OneMoreLastCast

Keep in mind that by certifying a person as a "Professional" guide and making them pay for insurance, GST number, etc. does not make that person a good guide. By making it expensive to become and remain a Guide, might deter those people that are actually good guides. Make no mistake, being a guide is a tough way to earn a living and not many guides are living in the big houses on the hill, (if you know what I'm saying). Rather than limit where a Guide resides, limit the number of guides allowed to be certified and use a Grandfather clause to allow the long time guides preference. It would be a shame in my opinion to have only those that can afford to guide being out there. They would be more driven by the mighty dollar which could in turn hurt the fishery because if they don't already, they would definitely think they always deserve the right of way, etc. I'd rather have a true "Trout Bum" that looks like they live and breath fishing show me around a stream I don't know and have paid top dollar to enjoy, than some fancy pants fresh off the rack fake guide wanna-be.... No offense to any fancy pants off the rack guides out there.... Just my thoughts.

I would support Licensing or registration of Guides to classify them as "Professionals" for the purpose of monitoring them and to make them accountable. However, I don't believe it would be necessary to attach a fee of any type other than maybe administrative charges. I don't, or would not, support anything that could be considered a cash grab. It should be about the fish and the fisheries, not about getting more money.

That fish must be at least 20 pounds....Wow. Make sure to watch it in Full Screen to get a really good view of the "Take". Nice find Brent.

I love all three. Grew up fishing little creeks and still love getting out on them occasionally for the challenge and scenery.... I love fishing lakes for the calming effect and fighting freight trains with fins that know how to use deep water to their advantage.... But I'm going to go against the norm and say that I prefer BIG water for too many reasons to list all of them. The thought process that goes into a day on Big water, the challenge, the big fish potential, etc. A close 2nd or even a tie with BIG water is New water, but it wasn't a choice.

For anyone interested, here is a link to a great report from the World Fly Fishing Championships by Team Canada Member Todd Oishi. http://www.flybc.ca/forum/index.php?showtopic=9423&hl= I'm not sure if Team Member John, (our Alberta Representative), is a forum member here, but I'd love to hear more reports and see more pictures.

Nice pics Kid. ...Just so you can't say nobody told you. You have to CUT dreads out, you can't just Take them out and save your hair. Nobody told me, so I learned the hard way. Yeah....that's right, I had dreads for a bit. I wasn't always old! [insert one of Clives quotes here....]

"If Practice makes perfect", but "Nobody's Perfect"....Why Bother? How, when I wear shoes and socks all day, do I still get dirt between my toes?

I've only used the new Z-Axis the one time a couple weeks ago, but I loved it. Can't wait to see how it handles the big 'Bows in the B.C. Lakes in a month. Nice fish BTW and maybe it's better the camera man cut the head out of the pic.

Picked up the new Fly Fusion and can report that it's once again a great read. Dave and Max both made it in, so it's nice to see this little community being represented. The ad for Fly Fish Calgary at the back with Max is great and I would love to have a sticker of it for the truck, (okay, Mini-Van). It doesn't say who it is on the cover, but it looks a little bit like it could be Max? If so, congrats on the cover Max. If not, maybe next time. The one strange thing I found was an article about Fall fishing in a Spring issue. Oh well, I'll keep it around and read it again in August. Thanks Fly Fusion for another good read.

I figured I'd share a nice little link. All you have to do is register and you get access to a ton of Lake Maps to download. Helps me kill time at work. Enjoy. http://www.anglersatlas.com/

Shipped mine to Edmonton right after last nights game with a truck load of shells..... No kids, those weren't fireworks going off thru-out the night

If the reason a person supports a team is because the team is winning, they are not a true "Fan" in my opinion. Say what you want about the Flames, but they are My Team. Always have been and always will be. If Calgary was to lose the Flames for some reason, I would just be a Fan of the Game, but would not likely have a Team. The Flames only winning one playoff series since '89 shouldn't make a difference to a real fan. The same goes for Fans of any team, even the Oilers. Although I spend a great deal of time ribbing Oilers fans, I respect the true fans out there that support their team thru good times and bad.

Just want to say that this is the first time I've ever seen the Wigwam River openly discussed using the actual name. I'm sure there are a few people out there just fuming when reading this thread...

Just want to thank you for once again coming into a thread and pushing your opinion on everyone. If this is your opinion on Bulls, then I can't see how you could fish for any Salmonidae except for a few select weeks that they might not be "Close" to spawning. If you are fishing for one species that is not spawning, you might accidentally hook into a species that is "Close". So just to be safe, we should just not fish. Weren't you just fishing for Rainbows? How dare you target them, being that they are so "close" to spawning. I guess you could limit your fishing to Triploids. Back on topic. If you head to the area of the Wigwam, don't limit yourself to just the Wigwam if you have the time. There are a number of great little Streams in the area to explore. As for the disclosure of secret spots....The Wigwam is not a secret anymore, (if it ever really was). People don't like to hear it mentioned, but knowing that the river exists and knowing how to get to the area won't help you anyway. The River is crawling with Guides every day, along with people across the continent that have read about it in various magazines. As Rick said, finding your way in and out is the tough part. Don't go alone or with someone else that hasn't been before, or you'll have a frustrating and disappointing trip. It's also the number 2 most populated Grizzly Bear valley in North America, so bring Spray, Bangers and what ever else you can get your hands on. You don't often see them, but they're close by most of the time.

