature at its finest

I recently had the exact same interaction, but I asked the guy his name and if his property operated a business. I then pulled out my phone and made it clear I was calling the cops. I told him I needed his info as I needed to know who I was going to have charged and sued for violating my charter given rights. He stated we didn't need to do that but I still had to leave, I responded with he has 3 options, 1 me calling the cops 2 me posting on all my social media where the best brown trout fishing is on this stream and he'll have to deal with all of us legally fishing 3 he can walk back to his house educated I also told him at the end of this id still be fishing it. He walked away muttering. We have to stand up to these guys. I have talked to anglers that have been scared off of this property numerous time. The land owner does it because he gets away with it. I also go to local detachment if the land owner gets threatening, even if nothing happens just to have the record. Stand for our rights guys, we loose stuff daily.

Hope it doesn't migrate up here...

5.5ft Lodgepole Branch is all one needs for Cutties

Blonde Wulff

Hello all, Thought I would share my winter project here! I was in need of a 4 weight reel for a rod that I built, so I decided to design a reel that would suit both my 4 weight and 6 weight rod. The goal was to design a high performance disc drag reel which would cost no more than two decent fly reels. Since getting into fly fishing, I have had this dream of having a fly reel on the market which could compete with the best. Maybe someday! I used the info and formulas from the "2015 5 weight Fly Reel Shootout" by Trident Fly Fishing to determine my specs and adjust them. The final design had: -4.25oz Approx -3.5" OD -Spool volume of approx 4 in^3 for the 4 weight spool, and about 4.5 in^3 for the 6 weight spool -Line pickup approx 7.6" per turn The reel has a disc drag system with alternating Teflon/Rulon and Stainless Steel drag washers and has plenty of adjustment, and will be sealed. Other features include an incoming and outgoing click sound, easy spool changing, and pretty much everything else a normal fly reel would have. As my motivation for this project was high, I didn't have many issues designing the reel. Most things just took time and some research (and a background in designing stuff with CAD). The main challenges were designing a drag system to be adjustable AND sealed, as well as making it affordable. The first design was going to be fully CNC machined, but it would have cost upwards of $1500 from a Chinese manufacturer, which is way more than I was willing to spend considering it may not even work properly. I worked through a few more design iterations and ended up coming to the conclusion that I would have to do some unconventional things to make it affordable/worthwhile. I decided to utilize a lot of CNC laser cut parts in the design, which can achieve precision similar to CNC machining, although they lack the ability to do 3D features on a single part. In the end, i was able to design something that would function well and look cool (to me at least). All parts are either CNC laser cut or machined from 6061-T6 Aluminum or Stainless Steel. I wanted it to stand out and be unique, so I designed it to have fish graphics laser cut into it, featuring a rainbow, brown, brook, cutthroat, and bull trout - basically, the trout we fly fish for in Alberta. Some "wave" features joined them to provide structure. Below are some renders of the design: Most of the parts have now arrived and I am totally satisfied with them all. The drag system has been tested and feels very smooth and strong, and all parts fit together exactly as they should. It really would have sucked if it was a disaster If all goes well, I will have a fish pulling line off this thing by the end of next week! Next winter I will likely design a second housing with a different graphic, as well as play around with more finishing techniques (polishing, etching, anodizing). For now I'll just enjoy it! I'll upload a picture when its completely finished. Cheers!

I caught a bull by accident last year in a spot I didn't even know they existed. Other than that, a couple from streams in the last 10 years. The number of people going specifically to target big, staging bulls sure has increased. They are quite vulnerable being so visible sitting in their gin-clear pools I fish for Cutts about 3 days per year over the last 10 years. It is a treat to go feed them some dries on a special trip. I think they are too valuable to abuse. You can catch every one in a pool on nymph In the past BC had a "flyfishing only" rule on certain streams.... No bobbers, no attaching weights to the leader, single hook....I think we should do the same for the southern AB streams that are getting loved to death. It would be nice to see a few fish that don't have their mouths ripped up. They are only Cutts, work for them a bit

So I have a little boy, almost 4. He got an Echo practice rod when he was 2. He fished a Sage TXL2710 with a Sage Click II, he's really got a handle on streamer angling and has just started mixing it up with hopper-dropper rigs. He's banged out some sweet gold during high waters, I couldn't be prouder. We recently got back from a camping and fishing trip, and he said something that cut me to the core. He got his hands on classically coloured rainbow, he was blown away. He then told me the rainbow is now his favorite fish..... WTF? What did I do as a father to fail in such a manner? Rainbows.... come on, I told him they are the equivalent to Instagram butt models, no substance, no soul, just the same looks as next one. I did the only things I could think, I sprayed bug spray and SPF on his flies, broke his TXL over my knee and then took him to WalMart bought him an uglystick and some Raps. I think I'm going to head to the downtown browntown section with a bottle of wild turkey and contemplate my very existence. Thoughts? Flyfishy where you at sucka?

On the weekend, my wife comes to me and says her car is making a knocking sound. She's worried something is wrong with her brakes and wants me to take it for a spin. I oblidge, and sure enough I hear the knock too... only happens when braking fairly hard, but doesn't sound like it is related to the brakes per se. I tell her it sounds like something is loose underneath, but when I crawled under I couldn't see anything with my untrained eye. I tell her to take it in to Toyota for them to have a look, and she does. For the record, it took a second mechanic to diagnose it... their laughter was payment rendered.

Not for everyone,however if you use your imagination,they do resemble bonefish. The bonus is within driving distance and without the expense.

And now you have not only the right but for public health reasons to tell someone to GTFO of the run....

Jayhad just rose and hooked his first riser for 2019. Now if he had the same skill playing and releasing them. Don

I grew up in Red Deer. I watched the RDR change over my lifetime. I must admit, however, that I did not fish it when it was in its brown trout prime. As a teenager in the late 80s, it was possible to catch walleye, pike, goldeye, whitefish, and rainbow trout (yes, rainbow trout) in the city section. So, as long as I can remember, unless you were very specific (like bottom bouncing a sz16 fly tipped with a maggot for whitefish or chucking a big red devil for pike), at least to me, it has always been a piscatorial roulette. Oh, the things a kid could catch with a small panther martin spinner! I had not fished the RDR since 1992. I took up fly fishing about 12 years ago. I immediately started fishing the RDR, mostly for whitefish and goldeye, as a homage to my childhood. I remember the first brown trout that I caught. I had a WTF moment. I was expecting to set the hook on a 12" whitefish, but was actually a 24" brown trout. Since then, I have caught a steady 1 or 2 per year in an average of 4 or 5 outings per year. They do not live in your typical brown trout lies---those places are occupied by walleye. They live with the whitefish---kind of like a herd of house cats living with a lion. There is no doubt the brown trout population is in a tenuous balance with all the other species. The brown trout fry have a gulag/gauntlet to run to outsize the walleye, but if they can make it to 12", really, they only have the pike to worry about, and a big brown trout predator has a veritable cornucopia of food sources. They are very wiley; they would have to be to survive in the chaos of the RDR. But if you can catch one, they really are an archetype of the species---very beautiful.

Went out for what was probably my last camping trip of the year. Wasn't as quiet as it was during the OHV ban but the beautiful fall scenery helped make up for it. First campfire in months! Luckily I still remembered how to split wood and light a match. Found some fish. This guy broke someone off before I got him. If you want to reclaim your fly, sorry but it slipped out of my fingers and floated away. Ciao! The clouds kept threatening all weekend but other than a shower on Sunday morning it stayed dry.