wtforward

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.

Hi Don I get 3.73' on the 6 wt is my math wrong? Thks

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.

For the top dry/nymph can you not use barb pressed down or almost filled off but leave enough of a bump to stop bottom leader fron sliding off ? Not interested in getting into the whole barb/barbless definition.

Can someone post directions off Deerfoot if coming from Red Deer ? Thks

From what I understand J P is part of the Fed and closed the Bear deal at around $2.00 a share. Now trading around $8.00. 400% not bad. That is what is really sad.

Been following the back and forth between GB and Andersen and if nothing else it shows how the Klein + years have thrown away years of hard work through the slash and burn of the various departments especially fish and wildlife. It is like aging a good bottle of wine and then throwing it on the floor. There seems to be very little interest in providing budget funds so that this important monitoring can be undertaken again and if it were to start it would be 5 -10 years before the data would be useful to indentify problems. Hell they don't even have potable water mapped out which impacts far more Albertans than a spring creek. The recent election shows how happy Albertans are with the current rule and Ed himself intrepreted the 61% that stayed home as people that were happy with things the way they are and that is why they didn't vote! So..... following Ed's logic they should be campaigning in the next election to have 1% vote Conservative and have the other 99% stay home and intrepret that as everyone being estatic with their rule. I do agree with GB. If you are looking to science to explore solutions to a problem you need good benchline data from which to start. Anything else from a result standpoint will not stand the test of peer review. It is peer review that provides the credibility to move to the next stage...what ever that may be. My 10 cents. PS... How many on this site voted and for which party? Someone should run a poll. Second thought cancel that. We all know the value of polls.

Dryfly......"We are NUTS to give away the resources to outsiders." ?? The province is following the same policy as for oil and gas and most Albertans (the one that vote anyway) don't seem to mind.

Another problem or change I see today is people taking up permanent residence at pools. It helps if everyone gives pools there best shot with consideration to time in mind and other fisherman following then move on. That can help greatly in keeping everyone on the move an can reduce leap frogging. I have encountered three to four consecutive pools all taken up by fisherman and finally gave up trying to leave pools for the front guy. After a considerable amount of time had passed (hrs) and working my way back done stream had discovered the same guys still occupying the spot(s). It looks almost like learned behaviour out of the steelhead community. Hole hogging is bad form. I carry copies of a flyfishing etiquette write up in my vest. I got it off a Montana site which was developed to handle pressure on some of there better know streams. If I run into a potential confrontation I offer it up if the person(s) is interested. If not that is fine and I just move on. Not everyone getting into the sport is aware of the 'consideration for others' side of the sport and usually are eager to learn. Then there are the others........!

Anybody have specific directions off Deerfoot as to were the Spey casting school will be held? I know it is by a dog walking area around Southland Dr. S.E. ? How do I get there if I was coming from the South on Deerfoot? I am from out of town. Thks Tim