darthwader
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Posts posted by darthwader
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Is he the one that places the little price tags on each fly?
Wow... I just coughed up my coffee. That is some funny stuff!
On another note...IMHO BassPro is the worst store in town and I will be happy to visit the smaller, independent guys who seem to care, know what they are talking about, know the river and give you the time of day.
** No offense meant Colin!!
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I will work with the golf side of things, as it has come up throughout this thread. A company like Taylor,Ping, Callaway etc. Yes, you pay for the name, and you pay for the warranty, and the advertising. But, and this is a biggy in golf. With those clubs, you get a ton of R&d to try to make the game easier. Those clubs are designed to take terrible shots and make them half decent. There is legitimate science involved behind todays clubs and you pay for a lot of different things when you buy them. They are designed to make you hit the ball BETTER. When you buy knock offs, you buy something that LOOKS LIKE something that is designed to hit the ball better. Big difference there. I have always felt that these companies lead the industry and evrone else simply follows. There is demand in the golf market for quality, craftsmanship and "prestige" factor with these clubs. I think fly fishing to a degree is like that. I am not certain how much the difference in R&D is between Sage and Temple Fork, but I know that I have had both and I have enjoyed both.
When it comes to high end stuff, you always pay some for the name. I kind of figure 3 or 4 different people make a profit on your clubs,2 of which even before you see the gear. An example:
Set of Irons
Manufacture cost $250
Sell to distributor $350
Rep Price to retailer $400
Retail Price $575
There is a definite market for high end gear in all past times. If a manufacturer is able to cut a link out of the supply chain, then they can get their products to market cheaper. If they have to go through many distribution channels, there will be additional cost.
Some people honestly believe they will be better with that gear and some don't. There are enough different channels out there to get good deals and buy used and get the rod you want. If you believe Sage will help you cast better and you do cast better when you use it and you can afford it, go for it. If you prefer to buy 4 Temple Forks for the price of one Sage, go for that. At the end of the day...who cares, you got what you wanted and could afford.
Later,
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Just got back from Maui on Sunday.
We stayed at the Maui Kamaole resort. There are both private rentals and two agencies renting units out for tenants.
Just to give you an idea of value ...to purchase in here would cost you about $600,000 plus for a one bedroom floor level unit or $900,000 for a two bedroom ocean view unit. The properties seem to range in age from 10 years old to ~ 20 years old. Many units show their age but are no worse than any non upgraded home in Calgary of the same vintage.
While our carpet was crappy in the main floor the upper floor was fine. Some mold and discoloration in the grouting in the bathrooms. Water pressure was fine and air conditioners worked. Appliances were new and worked fine. Ice maker is a great money saver for using with a cooler. There units all have kitchens.
Recommend if you have the spare luggage capacity to check and take a nice cooler with you. Something portable with wheels would be best. Take duct tape with you for taping the lid shut. Great for taking macadamian chocolates home with you afterwards also :-)
One thing you must remember through out the island is tropical ants are a big problem. So are roaches. Keep all food off counters and tables. vacuum crumbs. We had no problems and there was a can of raid under the sink and I treated outside sliding doors on the deck just to keep them away from the inside. Keep doors shut to keep out ants, roaches and lizards.
The grounds at Maui Kamoele were super...great for families. There are two pools each different enough to make it worth while to visit. The grounds are also well maintained and there is great security and the place is quiet. The Kamaole beaches 2 and 3 are an easy walk to the bottom of the hill through the pathway. The beaches are great for body boarding after 10 am to dark. The island is very windy due to trade winds during the day.
I just heard the rates dropped 25%. We paid $224/d through fun sun I believe. Therefore for the kitchen condo 2 bedroom with great ocean view should be available for about $1200/week. Private rentals are usually cheaper but you may not have the same protection. We had problems with stuff breaking and the service group were out in less then an hour.
Hope this helps... PM me if you want any trip suggestions on what to do. We did most everything!
Cheers
Sun
Wow!! We stayed there too last November. My report would pretty much echo yours.
The only thing that I would add is that if you are going to Maui...do the Blue Water Rafting Compnay trip. It was unbelievably cool...a little extreme, and snorkelling the BACK side of Molikini was worth the price of admission alone. The guides were great and they take you into the Lava caves down and past Big Beach.
Here is the link ... http://bluewaterrafting.com/
Enjoy Maui...it is a pretty incredible place.
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Some of you guys sure have a narrow view of the world.
A store like Bass Pro is good for the local economy and all of the small specific shops like fly shops, archery shops and the likes. You better believe that it will be a tourist attraction, non hunting and fishing people will be attracted and spin off will be they will pick up the passtime. This will benefit the local shops. How many of you started flyfishing, hunting, etc. by going to a specialty shop? This will create more interest in our dying passtime and hopefully get more people, youth, involved. When was the last time that an outdoors store made the news around here before BPS- how about NEVER!!! Calgary needs this to take hunting and fishing more mainstream and in the public eye.
Some of you should leave your little dark box for a while and see what the world has to offer... it isn't all bad you know.
Andy...
