reevesr1

First of all, what a pretty and healthy brown. Congrats. Second, I actually missed the joke first time through the above reply. I read it a little too literally. Then it hit me. Or maybe Bobloblaw's reply made me reread it. Whatever. I have to say that is maybe one of the wittiest lines I've ever read here. And there have been (sadly, far less often than there used to be) some pretty witty things written on here. Thanks for the full on laugh.

The 3 wt gets a workout: The Results: The family: Some after fishing fun..... Kayaking and canoing the Columbia: And a little wakeboarding. Ben's first time up. He tried a 360 on his 3rd jump. Oh, to be 15 again: All in all, our best vacation ever. Lots of family time, and not all fishing! Here is a link to the condo itself, if anyone is interested in renting: Rick's Condo

Here are a few shots of our Panorama vacation. I was able to get out fishing with my sons a couple of times and with the whole family once. The Creek: Wyatt hooked up in some pocket water. A pocket water cuttie, smiling for the camera. My only shot of a cuttie, though we caught lots. They are hard little fish to handle, and always jumped out of our hands when trying to photo. Relax though, they were always close to the water! Ben hooked up on a nice cuttie. The fish was about 14", and the biggest one we caught. Most fish were 6-10". And most on the dry on the second and third day. Mackenzie on a fish! A little bully on a stimulator!

I picked up the Herald today and in the business section is an article on Hansons Boot Camps. Nice little article.

Hansons gets most of my money. Great shop, great service and I almost always run into someone I know there. Fish Tales gets the rest. Fantastic place to shop.

Get a copy of "albertas trout highway" by Barry Mitchell. Discusses the cuttie streams on hwy 40 (oldman drainage) along with access points and tactics. Invaluable resource. Should be available at Fish Tales. If not, Hansons downtown has it.

I mostly wade wet in the bow this time of year. Started wading wet 2 wks ago. But the rental idea is a good one if you prefer to stay dry.

How about catgut? I think the reason you can't find a time for fluoro to degrade is it never degrades.

How often is the term "confirmation bias" read on a fishing web site. Love it!

Mike, Do you mean from an environmental standpoint or knot standpoint? If you mean environmental, mono takes 600 yrs (very quick internet research) to degrade. So in any real sense, is essentially biodegradable as well. Every piece of mono that has been lost in the water is still there (unless someone was building in 700 yrs ago, unlikely I think). No different than fluoro.

I think I'm finally smart enough to stay out of this argument, but I did like the quote above. People don't have "opinions" on Global Warming, it is part of their belief system. You can change someone's opinion, but like firefrog said, changing their belief is near impossible. I certainly include myself in that.

I have Vanish 10# and P-Line 6#. I like the vanish a bit better as I think it ties better knots, but that could just be the difference in diameter between the 10 and 6. I've been using it for years in saltwater, but more in the 12 and 15 lb class. Love it, have for years. Not a bad gimmick.

Thanks for posting that Brian. Pretty impressive list of firsts! Gives me something to look forward to.

Read the posts. It was said in this thread. Also said multiple times on the radio on the call in shows. Really, people just use this excuse to rationalize what they KNOW to be wrong. This is a manifestation of the "winning at all costs" mentality, that shows us at our absolute worst, IMHO. It is by no means unique to hockey. Players almost always stick up for other players when talking to others. I won't say that their opinions don't matter, it's just that I don't think we ever really get their true opinions. In this case, I think THE MAN made a huge mistake.

I was at Bullshooters yesterday morning. I had to speak to a customer, so tried to find a quiet corner. As I am talking on the phone, two young ladies walk up to the table I'm standing by. Both take off their tops so that the body paint can be applied. The guy standing next to me talking on the phone says: "I'm having a hard time focusing right now." No kidding, I thought. Don't see that every day. I also know exactly where I will be standing next Bullshooters at 8:15 AM. With a camera phone.

