ogilvie

It's sunny and warm here in Qualicum Beach,the Canucks are golfing and soon the flames will be doing the same.. C Now I never said I wasn't a jerk!

Glad you got the message... C

Go to "oceanwaves.com" advertised as the best sun glasses in the world...and they likely are....prescription no problem...One of the original owners is a Canadian... C

It is commonly believed that the more moderate rods like the Skagit Lines a bit better. Although the more fast rods work extremely well with these lines and casting style. That Grey Loop is and exceptional Underhand rod and crosses over really well to the Skagit. The first time I ever cast a skagit line was useing a converted 11' 6" Sage Centre Pin rod,very soft ,similar to the original Lamiglas Trout Two Handers. Yet,to cast the Skagit Set-up on a 13' Hardy Angel is unbelievable! However,most of the Modern Two Handers are good for Skagit style. My go to rod for that style and basically for traditional is the Snowbee 12'6" Tamar...considered to be a moderate fast rod,very tough and light in hand...another good rod that is in my arsenal is the 12'7" Beulah...both 7/8 weights and both able to land 30 lb chinook yet very light feeling! There are many others on the market...similar to these....the Thomas and Thomas 1208 ,Scott has One as does Sage, Loomis and of course CND. We carry CND in our little store so if anyone needs some CND product please let me know. And for lines I think as time goes on you will find the Beulah Elixir lines will become as popular as the Skagit systems yet thes lines are more stealth ,especially on the Bow...very very smooth..nice tapers and presentation are sweet...IMHO C The Danielsson Reels are very good...

Having fished big rods on small streams too many times made me wonder at my mental processes until the small Switch Rods came along like the10'6" 4/5 Beulah. Totally designed for full comprehensive fishing in many many situations! Like 8' wide remote mountain streams that require a nymphing technigue or the long-ish upstream dry fly presentation. not so much about the cast ,it's about the abilities created. It is tough to imagine ever changeing from fishing a small 7'- 3 or 4 weight rod- until you get a chance to fish a 10 plus rod in the same weight category...it answers some of those deep memories about not being able to deliver a cast at some time in the past that would have given you a hook-up with some marvelous fish. Two Handers are not necessary but offer a certain amount of pleasure to the day and versatility. Yesterday I decided to drift the Upper Stamp River from Money's Pool to the Falls Park in search of Steelhead of course. The day was nice,some sun and clouds,about 12 degrees. All by myself on the river,and no Steelhead. But about 3/4 way through I saw some large May Flies hatching and shortly after notice a few Trout rising. Having no floating tips on me I changed up to a 5' clear Intermediate tip and layed out 15' of 6lb. tippet,tied on the only deer hair fly I had(Tuck's Tarantula). Figureing that the long leader would keep the fly boyant for a short time...layed out several 90' casts across the pool before I enticed a wonderful Juvinile Steelhead about 16" to the fly. Did this several times for Two Trout about the same size. Versatility is the key as much as landing a fish! C PS...Welcome back Speyghillie!

I guess you are really One4adventure...in my books it is not a wise man that hands down a cheap rod and line to his .................girlfriend...adventureous indeed! You might find a reel for under $100 but it will cost you more in the long run> I wonder why us guys are so...f....ing cheap! In my many years of fly fishing I have never seen a happy lady with hand me down stuff! The girls have a much better and different memory for this sort of stuff...it might come back and bite you squarely in the ass! My thoughts anyway...from experience!

Steve, I don't know what reel you looked at but the Snowbee Cassett reels are not yet released ,anywhere! There are many reels on the market that are very good but no Cassett reels yet. Most cassett reels have a crappy drag system primarily used for Trout. However, with the surge in Spey interest there is a huge demand for a quality drag system in a cassett reel...rather than carry numerous reels at a very hefty price! If we can get some of the shops in Calgary to get off their butts and carry Snowbee products you wouldn't have to buy in BC. C

Max, Do you like underhand??

