Neil Waugh

Your alleged "poacher/thief" is in reality a Sundance resident who signed a contract regarding the common areas of the development. Which the lake, I take it, is one. Until you can show us the powers granted the board and the undertakings of the residents it's hard to tell whether the guy is in violation of his contract or not. Since he paid his fees in good faith I suspect the answer is NOT. And then only a judge can decide that. Not some arbitrary residents association. On a much broader context I can see why some guides on this thread are all in favor of punishing the "poacher" because guides thrive on exclusivity which, of course, they can sell. Just like Lake Sundance. And the outfit that advertizes on this board that's marketing their exclusive "club" on the Bow through the Blackfoot reserve. Or that access-fee-charging "ranch" on the Oldman. This is the fundamental reason who fishing guides should be regulated - and taxed - in this province. It's the people's resource and they should pay for exploiting it for profit. The Sundance argument is the same one that the elk farmers used when they got some of the knuckle-draggers in the PC caucus to attempt to push through those Bambi-in-a-barrel hunt preserves a few years back. Once you start privatizing fish and game resources and make it privileged and exclusionary that's when the rot sets in. Trout Unlimited chapters in the US (as opposed to our timid organization) spend a lot of time, money and members effort fighting the privatization of trout fisheries. Like I said POWER - and TROUT - to the PEOPLE!!!

Here you go Old Timer. I think you can see the parr marks OK on this Embarras River beauty. Now show us some of your Porcupine Hills cutties.

The "regulations" of which you speak are not "laws" and when you and your board start pretending that they are is where the trouble starts. My understand is your "poacher" (even though he isn't) paid his fees in good faith. You may have a claim against him in small claims court to recover the cost of the extra trout. But the idea that you can somehow impose a draconian one year ban is absurd. And by the way, why is it that anyone who slightly disagrees with the Stalinist-only-one-point-of-view-is-valid nature of this board is outed as a "troll"? Which sounds a lot like how the Lake Sundance resident's association views itself. The North American wildlife ethic (as opposed to the European-Lake Sundance model) is that fish and game belong to the people. And it's governments who make the laws. Not some spooky "residents' association." Like I said, I've got a lot of sympathy for the guy.

Catching a fish from a pay-to-play trout pond from which the general public is excluded is not exactly the North American definition of "poaching." Actually I've got a lot of sympathy for the guy and feel he was harshly treated by the residents' association who, as far as I can tell, are not the GOVERNMENT and may have encroached into an area where they have no legal business being. Power - and Trout - to the People!!!!!!

The reason for the apparent lack of interest in your issue is the bad taste left in many Alberta flyfishers' mouths over the way your whacked out premier and his fisheries managers treat us on this side of the Rocks. The Classified Waters gouge being the most obvious. I suspect the T as you call it will be the next on the Get-Alberta hit list. While at the same time the timid Stelmach government has decided to do sweet tweet about BC guides running on our already overcrowded SW waters. Start a dump-the-day-rod-fees movement as well as your Thompson petition and you might just get a few feelers.

It appears that when it comes to the current political scene in Alberta there are a large number of folks who couldn't find their asses with both hands. This is a government that's in deep trouble in the polls and is currently going through a leadership crisis that clearly hasn't gone away despite Saturday's 77% approval at the Red Deer convention. There are all kinds of people mad at the PCs for a variety of reasons that are far more fundamental than angling licenses. The last thing Stelmach and Co. need is another demographic (bleeped)-off at them. Especially one that has traditionally supported them - ie. old guys. A senior's angling license has two chances of making it through cabinet and caucus anytime in the near future. Even if the fish-o-crats were foolish enough to take it that far. And Slim just left town. It ain't happenin'. So get over it.

Just a variation on the universal theme of Woolly Bugger. Barry ties his with a black marabou tail instead of gray. The collar of ginger hen hackle is mine too just because I bought a neck from a bargain bin a while back and I figured I better make some use of it. The red tying thread is a nice touch. Maybe gills. maybe a cuttie slash. The sparkle chenille and the grizzly saddle hackle being the key. Not to mention lots of NP lead and a tung cone head.

