reevesr1

Fair enough.

I posted this yesterday in the Bow River Reports thread. Decided to move it to here to increase visibility: Since I couldn't fish, I was forced into a walk with the wife (joking honey!). On our walk, I noticed a guy bait fishing the high water. Waited until I was past a bit and called RAP. Got called back for more detailed directions. We continued our walk, and on the way back saw poacher #2 about 20 meters upstream from #1. Called RAP back and told them about #2. We have to leave to go get our daughter, but as I'm leaving, two more guys show up, both with pickerel rigs on two rods each. I wanted to follow them, but I really had to leave. I see the CO on my way out and stop and talk to her, telling her about the two additional guys. She calls me back a couple of hours later, she got the first two but could not find the second two. That's ok, I'll get them next time. This area has been getting poached pretty regularly. I think troutlover caught a couple last week as well. Anyway, keep an eye out. High water ain't stoppin' em. On a side note, I did talk to the CO about maybe putting up a sign, even said I could do it myself. She said they have tried that in the past, but they just get torn down almost immediately, or defaced/vandalized. So she did not recommend it. I also want to give a shout out to the COs here in the southeast. This is the second time I've called, both times in the evening. And both times someone was there within 30 minutes. Excellent work!

Of course I understand the bitter taste. But I also get very tired of always being painted with the same brush. This thought that we all sit around in little rooms (actually, we have lairs) plotting the takeover of the universe while we subject our minions to waste and despair. Anyway, getting a bit dramatic with my sarcasm. I'll stay out of this one from now on. No objectivity. (or maybe, since I fish all over the place AND work in the industry and do more to serve the fishing interests around here than many I have a bit more objectivity than given credit for). But I'm staying out for now on anyway. I hope.

Thanks for the insult. I, and many many other totally ethical people work in this industry, no matter if people believe it or not. Now excuse me while I go to my "how to lie to the general public in a facebook/youtube environment." And I hope they clean it up and find out why it broke and make the appropriate changes. And fine whoever is responsible.

I don't know what you are talking about Jared. But I did find a xmas card full of flies! If anyone is looking for a reel with a broken drag with a clear 5 or 6 wt intermediate sink on it, I might know where one is. Either that or a spool of full sink.

As this spring's fishing progressed, the state of the total disorganization of my fly boxes became more and more apparent. I would find the same fly in multiple locations, would keep flies I bought in their little Fishtales, or Southbow, or Hanson's containers for weeks on end. So this weekend, I decided enough is enough and set aside a couple of hours to fix everything up. Two hours, what a joke. More like 6-8 hours to get it all sorted out. I went through the "fishing department" in my garage as my wife calls it and found multiple containers in the bottom of a bin of flies I'd never put in a box. I found fly boxes I had arranged for cutty trips and completely forgot about. After it was all said and done (3 evenings of organizing), what I found was amazing, and more than a bit eye-opening: 1 double sided double box of nymphs (4 areas to store, 7 rows each area of 20 or so slots per row. It's probably 90% full. Call it 500. < size 12 stuff only. 1 double sided box of "bow river" small dries. Adams, caddis, klinkhammer emergers, comparadums, and midge patterns dominate. 7 rows or so per side, 24 per row I think. At least 95% full. 400 flies? 1 double sided box of "cutty" small files. Similar to the box above in size, also about 95% full. 1 big double sided box of worms, stoneflies, buggers, etc. Probably 100 flies 1 "big" streamer box. 15 streamers (can you tell I don't streamer fish much?) 1 double sided box of stimmies on one side and non-foam hopper and big stone fly patterns on the other. About 150 flies. 1 double sided box of big foams. 40 or so 1 box of lake flies and streamers. Call it 60 flies. So, in the end I have 9 (!!) boxes of flies, totaling likely 1700 or so flies. Yikes. The funny part is how many flies you look at and say "what the hell is this??" And how many flies caught the fisherman, but no fish. Sorry fly shop owners, looks like I might be out of the fly buying game for awhile. Though it does seem I'm low on Chironomids for lake fishing, and need a few chenille stones in the next few weeks!! And maybe some more klinkhammers, and I need some bigger comparadums, and........

