Conor

http://furledleaders.proboards26.com/ Lots of info on this forum. It is not very active, but there are some great threads to learn from. Some recipes as well (regarding number of loops per link). Since this post I have made a peg board and tried it out. It is a bit fiddley, but pretty easy once you get the details down.

I like uni for dry fly, too. I haven't tried silk, yet. The extra density might work well. I have a spool of invisible nylon sewing thread I have broken in yet. I've heard some guys like a mix of the uni and the nylon thread. I will throw a strand of light super braid (just one from one end peg to the other) to add some strength to leaders I may use heavier tippets on. I've also been experimenting with light floro and super braid for nymphing leaders (some with uni indicators in the first foot or two). Fun stuff.

If knotting your own leaders interests you, you might want to look into furled leaders. It is a bit fiddely at first, but gets easier. I have been using furled leaders for dry fly for the past two seasons, and have started designing leaders for nymphing this winter.

That is a cool rig. I saw some pics of a guy who turned his own version of th Norvise in a lathe. It is really a pretty simple idea/mechanism, when you think about it. Probabaly why it works so well. I use the Norlander bobbin because he offered a lifetime warrentee on the bobbin. Ekitch only said he would offer a 1 year. A one year warrantee on a $100 bobbin? I think he should have more confidence in his product if he is charging that much. Norlander said that if anything went wrong with his bobbin, ever, he would repair or replace it. If you like the rig you did up, keep your eye out for a used Norvise. The vise is not to some people's taste, and some people with more money than sense buy it without trying it. I found one in very good shape with the standard jaws and fine point jaws for $175.

Great post. I love this sort of stuff. Chech out Micheals. I was there today and they have a good selection of magnetic strips.

Check out the forum Don linked to. Tons of info and pinned how to threads. Also, there are a ton of decent rod blanks out there you could build on for cheaper than 200. Dancraft often has clearance deals, and his kits seem like a good value. Gatti G4 is a popular blank and the 2 piece is less than 100. Google Gatti USA. Keep it simple And practice with your epoxy before you put it on your wraps. Less is more.

Bulls spawn in the fall. Cutties (and bows) spawn in the spring. The rivers are frozen between those times. Add run off safety concerns in there and you've covered off pretty well all of Sept-July. So unless you want to risk your life fishing a frozen or blown out river, or disturb threatened salmonids while they're spawning/hatching, you probably wouldn't be fishing them anyway, whether they were open or not. I don't think we are missing all that much fishing up there the way the regs are. Keep in mind, too, that it is not feasible to change the regs for variations in climate/seasons. They need to be sure that the months they block off will cover the earliest that Bulls might spawn and the latest that cutties might spawn.

I've eaten raw trout before. I had no issues, but I wouldn't recommend it. I've also eaten raw bluefin warm off the fish; I definitely recommend that . It would be worth it even if you got sick. You could carry a bit of lime juice and spices and have ceviche. Wait a minute. Is this thread about killing trout? Heathens

forgot one: 4- practice casting; not on the water- just practice for 10-20 min each week

1- complete my first 'boo blank and rod- hopefully a second and third too 2- catch a good trout on a rod I built myself, a line I refinished myself, a leader I made myself and a fly I tied myself 3- spend more time on the Bow and less time driving to water

I am with Max on this. I find you have less fuss, more durability and more movement with rubber tails. Similar look too.

Is it a tire tube? You could try a tire place.

I saw some work going on yesterday morning, and again today. There was a berm extending most of the way across the river this morning. If they are planning on working all winter, I imagine it might be done sooner than originally planned.

I'd be into it. I think it would be fun. Is anyone familiar with the process? How do they select which teams are entered into the tourney?

