Conor

I have heard of Whiting #1 griz saddles going for up to $1500. I would bet a saddle this is a fad. It is too unique/noticable to be a permanent thing. I am also starting to think that the fad has peaked. I have seen some in Calgary hair. As far as fashion goes, Calgary is delayed. It will hit the small urban areas next, and be passe by then. The demand seems to be driven mainly by southern California. Once it passess there, things will settle down. I'm selling mine now and keeping a year or two worth to tide me over until prices drop again. There is always CDC and snoeshoe!

Good for shooting line. A lot of saltwater fishing starts from 10-20ft off the tip with a single haul and shoot. I bet overlining will help with that, but accuracy may be an issue. Your rod is rated to load 30ft of line, so if you are only loading with 20ft... I wouldn't try to aerialize 50 ft of a line 2 wt over. You'd be begging for a broken blank, especially with high modulus. I'm not sure what your after here, but keep in mind that with saltwater fly fishing, the weight of the rod is based more on the size/power of the fish than the size of the fly (as with freshwater FF). An 8 wt seems a bit light for anything but baby tarpon, and a 6 wt a bit light for bonefish.

I would not be so quick to blame fishermen, either. I have had some very nasty, unrational comments from a few dog owners there (dog hater, fish killer...), and I would not put it past those few to see a broken fence and call 311 to blame it on anglers. Why would you rip a fence down instead of jumping over? It seems more like vandalism than access. Regardless who it was, it sucks. It will probably make it more difficult for reasonable anglers to fish there. As for angler access here: Calling this area a preserve is a joke. The City is not qualified to designate such areas. It is a stones through from a major highway; you can see IKEA from it! The area was fenced off to keep dogs out to assist in the bank stabilization efforts to keep the river from encroaching on sensitive habitats. And by sensitive habitats I mean the QE2 ROW, not the weedy, garbage littered, sewage outflow riparian area!

Jim- that ID quiz was available on the SRD website at one point. No more?

I don't know for sure, but I'd bet that seasonally appropriate high flows would have negligable effect on annual recruitment. I can't guess how all the trout eggs/fry don't end up in SK, but they don't. This one is a bit early, so maybe the year class coming out will have more early spawners?

Great stuff, Ryan. I wish I could have seen a pic or your face, as well. But what happened to last summer? You might recall we had kids at the same time. I got my oldest girl (4 in August) out last year a few times, and got her first at Sibald's. She definitely inherited the last cast syndrome. I had to drag her away from the pond crying! After we caught a fish, she stopped calling it fishing. "More catching, more catching..." Noah and Lydia should have a date some time. We were out at Spruce Meadows last year, but it seemed dead. Good to know it is a good option. Does anyone know if the Sam Liv. fish pond is done yet?

I can see that. I guess muscle memory was poor wording, but maybe they are just for beginners. Like I said, if I don't like it, my kids will for sure.

bhurt- There is year round open trout water 10 minutes from my door. If I had time to rig up and walk around a field, I may as well go fishing. Then practice is not an issue, because I wouldn't be getting rusty. I'm looking for something I can pick up in the living room and keep the muscle memory going. I should be able to get out more in the coming years, so maybe I'm asking this question too late. The kids would probably get a kick out of it, anyway. It's good to know most shops have them. I'll check them out some time soon.

bhurt- There is year round open trout water 10 minutes from my door. If I had time to rig up and walk around a field, I may as well go fishing. Then practice is not an issue, because I wouldn't be getting rusty. I'm looking for something I can pick up in the living room and keep the muscle memory going. I should be able to get out more in the coming years, so maybe I'm asking this question too late. The kids would probably get a kick out of it, anyway. It's good to know most shops have them. I'll check them out some time soon.

Casting analyzer. Software may be a bit complicated, but I think the hardware is all there... At least an active casting game.

I just got out for the first time in a few months. Casting was rusting. Has anyone tried the practice rods with yarn line? Your take? I saw them at the FF expo, but didn't have an interest at the time.