Ted Morton - a political scientist as well as a fly fisher - has a standard stump speech that he gives whenever he's speaking to anglers and hunters. Where he talks about the politics of fishing - a fact that appears to be lost on a lot of the tunnel vision elites on FFC. Politics is all about numbers. When your numbers decline below a critical point you no longer have the political clout to assert your agenda. That's why he has initiated a number of hunter/angler recruitment initiatives. It also makes the $100 fishing license boondoggle the dumbest thing anyone has come up with for a long, long time. Unless there is a large and engaged body of anglers demanding our fair share of government resources, there won't be bios, fish cops, hatchery programs for stillwaters, resource allocators and all the other bureaucrats who make up the Fish and Wildlife Division. The only organization that's actively participating in Real Politics for anglers and hunters in the province these days is the Alberta Fish and Game Association. You may not agree with all their policies but at least they're doing it. Others like TUC. Ducks Unlimited. Pheasants Forever, etc. are simply faking it when it to comes to grinding it out with the government. As a result AFGA is the most effective outfit in bringing about change. Mainly because they have the largest numbers and are active in many Alberta communities. Something that TUC has refused to engage in. I say this as somebody he serves on the TU Edmonton dinner committee which raises thousands of bucks each year to keep Mother Church in Calgary afloat. To propose a restrictive license wall that actively discourages the casual/entry level angler from participating is about as naive as it gets. As for UK river bailiffs, my experience with them is their main job to make sure only fee-paying anglers are on the water and to keep all others off the property. Streamwatch they ain't.

For Atha-B winter bullies I usually swing Barry White's Marlyn Monroe. No reason why it shouldn't work on the Bow too because it basically imitates a rocky. .

Way too long. If it's written for us then you're preaching to the converted. If it's for the punters then they're going to check out before they get half way through. Tighten it up big time.

It's all very well and good to rant and rave about the government in your little FFC cyber-bubble, but the reality of the situation was spelled out at the guide licensing meeting by Ken Crutchfield (I don't recall Ken Ambrock being there) last weekend. Where he put a wooden spike in the heart of the registry not because the fish and wildlife division doesn't necessary dislike the idea. But because he DOESN'T HAVE THE MONEY!!! In fact he let slip that the Alberta government fish-and-game-o-crats are now preparing 2009-2010 budget scenarios for a 10 and 15% cut as Lloyd Snelgrove tries to squeeze $500 million out of the bottom line. And as BRB was apparently told (I didn't hear it) there are already 8 vacant FWD positions that won't be filled. While Ken revealed he's also "transitioning" out of the government. Which probably means 9 empty desks. That's the reality. Especially with Wildrose Danielle and every second Calgary oil patch angry calling out Stelmach over government deficits. Calgary, you asked for it you got it.

That was the point made to the bureaucrats, licensing guides is not meant to become a Guides Union. Quite the opposite. It's so their activities can be regulated for a whole lot of obvious reasons. Including the BC guides running in Alberta while protecting their little classified waters scam. The Skeena rip-off being the latest example.

Dave, if you think this discussion is all about getting some kind of exclusivity on the RDR, as much as you may (or maybe not) want it, then you're getting way up ahead of yourself. Likewise your dubious cost estimates. I believe I've attended all the Fisheries Management Roundtables and rod days have never come up. In fact the fish-o-crats at the April meeting recommended no action on guide licensing claiming the guiding community showed little interest. But some of the guys from the Pass objected and after what I recall was a pretty overwhelming show of hands Keith's committee was created. (Meaning a lot of Fish and Gamers and TU reps supported it.) Mainly because he was the only guide in the room due to the on-going problem of Calgary apathy. Even though there was a move to form a Bow River guides outfit a few years back. Since then the roundtable has been axed as part of Morton's budget busting measures (heck, even the website has mysteriously gone missing). I wish Gary or some of the other Blairmore guys would come on and present their case rather than the guide gang-up that appears to be taking place now. So don't shoot me, I'm just the fly on the wall. Although I did vote for the registry.

One man's Clouser is another man's lead head jig. Get over it. Hey and by the way, they don't allow strike indicators on FF-only BC rivers. No droppers either. In Alberta three flies under a corkie with a cluster of BB-lead shot is considered sporting. And what the heck is a wire wrapped San Juan? We've come a long way from Halford, baby.

Well Trouthunter, if you really want to find out what's going on, how about getting hold of Keith. The weather's pretty crappy up here today so I suspect he doesn't have a ride. Phone him at the house in Stony Plain. Go on his Get Hooked Fishing Adventures website. As for Smitty's concern that I may have let my journalistic standards slip (even though the FFC forum is hardly journalism) it's my understanding that skepticism is one of the first rules of journalism. I'm simply exercising rule #1 considering nobody knowns what this thing will eventually look like. Let alone cost. Other than the fact it's time has come. And here's another little interesting fact. If you add up the number of guys running on Lake Athabasca, Lesser Slave, Cold Lake, Pigeon, Rocky, Grande Prairie, Hinton, the Atha-B, North Sask, Fort Mac, LeCrete, Cypress Hills, Lower Bow, the Pass, plus the northern fly-ins (the Maligne/Amethyst/Talbot guides are likely opted out) this issue may well be decided by a bunch of walleye/laker/grayling guys regardless of what the Middle Bow elites think. Like I said earlier, ironic, eh?

