wtforward

I don't know if it applies but you get what you pay for and that includes product knowledge. I don't think eyes glaze over with the same degree of frequency in the smaller independent stores as the big box retailers. Maybe it will level out with the recession.

No question you have to wonder what Harper was thinking but stick your hand in a beehive and your going to get stung. What would you expect the other parties to do...lay down ? Reverse the tables - do you think the Conservative would have acted any different. Not likely. Coalition governments do work although the separtists component may make it interesting. But if any province Alberta included wants to be independent in these times or anytime going forward have at it and lots of luck because your are going to need it. I personally would not have a problem with Dion for five months until either Ignatieff or Rae become the new Liberal leader. Seeing another side of the real Harper and you want to give this guy a majority. Be careful of what you wish for. If you really want to look who really calls the shots look south. I don't know if it matters who is in power. We are not going anywhere until our neighbor to south's economy improves and when that will happen is anyone guess.

Brian I think that possibility was put to Ron Stevens (Deputy Premier) by some scribe writing for the Sun awhile back. The answer was basically ' a snow ball's chance in hell'. With no opposition in the legislature they can pretty well do what they want.

Hi Gordon You are right it can become (is) addictive. For me it is not so much the catching of fish as it is such an efficient way to get the line out there. Not to say it replaces SH casting but I look for ever opportunity to try a spey instead. The tackle is another issue and I won't go there but to say I have promised myself that a rod must be sold before acquiring another and I never break a promise to myself....ever...ever.

Another great resource is Barry Mitchell's fishing guide. See what the guide has to say about your inclinations.

You know you have made the 'Bigs' when Bass Pro comes a callin

For those interested just in from another site http://wlapwww.gov.bc.ca/ske/qws/ Scroll down about a third and download the report if interested. The meat of the report can be gleaned from pages 5 to about 19 apparently. Looks like being a non resident is really going to hurt. Might have considered relocating to BC if the damn economy had not tanked.

I agree with Brian. I have a skagit setup on the Loop Multi and with my limited ability would say it is a great rod to cast. You could not go wrong owning one. If you ever get a chance give the rod a go ..you won't be sorry.

For those that haven't read: THE DEPT OF DEFENSE BRIEFED THE PRESIDENT THIS MORNING. THEY TOLD BUSH THAT 2 BRAZILLIAN SOLDIERS WERE KILLED IN IRAQ. TO EVERYONE'S SURPRISE, ALL THE COLOR DRAINED FROM BUSH'S FACE. THEN HE COLLAPSED ONTO HIS DESK, HEAD IN HIS HANDS, VISIBLY SHAKEN, ALMOST IN TEARS. FINALLY HE COMPOSED HIMSELF AND ASKED, "JUST HOW MANY IS A BRAZILLIAN?"

Good for you Gordon....Hope we can afford you after you get certifide. Best of luck!

Not to hijack or wade in but for those who would like a break from tying this winter I encourage you to try a locate a copy of ....here it goes... "How the Rich are Destroying the Earth" by Herve' Kempf. Was orginally only available in French but is now available in English. Google provides lots of hits. Quick read. I have no financial interest whatsoever in the book but it sure can shake or provide some balance into what you may think and no it has not made it to Ohra's must read list yet. Cheers

Hey Greg Not speaking for Max but suggesting 'Certified' is not to the detriment of the other great casters you mentioned. But the certification does suggest a peer review from an 'ability to teach' which is as difficult if not more than the mechanics of spey casting. Not all great golf instructors are scratch golfers but I would bet they have some sort of professional certification. Don't you think it helps to legitimatize the instruction. I think I can show someone something but I don't know if I would hold my self out as a teacher without some kind of meaningful certification behind me....but that is just me. Hope to hear from you on the Spey get together.

And yes Don for the record you are getting old!

FNG I may have something similar going on right know. If you can't make a tight fist without experiencing some discomfort you might have inflamation on a tenon where it attaches to the elbow ( tennis elbow). Like others have said the only cure is rest. Failing that you can get a tensor bandage that straps around your upper arm in the sore area and cinch it down ( not to tight). That will keep the tenon from over working ( ie casting). You can also take Iboprofine 2 - 3 times a day until it subsides...check with your pharmacist. Good luck.

Glenbow Not to pile on..nice bulls by the way but sometimes for me I end up setting myself up by how I communicate. You initially posted .." had some fun today with Dekkard......." and the pics. Then the S**t hit the fan. Tako is definitely out of line how he addressed what he saw based on assumptions. Rule number 1 is don't make assumptions. But being we are all human that is what we do. What I find interesting is that later on based on some negative responses you decide to shed some more light on what was really going on. This spins the whole thing on a dime. I don't know you personally but you seem to be a stand guy and were not trying to set anybody up. What would have been the tone of the thread if you had of disclosed the volunteering with SRD in the first post ? Everybody would still be jealous as hell and that is great. If that wasn't possible thats OK but then there is going to be potential violation of rule number 1. Enough said...Nice that you volunteerd and nice fish. And yes if you are going to diss someone show some respect. Take care.