Hi Steve; Having just fished the Bow this past week-end for the first time, in water conditions that I figure are about normal for much of the year I can suggest that you look at a rod from 11'6" to 13' as a Spey rod or a Switch Rod about 10'6". The need for a major rod on the Bow is a nono;although if you already have One then use it. Several of the people casting rods this past Saturday really liked the 11'6" Beulah and the 12' Snowbee Torridge( in the $500 range). An aggressive line set-up like the Beulah Elixir Spey or Switch line and a Skagit set-up from either CND,Rio,SA, or Air Flo and of a good Shooting head from Snowbee or Loop matched up with the Snowbee running line works ideally! Considering that you are a new caster the need to keep it simply isn't too obvious from this info',however,it really is simple. The costs for new gear isn't that much more than that of Single Handed gear. The major issues usually come around the reels. Snowbee is now produceing an XSD1112 Die Cast Cassett Spey that will answer the call for the many lines we tend to use without having to have a lot of reels. This reel has 4 Cassetts and more are available if needed for about $15@...how many lines does a guy actually need? Well................! This reel does Retail for $180 ..members of this site all get a 10% discount. The reels are available in about 3 weeks.... If you choose a Switch rod then the need for a smaller reel will be apparent in the 9/10 size;large arbour...like the Snowbee XS910,although more expensive at about $350.00. PS My home Waters are on Vancouver Island and typically much faster,deeper and more difficult to fish because of the access and always being surrounded by trees or canyons. Send yuor questions this way and have fun Courtney

Nice tie Brent... C

Dido to all that and more...The ladies showed us a side of the fly fisherman that we rarely see,... very focused and determined...look out guys! C

Val and I just arrived home safely...Many Thanks to all YOU fellow fly flingers in ALberta...it was fun to be around so many good people . Don't underestimate your abilities...the only complicated component of the "Spey " cast is our understanding of what we are doing and why we are doing it! Although we didn't get into any fish we did learn a lot and are planning to invade the Bow again several times this year... Val's beckoning...humphhhhh

Thanks for that ...Val wouldn't let me drive all the way...and she is right...but we did stop at every fly shop along the way and of course bought things we didn't have at our shop or needed(saved some for tomorrow)...

Tying Eumer Tube Flies on Friday Evening at Troutfitters from 6-8(maybe longer)......ya gotta see these things work...if you want to see a preview of the possibilities go to "hycreek.com"..this site shows many of the techniques.. currently we are in Revelstoke for the night...anxious to begin the week-end and have some fun...have brought along some very interesting Two Handers and new lines to try...some kickboats and a few toys...please bring your cameras along...should be a blast. Are the Trout biting? C

we are going to have a new Snowbee Diamond series 3 wt. at the Spey week end..they have 2 lengths,an 8' and a 7'...we have both with us but One is going to the Yukon.. welcome to play with it and I have a line for it.. C

The team did very well...it seems that the more time we spend Czech nymphing the better we get in these competitions...there will come a day when we will challenge effectively. Congrats for sure

Seeing your neat boxes makes me realize how much I miss Trout fishing...and very nice tying C

Don't forget that the Snowbee lines are also a Polyuretane coating with a braided core that dosen't have memory. Air Flo has had problerms around that as had Rio ,both are changeing somewhat. Mono core lines are actually better in the tropic conditions actually helping to maintain line integrity. I do like the looped ends...better system. Thats what I do to every line,loop the end of the line itself,several nail knots and finish with either Aquaseal or UV cure. Have had none fail,!

It's a PVC Coating and there lies the difficulty . Because of the small diameter on the forward taper there isn't enough material to mainlain a float. You can try bringing along a dripping small rag with liquid dish detergent and run your line through it regularly. I would doubt if the cut end would contribute to the core getting too wet and dragging the line under. You might consider going to a floating Poly tip and leader. Likely enough to keep the small dry fly on the surface. The worst scenario is to cut off he forward tape,create a loop and use a 10' Floating Polytip C

They may grab the bull by the horns after the evening..I am on the Eumer Pro Staff and do retail their products through Nile Creek Fly Shop... C PS...for those of you wanting to see some great tube tying possibilities I have a web site available to view but need to make sure it is ok to post their URL!

Thanks for the clarification Brent...

The weather looks promising...will be there Friday ...visit a few shops and do a fly tying demo at Troutfitters on Friday evening 6-8 Will also have some Watermasters on hand for you all to play with..and of course a few to sell,includeing the demos. 9 am at Burnsmead...see you there...will go on throught the Morning and into the afternoon...maybe a bit of time to fish ... C

Friday evening we will be tying some great patterns useing Eumer Tube Fly Accessories at Troutfitters on Crowchild Trail...These accessories will revolutionize our concepts and abilities when tying these type of flies. We will do several Minnow Patterns,Intruders and if time allows some terrestrials. 6-8pm... C OOPPPSSS

Did you know they were the first to produce Floroucarbon...the Salt Water fishers use it almost exclusively(Big Trophy fish) If you can not find it contact "Nile Creek Fly Shop" to get the deed done!

Brent, FORGOT YOUR WADERS! that only happens to use older farts...nevertheless we are excited to be in Calgary once again and as Colin says "AH,Calgary in the Spring"...HAd a great day yesterday on the River ,no fish though...and sore feet C