Harps

I've tipped a penny on the interact machine for really bad service (plus told the manager). Place went out of business a month later though. I like to give compliments, I'll send comments to gear companies, I'll talk to people I deal with at work, I'll talk to a restaurant manager. It is easier to just complain though....

D P Review has produced a review of some of the waterproof point and shoots on the market. http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q209waterproofgroup/ It's up to their excellent review standards, a very detailed and well written review. It explains why I exchanged my Olympus Tough 8000 for the Pentax W60 (I have always liked Pentax the best anyways). Cheers,

Hey Bigtoad, It's a good looing fly. The proportions look great! You'd have to try it to make sure it doesn't sink with all the fuzzy foam. Of course, a sunk stimmie works great too. Don't worry about copyrighting flies... most things have been done (legs on a stimmie is quite common). For a PMD spinner that fly would work (also tie it in a rusty brown colour). For a Trico spinner, go much smaller and thinner. One way to tie is to have 2 black balls of dubbing with the front having spent wings. This imitates a cluster of Tricos. I also tye mine with a dubbing ball in the middle with the wings sticking out the front and back on a larger hook or just a dubbing ball in the center of the shaft and wings sticking out the sides. Ask FlyFishFairWx about a goldenstone imitation... His "Thing from Uranus" has been preforming quite well for the past 2 seasons.

6C is a very low temp for this time of year.... likely where you measured was immediately where groundwater was coming up. The waters I've been on in the past week have been from 10-15C One backwater part was at 18C! All on "tribs" to the Oldman, all comforably wet wadable. *To minimize harm to trout> Don't play them long: use a strong tippet and bring them in as quick as you safely can. (you don't need to let trout pull line off the reel) Using a wet net can reduce the fight time >keep them in the water: pictures of a dozen dinky/cookie cutter trout are pointless... they don't impress anybody unless the angler has some unique attributes making her (**cough, ahem or him) worthy of being in a picture. Don't put the thing on dry ground or it will lose its slime, start to cook, and likely haunt you by keeping the big fish away from your flies (Karma and all that $hit). > gentle release: make sure your fish can swim away under its own power... don't move it back and forward in the current, just craddle it to hold it upright in an area of slow moving (not still or fast) water. Send me you fishing locations and I'll check them to make sure the temperatures are okay... a small donation will help pay for gas and keep your waters healthy (something the government should be doing, but they're not).

Awsome shots!!

There some talk about low levels here. http://flyfishcalgary.com/board/index.php?...ic=8534&hl= Most of the water that should be in the Oldman at Lethbridge has gone to fill reservoirs for irrigators. There is a week long survey about the Oldman River Watershed here: http://www.oldmanbasin.org/IWMPSurvey.html You guys are users of the water... if you want beter instream flows for fisheries management, now's your chance to have a say. Maybe the dams should be operated as the gov't said they would in these reports. Upstream of all dams, well its gonna be a hard year... how do you balance what fish need with what residents "need" to use, with what irrigators think they deserve.

These are from your neck of the woods, Cuttbow... We scared decent sized bows off them too.

Hit quite a few little creeks over the past couple of days... saw at least a dozen redds and 4-5 with rainbows/cutts still actively on them. If you can, avoid walking in the stream... its been a stupid water year already, we don't need to lose a bunch of trout eggs. Oh and you can still see the redds on the Crow... watch where you step.

Love the report!! Looks like you guys had a great time. Thanks for not naming the locations, its a beautiful area... even though the trout are barely half the size of Bow trout!!!

Under-staffed, under-payed, over-worked. It takes years for a health fish population (and inverts) to establish. It takes dollars and years of research to determine if the desired result occured (desired results change also). Plus things get forgotten and left behind... there is always urgent pressing work, no time to monitor things already done. And to top it off... governments (ministers, deputies, managers) change with changing priorities which put some things on the backburner.

This is what I love about the Oldman... Look at how its being operated... poorly! The reservoirs are full, sure, but no freshet this year, except for a small spike that could have promoted spawning on areas now dry. AND if we get a big run-off in the next couple of weeks we'll have a late flood possibly sending all the hatched out fry down to Medicine Hat. http://www.environment.alberta.ca/apps/bas...amp;DataType=10 How is that supporting a good fishery and where is the government? Maybe its time to send letters (again for some of us) to the auditor general. We need to push both federal (DFO, Environment Canada, and Auditor) and provincial (AENV, SRD and auditor)... and why didn't the media pick up on the Auditor generals stuff? I guess its not as sexy as isotopes. Fishing isn't great below the dam. The drawdowns create a reservoir with no growth in the litoral zone, so not much for fish... plus huge sections of river are flooded or mud flats depending on the time of year. If we're stuck with the damn, I at least want a tailwater fishery. Plus... shouldn't tourism be important... think of the dollars that FF tourists could bring in. Of course, we'd have to know how many guides there were and maybe charge a little more for out of Alberta residents (but that's a different topic).

