Harps

Yes I agree there are more anglers visiting Montana, and when I fish there there is more crowding on the big well known rivers (but you can get away around a corner), and the smaller waters are wide open. Much the same as here, people go to the big names first... one reason why naming spots on the internet is bad. It's fine for the number of anglers to increase, but density increases could be a problem for fish and for the experience. I don't really fish to just catch fish, I like to get away from society and have a bit of quiet where I can put myself on the most basic level of human existance... predator looking for prey. Crowding is an issue when the quality of the angling experience is negatively affected... Like when you can't park at an access, cause there are too many cars, or somebody runs from a group of campers to claim a pool that you are moving upstream into, the kid sat there with a rod, smacking the water while his dad geared up and sauntered over to the pool from his trailer (both have happened to me, and I would have smacked the twirp if I could have crossed the river). I promote fly fishing and will bring as many people into, and teach them my ethics (okay I'm perfect, but others can strive for perfection too... ). I hope people that I teach will strive to find waters of their own, and have the experienc of "discovering" their own fly fishing paradise. I hope they don't have to fly into the NWT to do it though. I think (as usual ) we're on the same page... Licensing guides is good, fly fishing make people better, a good fishing experience is relative to what you know. I'm going for another coffee. Brother's wedding tomorrow, another weekend with limited fishing time, and I'm grumpy.

Hey Rick, there are many great fly fishing guides. There are many great guides that use other gear. But there are quite a few (not always flyfishing and not always trout fishing guides) that don't care. Plus the guides can't watch everything their clients do. now don't get me wrong, I think the individuals are great and likely very conservation minded.... but things add up. Couple of quick things> 2006 Montana had less than 950,000 population (under 430,000 homes), less than the population of Calgary. 148,000 sq miles.> 6.4 people/sq. mi Alberta 3.5 mil people- 255,000 sq miles> 13.7 people/sq. mi Guides must be licenced in Montana (plus they have an excellent fisheries managment branch). I would argue the majority of fly anglers in Alberta are in the bottom 1/4 of the province, concentrated along the eastslopes. The rest are on lakes looking for walleye, pike, and lakers. Estimated last in 2002 at 375,000 anglers in Alberta (how hard is it to even get recent data on licenses sold, let alone senior and child anglers!?!). There is good trout fishing throughout Montana. Montana also keeps track of fishing (logs), does angler satisfaction surveys, will shut down streams because of temperature, limits guide days on some rivers (such as the Big Hole and Beaverheads), and knows that there is a BIG income from maintaining quality fishing. Alberta has oil, and fishing for oil workers when they're not working. Alberta has not been a paradise since before I was born (although growing up fishing alone was great). We are smart enough to manage things properly, though, and we should be doing the best we can to identify problems and come up with solutions, before its too late.

Didymo is native to many streams here in Alberta... Clean your gear before you go to a different watershed. I have a pair of the Cloudveil 8X stealth boots, with the rubber soles. Great boots, I use them when I fish the US. I think I've posted this here before... The FFF has a good page about cleaning your gear. and http://www.fedflyfishers.org/Default.aspx?tabid=4378 There is also a good US page at http://www.protectyourwaters.net/ Wasn't there was something in the past about the ACA setting up cleaning stations at certain rivers, using license money? Or that it was suggested to the ACA, but they decided against it?

I agree with Don, And overall I think guides need to be licensed, at a minimum, so we know how many there are. The fee would be the licence costs (commercial users in public lands have to pay for lease and use applications, why not guides?). How come some of the most fished areas are areas with loggers and ranchers?? The Bow, the Crow, Stauffer, the whole eastslopes... the resource industry and multi-use crown lands have kept the areas from being turned into housing developments. Its too bad we are now losing our ranchlands now. Complaints from those areas are most always about other anglers, whether poaching, litter, or lack of etiquette. How many fish die from release? How many fish are mis-handled (I've seen lots, from guides and clients)? How much litter is left behind? How many of those clients go back later on their own... increasing crowding? And make no mistakes, you can keep fish with some guides> its not all floating down the Bow polietly releasing the occasional fish- Its hard hitting everyday, everywater with as many clients as possible> its how you make a living. If handling mortality is as low as 1%, How many guides, have how many clients, on how many waters?? How many dead fish that the public paid for and the guides got paid to fish? Its about cumulative effects, and we now have too many people in Alberta using the same resources. Without some sort of limiting system, or a fund to maintain the resources, we are going to loose it.

A number of court cases have determined that native rights to hunting and fishing have to be tied to a practice/element/custom/tradition integeral to the distinctive culture of the people claiming rights in the area. (Although tribes here were nomadic, they may have had fishing areas). Long point short... The band on the St. Mary is Kainai... traditionaly using bison... I don't think rainbow trout were every used there... especially scince there were no trout in that river (there) before they built the dam. If it was sportfishing... it was poaching. If it was domestic... well, the courts would have to decide if that incident was within the traditional rights. While were are on the poaching topic....

Yes and CNN has so much more class... http://www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/nancy.grace/ I hate Nancy Grace Oh and they have a link to the bigfoot story too... in their breaking US news story section. On http://www.cnn.com/US/ American media sux. (So does most media)

I have the rose Maui Jim lens... love them though I'm wary of the plastic frames/arms. Excellent contrast!! http://www.mauijim.com/webapp/wcs/stores/s...ogy.html_4__N_N Costa del Mars are supposed to be good for fishing too. http://www.costadelmar.com/ http://www.kaenon.com/home.cfm Another high quality lens Ocean Waves http://www.oceanwaves.com/index.asp You only have 2 eyes... and you really do need both. Get the best lenses and protection you can afford. I have a pair of H3O's... they don't compare to the MJs. My last pair were Bolles, good but not as good as the Bolles.

