FishnChips

It is kind of bizarre and not for one moment do I believe the officious, errr I mean official explanation. Just typical disengenuous ministerial behaviour. The government has lots of time to hide documentation related to strip mining for the Ausies and the Asians who want our coal... I just shrug and give up. We citizens have no agency whatsoever.

Suzizewhoq, Canadian Tire offers no consideration for any type of military veteran or first responder or police. The CF 1 card is not valid for a family of veterans. One must use the CF1 page and register each member of your family such as spouse. I am not sure if children are eligible but I do believe they are. The CF1 card will not work at Canadian Tire for a fishing license - no retailers know about the licensing arrangement as that is provided by the Province of Alberta. Therefore, as partially explained above, one must register one's proof of service with the designated provincial provider, called AlbertaRelm. https://www.albertarelm.com/ THIS is where one registers their military proof of service and so far there are only two cards accepted, the CF1 card or the NDI 75 Record of Service. Then, when fishing one must carry two pieces of ID, the CF1 or the NDI 75, PLUS another form of photographic government issued ID such as an AB Driver's License. I hope this helps. I tried very hard to get Alberta Relm to understand how poorly they had performed in this matter. (Politely of course and patiently - one must after all be patient with those types of folks) I also contacted the government of AB and they indicated a willingness to listen to what I reported about the defincies. That person must have got *hit-on by their boss because all correspondence stopped qucker than you can say "fish on!" and that was it. Remeber your time in the serice? The Government NEVER admits mistakes and it NEVER apologises. Good luck and tight lines.

I bought Patagonia pants waders in summer 2021. I like them very much however they don't stay up as well as chest waders because they have a belt instead of suspenders. For some reason my hips have vanished...

I was on the Sheep River on 29 June. It was low and slightly coloured from a fairly recent rain. The water temperature at 1100 a.m. was 19C. I believe our season will be foreshortened because of low snowpack. I personally do not believe any kind of rain can solve the issue. By the time 01 August arrives our front range watersheds are going to be in a spot of trouble.

I was checked by a Conservation Officer in late April and he just looked at my CF1 Card and my AB Driver's Licence. Neither where in his QR code hand held device. We discussed the situation a bit and he says First Nations Status Cards are not in the system either. He simply looks at the photo and that is it, and he says it has been that way for years. He's an intelligent chap, I have been checked by him 3 times in the past 5 years and he just rolls with it. So now I carry my AB DL and the CF1 card. No big deal.

I have been through this and just to add a bit and clarify, one does not "purchase" the AB Resident Veteran's license. From the webpage one must enter the preferred military identication (spelled out in the regs). Hard lesson, I entered my CF1 card first hoping to follow with the ND75 but upon entering the first number the system cut me loose. My AB Resident Veteran's Fishing license is now my CF1 card. Why is this a drag? Because the CF1 card is not visible on the phone app. The phone app is now blank. (I have been refunded my license fee of $29.40) This means a veteran must carry photo id and the CF1 card when fishing. The app is rendered useless for a veteran. Too bad because the digital provincial license was a very smart idea. Carrying a phone is a good idea for a bunch of reasons, and it used to be all I carried. Now I need a couple of cards in addition. Further, the regulations for AB state a WIN card is not required for under 16 over 65, but it makes no statement for a veteran. I was one of the campaigners for this benefit to veterans and I am most pleased it has come through for all of us. However, it is a bit of a SNAFU and in my opinion not really fit for purpose.

I wish you the best of outcomes as you take the steps you can to limit the impact of this disease. For what it is worth, there are compression socks for motorcycle riders and airline pilots out there as well. They all meet different needs but it is hoped you will find a solution which works for you. See you on the water!

It may have saved the lives of the 4 who perished on Spray Lake last summer. I do have doubts about all this governance, for the simple fact that hardly anything else is enforceable, anywhere, in Canada. Open hard drug use, soft drug use (yes pot is legal but not outdoors in all areas). Open consumption of alchohol. Myriad illegal acts in motor vehicles... the list is enormous. I believe it is impossible to endorse this because although there may be administration there is no enforcement. It is that simple and that complicated.

A bit late to this movie but I have not been on the forum for a while. A chap was just out in the park across the street practicing casting, it is -6C. He perhaps got a couple of new toys from the man in the big red suit. Anyway, watching him practice his pick-up and lay downs with a bit of a single haul whet my appetite for things fishy - and there was your film and its beautiful waters and trout. Thank you Wade.

A bit late but thank you Lornce. A Merry Christmas to you and yours. Best Wishes for 2023. Regards,

Thank you. I recently had a foul encounter with a person with an off-leash dog (leash required iaw bylaw in this urban area). This person initially received a smile of acknowledgement and a friendly peace sign as he passed behind me on the trail. I did not see the dog at that time. I was quite surprised when a ball landed in precisely the area where I was casting and a large retriever splashed into my immediate space. Then it happened a second time. I had already moved twice this particular evening. Once for two drunk persons stumbling toward me with their rods and once when two lovebirds came along and started throwing rocks into my zone. This third deliberate act blew my fuse. We had words. Lots of heated words. This summer of 2022 I have had several unpleasant encounters with non fisher folk. One set of simpleton parents helped their toddler lug three small boulders so their child could drop them off the bridge. Under the bridge, a scant 5 metres away where two young lads, about 10, catching Whitefish after Whitefish... really having a good time with one another and it was a pleasure to watch. But when the first boulder came down with a splash... that caught my attention. I raised my voice as the second and third boulders splashed, instructing the supposedly responsible adult parents that there were two people trying to fish under the bridge and they must stop immediately. The parent with the nominal pronoun she responded with the statement: I didn't hit any fish. I am deeply despairing of this kind of behaviour. I no longer fish the urban area nearby, I go further afield to avoid members of my own species who have become unbearable in their stupidity and selfishness.