Agreed about speed on everyone but Bert. All signs the last couple of years indicate that Bert is done. Anybody remember watching him in the last Olympics? That and the fact he takes no responsibility for anything drives me crazy. Listen to his interviews. It's always "I didn't get enough ice time" or "I certainly produced with Getzlaf and Perry." *hit, I can barely skate and could get a point or two with those guys. No indication in the last couple of years he can do it on a second line. You going to put him on the first line in Calgary? Really? And all the apologists for him drive me mental. I don't give a crap what the situation was, what he did should have warranted permanent suspension, or jail. No matter what Steve Moore did, nobody had that coming. If you believe so, give you're head a shake. I have no idea whether or not Bertuzzi is a bad guy, but it sure looks to me like he very well may be. So in a hockey sense, odds are it won't work (how often do guys come back from 2 bad years), and his character is questionable, at best. He will go the way of most reclamation projects: as trade fodder near the deadline for some other team foolish enough to believe he will rediscover lost glory. That or he'll get hurt again. I'm a life-long Cowboys fan. Grew up with them and remember when they were the underdogs. While I still consider them my team, their addition of Pacman and Tank Johnson show me they are willing to sacrifice everything to win. It makes me think less of them, not more. I feel the same now about Calgary. I'll pull for them, but I think less of them.

They just got slower. Good luck with that.

Yeah, but my father would have said the same thing about any high end rod, reel, tube, vest, etc., etc. If you've got the money, why not I guess.

Thanks Don. I thought it may be due to increased catch rates from all those folk using Organic Bamboo Rods! (one of which I wish I had)

Birchy, Any time buddy! Toolman, I know that the big guys will be in the prime locations. But I've been trying to cover all of what I consider "fishable" water in most runs. And I really don't want to sound braggy, but I just rarely seem to hook anything small recently. Could just be the locations I'm fishing right now. I actually was a bit concerned. I was thinking Pelicans? But if you're catching all age classes, then it is just probably where I am fishing. I will confess that it has been a bit difficult to force myself to cast more than 15' off the bank! Since you can cover far more water than I with that big stick of yours, have you noticed more smaller fish out further as the big guys have the close in lies locked up?

Here is a question for you experienced Bow River boys and girls. I have noticed a striking decrease in the amount of small fish I'm catching this spring/summer. Now that could be because I've changed my tactics over last year, but I would still expect to catch some small fish. I am catching almost none, particularly fish <14". Is that normal for this time of year? There seemed to be lots of younger age class fish in the river in the late fall/early winter so I know they must be around. The reason I'm asking is that I take some folks from work from time to time who are pretty new. And while I can generally put them on a few fish, it would be nice to get them some practice on some smaller fish before they hang into an 18" rainbow as their first fish on a fly rod! Though watching a newbie get schooled by a big rainbow is funny, it can be frustrating for the beginner when he continues to break off/loose fish. That and the fact that the presentation can be a bit sloppier for the little guys and still have a reasonable chance at success. So maybe the first time this question has been asked: Where can I find some smaller fish?

Bring 'em on!! I'll bring Greenpeace to some of our ops in Ft. Mac since they love it so much, and I can teach PETA all I've learned recently about how to handle fish!

Just trying to do my bit to combat global warming Max! Now I have to emit more carbon to stick hooks in defenseless little fishies.

Brent, I've caught fish much larger than the bullies pictured in this post, out of a boat. Picking them up is generally a requirement, or netting which I'm not sure doesn't cause as much harm from the mesh than from any organ issues. So how are these supposed to be handled? This argument is somewhat silly. I've seen 10,000 pictures in magazines of fish being handled in this way. I really think way too much is being made of this, and it got way too personal. Discussions can be had without douche bag getting tossed about! That said, I have way less issue with you bringing this up. You contribute significantly to this board, so have earned the right (that's not the right word, but it will do) to bring up issues like this. There are many others on this board who contribute in many ways who also have no qualms about bringing up fish handling issues based on a picture. While I think it needs to be done judiciously, it is not that much of an issue. I however do have issues with people who contribute basically nothing other than pointing out the perceived mistakes of others. While I would never say they don't have a "right" to post, I will say their opinion is meaningless to me (as I'm quite sure mine is to them.)

I think I shall call them "The Fun Suckers" because they like to suck the fun out of everything.