Conor

I've gotten back into tying this year. Past few years have been rod building focused, but pattern supplies are dwindling. So I paired down the supplies to basics and planned on focusing on basic patterns. I've been at it quite a bit and it's been fun.

Did a bit of the same yesterday. First from the ice for both of them. They were pumped.

Doc- can you talk about your hackle choice on that kink?

I've had both the scadden assult and a watermaster. I would buy the watermaster at this point if the price points are similar. Harder to row but much more stable. I've had the scadden about a year and the watermaster for several years. Wm kicked the bucket at about 25 years of age.

Not sure if this has been posted here. I'd be surprised if it wasn't, but I didn't see it: www.fisheries-regulation.mindmixer.com This is the forum site. There is also a survey I am not sure how to link to. Dec 31 deadline.

I started a shared one a few years ago on google. I figured more entries, more value. It has not been active in a while, but send a pm if you want access to it.

Another topic got sidetracked re dyeing materials. I thought I'd bring it here since I have a few questions. What methods and materials work best? I have some snowshoe I'd like to get to blue dun colored. Any tips?

I grew up in Massachusetts. Saw a couple largemouth in the pond near my house when I was a kid and have been hooked ever since. I got my first fly rod as a high school graduation present from my parents, by request. I was into stream trout by that point, but with no guidance flailed around a lot and mostly used it to throw small baits found in the stream. Hit Uni in Montreal and got busy with studies, girls and partying. Didn't do much fishing except for summers when I would commercial fish to pay for school. Bluefin and codfish off the MA coast. Met an AB girl at Uni and ended up in Calgary about 10 years ago. Dusted off the old fly rod. What a great place to be a fisherman. I am currently an Env consultant to the O&G industry, with a background in wetlands and wildlife.

I did catch it. Good stuff. I'm glad someone finally got that guy out on a river!

Mine is the same, but a bit taller and not as finely made. Mostly veneer and particle board. I went big because I use it for rod building as well an wanted it to fit a 48" section. I went through a roll top phase a couple years ago and bought and sold a couple on kijiji. One long drive, good purchase and quick sale got me the one I have for $0. Don't give up hope!

Wow, Jeff. You have been holding out on us.

I've done that a few times on small creeks with eager fish. Getting the take is the most fun part, so it just maximizes the fun. I also used to shake fish off quite a bit, but I found that got me out of practice of landing fish and when I did want to touch them I was rusty and loosing more than I should. I only really do it now with the dinks and the non-target fish.

Swainson's dark morph

Yup, what Toolman said. A late hook set will result in poor hook placement or fowl hooking. Add heavy pressure after that and you loose fish. Lots of them. You should be halfway through your hook set by the time the idea "is that a fish" passes through your head. Set on everything, even randomly. It will get you in the groove.

A lot of similar answers, so I'm thinking peoples drivers for these chioces are similar. What makes a good cutty fly? I was out last week and my boxes are in a poor state of stocking, so I was thinking about this question quite a bit. Cutty fishing has me in faster water than I normally fish, so floatability and visability are important. With those two variables met, you often end up with something heavy-ish that makes your casting less fun. One of the things I like best about cutty fishing is the casting. So I'm leaning toward stocking up on some H&L/CFF/Royal Wulff type paterns. Also was considering humpies. Some Usuals and possibly some other Betters' paterns (or Bi-visable). Grifiths are always a go to for me, as well. Is that the one you were thinking of Diddy?

Check out hobby storage systems, particularly scrap booking. Some really innovative storage ideas out there. When I was looking into it some of the most impressive options were non-fly tying.

So what's the best course of action? One of the most striking things that came out of the Stewardship project is that even experienced anglers can't be counted on to ID fish properly. I forget the stat, but it was striking how few anglers could not ID trout properly. So unleashing the general public to control this species would probably be ineffective, and the ethics would be dubious. Poisoning in an open system? Usually a bad idea. Basically, once these things showed up in AB they were here for good. So yes, I say do nothing and focus what little resources we have at bigger issues that effect more valuable fisheries. Or maybe we should release some snakeheads to eat them all up?

Saying the carp are the biggest threat to Alberta fisheries and we should line the bank with their carcasses is alarmist. It is exaggerated and calls for an irresponsible response to a concern. I guess I am just thinking of game animals with the waste prohibition, and these are are not game fish. I still think a CO would have something to say about a thousand dead fish on the bank. The land owner would also have issues with that, I'm sure. There are hundreds of invasive species in Alberta, and only a few of them are really bad news.

I appreciate your concern, but that is a bit alarmist, not to mention illegal. As far as I know harvesting any animal in Alberta without the intent to consume is illegal. I see records of this species in AB back several years and the sky hasn't fallen yet, and F&W has not put a bounty on them (maybe they should have by now, but they write the citations). It is concerning, for sure, but between forestry, road building, over harvest and under funded management, our fisheries have a lot more to worry about than goldfish. I hope I don't have to eat my words on this. A bad invader is bad news, but they are few and far between.

Anyone check this out? They look like they might pull hard. I wonder how they taste? They are omnivorous which is not usually the best for the plate.

I just bought a new grill. I got fascinated by kamado charcoal grilling, and researched a lot. I would love a big green egg but was looking at $1500 to get what I wanted. I am all for quality, but that's a lot of cheddar. I got a chargriller akorn (king griller in Canada). About 1/3 the price and I can learn about how to use it. It won't last my lifetime, but I will have more expendable income when it goes than I do now. I can smoke all night at 250, crank it up to crazy hot temps (1000?), and anything in between. Also, with kamado you just close everything up and the charcoal snuffs, so I only fill it every now and then. Good lump charcoal is very clean, so I only dump the ashes every 5 or 10 cooks. Except for the learning curve, it is very easy to use. Go charcoal. The food blows my mind every time (it just been a few months).

Classic

For the guys who took the survey: Did it seem legit? Did your computer explode? The research seems interesting and I would like to contribute, but the link looks shady.

I've been looking as well. I'll probably go for a large. Not that you move these things lots, but I think the XL would be a beast to manage. I might go for another brand to save some cash but would jump on a BGE at a decent price. Anyone got one they would part with?

Best NFR thread ever. It has a fight, a story, a song. Just read it start to finish. I'm tired and content.