All I got out of that is that you are impressed with your own bum.

I bought the little compressed gas cylinders and fill assembly from MEC. They cost a little, but are fill your tire in about a second. I just use my pump as a backup.

Ohhh, look at me, look at me, I catch big fat rainbows and I never see my backing cuz I'm a badass and use 12 lb maxima. I'm with troutlover. My bet is you stink of genetically modified mutated fish. I do have a product that can help with that, but it has to be administered immediately after touching one of those stinky fish. I only have a little, and refuse to lend it out. But I would let you use some of mine if you happened to catch one when I was nearby, just to be nice.

Currently, I have 3 spare tubes in my pack! Pump, compressed air cartridges, and repair kit. Overkill, but I'll never have to walk because of a flat again.

Ain't that the truth. I'll go into the shop and he'll hand me something that looks like a drugged out artists abstract conception of what a disabled bug might look like underwater, if the fish looking at it was drunk, and say "try this." I'll raise an eyebrow and say "sure." Then come back the next day and say "can you tie me a dozen?"

And if someone wants a "things that piss me off about cyclists", please start another thread.

I have absolutely no problem riding on a sidewalk when a path closure forces me to either ride on the sidewalk for a km or two, or ride on an unsafe road. If people don't like it, I actually couldn't give one drop of care. I'd rather people be mad at me than ride on a road not safe for bikes, have some moron run me into the gravel on the side of the road (which has happened), I go down and the last thing I see in life are a pair of bull balls on the back of an F350.

People sure seem to hate a lot of stuff. Maybe someone could make a list?

Rode in today from Mackenzie Lake, on the roads through Douglasdale, picked up the bow river path just after the construction on the north end of douglasdale, the pathway all the way downtown. About 26 KM. Not a breath of wind this morning, which was great.

senior moment

I have no idea what you are talking about. But if I did know, I would say it was up for debate who actually left the rod. And if a rod was left, it was a 6 wt Hardy Zane Grey saltwater rod and possibly the saltwater hardy reel. Hardly worth going back for.....

I wanted to give a shout out to Hanson's. My son Ben is a co-op engineering student at the U of A and is on his first work term. He is working out of Wandering River on the Hwy 63 twinning project as a material tester. 12 hour days, 24 on 4 off (yikes!). On his off time, he is super bored and decided he wanted to learn to tie flies to pass some time, and to sell me flies. I talked to Wayne who found him an old vise, spent a couple of hours showing him the basics, and set him up with all he needs to get started. I think a bunch of copper johns and wolly buggers are in my future. Anyway, I wanted to thank Wayne for taking the time to teach him.

Black hole of fun alert! Try not to get sucked into the event horizon. Gary, I wish I had info for you, but I specifically look for spots with hills (not kidding here), the steeper the better. Keeps the traffic a bit lower. I have heard that a few landowners are starting to restrict access.

Hey, I ate there with my son and his girlfriend there today. I've been there a few times and like it. But really thin crust pizza will never make my top pizza list. But if you like thin crust, this place makes a great pizza!

