Whistler

For those concerned with steelhead conservatiopn I thought I would pass this along: http://speypages.com/speyclave/showthread.php?t=31083 a few things to consider: non Canadians should have to pay more than out of province Canadians Steelhead Society membership and equal voting rights(by proxy)are available to non residents of BC the AMP as tabled is really bad for Steelhead on a conservation level bait is for little fat kids

yes it is a good trick with the older Sages which were way to soggy in the tip for my liking.

got one aty the show in Denver this fall and have been using it all Steelhead season. It works great but fills up pretty quickly, BBest trick is to double up the line for long sections, also makes the initial grab easier. All in all something everybody should have. Brian

find my post about half way down: http://speypages.com/speyclave/showthread....0954&page=4 the SSBC meeting is on November 30th for anyone that is interested. Brian Niska

hogstopper read my post again I never said you beached your fish. I think that was the point of me quoting Rob's post. Read it he is the one that said beached. As for tailing fish it is seemed that some here wern't clear on the method so I was trying to explain how. It's not that hard I would be happy to explain it to anyone in detail,give me a shout 1-888-822-3474 if you want info on this or anything else Steelhead related. B

it is pretty simple the PROPER way to land fish for catch and release is to slide them toward the bank upstream of you in a foot of water.As the fish slides on it's side through the water grab the tail while it is still in the water. I wouldn't recommend going for the tail unless the fish is on it's side. You will notice that once you have the fish on it's side it will stay that way as long as you keep it swinging(moving).Fish flopping on rocks and sand can be avoided this way and you will look like a champ to others in the vicinity. Dragging fish up onto the beach is not only dangerous for the fish but can prove to be a little hazardous for the offending angler depending who isin the immediate vicinity . As for playing fish they should,obviously, belanded as quickly as possible by 'putting the wood to 'em' and using 10lb-15lb maxima.As for pictures I agree that keeping fish out of the water is never good. I always would want to see water dripping of the fish if it is held above the water signifying that the angler kept it in the water until just before the photo was snapped. I post this not to lecture but as directions for those that maybe haven't figured it out yet. As for fish handling I have to say that in my experience BC Steelheaders are as good as anyone with the fish. It does seem that many of our Euro friends lack in this regard, probably based on what is acceptable back home. I know that I have 'learned' more than a few of them. Rob, beaching fish is never acceptable. Brian

my trout spey of choice is the Loop Goran 12' #6, love this rod

Jahad, the rod you purchased is a Loop design from 10 years ago that went out of production 4 years ago. Loop has been using ebay to clear out all discontinued items that were taking up space in their warehouse. These items are sold directly to the consumer at a large discount but come with no warranty. Not to discourage anybody from purchasing these itmes but please understand that you could get the newest version of the adventure (G3) for around $300 cdn in a 4 piece with full warranty. If anyone has any questions about Loop items(old and discounted or current) please do not hesitate to call me as I am always happy to help. Brian Niska 1-888-822-3474

always happy to hook up something special for Flyfish Calgary board members. Really good fishing for fresh Chums on the Squamish can last until near the end of November. Last year the fish were late and we had fresh fish in the second week of December but that was not normal. Coho run right through December though the peak of Coho fishing is ussually around the middle of November. This year fishing has been spotty up until a few days ago as the river was very low. Now that we finally have rain there are lots of fresh fish moving in. So typically the best fishing will coincide with late October/early November rain. My personal teaching schedule varies depending on how much time I am spending on the Thompson, which leaves me pretty open for Salmon fishing this year. One other point....as we are all aware rain is a good thing when it comes to bringing fish into the river however lots of rain + early snow + high freezing level = high muddy river for a few days. So .....regardles of whether you are fishing on your own or taking a school/guided tripit is always best to give us a call ahead of time to find out river conditions. Brian Niska

a bit of a sales pitch.... just noticed that West Jet has a seat sale on for the next week or so. $99 each way from Calgary to Vancouver(select days) so here is an idea. Fly out west and get some one on one spey help on a river that is full of chrome bright Chum and Coho Salmon. Fishing should remain as is for the next two weeks and with the Thompson closed I have some time on my hands.

Islanders though loud(some people like that) are definately the most durtable reels we sell and probably tops in durability of anything out there-might have something to do with weight

I have been fortunate enoiugh to have gotten to cast bamboo two handers by both Ron Grantham and Bob Clay and have to agree that these two (Canadian) builders are at the top of their game.

