reevesr1

Picture of the year.

Funny you should mention golf Mike. I played in a tournament last week and my game actually came around. One round in the mid 70s, and actually played better on the scramble day. Might be playing a lot more golf this summer, which will drop the number of fishing reports around here substantially!! (but in my defense I almost never give locations, particularly down south).

Who exactly is the other side? Are we competing with someone I am unaware of?

Tim, I don't think anyone could land you with a 6 wt! That is awesome footage. Gives me ideas for shark fishing........

Korker Guide Wading Boots. Actually, I got them for myself a couple of months ago. When my wife heard what they cost she said "happy fathers day!" I was hoping she had forgotten, but not so much.

I don't think very many people actually say the names of the small water they fish (though there have been some recent discussions). If someone gets some creek background in a shot and you recognize it, you shouldn't assume others do. And if they do recognize it, that only means they've fished that body of water several times in the past and already know it fishes well. You do see people talking about the Oldman, Linvingstone, Crow, Castle system, etc., but those are hardly secrets. And discussion of access? Well I guess I can see where some would have issues, but really all you have to do is pick up Barry Mitchell's book to learn all the access you are likely to ever need, though I imagine he made a lot of locals mad. I for one am very glad he did. To me, I think that it is our duty to share our passion for the sport. Talking about fishing trips, how they went, techniques we used and places we went, spoken of typically in generalities, helps us do that. I certainly recognize that this could mean someone is fishing water I want to fish from time to time. But I think that is a exceedingly small price to pay if our discussion of fishing has inspired others to learn to enjoy the sport. Over the past several years I have used this board and it's members to teach me how to fish this river in particular, and how to fly fish in general. I'm sure I'm not the only one. To not share information I've learned with other members would be wrong. (and guito, I don't know if you directed your post at me, nor am I in any way offended by it!!) All that said, I know of a couple of creeks myself that if I ever saw them written in print anywhere, I would be pretty choked. Guess that makes me a bit of a hypocrite.

As I continue to beat the dead horse....... In my humble opinion, there is a misconception about the line being "straight" from the flies to the indi. Maybe castuserraticus can comment on this, but the vertical currents in the river are NOT uniform, nor is your fly and indicator always in the same current seam. So much like your fly line on top of the river drifting at different speeds and causing slack and drag, so can your leader. In the simplest case, which is slower water on bottom, faster on top, your leader will be in an arc. In my mind, you can think of it as somewhat like a sail. The effect of too much leader is the arc of the sail is greater. When a fish hits, the arc will immediately start to straighten (and the indi will start to slow) and eventually stop. If you have ninja like reflexes, you will notice the slowing immediately and set. If you don't notice the slowing, you may miss the strike entirely. However, if your leader were shorter, you would see the slowing and stopping sooner and have a better chance of catching the fish. I was fishing with a guide down south last year. He told me a story of being out with a friend fishing below a cliff. The guide had climbed the cliff to look at the water upstream. He looked down and could see the fish his buddy was drifting over. He watched several takes (he could see the fish move on the flies) and asked his friend "why aren't you striking?" "Striking at what?" So the guide watched the indi when he saw a take and the indi did not even bobble before the fish spit. The initial fix was to tell his friend when to strike. The real fix? He shortened his leader length to one more appropriate to the depth they were fishing. Problem solved. When I fish with this particular guide on small waters, his indi to top fly is never longer than 3 to 4 ft. Leader length is not the be all end all. It is also not the most important piece of the puzzle. Those would be fishing where fish are likely to be, presentation, drag free drifts, and fly selection among others. If you are in a boat, I agree that it would be counter productive to change leader length based on exactly where your boat is at any one moment. But if you are walking and fishing a run systematically, to say leader length does not matter is just not correct. Can you catch fish with it too long? Of course you can. But you'll catch more if you have it the right length.

Pseudo, Ok if you disagree. I fish with several guys who do not adjust their leader length, and they do very well. What I've read on the subject leads me to believe leader length is critically important in controlling the amount of slack and decreasing the amount of time to see the take. I know for certain that when I shallow up in slow shallow water, I catch more fish. I also do much better in small water when fishing shallow. I personally have a hard time seeing how leader length does not matter. You disagree. Cool. That's why this is fun.

Psuedo nailed it, at least in my mind. You actually don't have much working in your favor when nymph fishing. But one thing that does help is the fact that the water along the bottom is moving a bit slower than the water at surface due to friction. So your indi will tend to "lead" your flies---assuming they are on bottom. So the game to me is having enough weight to get down but no so much that you are drifting unnaturally slow or hanging bottom. Also, length of leader (ala Hawgstoppah) plays a big role as well. Not just in how fast you sink, but also in how much slack is in the system. If the leader is too long, you can think of the line between your fly and indi as a stretched out parabola (ok math geeks I know this isn't technically correct, but close enough). And when the fish hits as Psuedo described, there will still be a lag between strike and indication of strike. I find this more important in slow water because the lag can be so long that you don't see the strike at all. In fast water, the length does not delay the strike as much because of the speed, but the length can delay the flies getting to bottom due to buoyancy. Confusing enough?