Lol...even funnier is that they can spawn depending on water temps anywhere between late August to Late October....So I guess you should stay away from the Bulls from Early August to November, just to be safe. Been going to the Wigwam for most of my life FishGutter and it's not what it used to be, but worth a trip just the same. It's beautiful and the fishing is still pretty good, but be prepared to walk....a lot. The Bulls in the Wigwam don't start to spawn until the end of September, unless it's an unusually extended hot summer and fall, so you should be safe through most of August and September to plan a trip if you are after Bulls. If you want Cutties, it's good from opening day til closing day. Check the regs close because we found out that some of the confusing definitions, "Artificial Fly" and "Fly Fishing only" are being enforced in the area. If you do a search here, there are some pics from our trip last fall. There's a video or two from the Wiggy as well from myself and the Humble Fisherman as well you might find by searching.

They're still 6-3-1 in their last 10 and lost to a desperate, talented team that has a team chasing them for the last playoff position. I can't say I'm all that confident in the Flames chances of winning the Cup, but once the playoffs start, it's a totally new season. 5 points in with 5 games to go should be enough to secure a spot, but that's why you play the games.... I think the Alberta Crest is on their jerseys because unless something has changed, Calgary is a City in the Province of Alberta.

I call dibs on the first day on the Bow with these two guys together.... Let's hope he is as fleet on his feet as Rick is. You'll have no problem finding fishing companions once you land. The people here are all too happy to help out, as Rick probably told you in the PM he sent you.

Happy Birthday Rusty. Hope you're tying up enough Chronies for April and May, (Assuming I think I know where you'll be...) Have a good one.

I like the Loons too. Had one almost take my fingers off once it wanted my fish so bad. They sure get aggressive sometimes when you are releasing a fish. I'll trade the occasional Loon trying to steal my fish for their songs on the lake any time though.

Here's the link for the other forums "Ice Off" thread for anyone that might be planning a Spring trip to BC. http://www.flybc.ca/forum/index.php?showtopic=8742&hl=

So the one real peeve I have always had, non-Albertans paying the same for licenses as Albertans remains the same.... Ridiculous. One question on the fees though. It's nice to see a "Classified" harvest put on Walleye, but I only see an amount for Albertans. Does this mean that non-Albertans cannot harvest Walleye, or does it mean they just don't have to buy the license....Option B wouldn't surprise me a bit. Also, I've bought my BC license online for the last two years and have to say that it's the Cat's Ass. Just got my 08/09 and it took a total of about 11 minutes to fill in the form and print up the license....Done. Beautiful system and I hope they get Our's up soon. Although it would just make it easier for non-Albertans to get their's, if they can afford that huge amount. I only had to pay $55 as a non-BC resident.

I just thought of another one of the things that drives me nuts at a few Tim Horton's.... Waiting in line for 25 minutes to get a few dozen donuts for the people at work because it's your turn.... Finally getting up to the front and ordering my 36 assorted donuts, (with a couple extra Boston Creams for me).... Watching the nice lady stack the boxes on the counter and tell me how much I owe.... Pulling out my Debit Card, only to find out they only take CASH!!!! No signs or any indication of this anywhere. I guess I should just know! How can you operate a franchise as big as Tim Horton's and not use INTERAC?

Thanks Russ.

I was just over visiting another forum and saw a great thread that people posted lakes, etc that was Ice free for fishing. Not that any of our lakes would be ice free yet, but maybe if people were to post sections of different rivers that have open water, we could spread out the pressure. That being said, does anyone here know when White Tail thaws out? I'll start by saying that everything up here where I am at the moment in Fort McMurray is frozen solid....

I am part of that exclusive Club too Don. I've been hitting the fall runs for over 30 years and am happy to have introduced my kids to it too, (although, their membership is still pending review....) There is nothing like being able to take kids, or new anglers out to the Sheep, Highwood, Crowsnest, Michelle Creek (before being classified)etc., and know you were going to catch at least 100 fish in a day. I've definitely noticed that the numbers have dropped dramatically over the years though, obviously because of people not realizing that whitefish are better suited for the ecosystem Mother Nature meant, more so than feeding maggots in the trees. I will say that I agree that wasting fish is completely wrong, but I have been involved where it was necessary and encouraged. I am talking about a few sponsored Brook Trout culls in the foothills. There have also been places where illegally introduced Perch have also been the target. They are in still waters though, so they give people a chance to fill their freezers up before doing a shock to remove them. They've stopped doing this because of the waste of money and resources. They can take the illegal fish out and put the desired fish back in and it doesn't take long for the Donkey that did it the first time, to repeat his brainless introduction back into the water....