I have a pair of force fins, and like them a lot. I find they are better for turning and moving forward then other fins. They are HEAVY, though. If you pack them into lakes, you might want to think lighter.

You can get bamboo rods from reputable modern makers for less then the latest brand name tech rods. Just look for used rods. You could go for modern high end glass or hand spun graphite, too. Check out Steffen Bros. or McFarland. http://www.mcfarlandrods.com/dsp_the_rods.php http://www.steffenbrothersflyrods.com/index.htm I saw a post on the 'Trading Post' here a couple days ago from a guy looking to trade a Steffen glass rod. Or, if your feeling spendy, you could get a Burky... http://cfbflyrods.com/rods/trout/ Or go crazy and get a Morgan... http://www.troutrods.com/ Plenty of options out there, other than the big names.

I try to sharpen my hooks often, but I am not as diligent as I should be, especially with small hooks. I haven't found the best tool option yet. I like to sharpen on the side of the stone. I think the sharpeners Birchy posted are really for bigger hooks, and not very useful for most flies. This winter I picked up some small diamond hones. I might fix one to my chest pack, and see how that works. It still bigger than I need (maybe 1"x2") but I can use just the edge and corners for small hooks.

Its nice to see an original blank idea. I could see this taking off with certain types of fishing, like flats fishing. Short back casts with huge shooting.

The main threat to cutthroat is hybridization with rainbows. Any protection revieved through the recovery plan will not extend to the cutts most people angle for. Unless you are fishing extreme headwaters for tiny cutts, your mostly catching hybrids. That is why the Minister is under the impression that angling is not a significant factor. If you are pushing for stronger regs on our fishing streams, make sure you are specific. Don't let some politician give you a vague answer that doen't really relate to your problems with the current situation. It will be interesting to see what the recovery plan will be. I bet it is focused mainly on Forestry/O&G leaving bigger buffers to watercourses and possibly heavier access restrictions in headwater areas. I'd like to see it restrict ATV use in those areas, as well. I'd be dissapointed to see angling moratoriums on these streams, as the people interested in that sort of fishing are not the problem, but stewards of our headwaters.

Still room in this order if anyone is interested. PM me.

I've been considering this. Looking forwards to your posts. Plus 13 next week. No excuses!

Thanks, Gaffer. I'll have to stop by at some point. Lots of glory stories about finding perfect culms at random places like that. Worth a stop by.

Anybody a fan of shorter rods? I'd like to hear some pros on less than 9ft sticks. Lighter, better accuracy, easier transport/bushwacking, easier fish landing. I'm sure there is more. One of the big reasons I fish a 10ft (other than those mentioned) is the hook setting ability. You can pick up a lot more line with that extra foot off the end. Some belly boaters go long for the extra hang time on the back cast. Now, I'm going to out myself. I have two rods that I use regularly, and an 8wt. One or two junkers I keep around for guests or the kids. I get on the water more than most (though not a lot, these days), and do just fine I am guilty of having a ludicrous amount of tying material. I also have another expensive hobby that has been consuming my resource$ lately, otherwise I'm sure I'd have a few more rods.

This is really the only distributor, right now: http://www.bamboobroker.com/order.html I'd be happy to help you through a build, but I'm really just getting into it myself. Lots of internet info I could point you toward. Warning: this is not a cheap way to get a bamboo fly rod!

I'm looking coordinating an order of rod making cane to calgary. For a hobby builder, shipping etc adds up to more than the cost of the cane, so I'm getting a few people together to help split the costs. PM me an email and rough order and I'll get you on the list.

With most 9ft blue collar cane from then, you should start at about a DT6 and work from there. If you don't have a few lines to try, take it to a shop and try a few, and buy which ever you like best.

I was wondering if you have used the red chenille/purple hackle, like the last pic.

I like the length of the first, best. I like to trim the bottom as well (or spin it so it stays on top); I feel like they track better that way. Nice ties, by the way. Have you tried the brighter body colors before?