Conor

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.

For almost all the fishing you will do with a 5/6 wt in AB, you could go either way without feeling like you made a bad decision. While the retrieve rate is faster on a LA, it does not compare to to stripping rate. How many times do you think the retrieve rate will be fast enough to avoid stripping in line? The real advantage I see to LA is that the spool diameter is about the same on an empty spool to a full spool, so drag pressure is similar over a long run. But how many times do you go deep into your backing with a 5wt? There are some great deals to be had on high quality standard arbor reels out there, because most of the market is buying LA.

I think it is just so different people don't know where to start in describing it. I checked out a couple of my normal spots and there is nothing the same as before. Nothing. I did notice a much larger percentage of heavy undercut banks with deep water. A lot more than was present before. I wonder if this will change slowly over time to more normal bank-type percentages? It is kind of sad to loose your old spots, but it is easy to see a bright side if you stay positive. That would be easier if the fishing picked up. I found it tough this past weekend, and the bugs were way out of wack.

I staryed from Simms boots twice. Never again. I have the new Guide model now. A pretty penney but probably the best equipment investment I have made in FF.

Roast- that is nice finishing work. Very well done. Where did you get the blank? Taper? Tungsten- I have some cane you can buy. I organized a big order a while ago to reduce the bite of shipping charges. I would guess you could get a single culm of tonkin cane in China for less then a dollar, but to get just one to Calgary you are looking at maybe $50-100. If you stop by some time (Marda Loop- Calgary) I can spare one or two for $30 ea. Each one makes about 2 rods.

I remember being where you are now just a few years ago ie. just starting to realize how much fun fishing is with cane and glass. It was exciting. I fish bamboo most of the time for trout and built up a Lamiglass honey last year, which is also a blast. I've been itching for a Stephan/McFarland/Kenney but am more focused (budget-wise) on building bamboo than on modern glass. I have also been enjoying seeing some of the bigger manufactures getting back to what works and not just what markets well. There is really no good reason that most shorter trout weight rods are graphite, other than that is what the market expects. Glass makes a great trout rod just a cheaply as graphite and modern anglers should have more options.

A fast rod with a light tip will help protect tippets. A slow rod with a heavy tip, more of a broomstick than a fly rod, may bust tippet left and right. The reverse is true as well. So I would say it can go either way depending on the taper. If both tips are equal, a slow taper will have more give before reaching the tippet strength than a fast taper. For a given line weight, a slow taper will typically have a heavier tip, though, so... A slow taper is likely to have slower line speed, so softer presentations may be easier. Probably another reason some people like them for dry fishing. Just fish the rod you have fun fishing. Simple.

Well, it is pretty sweet out to 40 ft or so, but looses it after that. I tried the 8'9" 5 wt, which I feel should have a bit more behind it than that.

No kidding. May as well get cane for that price. Then it won't break every year.

Fish tales does have stock. There was also a guy starting a mail order business out of Calgary a few years ago. Called kingfisher maybe?

I'm looking forward to trying one as well.

I'm sure DFO would lend a chopper and a few bios out for a couple days every year for the next 20 years. I had something more low tech in mind. Setting up beats of bank to walk and limit observations to a certain distance. It would not be critical to count all the redds; the focus would be on consistency so any trends would be observable (and defendable) over the years. I'm not sure how important the observers would be, because even with the same people year after year, there would be a bias developed as their search images improved.

More fry does not necessarily equal more catchable trout. Seems a lot of people in this thread don't understand that, and that is likely because they are not biologists. Leave opinions on specific regulations decisions to the professionals. We as a group are not qualified to discuss it. There are things we can do, though... Two of the best points in this thread, IMO, were Dave's, "If we make decisions that aren't based on data, we may be subject to decisions not based on data," and Max's, "If we wait until the pops are impacted to make decisions, it may be too late." Obviously I paraphrased both those points, so feel free to correct me if I missed the gist. There is a temporal conflict between those two points that I see one good solution to. Funding and research. Here are the things we could do to protect our river. -Get out and vote in every election. Consider how your ballot impacts the funding our fisheries are allocated. -Let your politicians know your stance and the level of value you place on our fisheries. -Grassroots biology. Not of complete value to our Bios or fisheries, but it does have some. On the last point, and touching on one of Don's points, maybe a volunteer effort to visually survey the redds in the City would be of value to SRD. And/or volunteer catch per effort logs. Perhaps one person from each concerned group (say FFC, TU, etc) could be assigned to meet and discuss, then approach our regulators for their opinions. Between us, SRD, and some planning and organization, we may be able to put more real data behind regulation decisions, and possibly catch population problems before it is too late to correct them.

Great info guys. Much appreciated. Thanks.

Rehashing this thread. I started considering a kayak for the Bow, but not really to fish from. I am wondering if paddling upstream a significant distance is feasible, so that a float down dosn't require a shuttle, etc. Poor mans jet boat, I guess. I like the idea of getting some paddling in, scope out some water, then float down and stop to fish here and there (or visa versa). Can anyone that has done some paddling on the Bow comment?

How about the big ol' barbs on those hooks. They're old school bait hangers. Should FFC be more selective of it's advertisers?

Hey Dick, I have not tried furling with silk, but have a used several different materials. I try to keep a constant tension and stop the twist when the leg is reduced by about 10% (I think that is the measure). Also, if you don't break one or two when working with a new material, you probably aren't twisting enough.