OneMoreLastCast

Good question, that not many people have the nerve to ask. The fact is that you will almost always have a "Loop" of line at your feet when you hook a fish Fly fishing, and you definitely want to use your reel to fight the fish. Hopefully this will help you. You always want to have "2 point contact" with the line, with the hand that you hold the rod with. What I mean is you want the line running through your hand looping over your Pinkie and back through your pointer fingers. I see new fly anglers only looping it through the pointer having only "1 point contact" with the line. This way, if you lose one point of contact, you will still have contact with the line so you can keep tension on the line for the fight. As far as keeping pressure on the fish, don't worry too much about getting the fish on the reel immediately. Keep the line tight and reel in the slack when you get the chance. Unless the fish is small, you will get plenty of opportunity to pick up the slack line and get the fish on the reel. With the bigger fish, you should have no problem getting them on the reel because they will usually take enough line to get themselves on the reel, and if, or when, they decide to hug the bottom, or just stop for a rest, you can pick up the slack then. If you don't get the fish on the reel, but land it, I'd say that's alright wouldn't you. With time, you'll have no problem getting to the reel, so don't rush it. This is another part of Fly fishing that you will get better at with practice. No offense to anyone out there, but you can often tell a newer, or less experienced angler by the fact they usually bring the fish in by hand, rather than with their reels. I wonder what the "Islander" or "Abel" fly reel companies think when they sponsor a fishing show and the people in the show bring in every fish by hand and never even use the reels. Showing that even some of the "Experts" on TV haven't learned how to get the fish on the reel, so don't feel too bad. Hopefully you hook into enough fish this summer to become a pro at it. One warning though. Watch the slack line never wraps completely around your finger. I was unlucky enough to witness this happen fishing for Steelhead and the guy had his finger "Skinned". Don't underestimate the fish on rivers here in Alberta, they have it in them to do the same. Now you've learned that there's a little more than just hooking the fish.....that's the easy part sometimes.

Vid Cap, not very good quality picture, top notch fish. K Lakes Cutty

Here's a couple of under water shots with the new camera from the weekend. I had to try it out and this was my only option. I only used the "Auto" setting and they turned out okay IMO. Can't wait to try it out on some fish. These are in our pool at home and the water is a little cloudy, but not bad. The kids think the camera is pretty cool. I see what Clive is talking about in regards to getting the target in the frame where you want it. I think I will practice on some items in the pool, so I can get some good shots on the Rivers or Lakes.

I happen to have a good friend who is the Western Canada Regional Manager the Future shop, so I got a pretty good deal. That price included a case and a 2 gig card. I think the price was $449, but he said it will drop soon since it is still fairly new. Even at $449 it's a steal IMO. Rick, I just used Auto for the under water shots and they turned out pretty good. Can't wait to get some underwater Fish pics though. Now I just need an underwater Video cam for this fall..... Video of Big Bulls and Big Steelies under water, Can't wait.

Well Rick, Great minds do think alike! I bought the exact same camera last week, (even after the problems I had with my last Olypus). I have taken about 300 pictures of different scenarios and I am so happy with it, I can't even put it into words. I took some under water pics of my kids in our pool and they are amazing. I can't wait to take some underwater pics of fish. Funny story already. I took a buddy out on the Lower Bow last week and caught a nice big Rainbow. It's colors were beautiful and it was nice and fat and healthy, would have been a great picture. I am so used to the piece of *#it I usually have in my vest, I completely forgot I had the new camera and didn't get a picture. I had problems with the old camera, (which was only 2 years old and cost a bundle), taking close up pictures, so I tried the new one. Unbelievable quality. Cost a total of $407 tax in, so not too bad.