So I don't really worry at all about where in the string my split shot is. Not saying it doesn't matter (hell, everything matters to some degree), I just don't think it matters a great deal. Or I've never noticed it mattering. My point is, at this point just put it somewhere between the first and second fly, or just above the first fly and then don't concern yourself too much with it. You are better off keeping flies in the water than constantly adjusting the split. I could make somewhat the same case for the strike indicator. While I strive for the 1.5 to 2 (and if truth be told, I'm quite often more like scel in slower water, ie, just over water depth), I don't change the position constantly. If I know the water depth is 2 to 4 feet where I'm fishing (as an example) and the water is moderately fast, I might set it to 5 or 6 feet and live with it. It's not like it's a rule. I caught a lot of fish when I just put my indi and 9 feet (or however long my leader was) and just left it there all day. Don't stand still! I can't tell you how many people I watch just stand in the same position of a run and make the same cast over and over again. I wonder sometime if they think there is a line of fish just waiting for there hook to come by. Grid the water when you fish. Start close in, keep working out. Once you have worked that bit of water, walk up 5 steps and do it again. Do this through the entire run. If you didn't get anything, change flies and do it again. Or adjust your depth or weight. But do something different. Standing in one spot is no way to fish. Friends shouldn't let friends stand in one spot and fish! By far, the biggest issue is drift control. By FAR. You have to learn to manipulate your line so that you get a drag free drift. Way, way easier said than done. Watch you indi in relation to bubbles. In a perfect world, your indi will be going the same speed. In reality, it will usually track a bit slower because the current on the bottom of the river is slower than the current at the top. Basically, if your line is not positioned properly and you impart any side motion, or slow or speed up your presentation in relation to the actual current speed you are fishing, you will not get nearly as many strikes. Once you start to figure this out, you will catch fish. Guaranteed. Assuming you are fishing where there are fish (which is probably the biggest issue, making my first two sentences in this paragraph an over statement!). Finally, set the hook on EVERYTHING!! If you assume your indi drug under the water due to snagging on bottom, you will usually be correct. Except when you aren't and it's a fish. And if you don't set on everything, you will undoubtedly miss a lot of fish. I remember one day I was fishing with a client of mine from work. Max Robinson was guiding my client, and I was fishing behind them. They finish up a run and I hear Max say "that was really good, but you need to start setting the hook on everything. You missed several fish there." Max then looks at me and nods at the run. They go to the bank for a snack and I go into the run my client just vacated and caught 5 or 6 nice rainbows. After that, my client cleaned up. If the indi bobbled, he would hammer it. And I had a blast supplying the object lesson! But all of us forget the basics from time to time. This lesson was driven home to me for about the 1000th time a couple of weeks ago when I flicked my rod to free my rig from a snag, when that snag jumped out of the water and was a brown in the 25" range. I think. Cuz he was only on for a second and I got to call myself stupid for a few hours. Keep working at it newdrenalin, it gets better. If you have friends who fish the bow, follow them around a bit and watch. If not, pm me when the river starts down post run off. I'll take you out for a bit.

Take if from someone who has lived a lot of places, some of them VERY nice (San Diego, Orlando, and Waikiki come to mind) from a style of life perspective and some wonderful (small town Louisiana and Texas, Pocatello Idaho) from a outdoors perspective. I would gladly live in any of the above places if given the opportunity again. But only if they kick me out of Calgary kicking and screaming. For a man with a wife and three kids, all of whom, to varying degrees, love the outdoors, I can't think of anywhere I'd rather live. I realize this is a totally subjective thing, but for me this is the best place I've ever lived, and while there are things I don't like, they are so outnumbered by the things I do like the problems pale in significance. In fact, I kinda like the fact the city has issues. If it didn't, too many people would want to live here. I work for an international company. One of the issues we have with transferring people here is the proportion of them who don't want to leave when we try to transfer them out. That says a lot for the city of Calgary and the country of Canada. Many of you folks have no idea how good you have it here. Keep working to change things you would like to see changed, but don't lose site of how great it is here. Thus ends my speech sponsored by the Calgary Chamber of Commerce!

That would work. But don't get too fixated on the 9 foot part. If you know the water depth you are fishing, try to follow the 1.5 to 2x water depth. The faster the water, the more you can lean toward the 2x part, slower water I lean toward 1.5. Adjust your indicator according to the water depth and rate. But 9 foot is a nice place to start.

I'd be fishing a golden stone, something small and dark in size #18, and caddis pupae. Bring some EHC and caddis emergers too. If they get on surface again today, you'll want to try that too. Any of the shops can help you with flies.

Species caught on fly rod: Brown Rainbow Cutt Brooke Bull White Pike Sucker Burbot I did once catch a pike. sucker, burbot in succession on the Bow.