Conor

That made my day. Thanks

Winchel (sp?) is just NW of Calgary and would probably meet your needs. Never been myself. Just pointing it out as it is a whole lot closer than other suggestions.

I buy the fancy stuff. I like frog hair. The pricy flouro has way better strength to diameter ratios and tends to be much more supple as well. I'm a cheap sob at heart, but I consol myself with the fact that even stripping off a whole leader length of frog hair is cheaper than cracking a can of Budweiser.

Nicely done wraps.

What Chrome said. Also, you loose knot strength as the wire diameter of a hook goes up, and tipper stays the same. Negligible except in the extremes, which 4x and a dirty worm is pushing. A loop knot mitigates the issue completely. If your tieing on a big ol' worm, don't worry too much about how heavy your tippet is. A lot of very experienced guys heed closely to tippet choices by hook size still.

Thanks for the reminder. I actually didn't see the sign and launched to the north. All boats were launching there and there was a line of wade anglers south of the bridge. Seemed to make sense. Also saw a cop cruiser driving around down there. Not sure what they were up to, but considering they were not launching, they could have parked and walked out there...

That depends how particular you are! It would be very similar, but wraps are slightly different with each different varnish method. If your not picky, you probably wouldn't notice. Always worth checking though. I like that look quite a bit. The dark grey looks great on the light blank. I have a light grey build pending and cheated and got NCP nylon for it, because I want the light grey look.

Make sure to test some with the epoxy. Either on the butt or similar colored dowel. That grey particularly will have a very different look when varnished.

What is the denatured for? If just for thinner, acetone works well for epoxy. I do one part each for the first coat, and lay it very thin, just soaking the wraps. I've cast the blue halo and butter sticks and was not impressed. I'd guess they don't compare with epic. One of the demo rods blue halo had at the show wasn't even straight. There are so many quality vintage rods out there, and even blanks, I can't see getting one of those. Or a small bump in price gets you into quality modern stuff.

I have a 10' 5wt custom build I could part with. It is a high mod fairly fast (for a 10 ft) taper. Dancraft FT blank and high end components. 4 piece. I like it with a 6 wt or more, but you may be different. I always liked it best on lakes. A canon with backbone for bigger fish. You could try it out for a bit if interested.

Was in Eluthra last year. Flys seemed to be slightly bigger and gaudier than standard patterns. Pinks, Browns, chartreuse flash etc.

Any work there would need a Water Act approval, which will need a land owner go ahead. No point drawing anything up until you know who the landowner is and that they are on board. I could help with some of the regulatory process if things move forward.

I think EHC look fine with trimmed hackle. Fish don't care either. Trim barbs to length before wrapping. Also get some dry fly hackle for other patterns. They don't look so good with trimmed hackle. I actually find EHC work better without the hackle anyway.

That's been kicking around the inter webs for a few years. It is a large salamander photoshopped onto an ice fishing pic. Tricked me last year.

Missed 2014 and looks like I will miss another. Bad dates for me. Bummer. It is looking more and more likely this hobby will come later in life for me. I was determined to get a rod done this winter, but it ain't gonna happen. It's been two years since I finished my first. It would help if we stopped moving.

The dollies in unicorn were out of this world. Some of the most spectacular fish I have ever seen. Tuna on the fly just seems crazy to me. I've caught plenty on heavy gear. I think using fly gear is just making things difficult. Maybe I like my fingers to much. The east coast film was good. Heading out to see family on Cape Cod this summer. Looking forward to some stripers on the flats.

The dollies in unicorn were out of this world. Some of the most spectacular fish I have ever seen. Tuna on the fly just seems crazy to me. I've caught plenty on heavy gear. I think using fly gear is just making things difficult. Maybe I like my fingers to much. The east coast film was good. Heading out to see family on Cape Cod this summer. Looking forward to some stripers on the flats.

Freestone. That is a crime. $700 should get you a day on a $300K boat with prof fishing captain. With fuel costs where they are, even that is a bit of a rip off. Pack your gear and head to the dock bright and early. Bring a hundred dollar bill with you. Chat to some guys. I almost guarantee you'll spend the day fishing or line something up for another day.

Not what you asked, but since others are throwing out recommendations, this kit is one of the best purchases I have made. Won't get them as sharp as a good service, but gets them really sharp (not scrape away the steel sharp) and does it consistantly and quickly. I've been through diamonds and steels and stones and lanskies, etc, and wish I had bought 10 of these in place of everything else (for knives anyway; I use the stones and plates for straight razors and flat tools). http://www.amazon.ca/Work-Sharp-WSKTSC-Knife-Sharpener/dp/B005HV0EFS/ref=sr_1_1/178-0550022-9858751?ie=UTF8&qid=1452655240&sr=8-1&keywords=work+sharp+knife+sharpener

I think I have mentioned it on this Board before, but one of the biggest benefits of simplifying, I saw, was it got me back into tying. Last year about this time I decided to focus on a few patterns in the next season. I also sloughed off a couple lifetimes of materials at the same time. I spent more hours at the desk last winter than I had in the several previous. I think I was just overwhelmed by the endless possibilities of patterns, variations, material subsitutes, etc. I had stopped enjoying tying and was only at the desk when I needed something specifically.

Yeah, I have done something similar and don't feel wanting of patterns stream side anymore. When I tied whatever, I always felt like the pattern I was using just didn't quite cut it.

Frog Hair is my confidence tippet material. I've never had a bad experience with it. If I recall, diameter to strength is significantly better than comparable brands. I find it more supple and better knotting. Wildly qualitative and just my opinion, but it is all I use when tippet matters (ie. Most of the time).

Not Canadian, but Hook and Hackle would work for your needs. They have decent "house" blank kits for reasonable prices. They also do kits in a few of the major blank providers. I've found they are one of the few that still have lower modulus blanks which would be more durable for a youngster or newbie.

We recently got a 3 yo boxer. She is a great family dog. Not nearly as much trouble as you describe, Barnes. She is happy to excessive all day or lay around all day. We have only had her a month, but no damage to the house, to date. We do tend to crate her though, as she likes it. We started on Acana. Good reputation and AB company. It is awesome to here a 10 yr reference as well. I do have more confidence in a raw diet, but baulked at the effort and cost. This thread had me dive in a bit more and it looks like costs are similar. Kibble these day is not the same as it used to be, for sure. We have a friend with a Dalmatian. It was diagnosed with liver failure, given a few months to live and they were sent home with instructions to bring her back when she got too uncomfortable. They put her on a raw diet and she made a complete recovery and is still kicking 5 years later.

I see this as a win. What Jordan did brought significant media attention to a case that would have not been reported on outside of Lethbrige. A $1000 is a lot of money for a lot of people. I think it has some bite in this case. I do feel they should have lost license privledges for longer. It is important to understand that other cultures would have a difficult time understanding catch and release regulations. Even in Europe, catch and keep only is more common than catch and release. If you had emigrated there and were busted for releasing fish, wouldn't you argue for some consideration?