Don't get a new line yet... the problem is with the casting and loading the rod... not the cost of the line. How much experience casting do you have? If you can hit the Northern Lights fly club and see if somebody else can try it and give you a lesson. Try slowing down your stroke and applying less power... let the rod do the work, it might change how it feels. The other thing is... a heavier line will load the rod at a shorter distance... if a lighter line is used, you casting stroke has to be good to prevent the line from collapsing before you get the distance to load the rod. If the rod feels sluggish when casting if you put a heavier line on, you'll only make it worse. But a heavier line might make closer fishing easier (it will load the rod to cast those short casts). And if you do get the Rio Grand you don't have to get a weight up... a 5 Rio grand is actually a 5.5 or 6 (closer to 6wt).

Psuedo, I did say "unauthorized"... Typically before 2004 most streams you could string wire across were considered Not Navigable. That changed when Transport Canada took over the program. Now, even Mosquito Creek near Nanton is Navigable, and therefore any obstruction that is not approved by Navigable Waters and not appropriately signed is considered illegal. I don't agree with it, but the rule are rules, until somebody with some time and money challenges them (like the Alberta Government). Anybody can call Nav Waters to check if wire is legally strung. And my original point was that navigable waters are for boating (federal rules). Non nav waters are fine to be fenced (through Alberta gov contacts) but the point is walking access is maintained (Alberta rules). Unless the proper approvals come from the federal government on fencing a Navigable stream, they aren't proper and any person can complain (petty complaints from neighbours most of the time). If there were no sign indicating an obstruction ahead and offering a portage, then that obstruction was not approved by Nav Waters... And when some kid on a tube or in a kayak floats down and gets hung up on the wire, that landowner is completely liable. As for the Township lines, I said "many". Some of the right of ways have been traded. Some have been moved due to grade or access obstruction. Yes, many are leased (most aren't marked and assumed to be private property). I also said talk to the landowner first. I'm a landowner (not an outside of Calgary acreage landowner)... I don't like the access rules. I have kids partying and broken bottles and big fires. Unfortunately it is a kayak takeout at the end of the RoW... and even though the road isn't on the real RoW, to fight the MD and the public would be a bad situation. Rec Access to Public Land http://srd.alberta.ca/lands/recreation/acc...t.aspx#location This provides info on accessing public lands and contact info for landowners and conditions. Otherwise call the MD office: http://www.aamdc.com/index.php?option=com_...&Itemid=290 As for appearences... I'm too dark to be a born and bred Albertan , I drive a car to most places I fish, and I don't look like a rancher when I fish, but I've never had a bad experience based on that. Although some redneck punk tried to run me off the road between Cremona and Sundre about 10 years back... I just assumed he was part of the Terry Long fanclub, but maybe he was sick of city lookin' folk slowing down as they crossed trout streams along 22.

Very common to get them in the Crowsnest area and in Waterton Park. Had 3 last week in the Pass... none in the skin yet this year. Only a couple in the skin... vaseline (or other oil) works well and a match worked on the one in my arm. Scared me to have 2 last month while I was in Virginia... better chance of getting Lyme. Also gotta be carefull of Rocky Mountain Spotted fever.... I can't remember if one is spread only through wood ticks or both wood and deer? I always get them off trail while following an animal track. Just check after a day on the trails and you should be fine... Not a tick to spread vaseline on...

Cliff replaced mine that broke (middle hinge on the Super Day's Worth)... I lat them know and they sent me a replacement right away. Very good to deal with!

Guito can get them in (limited selection in Alberta, otherwise)... Great boxes, I've been using the Bugger Barn and a Super Day's Worth along side my SA slit foam box.

Talk to the landowner first... I doubt they own the rights to bed and bank (shore). 2 things: 1. Navigable doesn't mean you can walk up the stream. If a stream is navigable, you have the right to FLOAT down with out encountering an unauthorized manmade obstruction. Wire strung across a navigable stream is illegal. You have to call Transport Canada to find out if a stream is navigable (Only a Navigable Waters Protection Officer can determine whether something is navigable or not), but generally if you can float a canoe down it, it is navigable. (Federal Legislation: Navigable Waters Protection Act) 2. The stream could be owned by the Provincial Government as Public Land. Most Permenant watercourses (streams, creeks, rivers) are owned in title by the crown. The title normally refers to Bed and Banks... which is loosely defined as all of the substrate and up to the normal highwater mark (imagine where terrestrial vegetation starts to grow). It is this title that allows an angler to WALK along the stream, as long as they don't leave the highwater mark. There are some landowners that own bed and bank.... longtime landowners such as the McKintyre Ranch in S. Alberta. Generally these landowners have had the property passed down throiugh inheritance from when it was deeded to them by the Crown. This is very rare! but you have to do a title search to find out what land is deeded (contact SRD- Public lands for more info). A creek can have both, one, or none of these points apply. There are many small creeks that are owned by the Crown, that are not navigable so they can be fenced, but you CAN walk up them. There are also rivers in Canada that you can float down, but you can't step foot on the bed without trespassing. You also have the right to follow many township and range lines to a watercourse (When split up, public road allowances were created to access each quarter section). You can google Alberta township system for more info. Eitherway, those above points won't stop birdshot if a landowner thinks you're trespassing.

