reevesr1

I certainly wasn't calling you a closet ethicist (I still prefer it with the y). Be like saying Elton John was in the closet! It it is a profession, I bet they have to take a bunch of fly fishing courses!

I saw a card the other day that said: "Another year older, another year closer to making shiz up." Seems I've passed that threshold. Whatever the case, I did like the book! If I remember (and this thread has shown the likelihood of that happening), it was written as a series of press releases, news stories, etc. Unusually written, but a really fun read.

I certainly enjoyed the book. I'd like to read it again, but I think I gave it to BCube and never got it back. With my copy of the River Why as I recall.

Ah, the closet ethicysts (I just made up that word) are coming out to play. How fun.

So there, can we now stop calling folks out on fish size? Its shocking that perspective seems to matter when you take a picture. Uber, from now on just do what too many others do, just hold your arms way out. Then the fish will look massive and placate the fish sized challenged folks. Sorry for continuing the hijack Ray, good idea on the net!

I don't have as much experience in the woods as many of you as I've only been fishing back country for 7 yrs now. But in those 7 yrs, I've fished in the back country quite a bit. I have bear spray, and have brought bangers. Never have I had to touch either. I've only seen one bear while fishing, and he was running away. I think the odds of shooting off bear spray and needing to shoot it again on the same trip is unlikely in the extreme.

There is not a chance on this planet I would let my kids do a multi-day camping trip without me. Like Jared, my parents would have let me do it at that age (I think). But I couldn't do it. Even if my boys had come to me with a detailed plan, I would not have been able to pull the trigger on it. And if by some miracle they could convince me, there is absolutely no chance my wife would ever be convinced. It's probably not fair to them but I don't care. My heart would not be able to take it. They would be mad at me (big time!), but they've been mad at me before and got over it.

In my defence, I was a little wet when I took that!

No idea. Wasn't saying anything about reelflies. Was just pointing out that the owners are local and support local causes. Wasn't trying to make it a contest.

I've bought from Icky several times. Fast service, good price, owner(s) are local. They've also been consistent supporters of the Streamwatch auctions, both donating and purchasing trips.

Bump or Slap, or whatever.

Nice! To get you pictures bigger, use a picture server, like photobucket or imageshack. You upload to the servers, then link to the picture via the "insert image" icon at the top left of the dialog box. I've never caught bass on a fly rod, but I know it must be a blast. When they start getting more active, try some sort of popper on them. Bass topwater takes are awesome!

Do not let ReelLife in. He wins everything!

I have a ticket to IF4 that I can't use. Turns out I had other plans I can't break that night. It is free to whoever wants it, on the condition they make a contribution to TU, or Project Healing Waters at the value of the ticket, which is $15.00.

I've never had a tracker, but there were TONS of them in Texas and I've never heard anyone knocking them. As some said above, my personal preference would be for something wider, but if you are using it as a car topper, then I think you would be fine. I have had both riveted and welded aluminum. If I had my choice, I'd go with welded. But my experience is more with saltwater, and I beat the crap out of my boats (windy all the time, big water, didn't have the sense to slow down, ran pretty big engines). If I was buying for lake fishing up here, I would have no hesitation in buying riveted if the price was right. $890 for a new Jon boat doesn't sound bad to me (though it's funny how it is $700 in the states).

Grab a Hardy Zenith while you are at it!

Nope, the retarded one was me. Fixed.

Here is the latest rod review from George Anderson's Yellowstone Angler. I'm not endorsing this list one way or the other, just putting it out there. This was done before the Sage One came out. The second link compares the winner to the Sage One and Z Axis. 5 wt Shootout Vs the Sage One

No. And I'm not showing you any other spots. Those of us who can should try to do something, somewhere to help out. My wife did a kitchen shift at the Drop In Center, and my son and I drove gifts and foods the church donated to a couple of families. There are so many opportunities to help your community, and the smiles you get are so worth it!

That's fantastic. If you find out for sure before the regs come out, let us know. Great work to all involved.

Nope. I've retired from these.

I can donate a couple of nights at my condo in Panorama during the ski season, as long as the "winner" is willing to be flexible on dates. If I have an open date < 2 weeks out, I can let it go. Weekdays only. Sorry to be so restrictive, but I'm not the only owner!

Hmmm, great idea. When I get home I'll see what I have.

Shamelessly stolen from John Scalzi. Appropriate to many discussions on many message boards. I particularly like 6, 7, and 8. Regarding Snobbery NOVEMBER 30, 2011 BY JOHN SCALZI Apropos of nothing in particular, a few thoughts on the subject of snobbery. 1. One is perfectly within one’s own prerogatives to feel snobby about things, if one feels invested in them in one way or another. 2. However, being a snob often makes one look like an ***hole. 3. It especially makes one look like an ***hole if the basis for one’s snobbery lacks an adequate foundation. For example, if despite rhetorical flourishes and handwaving, one’s critical thesis devolves to “This stuff is awesome because I like it; this stuff sucks because I don’t; those who like the things I do not are stupid,” then one will look like an ***hole. 4. If one’s critical thesis exhibits this level of foundational poverty, no amount of rhetorical flourish or handwaving will hide it. One’s pleasure at the presumed rhetorical cleverness will likely be noted, however, and added to the tally of things that make one look like an ***hole. 5. Likewise, gathering friends of like-minded snobbery and exegetic facility will not make your common critical thesis better. It merely means that as a group you enjoy the smell of your own farts. This is nice for you, and likely obvious to anyone outside your circle. 6. If one’s feeling of snobbery leads one to believe that one is in fact some way superior to those who do not hold the same snobbery, then one is at severe risk of crossing over from merely looking like an ***hole to actually being an ***hole. 7. A reason for this is that one is exhibiting a childishly binary way of looking at the world, and while that is fine for a child, who may not know better, one is an adult and should have the ability to exhibit complexity whilst thinking. Because it is polite to assume that an adult is, in fact, not stupid or incapable of complex thought, the maintenance of such a binary classification system relating to people suggests one might be an ***hole. There may be other reasons for this choice besides being an ***hole, but if Occam’s Razor teaches us anything, it is that the simplest explanation is often the correct one. 8. If one uses such simple, non-complex binary sorting to classify others as inferior in some manner, it does not make one any more of an ***hole, but it may mean that one’s sense of irony is not as finely tuned as one would hope. 9. If one declares oneself publicly to be a snob, then one actively invites scrutiny of the sort detailed above, often by those with the means to determine whether the snobbery proclaimed is warranted by anything other than one’s own estimation of self-worth. There are more of such people than you may expect. 10. It is worth considering what benefits one ultimately receives in declaring one’s snobbery. They may be fewer than one thinks.

I personally would not have an issue if they raised license fees. But then, I fish about 50-75 times per year. If I only fished 2 or 3 times a year, I would have an issue with significantly higher license fees.