mkm

In total agreement with all the comments surrounding CFD river patrols. I got steamed when the rationale being portrayed for taking 1 fire boat out of service was budget constraints...total PR stunt. If the budget was truly an issue then maybe stop sending fire trucks to every medical call (that's what EMS is for).

Great to hear of the changes. I tried to find some information on the changes and came up empty. Has anyone seen anything officially published?

Sent a message to Russ at the Missoulian Angler. Hope your boat shows up.

Every March I head down to Missoula MT for Skwala fishing on the Bitterroot. When you time it right the dry fly action can be the best of the season. Missoula is an awesome town - good fishing, great restaurants, good lodging at a good rate ($100/night), and lots of trout bums to BS with at the pub after a day on the river. I've heard lots of people take down their own boat and use the local shuttle service. I've been taking trips down there for years with the same shop...they offer a $375 full-day float special in March. Being based out of Missoula you have lots of rivers to chose from - Bitterroot, the Mo, rock creek, etc. Heading down this Thursday! PM me if you want any info.

Just wanted to put a quick note on the board about a sketchy encounter I had by the Dog Pound. Last Friday at 1pm I was heading back from the stream when an old white pickup truck was slowly rolling down Range Road 50 (4km west of Bottrel) towards me. Upon seeing me the white male driving the truck put it in park (middle of the road), jumped out of the truck, and approached me. First thing I noticed was the 30 inch knife he had hanging from his belt, then it was the handgun necklace around his neck. He approached me pretty quick and kept looking down at my hand that was on my wading belt next to my bear spray. Right away he noted that he didn’t know anything about fishing but my rod/reel looked expensive. Every time I would step back from the guy he would once again move closer. His posture was very threating, he seemed slightly agitated, and he kept touching the handle of his knife. Finally the awkward encounter ended when a car came driving towards us. He quickly jumped in his truck and left without saying much. After the man drove a few hundred meters down the road he pulled over and let the car pass, then pulled a u-turn and proceeded to park his truck behind my car. Upon seeing him turn around I pulled the cap off my bear spray and pulled out my fishing knife, placing them both in the back of my car where I could easily grab them. This time around the man spoke about random things like how much money he makes; how his daughter is sick but he thinks the treatments aren’t going to work; how expensive everything is. I kind of felt like the guy was thinking of robbing me but was trying to convince himself one way or the other. Lucky for me his phone rang and he walked back to his truck to take the call. The man became extremely agitated with the person on the phone and kept screaming “you F*cking idiot”. I quickly jumped out of my gear, through it in my car, and drove away. Still 3 days after I feel anxious about this encounter. I have gone over it in my head and cannot find a good reason for why this guy would have made such an effort to approach me. I had considered dropping by the Cochrane RCMP but as nothing happened I didn’t know if they would take me seriously. Other info for your reference: White male – approx. 35 years old – approx. 5’11” – medium build – medium length shaggy blonde/brown hair – wearing a necklace with a large handgun charm. Driving an old white 2 door pickup truck (either Ford or Chevy) with a beat-up motor bike (chopper) in the back. The man had made reference to having summered at the “Triple Diamond” camp ground but this year they had given his spot away as he could only be there for 2 months. The man recently got a job somewhere between Cochrane and Sundre where he’s making $36/hour (really weird to tell a stranger!). This could have easily gone the wrong way so make sure you stay safe!

Yes the pike was missing an eye...same one???

Fishing last Tuesday by Police and was surprised to find this toothy beast on the end of my stone fly nymph.

Last year I held off on buying new SImms boots until a trip to Montana...was really surpirsed at the prices. I saved $60 from the price in Calgary...that being said I typically support the local flyshops but when money is your bottomline its worth considering your options. I'm not sure on shipping costs but you can pick some up online out of montana: - Simms Freestone boots felt $99 - Simms Rivershed boots (rubber sole) $179....also found on sale at one montana shop online for $116. $229 in town - Simms G4 guideboot $142.97 (sale price) - Simms Freestone waders (pants) - $219....I love these ones Consider your options and get the best gear you can afford.

Always had chest waders but when the time came to replace them I opted for the Simms pants. Now with a new baby I figured I have no business wading beyond waist deep. I would love to have both chest and pant waders but couldn't swallow buying both. Last winter I just threw on an extra sweater and all was good.

Move to Arbour Lake...the fish are HUGE!!!

The closed topic was very entertaining. For the first time in many years I got the chance to drift rather than sitting on the bank. My opinion is sitting on the bank I get a better chance to cover the water. Rowing the boat for the first time made me understand how hard at times it is to yield to the people fishing from shore. Sometimes you don't see them in time, other times the boat was not positioned to quickly row away. I felt bad floating too close at times but a genuine apology went along way. We drifted on last Sunday and every EPIC hole was being fished and sometimes you get anxious to hit that great water. Is it really a big deal if you are fishing a hole for an hour and one boat...one fisherman...passes his fly though "your hole". for gods sake you put your line through it 100x and if he by some odd chance hits a fish the one time his line crosses your hole then good for him...ask him what he's using. I have spent many years annoyed at drifters but now I see it's not that big of a deal. if they drift over your hole...spoil it...go sit on the bank and enjoy being on the river...wait 5 minutes...and go back and catch your hawg...carma is on your side. Once that trip we were on the outside of a great seam...I didn't want to cast into his water but my youthful spirit got the better of me. i tossed my dry on the outside of the seam and sure enough hooked into a pig. i felt bad (still do) but carma played its role and I lost the fish. I apologized when I hooked up..the guy responded (jokingly) "your not sorry". If the guy is on the board...i really did feel bad. mkm

Does BC?

