Harps

Pentax P&S Camera's (Waterproof ones) have an excellent macro function! These are quaility reduced older pictures from my web album: W10 W60 What you don't get is the high quality bokeh (background blur) that you would get with a dedicated macro lens on a DSLR body (preferably a longer lens). You also have to be really close to your subject! To get into that type of picture you need a decent SLR, a good long (over 100mm) lens, and should have a tripod. This will easily run you into the $1000s and you won't likely have it for as many oportunities as you would a P&S in your pocket. These are 15 yr old shots with my SLR... sorry they are bad scans: You should be able to get a good Pentax W60 online for a good price! BTW if anybody finds a pentax 200mm Macro in the Allison Creek area, please return it to me... It's been missing for a few years.

That looks like a very nice pack! I should have gone that route instead of a dedicated flyfishing pack! I think the dryearth camo and Unicam would bland very well into those banks above the big browns in southern Alberta.

I think sparkle can imitate that air bubble trapped by an insects 'hairs'. Sparkle and flash can also give the illusion of movement. There is a place for it. Tie flies with and without it... if the ones without aren't working, try the ones with. Too much flash can scare fish, but it can also cause an aggressive strike.

Your tires connect your car to the road... They are the critical peice of equipment while driving, especially in the winter. No comparison between all season and winter rated tires. BTW 4x4 with out ice rated tires, just means that you have 4 tires that can screw you over. 4x4 has nothing to do with driving on icy roads. Yes, you can get out of snow, but like Ryan pointed out you need tires that stay soft in colder temps and tires that move water out from under you tires fast! It is the thin layer of water on the ice that causes slippery conditions and winter rated, and especially ice rated tires deal with that. Winter tires should be mandatory. If you have the time take a winter driving course with Allen Berg in Calgary. I recommend this course to everybody! Absolutely amazing course, lots of fun and a great experience!!! Learn how to drive your own car on an ice track!

Or I could just have said... Suck it up, Princess... Guides have a great job doing what they love to do. It's a lifestyle choice over money, and if they don't like it they should just quit and leave the whinning to the people who don't have the time to fish because they don't have the skill to be guides and have to sit in an office (or on a rig) to make a living.

Geez... I'm not saying guides make tons of money, just that it is tied to the resource. I realize many guides think they do it for the sport and lifestyle... and I'm sure they realize they shouldn't be in it for money, but people generally put in as little effort possible to make the most money they can. If lifestyle wasn't an imporant part of it, everybody would have sold out all the good spots on the river and you would find guides taking clients everywhere (that couldn't happen, could it?)... Of course guides from BC are coming here because they have to for the $$, as they don't have rod days left in their own province. (BTW the income that was posted (not by me) is well over the poverty line. You must have missed my starting a fight thingy which should have indicated more sarcasm. I have no real clue what I guide makes, but I was curious.) I didn't want this to get into a guiding direction... but, well you can see above. My point was that guides are the perfect venue to teach anglers ethics and ettiquite on the river. (it was buried in there, but addresses the first post about ettiqute) Brian, I'm sure that sports with you learn a ton after a trip. I'm sure that with most guides the sports are better off. BUT there are many guides that just have a summer off and decide to accept money to take people to fishing holes. If guides have to pay taxes (same as everybody else) why not have those taxes go back to the fishery. I'm not saying charge guides a "royalty" to use the resource. I'm saying register the guides so we know haw many there are and where they operate, and ensure that they are qualified... just like Montana does (and there is no guide hardships down there... in fact Montana guides are operating in Alberta on at least 2 Rivers... as are BC guides on many rivers in the Crowsnest Pass). And, the only posts that go anywhere are hijacked posts.

Okay... all of the money made guiding is made on the basis of pursuing prey that is a public resource. Plus- $50-60k a year for only 100 days work is a lot of money to the majority of Canadians. I know guiding isn't a big money maker for Albertans, especially relative to our lifestyle and expectations with O&G money floating around. Point being that a guide assn or business taxes from guiding should go towards conservation and enforcement. That could happen if guides were recognized in the province. There are a lot of uneducated assholes abusing the resource, some of them guides; the rest of us assholes could benefit if anglers were being taught right.

My last letter to the minister on this subject (pressure)... Sent in early 2008. Outside of sites like this, guides are in an excellent position to teach people proper ethics around fishing. Maybe we need a better system of regulating the "teachers"? Maybe everybody here should send a letter to the minister asking for their suggested solutions?

