reevesr1

I have a WJ wading jacket. Got it for xmas last year. I really like it andI don't think it cost all that much. Nice pockets, fit, and it keeps me dry. Just putting that out there to give positive feedback on WJ quality vs. cost.

X2. A little bigger than a standard water/shockproof, but from my experience takes better pictures indoor and landscape shots than my old Olympus did.

I'm older than you? Happy birthday buddy!

Ding, ding, ding--and winner by Technical Knockout--SilverDoctor!

Is mortality rate in cold flowing water actually 3%? I think I have read multiple studies that peg it less than that (and some that were more, so many variables). While I personally don't doubt there are 400 fish days, to say it is a statistical aberration would be an understatement. Lets say a normal mountain stream cutty average is what? 10-15 fish per person per day? I think it is somewhere in there for me. Some guys will catch less, some will catch more. So if the 3% number is accurate (and I highly doubt it is for cutties in cold water), that is 3 fish every 6-10 trips that don't make it, maybe. Fish kill guy killed 18-30 on the same number of trips.

I've been doing this for about 43 or 44 yrs now. I can honestly say that for me, the fun is never gone. If that speaks badly of my character, then I'm ok with that. I have thoroughly enjoyed each and every fish I have caught in my life. I have never willingly walked away from a good day (though I have walked away from numerous small fish, only because I thought I might find numerous big fish). And Pipes, while I understand the intent of your post, I must say the line "needlessly abusing the resource" does not ring true for me. I think we need to be very careful when questioning the motivation of other fishermen. To many people, catching one fish is abusing the resource. Why do we need to draw lines? While some may be happy with a few fish and a gorgeous day, some may want a different experience. I totally agree that it is not only about the fish. But the fish are the biggest part of it, at least for me. Again, if that speaks poorly of my character, then so be it. I'll continue to enjoy each and every one of them. No matter how many. Hope tomorrow I catch 50. Though I probably won't.

Some very good family friends have family who farm around the Trochu area. On their property is this nice little fish pond that both our families met at on Sunday to sit around, toss back a few, eat some chili (and nice fresh RB trout as it turned out), and fish a bit. My son decided to drive down from the UofA to fish a bit as well. The pond certainly had fish, but they were damn hard to hook. Lots of hits, just a few landed (6), 4 of them being first year fish (say 13" or so), and two bigger ones. The biggest was somewhere in the low 20s, but super fat. Pictures below. But my favorite is a shot of my son and our dog. If he wasn't actually fishing, he was sleeping. And he doesn't care where, ground, car, whatever. Oh, and he caught both of the big fish. We did eat the two big fish, and cleaned the smaller fish for great grandma (we were told we couldn't put them back, they are there to eat). They were full of boatmen and shrimp. The big one had boatmen the size of a quarter in her. Things were HUGE. Anyway, fun day with friends and family.

I was on a little creek this year. I caught at least 25 in about an hour on my way out. And I missed a bunch of fish. I thought it was rather funny that I caught 25 and thought I was fishing like crap. Fish on literally every cast in sections, hooked two fish (running a big and small dry) on three different occasions, landed two at once one time. I have no trouble believing 70 in a couple of hours under the right conditions. That and the fact I totally trust the source.

I post my bad days. But hell, I post when I sneeze.

I'm confused. I thought every time you went fishing you were supposed to say: "I lost count after 10 or so". I thought that was a rule. Are we saying now it isn't? What about "A couple in the mid teens, 2 over 20 and 1 24?" Are we saying we are supposed to tell the truth about that too? Man, fish counts and size are about to go WAY down!

My cousin used to fish for bones on Oahu using spin gear. He did really well, and caught some true pigs in the time he lived there. No reason to think they would not be on Kauai.

Stick to the lakes, stay out of the creeks! Nice trip buddy!

No problem Michelle. Hope you got a good turnout.

They can be frustrating little suckers can't they! Anyone who talks about "stupid cutties" should give these fish a try. Love that country. Can't wait until next year! Glad you guys had fun. Did you fish the lake(s) at all?

Here are a bunch of mine. I also have a video I will upload to Youtube at some point. I may caption these later, but you will notice that Chris in one shot is kneeling down. He is trying to hide while he poaches my fish. Poacher. Chris caught like 10 from that spot!