Jeff was one hell of a guy. Words can’t explain the sadness I feel from his death and the pain it must be causing the family he loved so much. Over the past year Jeff has become a solid fishing buddy. He has been apart of some of my most memorable fishing journeys and the stories he shared from his remarkable life always kept me entertained. Jeff was one of those people who could have done anything in life successfully. He worked for Canada post but I always secretly thought it was only so he could be done work early in the day in order to hit the ponds. I never met his family but have heard many stories about them and their tight bond. I have never been one for religion but I hope that in his after life he finds a great mountain stream or pond where he can fish until we all get to see him again. Fish on Jeff.

Was surfing then the and came across this. Originally posted by francisc006 "OK great! So here's the deal, I read this thread and decided to try out Carseland below the Hwy 24 and there wasnt much there, so we went down the road to Johnson Islands, and could see them jumping but through out the day didnt really catch anything special. Towards the end of the day we decided to inflate the raft and tied it up to the shoreline becuase we forgot the paddles and lifejackets. Well you wont guess what happens next, The Party Poopers come by, and we had to let go of the rods (into the water because our licences had expired in march :nut: ) Anyway, he saw and asked us to come back to the shore and got all our info, long story short we got ticketed for Littering in the River and also for Fishing without a licence, Then a warning (slap on the wrist) for not having the raft gear (ie: paddles, lifejackets, horn, waterproof flashlight). Anyway I didnt have my ID on me so he took down my name, my last name is Betancourt but he wrote Bitancourt on the tickets, after this long essay, my question is if there is any way to fight these tickets and is it actually worth it? (price is $115 each, but I'd have to go to the Strathmore Court to fight it)" What an idiot!!! I had to laugh when they got the additional ticket for littering. mkm

Check out Kajiji or Used Calgary as I have seen many used roof rack systems for much cheaper. I spent the money on a yakima system just to find all the parts I needed on usedcalgary for less than 1/2 price. mkm

Awesome pics....got me thinking how i could make a trip like that work. If you dont mind...what was the cost of the heli? Thanks. mkm

Bull caught in BC (August 15, 2008). The weather was cold and we almost cut our trip short until we started catching bulls and cutts. A nice brown caught by Tgo on the bow this month. Double header this month...brown and a rainbow. Tgo let me hold his brown for the photo. mkm

Killer pics...was it expensive to fish? What's the cost for a guide? I am thinking of taking some time during the summer of 2010 and doing a trip through europe and would love to catch a few trout. mkm

I have been wondering lately if your indy also could have an effect on detecting strikes. What I mean by this is: I use a "thing-a-ma-bobber" (the air filled plastic indy. This things could hold up a small child. Although I feel like I catch my fair share of fish I wonder if I also miss alot of strikes because the indy is so buoyant? All the little strikes might not be detected. What do you guys think...should I use a less buoyant indy? mike

Awesome shop. The owners are great...I stopped by last week before they had opened and the guys invited me in and showed me the shop and all the gear they carry. Great fly selection...they offer some alternative brands to what are normally seen in Calgary (Snowbee, Greys). I think this shop will do well as they mentioned opening early (6am) during the summer and have a great location for leaving the city. I already plan to have my summer trips begin with the fly shop and coffee from across the lot. Check it out! mkm

I second that!!! I bought a few flies as some were not to bad...but taking all the mini tags off each fly would drive a guy crazy. I agree with the heard that the fly fishing section wasn't what I had expected but maybe Bass Pro Shop did some good market research and realized their location wasn't the most appealing to the fly fishing community. As well, is it possible the Bass Pro Shop group realized the fly fishing market is fairly well taken care of in Calgary? Maybe they are just good people and didn't want to hurt our favorite little fly shops in town!!! Either way, cool store and I found the staff great. I spent half an hour with a young staff member who was on his lunch break. He was so excited to point out all the different fish...he also was responsible for catching a bunch of them. mkm

Thanks Rick. I guess you saw the news coverage about our sponsorship drive. It appears there has been some corporate interest in the Luge Team which is great...cross my fingers that something turns out. If that pans then the next step will be for myself to find a personal sponsor. If any of you guys on the board have any ideas for me to find sponsorship please let me know. The benefit to sponsoring an individual athlete is the company still gets the benefit of pre-Olympic exposure however it comes at a much lower cost ($10,000 would go a really long way). Mike

Hey all, Just wanted to let you know that I will be competing in the Luge World Cup this Friday and Saturday at Canada Olympic park. I believe my competitions begin on Friday at 3pm and again on Saturday evening at 6pm. Admission is free and there will be a festival tent where you can watch the races on TV's while throwing back a cold one, or you can watch us up close along side the track. So put down your rods and get out to COP! I compete in the Doubles event with my older brother (Moffat & Moffat). Hope some of you can make it out. Mike Moffat

I was in the Whistler fly shop a couple of weeks ago and Brian should me the amundson spey rod. Nice action, great price, however I believe he told me they only had a one year warranty which slightly concerns me. Not sure if that goes for their reels as well. Brian seemed pretty pumped about the rod which leads me to believe they might be worth a try. Sorry no info about the reels. mkm

I'm an amateur at this game....I felt guilty at first but after reading this I find comfort that I am not alone. I have been hiding my new sage 4wt and ross reel for months now. Next year I will probably slip up and she will find the pair but at that point I just tell her that I have had the rod/reel for a long time and we didn't even notice the money missing. Come to think about it she also hasn't found the new pair of simms wading boots either!!! mkm