TerryH

Following up on Gary's post about staying in Alberta, do what I did -- retire in the Crowsnest Pass. There's great fishing close by in every direction, both moving water and stillwater. If you want to sample some BC fishing, the Elk Valley is minutes away. It's a beautiful place to live with all the small town advantages -- i.e. people are friendly, no rush hours etc. and if you need an urban fix, Calgary is 2 hours away, and Lethbridge is 1.5 hours away. I've been here for going on eight years, and I'm loving it.

The city of Toronto has a real estate tax.

I've found these to be as durable as most flies. The extended body is tied on a strip of foam that is about 2mm x 2mm in cross-section. I thread it on a long beading needle (available at Michael's). With the needle held in the vise, I tie the thread on, do some wraps to get the taper I want, and then dub the body and wrap the ribbing (for the green drake I use yellow floss). Then it's whip finishing and lastly, pulling the tail fibbets through while taking the extended body off the needle. I usually tie up a bunch of the extended bodies before constructing the completed flies.

some green drakes

There are also some "shoe goo" type products that work well in certain fly tying applications. For example, I've used a product from Tana called Sport Gloo, which is very much like Aquaseal, but dries much more quickly and is much less expensive. I have not used it for copper johns, but I have used it when tying Jensen's Ultimate Boatmen, and it works very well.

There you go Don, I just bumped you up to a +2. Terry

WIN cards are good for 5 years. Obviously you should receive the card in the mail if everything goes as it should, but even if it doesn't show up, it is just the actual WIN number that you need when purchasing a fishing or hunting license, whether done online or at a fly shop. The WIN number is shown on your fishing license and on the receipt you would have received when buying or renewing your WIN card. If you didn't retain either, you can still go to a fly shop and have them do a WIN search. If the system finds a match between your birth date and either your telephone number or driver's license number (or whatever ID you used, i.e. passport or health care card), your WIN number will come up. There is no charge for this service.

I use one when I'm stillwater fishing with very small flies like chironomids. Trying to remove a small hook, especially on a big fish (I get one every now and then), is difficult simply because there's not much to grip. This tool pops the flie out quite easily. I doubt that' I'd ever bother dragging one around on rivers and creeks. I already have too much junk hanging off my vest. Terry

I've used a trekking pole, then the Springbrook multi-section pole with interior shock cord, and finally the Simms wading staff. The Simms is the absolute best. It folds into a compact unit that resides in a holster on your wading belt. It is attached to a retractor cable, and best of all, once extended, it is locked. The Springbrook model has all of that, but it does not lock when extended. Terry

Nice fish. Shoulda photoshopped out the secret fly though. Terry

Awesome. Thanks for posting. Terry

I have it on my 7wt Sage 99, which I use almost exclusively for chironomid/indicator fishing. As Rick says, it does shoot nicely, although given how I'm using it, distance is not a big deal. I've not tried the full blown shark skin so I can't compare, but I can say that with the textured line, you don't really notice the roughness after a while. Since the price premium is not that great, unlike for the shark skin, I think it is worth a try. Terry edit: mine is the nymphing indicator line

I assume the brookie was delivered to Taco's frying pan. Nice pics BTW.

Oxalic acid. Do a Google search and you'll find instructions for using it to remove rust stains on concrete.

Have a look at this thread: http://flyfishcalgary.com/board/index.php?...p;hl=transducer The photos on the above link are my old pontoon. I have a different system for holding the sonar head on my new toon -- as shown below. The wood base is bolted on the frame with a U-bolt. The sonar head is removable for storage in the saddle bag, along with the transducer and gell cell battery. Terry

I'll send you the coordinates. Nope. Although I have a pump, and have tried it the odd time without much success, I usually feel that I've harassed the fish enough by the time I get it in the net, and I just want to let it go.

Wouldn't leave shore without one. In addition to wanting to know the depth, I prefer fishing in spots where I see a screen like this. I'm not sure it's worth paying the premium for a portable, since it is a simple matter to set up a regular model sonar on a pontoon boat.

You must be tying them in your sleep too. I thought I had a pretty good Chirony box, but I can't match yours. Terry

I was pleased with the work I had done by "The Branch Manager." Terry

Ok NamasteMushroom, explain to me why it is necessary to wear a mask when protesting.

Good point. I used to use a swing arm overhead fluorescent lamp (the kind they used to use on drafting tables when drawings were actually done on paper). The lamp used 18" fluorescent tubes and full spectrum versions are available -- not cheap, but worth the money IMHO. Anyway, I don't have the swing room for the old lamp, so I now use one of the fold-down Ott lamps, and am quite happy with it. The only disadvantage of the Ott compared to my old system, is that it takes up desk top space, and can obscure your view. Terry

I've never understood why people want to go to all the trouble of putting a motor on a pontoon boat. Between flippers and oars, I've never had a problem getting around on any of the lakes I fish. To each his own I guess. Anyway, for those of you who insist on using one, I'll pass on an interesting setup I saw recently, to deal with the problem of how to steer using a rear mounted motor. This guy had a metal bar clamped to the vertical shaft of the trolling motor. The bar was oriented perpendicular to the long axis of the boat. There were short cables attached to each end of the bar, that extended forward so the he could hold one in each hand. By pulling on these he could control the direction of the motor, and hence, steer the boat. Of course this isn't going to be too convenient if you're trying to troll at the same time -- unless you use a rod holder. I suppose with a bit of ingenuity, one could set modify this scheme so that steering could be done with your feet. Too much trouble for me -- I'll stick to flippers and oars. Terry

Don't say stuff like that -- now Clive'll have to get a larger hat.

It's called the Stop Inn. Here's some info from another web site. Stop Inn Motel Phone: (403) 562-7381 Located on Highway 3 in Coleman, the Stop Inn Motel is close to fine dining or takeout restaurants, laundromat, convenience stores, gas stations and liquor stores. Feel right at home with 24 clean, comfortable units, some with kitchens. All have cable TV and a fax-modem compatible telephone. Their staff is known for their excellent customer service. The BCMI in Blairmore did indeed have a fire, and they've been working on the repairs for some time. It's no where near being ready and from what I've heard, it's not expected to reopen until 2013.

motorcyclist hits speeds of 299 km/hr -- see video here