Conor

I too dig the urban trout pics. I wonder if the Bow is the only river where you can get a +20 brown and graff in the same picture?

By April or May I am dead sick of deep nymphing and streamers. I'll often go to the river with a dry fly rod and look until I find a riser. I usually find one or a fish nymphig in shallow water. I've had some fast paced spring days on adult midges, and found some real pigs rising to bwo. Pre-run off nymphing can be stellar, though. Easy to get distracted.

However, people that C&R tend to fish a lot more than those who bonk. Add up my 1% mortality at the end of the year, and I have done a lot more damage than someone who limits out a few times a year. I dig your point, Taco, but as a rule enforcement costs more than education. That said, not everyone out there bonking bulls thinks they are brook trout.

The course would probably be similar to the one you have to take to get a hunting license. A one time deal. I think the main point would be to be able to implement regulations similar to Quirk Ck. in certain streams where our native salmonids need some assistance. First tier would be a normal license; second tier would be an increased harvest license. Of course, non-native harvest would not be increased on all waters, just waters that might benefit from reductions of brook trout or rainbows (upper elbow, cataract might fall into the category). I'm thinking efforts like this might help stabilize bull trout and cutthroat populations, and may help prevent future closures of some of our more pristine streams.

How do you all feel about testing for an angling license, or having the option to test and get a different license (ie a two tiered license system)? The Quirk Ck. project has shown that even some avid angler's ID skills are poor. I can't imagine haw many illegal fished are bonked every year do to misidentification. Testing would allow managers to be more effective with regulations, allowing protection of our native fish pops by increased harvest of non-natives. Testing would also prevent our native fish from being misidentified as non-natives. Also, and this is possibly the biggest bonus, every potential angler can get a crash course on ethics, conservation and fish handling. Thoughts? I am not 100% for the idea, maybe because I haven't really hashed it out, yet.

The most important thing about eating fresh fish is to get it cold fast. The colder the better; the faster the better. When I plan on keeping fish I try to have a cooler of crushed ice. Bonk the fish, rip the fish and pack it with ice, inside and out.

Most sites say call for pricing, probably because people are often confused about the spool being separate. I think the baby goes for around $300 or so. I saw $170 for the frame and thought it was for the whole deal. Their other reels range from $300 to $900. I don't think there is a dealer in Calgary. This company sells them mail order. Someone on the forum recommended them for for a vise before. http://www.thornesmanufacturing.com/index....ogue&Cat=98 Some show up on ebay sometimes, too.

I don't know. I can only see it referred to as a braking mechanism. I imagine it is disc, as there is lots of talk about the Marryat disc drags on the website. It has a one way clutch, which is a bit different. Also, the spool is sold separately from the frame. I didn't realize that at first. Pushes it to a high end price. Oh well.

Thanks. I heard the same thing from one other review. Too bad. They are pretty sweet looking reels.

I put a drop on the bead and pull it in with the whip. Or, I wet a bit of the thread just before whipping.

I have FlySim on my PC. Pretty fun. I'd love to see something similar come out as a Ipod App.

Yeah, I remember that post. Kinda what got me thinking about this. I'm looking at Greys, Snowbee, STH, Cortland, Amundsun, Orvis, Vision Korma and maybe some others. I'm leaning hard to the Vision Korma in the non-cartridge model, as spools are only $35 and the 5/6 6/7 spools are interchangeable (they have the same body with different spool shapes, I guess). I plan on spooling 6-8 wt lines on this reel, so this feature would be great. Otherwise, I'll end up with either a oversized 6 wt or undersized 8 wt.

I like the look of the Baby or CMR for my 5 wt bamboo. Has anyone used one (or a different Marryat reel) for a season or two? http://www.marryat.com/baby.htm Torn between this or a vintage reel.

I am thinking of getting a cartridge reel for my do-it-all Bow rod. I am not going as far as a Demon, mostly out of principal. I'd prefer under $200, but I'll spend more if needed. I just feel that this style of cartridge system is not a lifetime reel, by nature, so I'd like to keep cost down, a bit. Any experience with a large arbor cartridge system? Model/brand recs?