I don't mean to jump on you but...Flyfishing in Southern Alberta is about as mainstream as I would like to see it thank you very much. Furthermore, ask any retailer of fishing and outdoor gear in this area and they will clearly tell you that this market is competitive enough. You will have a very, very hard time convincing me that the opening of BSP is good for Frenchy's, Fish Tales, Jim'splace, Westwinds, the fising hole, russels, riptor, etc
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You know... I had him nicely stretched out to his full 22 and I turn my back for one second....
LOL... I will try not to cut off his hand!!
Thanks
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This is the closest thing to 22 inches I have caught this year!! This, the newest fly fisher inCalgary, is Max, born Aug 12. If you see him on your water...let me know. You will know it is him by his rather shrill scream!!
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I seem to get one a trip now on Triple Deckers, Hoppers or Stones. They have a pretty cool take on the dry. Shoulers.... then nothing. No splat, no flash...nothing.
Good times
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Found this cruising around...you may have seen it... if not, it's pretty cool
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That site is great...the one with girl on the duck ride is too funny... but I can't get it to post here
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Son of a ...
That's my favorite, secret fishing spot!! That's the last time I post a pic that shows location
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People are so uppity nowadays. Gone are the days when you could just walk over to someone's driveway and do a jobbie. What is this world coming to??
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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
I was ou there this past weekend and we went up to Gold River for a drive. I watched three guys in a zodiac drift through some pretty fantastic looking water. Unfortunately, I was not fishing, just spectating. Beautiful spot though...wow.
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Trust me , you will not be able to use your flyfishing gear on Maui.
I would also suggest trying SCUBA DIVING or Snorkeling @ Molokini Crater.
IF you have any msgs PM me
I will second that. The first day we took a family tour and snorkeled the inner part of the crater. Very neat to see and a very worthwhile experience. The second day, we took an adventure tour , Blue Water Rafting, I think it was called and we snorkelled the back of Molikini. 300 foot straight drop coral wall. Very cool and very different. I would highly recommend both.
BTW...that adventure tour goes way round the south tip of Maui and goes into blowholes and sea caves, all while you are sitting on a 30 foot zodiac pontoon. Really cool and definitely the best thing we did there. It is not for the faint of heart though, as it can get rough in the open water.
DW
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again, you've never been to okotoks...it lines out all 3 doors, and curls around on the inside..
living in okotoks for the summer always sucks when you want coffee
BBB... Go to Hi Ho Esso...x-large French Vanilla...
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When was the pic taken? Where was it taken? Without knowing that, no chance of anything. But let's just keep an eye on this guy... he seems dumb enough to screw up again and when he does....
Can I have a motion to end the discussion on this guy?
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Not fly fishing ... but taken from Maui out towards Molikini. It is scenery I guess
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Weedy....
Nice work dude... that's priceless.
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This is an important topic... particularliy with Easter round the corner. Easter celebrates the resurrection of christ and when he comes back and sees his shadow... that's 6 more weeks of winter and that will have a profound affect on the fly fishing season.
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those are pretty cool. made me a little sea sick but cool
No doubt LS... I keep bumping into things now...
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birchy i actually commented on one of his videos, i looked through all his videos to see if i could find the comment and looks like he deleted it.
this is how it went
nice fishing handling buddy your play those fish out pretty bad and leave them out of the water for a pretty long time.
he gave his location in the video as he does in nearly every video. so i said your just making it easier for poachers to find fish.
i didnt say anything nasty by any means. just stated the facts.
BBB... I have to admit bud, I can see how he would jump on that. There are definitie hints of sarcasm in your tone and from what I can tell of this guy, it's all he needs to get riled up. Sack muncher... haven't heard that in a while.
You have to realize that with people like that, getting a reaction from people is their thing. Why else would he show "No River Access" and announce to Calgary Fly Fishers that he is back. OOOhhh wow... like Maxwell said, he's back. I have always found the great people in this world don't have to announce how good they are or that they are back. I guess that's the difference between Tom Brady and Chad Johnson. You are Tom... this idiot is Chad.
The best thing we can do is not get caught up in his little world of trash talking. Take him for what he is, a moron who likes to get in peoples face, and hope to catch him doing something illegal and go about our own business. This guy just isn't worth it.
later
Added on- BTW, I went to his blog and checked it out. He appears to be a bit of a Jekyl and Hyde kind of guy 'cause his site is actually better than I thought it would be. Anyway...
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I have read it a few times and the operative is "RESPECT". There is an apparent lack of respect for others and I see it a lot in every day life. Improving on that amongst fellow fishermen can only rub off on others which is a great thing.
When I see a lack of respect for others on this board...I shudder to think what people will be like on the creeks etc.
That doesn't concern me as much Kevin... people are way "tougher" behind a key board than they are in person.
You are right though RESPECT is the key word. Do unto others...