I don't like anything east of Hwy 22.

http://www.agsbrands.com/suncare.html Aloe Gator 40+ Used it in Cuba... put it on in the morning, after snorkelling and hours in the sun the only thing to burn was my ever growing bald spot that I didn't lube up. Great stuff... it's what the divers and surfers use, it should be fine for fishing. On top of that I have a couple of the Buff scarves... good for when my neck and ears are feeling toasty when I don't have suncreen.

The Alberta gov't dropped the ball on the Oldman Dam. The Fisheries Act had been handled by the province, including fish ladders, habitat loss, etc. DFO moved inland largely because the Federal gov't took the responsibility back.

Bad idea for the Bow (d/s from any urban center). While it will kill viruses and bacteria, there is alot of chemical contaminates that the Steri-pen won't touch. See the topic about eating fish from the Bow: Edible Fish Plus, you'd need a filter to take out physical contaminates like sediment. You can really only treat relatively clean water with any confidence.

Xplorer, I think we've had these talks on here before. I think there should be designated trails for OHV use and areas that are off-limits. I don't agree on banning anything outright, but I don't agree with no-holds-bar sacrifice areas fro OHV use. Sacrifice areas should be limited to industial sites and very predisturbed areas such as gravel pits. You compare OHV use to fishing... there are regulations governing our fishing. We can't fish certain areas at certain times. We can't use certain gear or methods. We have limits to what we take. When caught, we get fined for breaking regulations. How does that compare? There are no OHV regulations. The Habitat protection measures in the Fisheries Act (federal) don't apply to recreational users. THey can go where they want when thay want for as long as they want. I've worked with the Quad squad... I also know that a lot of OHV guys hate them and actively avoid using the bridges they are putting in (too small for trucks anyways). So close a ford with a bridge and then somebody else makes a new ford... plus the trail improvements open more access. The middle ground would be to regulate OHV use, restrict some areas, put timing restrictions in place, charge a crownland access fee, and start enforcing existing and new rules. Education doesn't stop poachers... fines do. Same rules, fair treatment, that's all I'm asking.

Andy, I've seen more damage to the east slopes from a few weekends, than caused by a couple of years of O&G use. Yes, logging looks bad, causes horrible open areas, changes hydrology, etc. Yes O&G cuts trails, clears well pads, opens access, and pollutes. Yes, roads are horrible (they allow rec users into the mountains). I'd prefer no industrial use in the east slopes at all. Period. (I think industrial use is improving, and the landscape is recovering good... I just wish the use would stop so the land could recover all the way. There are a lot of old mines, cut blocks, and dams in the S east slopes that most people would think are "pristine" sites.) While industry does have an impact, they do have rules they follow (should follow, but don't always) to minimize their damage they could cause, while still making a profit (and a product demanded by society.... a mostly urban society). Off-Highway-Vehicle use... well they don't stay on trails, they don't follow timing windows, they don't leave buffers for the streams, they don't reclaim anything, they don't hire consultants to work to minimize their impacts, etc, etc... do I need to go on? OHV use has no rules and a dumb entitlement mentality, where they can do anything they want and go anywhere. A few ignorant, delinquent, and/or malicious individuals will always choose to run the deer down; to wash their truck in the creek; to see who can make the biggest rut; to chose to drive through the creek instead of use the bridge; to get stuck just to get pulled out and get stuck again; to leave their trash for others to clean up; to cut new trails and keep old ones open. What makes all of those worse? Thousands of OHV's each summer. There is no place too far for OHV in Alberta while there is still more money than brains (by far not most of the riders). Why should we have sacrifice areas in clean ecologically-fragile places instead of old gravel pits and places closer to the city where OHV's can tear up what they want? Why do their rights to destroy supersede my rights to clean water, a quiet trail, wildlife, and an intact (as can be) ecosystem? A hiker has to pay to go to a place (a National Park) to get away from motorized traffic now... how is that fair?

The plants don't take a lot of pharmeceuticals out of the water... There has been some recent work done with fish species changing gender or having both, as well as looking at different hormones in the water. http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/stor...232/?hub=Health http://www2.canada.com/victoriatimescoloni...c83&k=42053 http://www.ec.gc.ca/INRE-NWRI/default.asp?...13&toc=show

I certainly don't mean to belittle the risk (I'm a certified Swift water resuce tech and I'd recomend all anglers of rivers take the training), but I also (poorly) wanted to make a point that you can avoid pretty much all of the deaths... no booze, proper equipment, buddy system, and training (of course it's do as I say not as I do... ). I think the media may tend to blow things out of preportion though, and I'd hate to see a push for regulations that take away freedoms... like wearing a pfd while wading or No wading in certain places at times.