If they are looking straight ahead out of the water, they are stressed. There are exceptions to every rule of course, but rather than write it out again, I'll just copy/paste link to what I found out at a seminar awhile back and have found since that it is true for the most part. http://flyfishcalgary.com/board/index.php?...20&start=20 Later

Great report and Pics. You'll forget about the finger soon enough, but the trip will stay in your memory for awhile I'm sure. Sorry to hear the K Lakes didn't go too well. I was thinking of heading out there this week, but maybe the heat turned the fish off, so Maybe I'll reconsider. BTW, fisher26, you want the fish to be looking at the water in your pictures when they are out of the water. If their eyes are straight ahead, those are "Dead Eyes". If they aren't dead already, they will very likely not make it.

For me it depends on whether my net fell off my back downstream somewhere that I had a seat..... I used to land everything by hand because I couldn't afford a net. I now net pretty much everything and think that if it is done correctly, little or no harm will come to the fish. I rarely remove the net from the water, remove the hook and release the fish. I do land some by hand if the situation is right, but the fact is, I have become accustomed to using a net and doing it properly, so that is what I do. Usually I land the bigger ones by hand because the net I have is small. I do have a nice long, deeper scale friendly net for my boat and pontoon though, to use when necessary. I use a net with the "Fish Friendly" netting, not the big holes, etc. and it's nice and shallow. The fish really doesn't even touch the netting all that much when it comes down to it. If the net is left in the water, the net more or less just contains, or traps the fish so you can remove the hooks and let it go. I've watched people, (and done it myself to be honest when I was younger), trying to land a fish by hand where the "Fight" only took 2 or 3 minutes, but the "Landing" of the fish took 10. One guy actually did this in front of me and then proceeded to lecture me on the damage nets do to the fish. I've also seen people "Tail" fish where they grasp the poor fish so hard that they do more damage trying to do the right thing. I think that if someone knows, or learns, the proper ways, it doesn't matter if they use a net or not.

If you can alter your's to that....You could probably reset some to Zero if you wanted eh?

I hope I'm on the river that day to see it Birchy.... Tell them you have a joke to tell them. Wait a few minutes before you tell it though..... ____ ____ .....And then I'll see if I can't help you get to shore after they throw you out.

Good discussion IMO. I was at a seminar a few years ago where a biologist explained that in a study they did, they found that fish that don't look at the water have only about a 10% chance of survival. He explained that in photographs of fish out of the water, that if the fish did not look down, it was most likely not alive, and if it was alive, it most likely would not make it. The funny thing was that a lot of the people in attendance had earlier been proudly showing off their Fishing albums and he'd borrowed a few of the photos. He later busted a few of them when they claimed that the fish in the pictures were gently released to fight another day, when in reality, they were bonked and taken home. The people actually admitted that he was correct in 100% of the ones he accused, about 20 people in total and about 40 pictures. Since then, I myself have had the chance to call a few people out for the same thing..... So, before you post a picture of a fish that hit your freezer, make sure you take the picture before you bonk it. Also, if you notice the fish is not looking down, take a bit more time with it during the release to give it a better chance at survival.

Nice tie. It looks good to me, but I agree with Dry Fly on keeping them "Skinny". It looks like your's is fine with the marabou and it should be nice and slender when wet. Don't bother getting too fancy when Tying Damsels like some people do with braiding, etc. I've found that it's not so much the pattern as it is the presentation with Damsels. I've gone to pretty much tying in the little set of black eyes, a marabou tail and lighly dubb marabou tapering up the body. Damsels swim quickly through the water in short little bursts....Kind of like wind sprinting. So when a Trout sees one, it doesn't take the time to find out whether the pattern is a perfect match, it usually justs grabs it. I love fishing Damsels in the BC, (and Alberta), lakes by casting parallel to the reeds or weeds and stripping it back with short, quick little tugs. When the fish takes it, it takes it hard, so you will want to use heavier tippet. A damsel tie is usually over done to suit the Tyer, not the fish. Keep it simple when it comes to tying Damsels IMO.

I would say that their little lake is about to get real busy....

I think I'll probably just use the pictures with only a fish in the frame anyways. The ones with Glen in them might be risky to put up though. Might bring on a lot of attention from the Ladies that might stop by my Face Book page....

