ogilvie

I have watched your developement as a caster over the past 2-3 years while at the Fly Fishing shows and believe you can become a good and efficient caster. A greater understanding of what YOU are doing will set you free!! Is it the Brown Sage? To become a great caster and efficient fisher there are 3,count them THREE things you must master. Watch your fly!the White Mouse!,the 180 degree rule! reminds me of letting go of the handle bars on a bike! I hope you come to the Spey week end...will be fun. C

Did you know that the Fly Lines used in "River Runs Through It" were Snowbee lines? a fact! and Two Handers do break,some more than others. I won't use my Hardy Angels for anything other than mid to long bellied lines ;dry fly fishing! Is your 7136 the Brown Blank? C

Well,I was supposed to be in the QCI in January,but went to Calgary for Business and the fly fishing show. But 12 is not unheard of on the Fly...I have sold a few KickBoats for just that place...Tea coloured water and some major fish. Got a call from a friend who fished the same River (Rusty,H2O and Gok)we did the first day and had his personal best day ever. Into 5 fish,landed 2..One was 16 plus... Mykiss: 12 lbs is a great fish indeed.....One Year on the Stamp I hooked and released over 40 fish in that size and larger....on the fly. This year the Stamp is in trouble and you can say the Jet Boats have something to do with it.... The Gold River closes on April 1 Fished the Little Qualicum this morning,and there are a few Steelhead in the system at the moment...10 minutes into the day I was walking down a bald log and went ass over tea kettle,landing squarely on my tail bone(think I broke it) Ouchhhhhh Only fished for about 2 hours...notta C

Surprisingly,many don't know ,I spent 30 years in developeing energy efficient windows and aggressive energy systems for residential housing ..both new and renovation. I would recommend that you contact either Lux windows in Calgary and ask for a ReHau PVC window(not a slider!) with Soft Coat LowE coatings on Surface 2 and 3 plus an Argon gas Fill. Equibuilt in Edmonton also has some great features and have been produceing major windows since the mid-'70s. You may even wanta reflective surface on teh exterior of the windows. These will be expensive but do as they say they will. MAke it bearable and efficient. C

One of my son's is in Hawaii at the moment and the bugger hasn't contacted me...that usually means he is into fish or the other!!

Cortland does indeed make the Elixirs to Beulah's Specs..I think the Tonic's will be out before the end of the month and if Lucky will have a bunch to use and sell ...will post as soon as I get the info' C

Will have plenty of Salmon to munch on during the Spey week-end on the Bow...and getting into Steelhead in the Winter can be trying for sure. The fish this year are fewer in numbers but larger..Steelhead in many of the Island Rivers and very transient,almost like Cutthroat Trout...there One minute and gone the next..but Once Spawning begins,these fish protect their redds with vigor and valour. That is why the Gold River will close this year on April 1st...to allow these beautiful fish to complete a cycle without being hammered by the fishers. Tomorrow I am going to fish my back yard,about 3 minutes away,there are fresh fish now in the system in good numbers...nothing over 12 lbs(rarely) but there. Will hopefully take a few pics and get them posted. C

At this time of year there should be a few nice fish about,and basically any rod you use here will be fine unless you target those monsters. The fly lines should be a tropics series or alternative....I don't think the weather will exceed 35 so a good line might do okay. The reels ar also a questiion,and as John says the drag systems need to be either sealed of salt water resistent, Snowbee XS,Islander, Abel,Nautilus,some of the Ross Reels,. The problem with reels that are not salt water friendly is that the screws in many cases are not compatabe with corrosion ,poor quality Stainless threaded into low quality Aluminum + Oxidation galor! C

After it's all said and done I have to say that I was getting to a point of frustration with all breathable waders...I have had ,Bear,Simms,Hodgeman,Wardell,Loop, Greys,and the list keeps going. I was to a point of saying F..it, instead of spending all that money on waders I would wear either the nylon Denier or neo'...along comes Snowbee and proved a point. There are waders out there that don't leak...with the largest selection of waders in europe one would question why...they don't leak! I am one every happy camper,and a dry one at that. They have several series of breathable waders,stocking foot and boot foot...the expensive waders have a front zipper for easy "peeing" ,and all the other things you can think of. The classic waders are in the price range you are speaking of....with or without boot foot..my preference is the bootfoot...warmer and I never froget my boots! Go to the Nile Creek add on this forum and click onto Snowbee C CDONE on this site has a pair of zip fronts...

Hi Dean; Both those lines are fun to cast and well designed...similarly,the CND Skagit Lines are almost identical in feel. Beulah is soon to have the new 'Tonic" lines that will certainly be more aggressive to the caster C

Can we get a concensus on this and put it to bed... C

The idea of a club is somewhat of an oximoron in thinking,especially when the topic of conversation within many of the Fly Fishing groups in North America,such as the FFF,BCFFF,Isacc Waltons and so on ,is about the reductions in physical memberships. Those that understand realize that since the normal use of the Internet has become ,just that,normal...many of the people that were in or would have joined fly clubs etc. now are much more likely to get involved via the 'net. In fact ,the age barriers and the "sex" barriers have been bridged and much more positive. C

I tie with both but the pedestal set-up is by far the easiest and most versatile...perhaps the tier that uses all the hollow hairs and needs to really clamp down might find the stability a bit off. My lady used to scream at me when I would clamp down the vice to the antique table...crap it's only an old old table!!?? C

Sometimes I don't know about you guys...The nicest Tube Fly Adapter is the Snowbee adapter...retails for about $34...fits any clamp jaw vice...and of course our store has a complete array of tube accessories. Tube flies are simply put .."on". In FAct,the Canadian Tube Fly Company carries the Snowbee Adapter and has a few in stock.