In one single outing in mid August I saw a single small-ish Black Bear. Two small-ish Grizzly bears feeding in proximity to each other and a single large Grizzly at another location. 4 bears in a single day, all visible from my car driving along the paved road. I am glad to see them, as a sign of a healthy ecosystem. Hope they are happy to leave me alone!

This is such good news! Happy for you dude!

Thank you. Yes ground (any land mass not covered by ice or snow which has high albedo or reflective properties) heats and cools much more rapidly than water (ocean or lake).

Toolman, thank you. As I watched alpine snow melt delay further and further and start at least one month later than normal in the Bow Watershed, I observed the Upper Bow was much lower and greener in colour than normal. Its colour reminded me of the Cowichan River of my youth. Curious about the temperature I measured it at a surprising 11C in late May when it is normally 4C during run-off. Outside air temperatures in the Upper Bow Valley were slightly below average all spring so the water was not being warmed by the air as much. I have a personal theory (don't shoot me, I have no scientific training), that since the water was more clear and much more shallow than normal, that the river bottom was absorbing higher than normal amounts of incoming solar radiation and thus the water is warmer. Thoughts fellow fisher folk?

Thank you and Bravo!!!

I have my license on my phone - the Conservation Officers have scanners which read the license code, which is a combination of bars and a pattern. The CO's readers do not require WiFi or data, so they work out the the GAFA (Great Alberta Frick All).

Very nice. Thank you for the share. Algonquin Park is a beautiful part of Ontario, or Canada overall. I flew across it several times in the autumn when the leaves had turned. It was a riot of colours, yellow, gold and red... Rest In Peace, Frank.

At about 21:05 just after the young lad had opened the valve, there is a goldfish visible at the lower part of the screen in the dark tank.

Fishtek, Thank you for the links. I watched the presentation after the fact as I am travelling. One glaringly obvious theme is that many of the posts after yours must be by folks who have not watched the forum or did not understand it. As my best fishing buddy says, I shall ruminate… there is a great deal to think about. I commend the panel for their informative presentation. They were quite disciplined in their approach by focussing on angling pressure, and I am personally wincing a bit. However, it is of course, the most important audience for this initiative. Other factors will be addressed to the appropriate audience.

This past summer, with a guide and a buddy on the Bow (Mac to the Weir) I landed a good sized Rainbow which was netted promptly, unhooked and quickly measured. The guide slipped the fish back into the water. The nymph, after removal was dangling from my rod tip at a depth of about 3’. That darned trout took that nymph immediately! I had caught the same fish twice. What a gas.

Well done. Share with us once you have been out a few times.

I have an Outcast Stealth frameless pontoon. It weighs 35 lbs stock. It has a 450 lb load capacity. It fits (easily) into the accessory bag and I can lift it into my car without much effort. It has the pin type oars, which I find fine for still waters and slow rivers. The oars won't allow you to set any speed records, but they stow nicely out of the way when casting and are easy to reach when you need 'em. I really like this thing.

That is a nice tool. Thank you.

This past winter I tackled Ernest Schwiebert's biblical epic Trout. Near the end of volume 1 (800+ pages!) there are many tables illustrating the relationships of line weights and definitions. As early as his writing, (it was published in 1978), it was evident to the eminent Mr Schwiebert and his peers, that fly line definitions and rod weights' traditional criteria were becoming distorted. I am not a technical fly fisher in any traditional sense. I have fly fished for 48 years and am self taught (except for two great days with one of Jim McLennan's instructors in summer 2019 to help me finesse minor errors), and I do a couple of things which are unconventional and would make a purist weep. However, as old Dylan wrote all those years ago, you don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows, and I do have a good feel for things. My professional life evolved to take advantage of my proprioceptive and kinaesthetic abilities which I implicitly trust. A dear friend, now passed, once gave some profound, gentle counsel to his daughter who was struggling with relationship issues. Dirk wrote to her, trust your organism. In context it was a very thoughtful bit of advice. This is all a roundabout way of getting to the idea that for better or worse, and this is not just true for fly fishing, but established criteria for a great many things in our present era have been mightily eroded. A prime personal example for me, that I have considered in depth and consulted expert writing on is the old idea that a rod must be balanced by it's reel mass. The old school idea was that with about 30 feet of fly line out the business end, the rod should balance in level equilibrium, at a point somewhere on the forward grip. (Purists please forgive my philistine ways). Anyway, on a long rod, the mass gets large very quickly and you need a darned heavy reel to achieve that balance. As rod materials got lighter, so did reels and the idea of basic weight (mass) became pre-eminent. So, trust your organism. Casting a modern hyper light alloy reel on a composite rod is waaay easier than any old balanced set up. If one fishes for a few hours, the difference in muscle effort is gigantic. Against all this intuitive information I have stored inside my brain I still have a pressing issue with a new/old rod I bought last spring. It is a 12'6" switch rod. I have not cast it yet because I cannot make my mind up and all the information, as Don has aptly and succintly demonstrated, is highly confusing. There is also the problem that a huge amount of stuff made in the USA is in short supply. My present plan is to wait a bit longer. I have some fishing arranged with a friend who had a huge number of reels fitted with a large array of rod-weight-suitable lines and I am going to experiment with a selection and let my organism decide.