FishnChips

tman, After rubber waders as a kid, hodgman neoprenes as a younger man, I finally owned two pair of Simm's breathables, at the same time. One with zipper and the other just pull up. As I age I am less and less comfortable in deeper/stronger current. I recently bought my first pair of wading pants. No zipper. Patagonia is the brand. I keep the belt loose and keep them up over my beer belly with suspenders (from Mark's). I love them. Something to consider. Good luck.

This kind of crap is bad for everyone. "Survival" not the word for this kind of stuff with long wood saws, complete fly fishing kits and so on and so forth. Any Alberta outdoorsperson with an IQ above their shoe size must be able to rank this with all-star wrestling and that kind of pseudo sport entertainment. Complete and utter garbage. And as posted above, the poaching aspect - fish and game - makes me want to hurl. I did not even watch both videos, just skipped through. I do feel bad about contributing to the "viewed" statistics... like it was a good thing. I hope these persons get busted.

Hi Smitty, yes, there were significant upgrades more than 15 years ago. I have lost track of that time. It has had a direct impact on insect life and the fishing quality. I have discussed this with local COs and they are in agreement. It happened so long ago that nobody cares anymore. Currently, the river is still blown out and visibility is poor. Wading is treacherous. As of last week the local pros at Wapiti sports in Canmore were not yet guiding. They wait until the Conservation Officers have taken a helicopter ride with Alpine Helicopters down the river to identify jams and areas of risk. If required, Conservation officers then launch a boat and take a ride downstream with chainsaws and clear areas where watercraft may be threatened. Once that happens (it is imminent), guiding will commence, though water clarity may still be poor. I have fished these waters for years and the catch rate per hour is very low. I keep stats and my personal rate is about 0.6 fish per hour. Small to medium sized browns and brookies and the odd RM whitefish. I have to admit, the Wapiti guys know their craft - they get their clients into larger and greater numbers of fish than I get walking and wading. Something which astounds me is the number of tourists floating the river - the high waters in some ways offer a couple of advantages when drifting at present. The mass flow and velocity are high. Sometime dangerous submerged features are well under water and beyond the shallow draft of most devices. But for my money, I am sticking to foothills creeks and still waters until things become a bit tamer. The maxim that one nevers steps into the same river twice applies in your circumstance. By all means check out your old spots but you may find them not recognizable by now and do exercise caution. I hope you post what you discover, without of course disclosing your secret spots! Still lots of French Creeks around

I finally upgraded my ancient tube for an Outcast Stealth Pro, frameless pontoon a couple of weeks ago. So far I have only used it on still waters. I love it. - it fits in it's bag (not included but a good accessory buy) with room to spare - it fits in the back of my car easily (weighs 35 lbs) - inflates easily in about 5-6 minutes with the foot pump (aftermarket accessory) - one is seated well above and out of the water. Fins or no fins, the boat is moved easily with the built in oars. I also use a Scotty anchor lock and a 10 pound pyramid anchor. - plenty of storage in the kit bag (included) which mounts to the boat, off either the left or the right shoulder. Lots of space behind the driver too. I bought it from The Fishin' Hole in Calgary. The service was perfect, a young man there, name starts with an "A", owns one and can answer questions and provide suggestions based on his own ownership experience. I could not be happier with this new piece of kit.

I had trouble with a brand new, unused for 10+ years Ross Reel (CLA 6). I sent it back this past winter and they absolutely treated me like a king. Communication was superb, I was just so impressed. I have a bunch of Hardy reels, some 50+ years old. To date, no requirements for any service at all. A fantastic array of quality stuff.

Utterly impressed!!!

What a great idea. Good luck and I hope to be in a position to rent, not this season due to other bucket-list plans, but perhaps next year.

A nice film from our community to the west. Honest, clear and true.

Some very nice footage and fish in this clip. Glad to see Terry hard at work.

Thank you for the share.