hey guys thanks, a little background info.... I was asked to be the service center for Loop last winter and agreed to start in that role as of March of this past year. Warranty is never any fun regardless of your role, be it consumer, salesperson, shop owner, distributor or manufacturer. Time consuming at the best of times however a necessary part of customer service. I agreed to the role in the hopes of improving warranty service for Canada which to be blunt hadn't been that great in the past. I have to say our warranty service has been very good for current Loop models though getting the outdated discontinued stuff can be a challenge at times. I think my main strength as a warranty service person is my ability to educate people as to why their equipment broke. I can tell you from my 18 years of experience that it is no conincidence that the same people continually break rods(car doors and improper landing techniques are the most common). So it is always my aim to speed up warranty service and at the same time educate people to the limitations of their equipment("no that CLW is NOT the perfect Tarpon reel"). Previous to being the warranty guy I had been involved with Loop as a sponsored casting instructor and as a retailer. In fact I was one of the first stores in Canada to sell Loop rods when they first came to Canada around 7 years ago. In that time I have been continually impressed with their innovation as a company, Loop truly is always pushing the envelope and progressing their tackle. As of late I have been fortunate to be involved in some design of upcoming Loop products. The new (and amazing) Whistler spey line and Opti Switch Style rods are the two products that I have recently had a hand in. Look for these and other exciting Loop innovations coming this winter.The really neat thing about having input in design is having contact with the engineers that ultimately make the equipment, this really helps to strengthen my ability to understand the equipment and deal with it on a warranty level. So if anyone every needs service with their Loop gear or has any questions 1-888-822-3474 is the number to best reach me. and 420FLYFISHIN I am happy to sell you equipment from any of the brands that we carry. Brian Niska

Lots of big fish around this year, especially on the Kispiox but all throughout Skeena country. I have a picture of a fairly chrome 41"er caught by a friend of mine not too far from where that fish was caught. Might post it later but should ask her permission first. As for the monster in the photo what a fish, the biggest I've heard of this year but have to say I don't think too much of the way it's laying out on the rocks to go through the whole measuring routine. Since fish breathe through their gills it's always best to keep them in the water. Measurements can easily be taken while leaving the fish laying in water deep enough to cover their mouth and gills. Not to pick at hairs but a fish laying like that one is while buddy messes around with his tape could injury itself if it started to flop around. Furthermore the fac t that the fish appears to be laying there all calm like suggests it was probably overplayed.It's bad enough that we drag them around by their mouths so always best to take every measure to ensure their safety once landed, especially when a fish is big enough to be subjected to the whole tape measure routine. 12# maxima is standard for swinging flies for Steel. You can pull freakin hard with this stuff and land fish quick enough that they kick hard enough to splash you in the face when released. Preaching session over but truly a heck of a fish. Brian Niska

first off my apologies for jumping in on this late... a few thoughts.... it would seem that Brent and Max have some issues to work out. I expect big bad brent would be more polite if not hanging out behind his keyboard. as a retailer I find it very unproffessional for staff of a shop to try and put down products that they don't sell. I have to say that the flyfishing industry is pretty good about this. Seasoned shop staff know how to pump up the products they sell rather than try and make sales by putting down products they don't sell. I find reels are the most personal of gear items, in fact I often equate them to purchasing a new watch as style and level of flashiness seems to come into play. There are so many great options out there from a wide variety of manufacturers though each has their own unique 'feel' which is often the deciding factor. Of course price, weight, durability, drag strength, smoothness etc all come into play but as Brent mentioned there is no substitute to actually spinnin a reel or putting it on the rod you intend to fish(age old reel sales trick). At my shop we sell reels from a variety of manufacturers including Loop, Hardy, Sage, Islander, Waterworks and Dragonfly. Of these we seem to sell the most Loop but also act as the service center for Loop for Canada. I honestly believe that Loop reels offer great value as the current reel line up of Clw-Multi-Evotec G3-Opti-Classic ($-$$$$$) offerrs a silky smooth completely sealed drag at all price points. Like I said though play with all possible reel choices before plunking down your hard earned dough. In my role as the service depot for Loop reels I was contacted by Brent in the early fall about increasing the drag on his G2 evotec. The G2 was a reel that was only made for one season by Loop around 4 years ago. This reel featured a much smaller drag range than the current G3 model and was only sold with a 1 year warranty. I explained to Brent that the drag could be increased in the manner already outlined by Max but required the removal of the rear drag knob. Sometime later Brent contacted me again saying that he tried that and now the drag was skipping and not running smoothly. I offerred to have a look at the reel and if it was in need of new guts replace them for the cost of $60 which is Loop's normal service fee. I also offerred to inquire with Loop about upgrading Brent's G2 to the G3 model that Loop has been selling for the past 3 years. The first year that Loop introduced the G3 there was an upgrade offerred that covered the price difference from the matte finished G2 to the shiny G3 with the much larger drag range. I also mentioned to Brent that the first step was for him to send us his reel for me to have a look(which never happened). After a few emails to Loop in Europe I received the go ahead to offer an upgrade to Brent for a new G3 but never heard back from him or received his reel to look at. So the moral of the story is choose the reel that you like the best when all factors and criteria are taken into consideration and if you are looking for service understand that it is a two way street-no company is going to give you a new reel without at least having a look at the one you claim to be having problems with. So when you are asked to send something in don't wait until the last minute to do so and most importantly if you are looking for credibility in this small industry putting down other companies products on web forums is not the path to success. Brian Niska 1-888-822-3474

