mkm

Just received this from a friend. Looks Like BC is going to limit non-resident steel heading on the Skeena. Skeena Angling Management Strategy - October 2008 "For years, people have told the Ministry of Environment that waters in the Skeena River system have persistent steelhead angler-use issues — crowding, disproportionate numbers of non-resident anglers or guided anglers, lack of opportunities for resident anglers, illegal guiding, and poor angler etiquette — leading to a degraded quality of angling experience." 1.4 Overview of the problem Following consultation with a broad range of stakeholders and members of the public as well as discussions with members of the Working Groups, the essence of the problem with steelhead angler use on the Skeena River system became clear. Some rivers at some times of year get very crowded. The most crowded parts of the season are usually the last two weeks in September and the first two weeks in October. In the areas and times where angler-use issues are a problem, the Angling Management Plan relies on one main regulatory measure — the combination of a limited-day licence with a lottery system to allocate those licences evenly over the classified water period. Draft Angling Management Plan - Skeena Quality Waters Strategy "entire Classified Waters period, so that there were not extreme peaks of angler use that caused crowding and poor quality angling at specific times in certain places. The limited-day licence and lottery system is applied to the non-guided, non-resident sector of the sport fishery. There are several reasons for this: • Consultations with stakeholders and the public indicated that the number of nonguided, non-residents fishing in some waters has increased considerably in the past few years and in many cases, that sector is a major component of the crowding problem. • Many people cited specific examples of crowding caused by non-guided, nonresident anglers. • The total number of guided anglers for each river is basically capped at specific levels. Ministry data as well as consultations with public and stakeholders suggest that in most instances guided anglers do not contribute to the crowding problem. There may be some situations where there are large numbers of guided anglers during peak times in the season, and changes to guiding regulations could be made to ensure that guided angler use was distributed more evenly over the entire Classified Waters period. However, the number of guides and assistant guides usually places a limit on the number of guided anglers on a river at any one time. • In many cases, public and stakeholder groups said that resident anglers were not participating in the sport fishery due to crowding. Therefore, regulating the numbers of BC residents, other than trying to find ways to create more opportunities, would not be appropriate. • One of the over-arching principles of the Quality Waters Strategy states that resident anglers and guided anglers have a higher priority than non-resident anglers on Classified Waters." Check out the full report here: https://webmail.shaw.ca/attach/SkeenaAnglin...gManagement.pdf mkm

How big of a registry are we talking about? I would be guessing but don't think you would require a full office of staff to manage the number of Alberta guides. I see no problem with $450 for a yearly guide license..then again I'm not a guide. But for the number of days a guide is on the river I would assume their profits are pretty big. Correct me if I am wrong as I don't personally know any guides and the costs that confront them. mkm

I love this discussion!!! In my humble opinion I think guides should need to be licensed. I know this will not sit well with some however as it is now anyone can call themselves a guide, make $450+ off clients, and use the public resource for free. I believe that if your making your business off a great resource like our fisheries then you shouldn't have a problem paying a nominal fee which would be reinvested into our resourse (e.g. more CO's, research into maintaining quality, etc.) And on a side note I wouldn't mind paying a little extra for my basic fishing license if it meant better management. I don't want to see a classified system like in BC however more money could mean better service...seeing as we all talk about poachers and not having enough Co's. Just my thoughts though. mkm

I have been recently considering picking up a GPS for fishing in the back country. I don't know much about the different GPS units available and was wondering what to look for. I have heard some units can lose their signal in the mountains and this would really concern me. One unit which looks good is the Garmin 60cx but it also carries a price tag over $300. Also, with GPS is it possible to download routes and points onto a computer or enter in extra info (e.g. weather conditions or date and time)? THanks for your input. mkm

Hey RussC, 2 Years ago I did the bass fishing at Disney world and had a blast. Although I'm sure the other guys are right about going off shore but if you don't have time take the $250 bass fishing trip on the Disney lake...it was worth it. What the other guys elude to is the $250 allows you to have up to 4 people on the trip, so find a few others to go along. My brother and I had lots of quality bass and we were able to enjoy the family trip to the theme parks in the afternoon. Just my 2 cents! Mike

hey all, My buddy and I are looking to purchase new pontoon boats over the winter for next season. I was wondering what length of boat is best for the bow...what brand is in your opinion the best...and what boat is the best bang for our hard earned buck? I would love to get lots of feedback. Thanks, Mike

Bernie...did you tell your wife about this one!!! Maybe fishin with you is a bad idea after all. good to hear it was a friendly encounter. Mike