I didn't read a lot of this post. But, I'm going to make this easy for all of you. There are actually people who's job it is to manage our fisheries. Think about how much better you are at your job than somebody who might dabble in it few times a year. Sure, they are underfunded and over worked; they may have never even seen some of the streams they make the regs for. But guess what, the Bow is not one of those streams. These guys have 7 to 10+ years of education- a lot of it specifically dedicated to managing the resource we all call our pastime. Lets give them some respect for their hard work and dedication to our fisheries. I think the question here is "is fishing the confluence (or any barrier for that matter) sportsman-like", not "is it ethical." The people that manage our fisheries have established that fishing hours at the confluence does not impact the population significantly. In my opinion, that means that if fishing is ethical, fishing at the confluence in early spring is ethical. Challenging...no. Sportsman-like...? A lot of people would argue that catch and release is unethical. I met one today on the river. Fair enough.

Here is one that is creative in its simplicity. The dumbell eyes might be a bit unique to a stonefly pattern, as well. I don't think I have seen that before. I call it the bug-eyed stone. Materials are obvious and substitutable. Image hosting isn't woring for me, so here is a link to a thread I posted on the pattern: http://flyfishcalgary.com/board/index.php?showtopic=6141

Consider building a rod, or buying a custom rod. Throwing a rod together really does not take very long, and you can end up with twice the factory rod you could have afforded.

trout- the key is keeping tension and laying the tinsel flat. To achieve both of these tips, you can put your tinsel in a hackle plier (after tying in) and put your index finger (dominant hand) in the bend of the plier. Rotate around the hook with constant tension and then tie off with your non-dominant hand (or press down on the fly with your non-dominant hand and tie-off with your other).

I think the main question here is if BH is an actively managed trophy fishery. I'd say it is definitely. It was just drained, what, 5 years ago? Since then there have been delayed harvest regs implemented, reduced stocking, and tripliods have replaced diploids for socking. That seems pretty fast paced to me, considering the lake just lost the first generation of fish in the past couple years. I say lets get a couple year classes of trips at the present stocking rates through the lake, see where we are at and then consider making changes, if needed. If you throw all the ingredients in the soup at once, it'll be hard to tell which ruined it, right. So lets start up this thread again in about 8 years

Anybody up for a trip to Slovenia? Kind of a cool site I came across. Plenty of other rivers on there as well, if you poke around. http://www.josko.org/rivers/soca/soca.htm

Has anyone here traveled with rods lately? I looked into the baggage policies of my carrier, and it says I can only take two rods as my second piece of baggage. Thats not going to cut it, and I don't fell like paying $125 bucks for a third bag. Any ideas. Could I take a small tube or two as carry-on? Maybe even a two piece tube as carry-on? I will call the carrier (United) soon, but some first hand tips might be helpful.

I'd be into that, for sure. I don't know how many people would be interested, though. If there is a few people, it would be cool to have a forum of local builders. I could see casting blanks/tapers you are interested in and sharing tips and tricks in person as a big bonuses.

Some great tips, guys. Exactly what I was looking for. Cheers. I'll be down there the first week of November, so sun won't be a huge issue. I'll still be on the safe side, but I don't think I'll be decked out Michael Jackson style. We'll be targeting bones, mainly. But, if the cold fronts move in early, we'll probably end up in the back-country for tarpon, snook, reds etc. We'll be fishing with a local guide who has taken the week off for vacation (buddy of a buddy), so we will pretty much just be tagging along in respect to species. Paying in fuel and beer Some casting instruction is in the works. Very much needed. Russ- cheers for that. I actually asked another buddy to borrow his 10 wt, but he is a bit scetchy, so I may hit you up. I've heard you can't trust people from Cape Breton So very pumped

I just booked a week in Islamorada for some flats fishing. I thought I might pick the brains of people who have done some flats fishing. Other than the pretty obvious stuff, what should a guy bring on trip like this? And what to do to prepare? Thanks for any tips.

My worst was a 3/0 treble directly into my index finger knuckle. We were 3 hours from shore with just a 1/4 day's pay behind us. We tried to pull it out, but it was too far in. I was afraid I would break my finger. I went down-deck and cut it out with a fillet knife. Went to the clinic the next day and the doctor actually yelled at me. The nerve.