I can say that I am generally not one for savoring the experience, but I will not soon forget the smell of the pines on this trip. I don't know if it was the moisture, but the smells were out of this world. I have some pics and will post this weekend. This is my third year doing this trip. Saturday was probably the best day I've ever had. We have caught more fish in a single day, but the quality of the fish Saturday was spectacular. We probably landed 40 or so between us, with Chris by far landing the most (a theme for the entire trip). Just an unreal day. If I hadn't tried to ram a rock through my undercarriage on day two, we would have gone back. But with over 60 km of gravel and unknown damage to the van, I decided not to risk it. I will question that decision for a long, long time. Overall, the trip was a smashing success. Day three was tough, but the weather did not do us any favors. The water is too good for there not to be fish. Anyway, more pics and stories to follow this weekend. Just need time to do it. Thanks Pete and Chris! Oh and Steve, I did fall once. I was standing by some deadfall in mud. When I went to move by feet stayed put and I did not. Splash! No flood into the waders though. I did step on some deadfall in the woods and take a tumble. On the way down you think "Please land on something soft"! Chris took a tumble hiking on some rocks. He actually was very lucky it was not serious. The river on Day 3 required a lot of climbing. I would never fish it by myself. I guess I should at least list the top 10 highlights, non fishing variety: 1. 60 km of gravel in 40 minutes on day 1(Pete asks "are you trying to hit every puddle?" while Chris cowers in fear.) 2. Bounce Sandwiches 3. Getting stuck in the mud and falling in the river 4. BBQ Fireball and arm hair removal 5. Watching Chris fall all over Big Fish Creek 6. Getting poached on Big Fish Creek 7. Having my front axle hit a hidden "boulder", having said boulder rip out of the ground, and having untold damage done to the undercarriage of the indestructible (I hope) van. I'm actually afraid to take it to the shop. It is making some bad noises every time I hit any bump. 8. Driving past the mud filled rivers of day 3 9. Taking a dive in the forest and walking away/ Chris taking a dive on the rocks and walking away also 10. Pete putting on his headphones on the way home after Classic Rewind plays the 1000th Genesis or Phil Collins song

The more I fish in the back country, the more I am coming to the conclusion that while the majority of ATV owners may be responsible, the behavior of those who are not are forcing action. I can fish in BC and only see quads on forestry roads and trails. I've never seen a trail by a river (not to say they don't exist, just that I haven't seen one). Fish the back country in Alberta and evidence of quads is everywhere. Not to mention the camping. Why is it I can go to BC and most every little road ends in a small, clean campsite (and almost always empty), whereas if I dare venture into the Castle system (I actually avoid the Liv and Oldman for the most part) every little clearing has a RV crammed into it, mostly for the season. I'm not generally an advocate of limiting access to anyone. I think I try to error on the side of inclusion. But the more I fish in the two provinces, the more I think BC has it way more right. I don't really know what all the rule differences are, but from what I see they have a better handle on land management than we do.

I don't have guns, though I have in the past. If someone asked me to register them I would have said "ok, can I do it online?" I guess I've never understood all the hubub about this topic. I will say you could use the guns to ward off the roving bands of American heavy oil drilling, union busting, Nuclear Power Plant builders that seem to plague your country.

I only go over the yellow line when it is necessary. Like when taking a corner way, way too fast and needing the inside of the lane to corner properly, like they teach in racing school. As long as there are no bicyclists on the shoulder, all is good. I mean, there is tons of room over there. Shame to waste it. And I will say when you have 60 km of gravel to drive, 90 km vs 60 km/hr gets you there 20 minutes faster. Worth the risk for prime cutty water I say. But in hindsight, maybe I will slow down for the cliff sections when hauling passengers.

Fair enough. That rock scared the crap outta me too! Let's refrain from calling it a boulder. Maybe a boulder lite?

Damn Americans, making you Canadians do things they don't want to do. Luckily you are all such pushovers and do whatever we want whenever we want. We are perfecting our union busting schemes on the Athabasca Oil Sands so we can take what we've learned and disband all the unions in the states. We are starting with those pesky teachers, then the cops. Next we are going to invade and build you nuclear power plants!! Ahhh, the power!! Please.

I told my wife when I got home: "You know how every time we drive on gravel you tell me to slow down? You should have heard the big babies I was fishing with....." And I only tried to blow myself up with the BBQ. Since the cover was open, it was never going to be anything other than a one time fireball, so I was the only one in danger. Fortunately my face was below the level of the BBQ trying to find the little hole to stick the lighter in and I only lost some hair on one arm.