I guess I will wade into this discussion, beacuse it is interesting and it is important. We are fly fishing in Calgary. By that I mean everyone who is on this board represents Fly Fishing in Calgary. If you run into someone on the river, there is a very good chance they at least visit this board if they are not a full blown member. We, as a community, can not do much about what has been done in the past, but we can do lots to influence the future. It is our responsibility to educate and guide new fly fishers as they enter the sport with regards to conservation and etiquette with as much vigor as we show them techniques and great rivers. We are fly fishing in the Calgary area and we owe it to the trout and those who taught us to make sure the incoming generation has the tools to keep the sport both alive and civil.
Secondly, with so many people trying to make a living off of the river, it is impossible to stop the growth we have seen in anglers. These peoples livelyhoods depend on this river and they will promote it to get people out and fishing. You can now buy your fly gear at wal mart, can tire and then how many different fishing stores... fly fishing specific and not. That's not including guides. So the fact of the matter is... people who depend on the Bow and new fly fishers will promote the river and will continue to try to introduce new anglers to the sport, as their business depends on it. It's what we teach this army of newbies that will determine the future of fly fishing in Calgary.
Thirdly, if we could somehow create more pothole fisheries that were put and take that could keep those who are more interested in beating and eating fish out of the Bow and Crow and Oldman etc ... we might have a better chance of keeping down the numbers of people fishing. I think there is a kind of fishermen who likes to get out with the boys, pound a few beers and whack a few fish and the Bow probably is the place for him/her. But, I guess we are talking about the growth of fly fishing on the river so this topic is moot. I have wondered about the possibility of the Bow going fly fishing only...but I shudder to consider what that could mean and I realize that it is probably a selfish thought.
Finally, we have to realize that fly fishing is lots of things to lots of people. This forum is a tremendous resource for so many people and it is dissapointing to see idiots take good threads and show the rest of the world just how stupid they really are. I have seen other web sites like this go down... you all know what I am talking about... and I would hate to see this one encounter the same fate. I guess, if we can say anything, it's that everyone on this website is very passionate about flyfishing and flyfishing as a whole is better off for it. Now if we could just channel that passion to something constructive instead of some of the garbage that goes on...we will all be that much better for it.
Is it June 16th yet...can't wait to try a diferent river.
Later
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Well...I don't think Tiana is much of a cougar YET, but I can say that this old girl is damn TIRED this morning. Didn't get home until 1:30. Concertgoing is a young kids' game - you can have it. We old folks need our sleep.
Despite the awful, terrible, crappy, LOUD opening act and the crappy overcrowded venue of ignorant people, the strange lady and I had a great time (well....at least I did, I shouldn't speak for her!). I love CS - all was forgotten by the time they took stage - albeit 3 hours after the doors opened. Their concert was great. And my date was pretty fun too
And, no, I spared the public at large and did not break out the Spandex
Lynn,
I thought CS were pretty good... but it was a very late night. I too thought that first band was really loud but I thought there version of Edge of Seventeen was pretty good.
My only knock was we were way back by the main bar and it was tough seeing through all of those heads. Good thing I am 6'4...bad thing my wife isn't. One of these days I will learn that doors open at 8 means main act starts at 10:30...
DW
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I finally got the chance to fish Loch Leven in Scotland, as I have been to Scotland countless times but never got to fish. Anyway, we drive from Glasgow to Loch Leven...about 2 hours from where we were to find the loch battered by 40 mile an hour winds...temp about +5. Anyway, it is a fishing club and there are no motor boats allowed. the guy at the club says if you can get to the top end of the loch in a row boat, the wind will be pretty much non-existent. So the three of us jump in a row boat and start paddling. We take 10 minute shifts and 2 hours later, get to the top of the loch. Freezing would be an understatement.
There is this small bay and we decide to start chucking. We are all using three nymph rigs and had to take turns 'cause the boat was too small. We fished for about 20 minutes and caught nothing. My uncle, having fished there before, says, lets try that little island about half way back, figuring we could get to the side not battered by wind. So we pack up and start rowing, covering much more ground as we are going downwind. As we get close to the island, the third guy in our party starts casting, downwind. The problem being when he cast back, his line would collapse. On his third cast I hear what cold only be described as a blood curdling scream. He has wrapped his line around his head, catching his lip, cheek and ear with each fly. My uncle and I jump to attention and try to ease his pain and take out the hooks. Not easy, as they are all barbed and the line is wrapped tight. In our haste to help buddy, we don't see the island coming and slam into some rocks at about 15 miles an hour. We now find ourselves pinned against wind battered rocks with a screaming, bloody scotsman now beginning to freak out. I jump out... and pull the boat around the island, then we head for home base. We pull in and quickly got the guy to the doctor where he removed all three hooks. To this day, although the ear and lip healed up pretty good, the guy still has a nice little chunk out of his cheek where the fly lodged.
We got back to Glasgow at about 2:30 in the afternoon. Having rowed for 3 hours, driven for 4 hours and fished for 20 minutes, I would have to say it was my worst day ever of fishing. They say a bad day fishing is better than a good day at work.... I sometimes beg to differ.
Lost Iphone
in General Chat - Fishing Related
Posted
If anyone happened upon an iPhone at the parking area on a private piece of land on the oldman today, please PM. There was a grey Chrysler/dodge 300 style car there when we left. If you saw it, please let me know. Thanks.