I was in Troutfitters yesterday and they are having a good sale as they are relocating to downtown. I have never seen them sell cloudveil before but do recall seeing some cloudveil boots on sale at the front door. You might want to call to double check. Mike

Thanks missing the bow....I just got home from fishing the wiggy and had no idea about the severity of the bear issue. That was until we were about 4km from where we parked and a huge black bear was standing on the road. Funny thing was, as we were fishing both myself and tgo kept thinking we heard stuff in the bushes. mkm

Last month I picked up a sony A200. The camera is a 10.1 mega pixel, comes with a 18-70mm lens and cost me $499 at London drug. So far the camera seems awesome and for me being technically challenged I have had no issues taking some good pics. The only problem is I am afraid to take it anywhere near the water so no fishing pics yet! Mike

Just a quick update on this. I called the BC fishing agent (government) to clarify before I head to Fernie. They informed me that although there is talk of changing the rules about buying online licenses and then being able to purchase a CW license from a fly-shop however it has not occurred. Therefore, if you buy a BC license online you can only purchase the CW license online. If anyone has more questions about this the phone number is (250) 423-6845. This is obviously a huge flaw in their current system and I hope it gets resolved soon. Mike

Hey Terry, When did this happen. I was in Fernie two weeks ago and the fly fishing shops told me I was unable to. However one of the shops was nice enough to go online and print my CW license of for me. I am heading to BC on sunday...do you think the shops will know they can write me the license now or do I need to set them straight. Thanks for the info. Mike

Amazing shots...what kind of camera are you using? do you need a polarized filter to get the clarity or do you adjust the saturation of pic on your computer. Mike

You can also buy them online if you purchased your license online...the only down side to buying online is once you have done it you can only obtain future classified waters licenses online. I found this out the hard way! The online system doesn't really cater to anglers who do not have access to a computer/printer while on an outing. Mike

Toolman, You must be single or a really brave man...my girlfriend gives me crap over new waders. "What...new waders...(insert sigh)...keep it up and we won't be able to afford food next month". What I would give to have your collection of gear. Good on ya. You could make a decent living writing reviews and promoting for fishing companies!

I would have to agree...my girlfriend seems much more satisfied since getting my Snowbee's!!! Not to mention those big fish seem to be hanging around me more...probably just checkin out my stylish new waders!!! Mike

I recently bought a pair of the Snowbee from Courtney (island Guy) on this site. After 8 outings they have held up really well. Construction appears solid, a little bit warmer then I am use to, the zip front simply rocks, and the fit is good (as long as you wear the wading belt that is provided with them. If these waders hold up as well as I suspect then they would get my two thumbs up. Mike

Thanks guys for the replies...Maybe I will just buy a nice 3-4wt rod instead of hiring a guide. Mike

Hey All, Just wondering if any of you could give me some insight into good guides for rivers around fernie...looking for good bang for my buck. Also, what rivers would you recommend...late august. Thanks, Mike

Thanks Max. It seemed that the tag was fairly recent (last 6 months) bc the flesh still looked pretty raw. Mike

Hey all, Today I caught a 21.5" rainbow that had been tagged. Just wondering if anyone has heard of rainbows being tagged in the bow and if so when, why, etc. Also, I only remember the last 4 nmbers from the tag...is this info useful? Thanks Mike

Quick question about what SJW said about leader/tippet weight. I have always stuck with 4x leder/tippet for nymphing. SHould I be using a heavier tippet? Will the fish be more likely to see you tippet if its much bigger than 4x? So far for me it seems that I am not losing many fish with 4x but if I can go heavier without the fish noticing it seems to be a good idea. Thanks, Mike

Thanks again for the feedback. However, I called the shop this morning to order the cloudveil's and my size (large) sold out yesterday however if any of you are looking for other sizes and are interested check out http://shop.westbank.com/ . They also have some others on sale such as last years Simms G3 and guide waders for 25% off. You need to call the shop to order as their online store doesn't allow shipping to canada but the shop will for around $14-20. In the end I elected to go with Courtney from Nile Creek Fly shop and get the Snowbee xs-pro waders. Courtney's a great guy to chat with and is shipping them out today. I will keep you all posted on the Snowbee's. Mike

Thanks for the feedback. I hate buying waders bc they cost a bunch...but hey on the other hand what part of this hobby doesn't!!! Cheers, mike

Hey all, I've got a line on some Cloudveil 8x waders for $297.50 (from $450) out of the states. Before I jump in and buy them what are your thoughts? Anyone know much about there warranty? I like the Simms but price is an issue. Thanks for your input. Mike