ATV's....The issue goes on adnauseam. First they need a place to ride and unfortunately that current place is almost everywhere. There is land use protection as Bob Scammell pointed out some time back under The Public Lands Act. But we all know there is no enforcement. You would think with the embarrassing surplus we are soon going to again discover that some of that surplus could be ponyed up for enforcement. Zero tolerance for those few causing the damage should be swift and severe. Read equipment confiscated and big fines period. I thought Morton was going to get a handle on ATV abuse after witnessing the MacLean creek fiasco. You can only hope. Doesn't the Streamwatch Program in the Blackstone area have any jurisdiction for reporting of environmental abuse ? Just for fun ....it should be mandatory that to qualify to own/ride an ATV you should have to pass some fitness test say walking the NorthRam from the 'Big Rock' to the forks and back with a 50# pack in say under 8 hours. Seriously though when you see it happening take a picture, get license, place, date if possible and send it to Morton. Pressure is the only way to get some changes. Don't give up. Complacency never won a battle. Anyone know of a Alberta board were a person could post links to say phot bucket which would catalog peoples experiences when they are out an about. I am sure it has already been tried but might be worth revisiting. Maybe we need a category on this site ? Legal issues ? We post our fishing outings c/w pictures why not the 'other side' on a 'Trash Alberta' site?

I like what he has anchored the flies in.

Just a question(s) Why would guides not want to be licensed ? What would be wrong with prominently displaying the registration number somewhere on the boat/cataraft etc so they can be identified thru some central register or Guide association. If guides earn a pittance how come there is so many ? Does anyone believe that another 25-50 guides working the river would not affect the quality of the fishing experience for others. See 'tradgety of the commons'. If I was a guide I would want you to know that I am licensed and who I am. If I have encroached on your fishing or offended you on the river I want to know and be held accountable otherwise why are we out there. I want to protect my business and reputation. Ebay feedback is great for that as an example. Lynn..no offense but finding someplace else to fish whether on the river or other places took a pretty good hit when the internet came into being. Not trying to rile anyone but the Bow specifically has not changed how it is managed since the population of Calagry was 400,000 + people if ever... and it is time. Maybe the real solution is a massive fish kill on the Bow. That would sort things out real quick.

UFA into the outdoor rec business...have not figured that one. I just don't equate a farm store into the outdoor fishing/camping end of things. A couple of local sport stores will be watching this one. Not suggesting that rural people do not fish or camp.

Sailz What is the matter with walking into the area(s) ?? The ATV pressure has generated considerable environmental concern and rightly so. So as someone else said leave the quads at home and consider walking, the area you pick will thank you for it.

A positive for high fuel prices is that some watersheds may see less pressure but seriously we had our chance back in the 70's to get off the oil addiction and we cast a blind eye and now we pay the piper. I don't think technology is going to bail us out on this one for one very important reason. Time. Anything that can ease the burden of fuel costs cannot be brought on stream fast enough and don't forget India and China are all trying to achieve our unstainable standard of living. There is nothing that we have that does not have some imprint of oil on it. How many things do you buy that are made overseas and what do you think they cost in freight (oil) to get here. At some point you would think the labour savings is being offset by the freight costs. So much for the global economy. Things we can do. Drive less, car pool, walk, bike etc. Think local economy say within 60 -100 mile radius. Reduce the love mile travelling. Consume less, if possible move closer to work. You don't want to be out in the Burbs..you can't afford it long term and you are going to take a hit on the value of your digs. Quite supporting the bottled water community. It takes 1/4 the volume of the bottle in oil to make the damn bottle and the water comes out of a tap. Oh and don't forget to get your firearms permit.....just kidding. The oil driven economy in Alberta really warps the optics of what is really coming down and it really should concern ever person living here.

Tbone Backs...what do you do and what works for some doesn't work for others. I have had a lower back issue for sometime. Years of playing squash took it's toll. You have had the diagonsis right ?...a scan or Mri. If not that is a possible starter. A book I have is entitled 'The Back Doctor' by Hamilton Hall. Well worth picking up if you would like to know more about types of back pain. The fix is as everyone has suggested is what ever works for you. I have tried accupuncture and it really helped to quiet down the back spasms. Once I got that under control I started a series or morning exercises everday ( lifestyle change) to maintain core muscles in the lower back. An equally important thing for me is to maintain a flexible stretching component as well. I took a yoga class for that and that has really helped to maintain flexibility in the hip flexors...which if very tight can contribute to significant lower back pain..especially if recovering from an injury. Just as a side note I sat on a ball at work for a year for stability exercise but gave up when I rolled the ball with me on it across and errant staple and it exploded. Luckily no back injury. If you want a yoga instructor who deals with back injury exercises send me a pm. It is about managing your particular situation and attitude is everything.

It certainly was an eye openner for Morton last year. The stupidity he witnessed was beyond belief. As to the comment 'have to change with the time' I think it is appropriate with the random camping. How do you expect to have enforcement with random camping ? At best it's pie in the sky. You would need a small army to enforce it. At best restrict random camping to small areas that can be easily enforced and put the rest into camp grounds were you have proper sanitary support. As to the ATV crowd it it is the old 80:20 rule. The Atv crowd should start to stand up to some of there own. Geez we all have cameras and cell phones that even work in some areas. Some of the crowd would not even be out there if they could not rip around on an Atv. Those machine do more erosion damage than my garden tiller. When you try to accommodate everyone you end up with some watered down regulations that satifys no one and still compromises the environment. I hope Morton gets it right and if that includes severe restriction on AtVs and randon camping great. The forests/streams sure could use the time to start healing. Our population has increased about 3% over last years to just under 3,500,000 people. Back country activities left unckecked is only going to get worse as we continue to rip up the province.

Looks interesting. What is size of engine ....gas mileage ???

Hey Maxwell Good post... A response that gives some general information but leaves the details to the fisherman to explore for themselves. Barry's guide is a great starting place. Sometimes is not all about catching the fish but the exploring that leads to the catching. Not looking to start anything just one of many points of view.