Well, the fishing wasn't all that with only 7 trout, mostly little, landed between the 3 of us. But the trip was just fantastic. Fishing the Castle system and some smaller streams, all new water to us, was a blast. We walked miles and miles and were all exhausted by the end of the day. I can honestly say that the time I got to spend with my friends while witnessing these rivers and streams transitioning from spring towards their summer glory more than made up for it. I have some great water to fish in a few weeks!! Kevin (kungfool) probably has better shots as I am not much of a photographer. Anyway, here is my short journal of the day Locked and Loaded, South Calgary, 6 AM The first stop, love the sandwiches. Obligatory Windmill shot-and they were spinning like mad all day I'm sure: First stop, first look at the river. Blood was pumping! First run of the day, already re-rigging. Damn trees! Heading further south: Davy and Kevin at stop #2 Davy trying to decide where to cross Creek #3. I absolutely cannot wait to fish this water again. Way up on the ridge above creek #3: I would have taken some pics on the way home, but it was dark. Leg cramps when I got home from all the walking. I would say I'm getting too old for this *hit, but that ain't true. I can still hang with the young 'uns, mostly. Anyway, thanks boys for the great day!! I am a lucky, lucky man.

In no particular order, in the south..... Livingstone, Crowsnest, Castle system, Upper Bow (for the unreal beauty of it), Lower Bow (for the big ass fish), Upper oldman. And that is just the south. As Teck said, you can fish every stinkin' piece of water Hwy 40 crosses and rarely if ever be disappointed. If it was me, I'd get myself a copy of Barry Mitchell's "Alberta Trout Highway." Read it and fish whatever strikes your fancy. I've camped at Livingstone falls, and there are campgrounds nearby (Racehorse Creek and Dutch Creek) that open up all of the south.

I was going to make a joke about it being a perspective shot to make the fish look bigger. But when the fish is like 4 ft long, I guess one of your arms has to be extended a bit. Awesome fish1

Nice Marketing! Sounds like an awesome deal btw.

TFO Finesse 4 pc with a Bauer. (though I have an Okuma for a 5 wt and like it too)

Only for a day. Your only worry is where did I put the trip wires?

Here is my chant: Please stay clear. Please stay clear. Please stay clear. Please stay clear. Please stay clear. Please stay clear. Please stay clear. Please stay clear. Please stay clear. Please stay clear. Amen.

Got the Korkers too. Figured Maxwell, hawgstoppah, et al probably weren't wrong. I've had the guide versions for about a month, so in my world that's about 15 trips (maybe a slight exaggeration, but just barely). I absolutely love the BOA or whatever the little wheel thingy is called. No more laces! And they are coming out with their version of "vibram" soles as well. Anyway, I'm a fan. That said, I know people who have the Simms and absolutely love them. I've had some Chota's as well, and they took a lot of abuse before giving up, but only after a year or so. But lots and lots of trips in that year. I've never had any pair of boots last two years, but that's probably because I treat them like crap.

So the reports of winterkill (mine) were greatly exaggerated. Nice fish SteveO.

I wet wade below town post runoff. Havent noticed any lesions or oozing sores because of it.

Just another perspective shot! Awesome fish Rob! Aren't we supposed to fish that fine lake of yours?

Welcome aboard Sallinger. How has life been after "Catcher in the Rye?" Heard you went into hiding, nice to have you back. You have received some great advice on this thread. If I didn't live so far away, I'd go fish Cochrane now that I've been told how to do it. One word of caution, contrary to popular belief, you can't get to the Highwood from Cochrane. Sorry, you'll just have to go around!

Chris, This could be my favorite reply ever on this board!! I need a new keyboard as this one is now covered in coffee.

Who let lawyers up there?

Al, I don't know who PKK has been watching cast, but I'm quite sure it isn't you! Kidding of course. I suck at dries as well for the same reason as you. Too much time casting nymphs and streamers. But I have found that after a few minutes with dries, I can get a bit more delicate. But accuracy can be a big issue for me. My solution? Just fish dries for cutties. They are dumb and will hit my poorly presented offerings. Makes me feel like a real fisherman. Whatcha doing tomorrow??????????

I've donated to these auctions, both by donating my time, my condo, and buying things to support to support this cause. I have ABSOLUTELY (yes, I typed that in caps) no problem with the officer using his discretion when it comes to fines. In fact, I want him too. Like any other type of enforcement officer, if all he does is follow the rules and never uses his discretion I think he is probably less of a credit to his profession than one who does use his discretion and take opportunities to teach when he thinks it is appropriate. Keep up the great work Jeff. I'm proud to have supported your work.