Good luck on the insurance stuff. Lucky you never had fishing stuff in it... Did you ever get the box back that you lost on the Crow?

That really sucks Stephen!! hopefully somebody just needed it for a short ride to somewhere. Not much of a welcome week to Calgary. Have you got out fishing?

It's the ability to walk to a lake like this that keeps fly-fishing from being an elitist hobby (or from becoming more of one)... If these don't smack of elitism... nothing does! More readily available info: ***Don't get me wrong, everybody has a right to make money , I just think resources belong to the commons. If its hard to get there, fine, money pays the way... but if somebody is willing to put in the effort to fish an excellent lake (that is far from a secret), so be it. Oh and Dave's had some trouble with float planes at Fortress too, according to his blog... http://flyfishalberta.blogspot.com/2008/07...name-is_15.html

That lake has had the sh!t publicized out of it. How many fly fishing shows, tons of websites... if somebody wants to walk there... they will, although most internet fishers won't get of their butts to make the trip. Others will pay the money and we'll see more dumb air traffic in the mountains... better at Fortress than other nice hike into fishing lakes in Alberta. Good quality info on hiking is more about safety than show and tell (you do need a boat to get the phenomenal fishing). The posts here are good and may prevent beginner hikers from getting into trouble. Excellent post rehsifylF.

Yes Although... if you are floating feet first and are fairly flexable, you could point your toes upstream while facing downstream... heel first floating. If you are wading across, wade upstream, because if you reach a point where you can't go any farther, its easier to go back, angled downstream.

Neutral density... that's what you are when you have your waders full of water. Float in a sitting position, with your feet pointed downstream to help bounce you off of rocks. Use your arms to direct yourself. Stand when you are shallow enough that you stop moving (near shore or in a riffle). A wader belt will help prevent water from completely filling your waders, but eitherway it'll be awkward to manouver. You can control your drift though. http://www.sexyloops.com/articles/killerwader.shtml AND Take a swift water safety course. http://www.abcanoekayak.org/safety/rescue_swift.asp?s=3 (I took one this June with Inside Out Experience, very good course) The best bet is... not to wade over you thighs in flowing water and never wade over you knees upstream of a water hazard (logjam, waterfall, dam, weir, rapid, etc). It also helps to have a wading staff.

I've seen pike running rapids... same place I saw steelhead, chinooks, SM+LM bass, and panfish. The pike were moving up the creek from boulder to boulder resting in the pocket behind the rock.

Samuraifly mentioned Sexyloops.... you can't beat the casting instruction there. Best in the world. Movies, good descriptions, trouble shooting, etc Plus the founder will be in Calgary on September 6th with some time for a lesson. He gave a demo in Lethbridge for a lucky bunch of casters a year ago... absolutely brilliant! Some on this board (Dryfly, ADC, myself, Lethfisher, Guito) were there and I know I learned more then nearly 10 years of making it up on my own. If you can't take a lesson (best option)... Sit down for a while with the sexyloops website and make the movements with no rod. There is alot of science and theory behind casting, but it all becomes second nature pretty quick. Also, expect to lose flies. If dries aren't gettng stuck in undercuts and nymphs aren't hanging up on the bottom, you're not fishing where the fish are. If the flies are snapping off when you are casting, you need to slow down and let that line fully straighten out behind you. Too much power, too soon will cause the line to react like snapping a whip, in which case, you'll lose flies. You don't want to be using your wrist to move the flyrod, think of it like throwing a football... smooth arm action first which blends smoothly into a wrist snap at the end. Smooth application of power, accelerating until the end where you have to remember to Stop the movement. Anyways, it be easier for you to read it and watch it on Sexyloops or have somebody show you in person. Hopefully you'll also have a chance to go out with a few of the fine folks on the board.

I've useed the gurgler with great success on Bass waters in ontario. Also on FAOL I add rubber legs (tied in x, like a hopper). There's also a big section on poppers at FAOL here: http://www.flyanglersonline.com/features/panfish/part91.php and: http://www.flyanglersonline.com/flytying/f.../102404fotw.php

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/200...wn.html?ref=rss

Too many!!!

Wouldn't work very well... the pulsations required to bring fish in would definately fib the heart... not just maybe. Oh, and 3 of my brothers are cops and one sister-in-law... If somebody pulls a knife on them or refuses to drop a WEAPON... they deserve what is coming, whether it is a mostly non-lethal tazer shot (yes my brothers elected to get hit with a taser during training) or something that is generally always lethal (bullet). I don't care who that person is, like mentioned before you DO NOT refuse to give up a WEAPON when an Officer of the law tells you to. Period.

Check this out for a good lesson and pantomine of double hauling. http://www.sexyloops.com/flycasting/contents.shtml I'll also echo what Castuserraticus said... Knowing how to cast distance is very important and fundemental to bettering yourself as a flyfisher. You never know when you'll need that extra drift... or when you need the length of line to lay on the water for a downstream presentation... or that reach around that boulder... etc. (or getting past the weeds at Bullshead) Practice, practice, practice For those that disagree... Why would you buy a fast car if you drive around the speed limit most of the time?

I don't know if anybody is allowed to anymore??

It is illegal to drink on public land unless it is a temporary residence (camp). It is also illegal to drink and boat in Alberta. Alcohol and boating don't mix. You can wait till you are done to drink... there are too many alcohol related drowning as it is.

It's never okay to crose private land without the landowners consent, unless there is a marked access there. Stick to the road allowance to the highwater mark, or talk to the landowner.

Mix Detol and baby oil... works great, but you have to mind the sun.

Tako, You working SRD up in NW Alberta??