TerryH

The pictures of the leopard frog got me thinking about a survey I recall being done a few years ago. Looking for info on the web led me to the following report (see link below), which shows (Fig. 1) the very sparse distribution of these critters. I note that the figure doesn't show much of a population in the Highwood area, so the folks studying this frog might be interested in your find. BTW, very nice pictures. Terry http://www.ab-conservation.com/go/default/...egy-Alberta.pdf

You're probably right. It was the yellowish colour and the jaw that got me thinking maybe cuttbow. I landed a nice male cutty in BC last week that had the same jaw. However, as I look back at some of my Crowsnest bow pictures, I tend to agree with Hawg. Anyway, regardless, that is one damn nice fish, especially for small water. Terry

Great looking fish, but are you sure it's not a cutbow? Terry

I don't want to come out. Terry

Gary, I second the motion. Let's get er done. Terry

Another Stampeder dynasty??????????? When was the first one, I must've missed it? Terry

I have a set of Yakima bars that attach to the original equipment rails on my suburban. I bought them quite a few years ago, so I can't recall what I paid, but it was no where near $600. It works great for my canoe and my 9' outcast pontoon. The version shown in the following link appears to be a newer version of what I have, and the listed MSRP is $226CAD. Terry http://www.yakima.com/racks/rack-systems/p...g-ez-rider.aspx

Last night's game has to be one of the most exciting football games in a long while -- and I thought so even when it looked in the last seconds like the Stamps were going to win it. Both quarterbacks played great games; Copeland and Stamps were unreal. Terry

Top Ride contains both a desiccant to dry the fly (the big chunks) and a floatant powder. Their Blue Ribbon product contains just the floatant powder. There are other brands of floatant powder, which you can use to recharge the Top Ride container. Terry

A long handle net obviously helps. I've also found that it is much easier to land bigger fish at the side rather than between your feet. It least that's my experience in a pontoon boat. Terry

I buy barbless when I can, but like most people who've been tying for a long time, I have a big inventory of barbed hooks. While on the topic of barbless hooks, I noticed something recently. I was using a double nymph rig with the top fly being a stonefly tied on a barbless hook. I prefer to tie the dropper off the bend of the top hook, and I discovered that with the smooth tapered point on the barbless hook, the dropper line had a tendency to slide off. A pinched barb provides enough of a bump to prevent this. After it happened a couple of times (slow learner here) I reverted to tying the dropper from the eye of the top fly. Terry

Allan, have a great birthday. Only five more years till all that CPP cash starts rolling in, and free fishing to boot. Terry

Mikulak sedge pattern

I love that lake -- great fishing and the most spectacular scenary one can imagine. Thanks for posting the pics. They bring back lots of memories -- used to fish that lake a lot. Terry

While we're at it, how about tenkara? http://www.tenkarausa.com/about.php Terry

Right on!! Factor in cost of materials, a minimum wage salary for tiers, some staff salaries in the shop, a few bucks for overhead like buildings, utilities, insurance, etc., and it's not too difficult to get to $2.00 to $3.00 a fly -- not to mention issues like exchange rates, seasonal business etc. I tie my own, but I shudder to think what it costs me per fly when I consider the mountain of materials I've accumulated -- that's a bit of math I don't want to get into . Terry

I can tell you where not to go --- Hitch Shop, 2512-26 St NE. They installed a hitch and did the wiring on my son's Nissan Frontier. They sent it out the door knowing that the wiring for the running lights wasn't working. Either that or they didn't bother to check. Unknown to them was the fact that on certain Nissan vehicles like the Frontier, Xterra etc., a relay has to be installed or the running lights won't work. I had the same issue with a shop in Lethbridge who did the wiring on my Xterra. Anyway, when my son went back to complain, they basically told him to FO. Lesson learned -- don't leave the shop unless they can demonstrate the wiring is operational. Terry

Hey Dennis, glad to hear it works up north too. Hope you charged Rick the going rate for flies purchased on the water . Terry

I have to agree, Islander reels are great. But, better still, the backup service is top notch. I plumb wore out the drag on one of my IR2's -- gotta love that, brag brag! Anyway, I got in touch with Islander, sent it back and they replaced just about all the inner workings at no charge. The reel came back looking like brand new. Terry

Taco, you can get them at the Crowsnest Angler. That's sort of local -- for you at least. Terry

As noted a WIN number must be purchased first ($8, good for 5 years). It he/she is from elsewhere in Canada, then the only option is an annual licence ($25.66 + GST). Otherwise, if not a Canadian citizen, then there are the options of one-day and five-day licences. All the above are available online at https://www.albertarelm.com/. Terry

You swine.

And cake, right?? Terry

Congrats Darren. Terry

From the hand position, it's clear that he's going to cast right, crank left -- i.e. the right way. Congrats to you and your wife. Terry