Sacha, Welcome to Alberta, the Calgary area and fishing! Whether you fly fish or cast with gear, (a spinning type rod with a lure, possibly with a float or weights as well), as my learned friend above says, you are off to a good start by desiring to know the regulations. Frankly, I have seen too many "new Canadians" (I am not saying you are one, I am referring to new residents of Canada) who fish without knowing the rules or, in some ways even more importantly the customs and courtesies or etiquette of fishing. Good for you. The recommendation from Peter above is wise. A professional guide will start you off very nicely and will likely take you somewhere he/she is nearly 100% sure you will actually catch fish which is a positive reinforcement when starting out. Visit some shops, don't buy anything yet, but browse around and ask questions. Some shops have beginner fishing classes, mostly for fly fishing as it is more challenging and difficult to master. Talk to friends and colleagues at your place of employment or education. Try and find an experienced fisherperson who is willing to answer questions and maybe take you along for an introductory outing. This website occasionally has people who post their desire to fish with someone from the area. Until you gain enough experience in fishing, finding your way around and water safety I recommend you treat fishing like SCUBA divers treat their activity: going solo is a no-no. Fish with a buddy - keep them in sight at all times. Another great source of information in addition to the interweb are books. Go to your library, and read as much as you can. The interweb has thousands of videos about just about every possible aspect of fishing I can think of. A great way to while away the non fishing hours of winter. Finally, within the fishing regulations guide you will find reference to stocked waters. These are places where a portion of your annual license fee are used by the province to place fish in waters where you are allowed to harvest them for food. A lot of these places are easily accessible, quite safe (if crowded at times), and have amenities like close parking, an outdoor toilet, picnic areas and so forth. It is a good place to start and develop your skill level. I wish you good luck and many happy hours on the water.

Where did you go and how was it?

Wow, that is a treasure of info and links. Lots of good winter browsing. Thank you and a forward wish that you have a Happy Birthday.

Some good discussion here. Also a bit of thread drift, (pardon the word play). I would like to put in a word for T.J.’s colleague at Fish Tales, M.V. He is as hardworking as T and rowed his tail-feathers off on our day together. A different personality but at least as competent and friendly, informative, patient and full of enthusiasm.

Your good handle was mentioned: Silver Doctor, and your cousin too, Black Doctor. I love those old names, and the multi-coloured salmon flies are pleasing to the eye. I have fished a tributary to the Tweed, the Whiteadder, (wit-adder), on an estate in the Berwick area. It is a lovely area and river, much less wild than our eastern slopes of Alberta. I find, as I age myself, a sense of history and connection to it from these old films. The gentleman seated in the wooden boat held in place by another gent flashbacked to my first ever Modern era float on the Blue Ribbon section of the Bow. Our guide stepped over the side to hold the Hyde in place while my more accomplished and experienced friend cast to rising trout, one of many special moments of the day. Simple and effective, a lifetime has passed since it was filmed.

Educational, brief and clear. Thank you for sharing.

I have Simms boots with both felt and Vibram w/hard bite studs. They have different applications in my opinion. I had to recently use the vibram sole without cleats, as the Simms Hardbite cleats are not available in my area and are on order through my local shop. I was extra careful and they performed fine on the day when I used the brand new boots. I believe Simms studs in general are way too expensive, especially here in Canada and they do not hold up quite like I wish they would. If the Philips head slot gets damaged they are a bit ornery to remove. I searched the interweb and found those Koldkutters that EOTR mentioned above. They sound like a good local deal. I also found a company in Quebec named iGrip which makes studs and their site looks very useful. Prices and shipping in $CAD is helpful and why not buy Canadian? I am also curious about a brand named Korkers, whom I am going to try for a pair of winter boots this year. They are apparently available at Mark’s. If anyone has experience with this brand I would like to hear your thoughts.

I agree with all our friends’ earlier remarks. I love maps and map reading and us them to plot detailed paths along streams, and conservatively, I cover 2-3 km each way so 4-6 km round trip in a 6-8 hour outing in a foothills creek. On a well known larger river, I usually arrange a drop off and pick up. 5 km is a huge 8-9 hour day. Wading against knee/mid-thigh 6-8 kmh current uses a lot of energy. A large number of factors affect energy. Age, physical condition, motivation, hydration... terrain is critical as bushwhacking, climbing, standing on uneven or less than ideally stable ground increases output. Weather is super important as body temperature is affected by clothing, or lack of it. Students are almost always working harder than their instructors to start...

We have an abbreviation for this in the airforce: FUBAR. Stands for £¥€§ed Up Beyond All Recognition. All the profits to an Australian conglomerate from Albertan slave labour. I think I am going to throw up...

Tight lines, thank you for the link to this monograph. It is well written and historically interesting even though the subject matter is not very exciting.

Bravo!

I held this centrepin a few days ago, it is splendid. Beautifully executed and free wheels in balance that ie eye-watering in its precision.

brilliant

Joan Wulff has Big Medicine.

Good morning Brent, Excellent, thank you.