yonderin

Have spent a couple days on a local lake and having big issues getting a good hookset. Lots of strikes but no matter what I do, missing a lot of fish. I've been suspending under an indicator. I have; a. tried different timing, from immediate to a very long "God save the Queen"; b. tried varying the depth I'm suspended thinking to shorten the line and resulting reaction time; c. focused on keeping as short and straight a line to the indicator as possible; d. tried raising my rod tip slowly, quickly, sideways and strip setting; e. confirmed the sharpness of my hooks; and f. bent the hook tip a bit sideways. Wasn't too surprised when using leech patterns but scuds and nymphs are the same issue. Any suggestions? Thanks.

Cut back a Rio Trout leader until "it looked heavy enough" as I wasn't prepared to chase pike on that trip. Landed a half dozen or so and never broke off any.

For trips to the SW, check out the Crowsnest Angler.

I kind of suspected he was just having an unusual string of luck with the Bulls, 50% seemed really high (even allowing for some exageration). Mind you he didn't specify whether he caught 6 in total or 60. It appears no one else has seen or heard reports of RB in those streams?

While fishing the SW corner this weekend I had 3 different people report catching Rainbows in a Carbondale trib and the upper Castles. News to me. Has anybody else experienced or heard of this? Or might it be misidentification? Never aware of RB in these areas before. Also a gent was catching about 50% Bulls in the Castle system using a spinner, quite a bit more than previously. Just unusual results or are they coming back after enough protection? Same lure he always used.

Little Smokey for grayling. Loads of the eager little things in there. Most are not that large but did land a 14 inch a couple years ago (some might not be impressed by that). Stood in the pool at the Grizzly Junction bridge near Fox Creek and had them nailing a dapped fly. A few hours drive from GP. If you want to hit there, stay in Fox Creek or Whitecourt which is about an hour south of FC. Same time of year and Stims were working really well. No results for myself on the Sheep but I'm new to targeting bulls. Local Fish Cop did say it was a good place to try for them. Be advised the upper Kakwa is quite a drive from GP and will require a 4X4. Along the way you could try the Torrens but my one day attempt didn't produce much. Have you checked out Mitchell's book?

Monitor the water and go where you want. I'd think that the further upriver you go, the lower the waterflow. Maybe look at some tribs. Although still high, western waters are dropping. http://www.environment.alberta.ca/apps/basins/default.aspx

This from an event that happened 4 months ago. Any changes to screening processes at airports? http://www.newser.com/story/70672/al-qaeda...de-bombers.html

I'd suggest getting a copy of Barry Mitchell's book, "Alberta's Trout Highway". I've really like it and find it full of all kinds of info. Not only where to go but just a really enjoyable read about all aspects of trout and fishing for them. There are others, but that one is my favorite. That, and just checking on here, a lot of information and advice available. Good luck.

Thank you for confirming my "pretty new" knowledge. You can learn quite a bit on here.

I'm pretty new to all this but I don't think a Rainbow interbreeds with Brookies or Browns since the first spawns in the spring and the others in the fall? As for Brookies and Browns interbreeding, hasn't that been done and named a Tiger Trout?

Was out to Bullshead this morning, talked to a couple of ice fishermen who said there was only 4 inches or so of ice, they were just off the boat launch. The pond was frozen over still, assume it's in the same condition. A week ago reports were that there was 16 inches or so of ice. Forecasts for today through Monday are 18, 27 and 20.