jksnijders

Believe it or not those kinks in the leader actually impart a very sweet response on a stripped streamer, giving it a really erratic wounded look in the water. My only concern with the spinning style is that after alot of casting and a few fish they can come apart. I've made the mistake before and lost a slab due to a poor condition leader that either pulled at the snap or swivel or just broke.

I shoot at Silver Willow, Dewinton, and Carstairs. Dewinton is a good option since it's close. I can't recall the membership/drop in details (I'm a member though at all 3) 25 clays per round of straight trap at either Dewinton or Carstairs and shells works out to about 15 buck a round if I recall. Carstairs is a round of 100 for sporting clays with a green or blue course for difficulty. The trap and sporting range border each other, I've only shot trap up there a few times but it's a good bunch of guys and some definite gun hands also. They have had some major opposition I think from acreage owners regarding noise, typical of people that build a house right near an active shooting range.

Pretty much hit the nail right on the head.

I can think of several just off the top of my head within a couple hours drive of here.. Pike hatch faster based on water temp, the warmer the better, something I read in what I figured to be a reputable source. The worst part about the larger end of the gene pool fish is that there are no shortage of people that just can't release a 40" plus fish. Not sure why that is but must be some sort of hero aspect or something. I grew up in a pike area and saw it often growing up, which I found ridiculous. They aren't worth a damn to eat out of warm water anyway, and the amount of eggs produced by large females per pound of body weight is exponential. They're a great game fish on fly or spinning gear and should be treated accordingly, not much in this area beats a 40" plus fish in shallow water hitting a streamer with bad intentions. Unfortunately they haven't often been viewed as such, which is pretty sad.

Been on this site a good while, and I recall there being alot of congrats given to a certain "fisherman" whenever there were pics of coloured up bulls posted over the years. Always seemed ok among certain circles back then...

His books barely left my truck in the fishing months... great read and got me to many spots I'd not have otherwise made it to for many years on my own. RIP.

I just got told about this today, I don't frequent this place much these days.... I got an email from him earlier this week about Bullshead, and had a beer with him not long ago downtown. I fished with him a bit, not enough for sure. He had a passion for fishing in general that I've not seen in a long time, and one that I always enjoyed, having found less and less time to get out in the last few years. I got a kick out of talking old field stories with him, and seeing his clips as a driller on TV. We did a walk and wade on the Bow a few years back, and of course he had a few of his favourite IPA's with him in a pack. We fished a bit, and just had a good sit down and BS on the bank as we knocked back a couple. He was a hell of an angler for sure.. we talked often about getting out, he loved K Lakes and the Crow, (unfortunately we never made either trip together..) and had talked about getting out for pike in the spring. I'm still a bit shocked honestly. He was a genuinely good dude and I enjoyed talking to and hanging around him during the times I did. Go easy man... see you on the other side.

Where about? Ironically I also grew up outside of Brooks with a stocked pond in the back yard.....

Pretty much....

My main "How Do They Do It?" question is how do guys come up with an "accurate" measurement without actually landing the fish?

You staying dry down that way?

Islamorada area. Guide named Jeremy. Solid dude, good boat, had him 5 days. Put us on fish every day. Conditions varied but were good overall, lots of shots, lots of fish spotted. Saw some real slabs. They are definitely more selective than the ones I've encountered in Cuba, smaller flies (2/0 generally) and better presentations definitely required. Definitely keep your flies checked, I had a similar situation with a good cast and presentation, a strong initial follow, then saw my fly was fouled. Pretty tough to not get rattled when you have a wad of good fish heading right for you for sure...

Was in the Keys end of April, we had a couple 100lb range fish to the boat the first day (with 8-12ft 50lb fluoro leaders depending on vis) and the guide's first comment on every fish we hooked was "tighten your drag" for the initial run. As in buried tight.. Also hooked a few Xmas Island GT's a few years ago, and although I could barely strip line off by hand with the drag buried, a decent GT could get it to full thottle in milliseconds and keep it there for what I'm sure was minutes (and took about 20 to reel it all up when I finally got broke off) When you're rigged heavy anyway I wouldn't go any less.

Nautilus makes a great reel.... I have 6 and they're all bomb proof, never once an issue.

I'd say a man your size casting with laser like precision in close quarters might have been a contributing factor... Still got that rod also. You still a glass man?

I have several TFO rods and love them. I have a whole string of rods up to 12wt, Loomis, Sage etc, and still use them regularly. Seems to me alot of significance is placed on the $'s on the tag in the flyfishing game, for a good majority of the rods I've ever cast I can't say the subtle differences aren't generally readily apparent. Then again, I'm pretty new to the game. The price point is nice, and they make great backup or main rods. Love my 8'6 4wt BVK, 9' 8wt BVK, and 9' 10wt BVK. Also have a few TiCr's that are pretty solid also. Quick fix if you break one, as opposed to some painful screwing around I've experienced with some "higher end" models. Solid all around in my opinion...

Well played sir.

Good for the guy as far as I'm concerned..

Cuba domestic flights? I've taken rods to Cuba twice as carry-on, checked the third time this spring for the new Westjet carry-on limit. Rods and reels with line and leader, no hooks though. Never had an issue.

Mine is that exact setup from that exact store. They were hesitant but they did it. Those engines are a 4 stroke 60hp head, with the power loss to the jet making it 40hp. The boat is recommended to 50 hp with a prop. So technically it's under. And be prepared to wait months for delivery if it was anything like mine. The engine is a bit heavy for a 1648 but once it's set up properly they go like hell. And swap out the tires ASAP, the stock tires on the trailer lasted a couple months with light use and blew apart on the highway.

Nice.. When were you there? We had a week of great action, though only landed 4 for the trip out of a lot jumped. I still can't think straight after that, never seen anything like the first 10 seconds after sticking one of those bastards.

I tied a bunch on 4/0 Partridge hooks this year with the hopes of reducing hookups on dinks. Seems when they want it they have no issues getting even a 4/0 (Partridge Ad Swier's are pretty big btw) Though I have landed smaller fish without actually hooking them when their velcro-like upper plate snagged up in the synthetic (rabbit can wait in the car as far as I'm concerned) I used for the streamer. Often I think this is the case when they get off after a bit. And I strip set religiously. If little else it keeps it on their plate if you miss them the first time, and hits them alot harder when they do get it.

Interesting. http://www.ted.com/talks/sheila_patek_clocks_the_fastest_animals.html

They're pretty tooled up for sure. And pretty tasty.