I'll call around to several of the shops in the area and see if they can house a tying evening...or even the hook n hackle club. As far as the need to actually fish is concerned that is secondary to the casting demonstrations and session. The idea of good parking and access is "on"... C

I cringe with envy when I see these masterpieces presented openly...my creative juices flow way to easily for me to sit and create such fine flies...but I must say that from Spey and Dees flies the bridge to these Dressed flies is much shorter. Having known Warren Duncan for a short time I was really able to marvel at the skills needed to understand the techniques used. Fishing with these flies is to me like fishing with an old Hardy Salmon and a Split Cane Two Hander...sheer bliss!

With a bit more than 3 weeks to go..how's the snow situation and any idea of location? I believe Val is going to be working with the Ladies on both Friday evening and Saturday morning...I'm looking to do a Tube Fly tying demo on Friday night and Spey casting with single.switch and Two Handers on the Saturday..

I to used to use the basic Tube Fly adapter but when I saw the Waldron Vice and it's integrated tube fly accessorie all hell broke loose...the Snowbee Waldron vice is the most versatile I have seen...The products that I use for the Tube Flies are from Eumer/Finland...Hundreds of variations and extensions,weighted bodies and so on. We do carry them at our little store and I am on their Pro Staff and developement team. We are only now beginning to scratch the surface as to the vast possibilities. Was working today on several Salt Water Minnow Patterns useing a braided body over the tube and weighted body and material was Llama...simply incredible! Snowbee also has a great Universal adapte that can be used on basically any clamp vice...retails for around $34 C PS....looking forward to tying some flies for the members and learning some new ideas from serious trout fishers...

Very nice job Colin..Only 10 more? These Are fun little reels and the rod designs are great...there is a market for these within our ranks ....somewhere. Brent,It really isn't difficult to find a reel to match any rod...even Two Handers. It is about your desire to fulfill a need,the look one may wish to portray,the fish being sought and the Balance...simple as that. Perhaps the fly fisher that desires to fish a 3 weight 7' Cane rod that costs $3500 can answer better the need! On all my Two Handers I will fish or use a $400 reel and have every confidence in it's performance. I have had Hardy Reels collapse,Lampson,SA's System 2, Evotec,Leeda and a few others. My needs are somewhat different than most...Salt and Fresh with large fish constantly being a possibility and at times 20-30 --25lb fish in a day of hard fighting! That said,to find a match for a normal single or Two Handed rod can be a simple as matching category weights... In the World of Spey and Big Blue Water Fishing the criteria is somewhat altered and more specific.... Of all the reels that I own and have used there are Two Manufacturers that stand out that gain my confidence...The Hardy Ultralite and Swift(Swift handles could fall off in the first edition) ,and the XS Reels from Snowbee. My needs are simple,,the reels have to work ,and for my buck...no Cork! I hate to hear that screeching noise of dry hot cork,or the sound of the gears disentregateing. Simple is good!

On the Friday evening of the Spey Week-end I would really like to do a presentation on Tube Fly Tying with various weighted tubes and accessories...Ideas would really be helpful and a location Intruders,Salt water./freshwater minnow patterns...a few leeches,terrestrials and so on..

Choosing the right reel for a specific rod is very important but not all that difficult...Capacity and balance are the two primary considerations..then cost. The Hardy Zane Ti (Titanium)weight an astounding 14 ozs..! it also retails at $10,000.00,it's mate the Zane ( Aluminum) weights in at 10 ozs approx and retails at a reasonable $1,100.00;in comparison... Good Spey Reels will generally cost in the range from $400 to $800...and there are plenty of them

' Is that the rod you did for Roger?

I think that you are going to find many more reels in the near future offering the sliding reel foot...it is not a new concept and very practical. Hardy did offer this as did several other companies and a few still do. As you say,the light physical weights of the new Orvis and Sage rods along with the Hardy Angel series has opened the door for this to become more featured...and it's not a difficult task to adapt existing reels! C

Little is spoken of the importance of physical balance between reel and rod. Many of the "old time" Spey Casters really liked the big Hardy Salmon ,Cascapedia,Bougle, Perfect, and the Farlow ,Ari Hart, Megoff,and the list goes on. But most of the rods were very heavy...but as we all know the rods have become much lighter in weight and the reels have as well.In the Single handed world this is also very true....in fact several reels made today have adjustable reel seats to slide the reel to your preferred location for your own balance and casting style. The larger 11 to 12 wt Spey reels made of Quality Aircraft grade Aluminum will weigh approx. 7-10 ozs. The classic reels do weigh more up to 15 ozs. for some of the old pre-war versions. An intereesting topic that needs to be addressed when selecting your ideal reel.

Over the week-end of having Novice Casters on the water ..I was able to do some good work with these guys in helping them become better fly casters. What really became apparent was the difficulty with casting off the weak side..for me ,and most that would be the Left hand side. Ocassionally, there are people that do better off their wrong side ,similar in case to Cackhanded! Rusty was able to handle his left side much more efficiently that his right(strong) side(very impressive). Myself and the others have to really work at it in timing and feel. Although I have to say the SnakeRoll is easy off this side.....In my own case I have learned to cast either hand or reel either hand...but prefer cackhanded. Practice that left hand..