I like having the extra length to brace against my forearm for high sticking and for fighting fish on heavier tippets. I use one all the time on my 10ft 6wt.

I use it often. I find it floats like a cork and shakes water better than most materials. I don't often bother dressing it, it floats so well. Very durable, to boot. It is one of my favorite additions to my bench in the past couple of years. I use the under-fur hairs from the bottom of the foot for dubbing, as well. Great translucency and buggyness. I find a bit of wax makes the process a bit easier. The structure of the guard hairs from the bottom of the foot is what makes it float so well. Traps air like nobody's business. In fact, I really only use the bottom of the foot, an occasionally the sides when I want a bit of a darker shade.

GPX lines are a half weight higher- might explain some of the yardage lost. I connected some kelvar braid to my fly lines myself last winter. I just nail knotted a piece of heavy dacron (60lb?) to the fly line and then used an albright knot with the kevlar braid doubled. Shoe-goo on all the knots. I could not break it without fear of damaging my fly line. If you aren't planning on using super heavy tippets, this method should work. I believe a coaxial splice is similar to how a braided loop is connected- just inch worm it on, a whip and some glue. I could not accomplish this with the braid I had, so I went the route described above.

It is for whipping rods, actually, but I know it is commonly used for wets, so I figured some tyers might know where to get some. I've got a rod that I want to finish whipping, but I am going to run out of silk! I noticed that Hareline is a distributor. Next time I'm in a shop with Hareline products, I'll ask for it. If you guys do the same we might get some to Calgary!

Does any shop in Calgary carry Pearsalls silk (gossamer preferably)?

Anywhere this recession isn't. Oh, wait, it's worldwide. Dang.

Thanks for all the ideas. Shaggy- I'll be in a small SUV w/ good 4X, factory tires, full sized spare and low clearance (~9"). I'd be comfortable with a bit of fourbying but nothing too heavy. I may have room for an inflatable or a tube, if needed. I don't have any issues with a good walk or hike. Most of the serious fishing will be on route too and from Narramatta (my wife just corrected me on our destination). I may get a day trip in from Narramatta during the week.

I have a family trip to Penticton planned in the third week of July. I'll be doing a solo drive out there (everyone else is flying ). I plan to take a couple days and hit some fishing on the way (maybe the way back, too ). Any tips on spots I should hit between here and there? Also, is there any decent fishing around Penticton/Kelona?

I've only seen it indicated as a 6 wt. on RodDNA and Hexrod. I wouldn't sweat it too much as Payne built rods for silk lines, which perform quite differently than PVC lines. Any designation is a bit arbitrary, and, as Don said, is based on the personal tastes of whom ever labeled it. Don, here is the taper off Rod DNA. 0 0.058 5 0.085 10 0.104 15 0.124 20 0.133 25 0.145 30 0.155 35 0.177 40 0.196 45 0.213 50 0.227 55 0.239 60 0.251 65 0.258 70 0.277 75 0.289 80 0.307 85 0.322 90 0.353 95 0.353 100 0.353

For that money, go with a big name. If you are willing to spend that much, you can get a vise for life. Don't be tempted to save a few bucks and get a 5-10 yr vise. You will not regret a Renzetti, Regal, etc. I recommend going the extra length to get a Nor Vise.

I saw the the ON to YK episode on WFN the other day. I am so glad I caught it; it is now a series recording on my PVR. I have been watching pretty well all the FF shows available on cable since I got a PVR. The only one that really keeps my interest is "Fly Tying: the angler's art," probably because there is something different in every episode. I still enjoy the others, but it is mostly lot of the same old, same old... The episode of FlyMax I saw was by far the best FF show I have seen in a long time. The format is refreshing and engaging. I felt like I had a few new fishing buddies. I found my heart beating like I was actually there. I think some extra info (like a tying segment or a bit of technique/ trial error insight) would add value to the show, as long as it could be incorporated without killing the energy of the format. Thanks Nick for giving us something different.