The easiest solution is to limit unguided NRA(non resident alien) anglers to a specific number of days on a given river ie 8 days. As there are many rivers in Skeena country this will not prevent people from visiting but rather spread them around. As well, if you are an off season guide from Utah you will be less likely to spoend your 8 days on the Bulkley with a 'client'. As such this should solve the illegal guide issue. As great as this idea is don't expect implementation until the province goes to full E licensing. As long as there are still paper versions ot there there will be no practical way to control the number of specific river days sold to each angler. The big losers in this will be NRA that have purchased riverfront and are now going to be limited to 8 days fishing their front yard. As such the spinoff from this should be some affordable riverfront on the market. I do not understand why the draft plan is so complicated or why they have chosen to to lump NRA in with fellow Canadians from out of province.

got em give me a call when you get a chance

Monic gsp is great for the low stretch factor but a little rough on the hands. Personally I prefer flat beam of which the lts is the best I have found. I agree with Max about slickshooter being great as it is durable and cheap and rarely tangles once used enough to be stretched out. As mentioned any type of mono is going to react to temps. As such expect slickshooter to be a little coily in ultra cold(freezing) temps. A quick soak in a bowl of warm water will help butter up flat beam mono for a good stretch.

I have been fishing the opti stream and opti still water on the #6 but have tried a variety of lines most of which have worked great. Lately I have been fishing the #8 a lot more. I have been lining it with a Rio afs 7/8 airflo compact skagit 450(480 works great as well as the new Loop Whistler line and opti stillwater #9. These rods are also pretty cool looking as they feature Loops new switch style concept handle design and new power weave blank design.

have been working on the opti switches for close to 6 months now. The finished rods (#6 and #8)should be available to the public in a month or two. In the meantime I have a variety of prototypes kicking around if anyone is out this way and would like a quick cast or look. These rods are very light and sensibly sized making for a two handed caster that really can be cast single hand all day when need be.

Hi guys, sorry to chime in late here as I just returned from a month up north fishing and doing spey schools and a couple of hosted trips. It is true that the Opti blank is among the finest casting two handers ever produced. Ultra light, super quick, mega powerful and so responsive that they really aren't the ideal rod for the beginning caster. Personally I love this rod action and the 8124 and 9132 are the two rods I have been fishing the most for Steelhead and Chinook Salmon. The optis have been priced at close to a grand for the past year, however as of the end of this month the suggested retails on the optis have been slightly relaxed. As an example my favourite 12'4" #8 now retails for $775 making it an exceptional value for the experienced caster looking for the finest in two handed performance. For most casters the Loop Multi is a better choice, its forgiving action allowing novice and intermediate speycasters the ability to grow with their new rod. The multi features similar cosmetics to the optis and its fast recovering tip and deep loading action ioffers amazing versatility for anglers looking for a top end rod that can move seamlessly from skagit to scandi to modern traditional. The Multi really can do it all for casters of all ability levels and with a price tag of $560 (13' #8) it is easily the best spey rod value out there. As for Z spey it is true that Loop was involved in the early stages producing some opti models. For a varity of reasons that I cannot go into in this public forum Loop chose to end this relationship last year and as such it is possible to purchase these z spey sticks for a significant discount. If you would like more info please feel free to call me at 1-888-822-3474. As for certification I really think it is a must when looking for a qualified two handed instructor. Here is an updated list of FFF certified two handed instructors, those with the MCI designation are also certified as single hand master level instructors. http://speypages.com/speyclave/showthread.php?t=30233 Francois and myself will be out in Calgary in the new year for the fly show. If the weather looks tolerable(Chinook)perhaps we could organize a small school. Other than that if anyone would like some on the water instruction BC is just a short trip west.Lots of fresh Chum and Coho Salmon around these days too if you would like more than casting practice. I would love to tell you all that it is great to be back after spending every day of the last month knee deep in Steelhead wonderland but the reality of it is getting caught up on work just isnt as much fun. Then again I shouldn't complain as ocean fresh Salmon are only 30 minutes away. Hope to talk to some of you guys soon, Brian

these rods should be called 'compromise rods' as they don't single hand or speycast as well as their dedicated counterparts. Personally I find many of the commericailly available switch sticks to long and heavy to comfortably single hand. Obviously biased but I still feel the G&L Flycraft Whistler series (10'3" #6/7)to be the best switch rod ever made. I also had a hand in the design of the new Loop switch rods though had to scrap it out with the other design team members to get the length reduced from 10'7" to 10'5". These rods are very light and cast great,look for them to hit the market sometime early this winter-sweet sticks that double hand great and are light enough to single hand all day.

Happy Birthday-I hope it was great and probably still going. B

loop multi (not so big bucks) as for the creek it is a sweet rod. Lots of interest in this one and I know a couple of guys working at Calgary shops who use this as their go to rod on smaller waters

sorry Court, not to be an ass but..........all waders (eventually)leak