Hey Midgetwaiter, How did this turn out??

I won't be able to go.

You can get the WJ stuff at wholesale, and cheap too (relative to bass pro and online). I think Westwinds has it too? I lik ethe simms backpack and the WJ mag line chest packs.

Thanks for the reminder!! Brook trout should be on Redds right now (getting started), so watch out in those small streams (except Taco who will drag his feet through them). Bulls are also on redds now (or just about done). Here are a couple of older picts (sorry, no time to dig for betters) Bulls: Brookies: Browns: Rainbows: CutBows:

Love this post... I missed this forum! Freestone, send me a PM and we can discuss the problem you saw last fall. Not enough people complain to the gov't (at all levels) and the lack of issues(?!?) and general atmosphere has resulted in a cut of enforcement in Alberta. People should have been asking about every small issue, wondering if things were going to be fixed, following up with each complaint, and commending folks that try to do right. The actions of the government reflect the overall majority of folks in the country (unfortunately the majority are oblivious, don't care, or prefer cash over enviro). Now it's too little too late.

Rick, Sundance, and I pretty much agreeing in the same thread!?! Wow Mike, folks become muzzled as soon as they start working for the gov't.

Two or three pelicans and 30 fishermen in tubes, and how many on the shore?? Do we need a float tube hunting permit too.... Clive, there are hundreds of reasons for a year of low catch rates, from weather to food availablility, to habitat changes, and fishing pressure. Pelicans might be one factor on a river, but by and large they are going to target easy fish (schools of fish that they can round up and scoop). I don't think the pelicans are an issue to trout populations on any of our rivers (and I say that with all the confidence I can in my position). Plus we all know, gov't employees lose the ability to effectively fish (or determine real fish populations) as soon as they call themselves managers, especially those from SRD.

I like the natives... Actually I think I was just having a bad day and had to yell.... I'm off to England this week so that should fix the nerves!!

People cause the issue with fisheries... not cormorants. They are not a danger to our fisheries and only a danger to fish farms 'cause that is a situation with tons of fish piled in a small tank with no cover. They kill much less riparian vegetation than people do to build big usless houses with a view (in the floodplain). They don't clean out lakes (less than the bait fishermen and rec anglers harvest). THey were here first and part of a balanced ecosystem. From an earlier rant of mine: We have screwed the ecosystem and continue to screw it with bandaid mis-management. For some reason folks still think it's easier to manage fish and wildlife rather than the people using the resources. Less harvest, less riparian and instream destruction, less chemical impacts, etc will go alot further than oiling the eggs in a hundred cormorant nests while letting people cut the neighbouring trees down and harvest the fish that the cormorants never got. I know some folks on here will disagree... so bring it!

I didn't see any lights around Lethbridge from 11:30 to 1AM. I'll try again tonight... its supposed to be better.

The dark line on the forecast page indicates where the lights can be seen above the horizon... they should see them all the way into Great Falls on wed and thurs. You should see them in Calgary, but you may have to get into a dark area though. Everybody in the green area highlighted area should see them almost straight up! In August, 2001 they were visible (even looking south) from Beaver Mines. Straight above there was a dark patch and the lights seemed to come (or go to) that spot. Red, blue and green, it was really creepy, but made for great photos!

There is a cool northern lights forecast page from Alaska here: http://www.gedds.alaska.edu/auroraforecast/ Activity is suposed to peak on Wednesday and Thursday nights (visible low in the sky from dark areas near Calgary). It was cool to see how acurate it was while living in Alaska.

Thanks Mike! No rush or real importance (I'm out of Canada till September anyways).

Hey Smitty, Did you ever come up with a summary of the issue? I've had a number of people complain to me about guides down south here (I think cause other areas were blown out). There were also a ton of BC plated vehicles with groups fishing near by...

Come on Dean... we know that is a brood fish from Nick Sheran in Lethbridge. I hope the location is never announced, but it will come out I'm sure when the record is made official. I have a suspiction it was in one of my "secret rivers" (It starts with a B and rhymes with rOW).

Dave was great to deal with. It was quick to have them shipped (customs screwed us on the second set)- but I can't recall exactly how long (it was a few years ago). We've got the Skykomish Sunrises with the platform- great boats! River or Lake use?

Chinook Waters Fly Fishing Club will host it in Lethbridge!!