Thanks. I'll try these and see how they look. If they don't look good, I'll get back to you.

I recently got tricked into becoming a "Face Book" nerd....long story. I was wondering if I could use some of these in my "Albums"? I will give credit where credit's due, but if not, no big deal.

Rick....Do they know you drink at work? For the record....my money is on Cdock to take your title today.

I agree with Hawgstoppah. What works for one of the mentioned streams, should work for the others as they are in the same network. The exceptions being the Livingstone and the upper sections of the Highwood and Oldman where Cutthroat will be on the menu. For the Cutthroat, for fun you can tie up some Turk's Tarantulas and Chernobyl Ants. Also, if you are coming in late September the Baetis will be back by then and there will be some good Spinner Falls to be had.

Depending on where you go....for sure it will. If it remains hot, the Cutthroat fishing up high should be great, but the lower elevation fishing will be slow. The Browns will stay tucked under cover and won't be seen while the sun is out, so if you're fishing the Bow, go early or really late. Fish the faster water and/or the deep pools on the south bank. ....and bring Sun Screen and wear Sun Glasses with good UV protection. Especially if you are fishing the North bank of the Bow. Another option is to hit the high Lakes since a lot of them opened on July 1st. If it's nice and hot, the fishing up high should be great.

If you get out nice and early like you say, Policeman's Flats would be good IMO. Just park and stalk the bank all the way up. The fish will be sipping tight to the bank, so don't get your feet wet and watch for little dimples of fish sipping. Try Caddis emergers and pupa and if it doesn't get too hot in the next couple of days, try Baetis emergers too. Be warned it will most likely be fairly busy on the river, so the earlier, the better and don't hog that bank. Fish your way up and don't stay in one spot too long to allow other fishermen to enjoy that great bank. There's about 3 Km's of nice bank, so there is no reason to stay in one place for too long, plus, you'll catch more fish by moving up. I hope your Friend from NZ gets into one of our Browns so he can give a comparison to their relatives where he's from.

Congrats Rick. I knew you could do it. I think Birchy or BigBadBrent might give you a run though. Happy 4th my Yankee friend

IMO, don't bother with the 3 wt unless you reeeaally want it and have money to burn. I had to have one years ago and rarely used it, so I actually gave it to a buddy as a B-Day gift. Your 5 wt is fine I'd say, but that's just me. Then again, I like the big fish. I don't get much anymore out of catching little fish, so I have no use for a little rod like that. In the end, it's up to you, but I figured I'd share my opinion. Actually, I'm just bored and stuck in a hotel room in Fort Mac and I'm tired of tying flies for the night.

I've been racking my brain trying to think of somewhere around Revy that is Kid friendly, but can only come up with one. I've fished the area a lot, but no where that would be good for kids. The one place I can think of is a little lake just on the edge of town. I'm not sure the name of it, but I'm sure if you stopped in at the sports store, they would point you in the right direction, that's how we found it. There is a nice little camp ground there too. The lake has Squaw fish and Perch in it and my kids had a blast there a couple of years ago. Someone there said there was Bass in the lake too, but the kids didn't catch any. It might be called Williamson Lake Campground, but I'm not positive. The kids can fish right off the dock which is nice and long with lots of room. I know we drove right through downtown and through town and came out at this little lake/camp ground. It was about 4 or 5 kms from the city center on the south side. There is also a cool lake up the trunk road that is loaded with Frogs. Our kids had a blast there too. Beautiful little lake, but we didn't fish it, so I can't report on that one. Edited by MissinTheBow to lighten the load on his inbox Hope this helps a bit.

Use caution though....It might be better you don't have waders if Rick gave you some advice. You might end up pretty wet

Thank you. Miss that show. Forgot about Mr. McLennon's show. It was indeed a good show. That scene of Mark Krupa fighting that 20+ lb Atlantic was a great angle. Again, I loved his reaction after losing it. You can tell he loves fishing as much as all of us.