Kinda ironic, eh, that the guide heading this little process, my buddy Keith Rae, is a walleye guy who operates on the North Sask above Devon, and all you Calgary/Bow elites, who chose to ignore the Fisheries Round Table as irrelevant and beneath your dignity over the years, are now running around on this board like chickens with your heads cut off. The impetus for a guide registry is as much a trans-border issue as anything. A little sweet revenge for the East Kootenays rod fee gouge which has a lot of the fellows, particularly from the Pass, still pretty incensed. If guides aren't regulated then there's no way of stopping Fernie and Montana guides from doing a little cross border shopping at our expense. The fact is that fishing guide licensing has been on the provincial statutes for years. The complacent PCs have chosen not to use it mainly because guides - not recreational anglers - didn't like it. Now recreational anglers are rowing the Mac boat. As for all those scary, made up numbers that Dave Jensen is throwing around, giver me a break.

Not a heck of a lot is known about the Wildrose Allliance Party other than the fact a lot of Albertans (Calgary oil patch whiners for the most part) appear to have changed horses in midstream and are now backing them. In today's Sun's perceived leadership front runner Danielle Smith gives us a clue where she and her party are coming from. "They have shattered investor confidence with the ill-conceived and poorly implemented New Royalty Framework. They have ruined our reputation on the environment. They have mismanaged health care. They are eroding property rights for landowners and leaseholders. They have created a democratic deficit and failed to defend free speech." Slamming the PC's environmental record may be a good thing - although I don't know how you can be pro oil industry and a savior of the environment all at the same time. But that stuff about "eroding property and leaseholder rights" is something to pay serious attention to. Especially when it comes to stream access either through private or Crown "leaseholder" land. With Danielle you may not like what you asked for.

You the man, Don!! Finally some Solidarity with the Kenyan ladies. Rocky Mountain House (and Black Diamond) rules!!!!! Jerry Doak charges five bucks for his Bombers and Black Bear's because he "TIES LOCALLY". And shuts his shop down on Sunday, I should add, to observe the Lord's Day. I wanted to get that in to make sure nobody misinterpreted than I was picking on him. Come on boys, tell us all how those NIKE piece work slaves are different than the Obama lasses in Nairobi. It's gonna be quite a stretch.

My big fish rod (pike, walleye, bones, down east salmon. steelies, dollies, lakers and Atha-B bullies) is a 4 piece, 8-weight, St. Croix Avid. It's relatively Air Canada-proof because the tube fits in the bottom deck of my big Eddie Bauer duffel thus avoiding that black hole called "Oversize Luggage". Where no fly rod is known to return from. Or at least not for 48 hours. The price is right too. The key to tossing pike flies is to resist the temptation to use bunny strips and stick to artificial materials. Once six inches of rabbit leather soaks up a full load of water it's like casting a wet tea towel. When you pike fish from a pontoon or float tube and don't have the use of your leg muscles in casting, you will appreciate the difference.

I'm heartened that a grumpy old geezer like SilverDoctor can get a Fair Trade price for his flies whether through luck, charming personality, high end deodorant, cosmic forces or all of the above. But that grumpy old geezer from Rocky Mountain House, my buddy Don A, says he got out of the biz because he couldn't compete. Those ladies he mentioned who tied for Dan Bailey in Livingston brought in some much needed off farm income for a lot of Paradise Valley ranch families. Now I, guess, they don't. All that was long gone the last time I visited the store. Heck even the Pacific Northern depot across the street is now a museum. I did witness a similar situation - although not on such an intense scale - in Jerry Doake's shop at Doaktown on the Miramichi when I was there last. A couple of girls were cranking out Green Machines and you hope they were getting Fair Trade prices. Although I note with some concern you can now get 'em from the Kenyaflies website. But the question remains, is it OK for a bunch of fat and rich Albertan fly anglers to exploit a bunch of ladies in Kenya? Or in my case, just fat.

Just randomly Googling around and I can across a website called www.kenyaflies.com. Where you can buy a #16 Parachute Adams for 48 cents CAD. Minimum order $35 and cheaper for big bulk buys. The same fly goes for $1.89 on the Russell Sports website. You get a three-pack deal for $3.99 at Bass Pro. I don't mean to single these two out but most of the Calgary indie flyshops don't post individual fly prices but I suspect they're in the same range. Maybe more expensive. If you take Russell's as the median price then that's something like a 390% mark-up. Sure there's duty and GST built in but still, that ain't bad. Assuming the jobber in Nairobi is also taking a hefty cut (would 50% be too unreasonable?) that means Barack Obama's auntie is probably clearing in the zone of 24 cents a fly. She may or may not be buying her own materials on top of that. I'm not sure how the deal works. So again I raise the question, is this Fair Trade?

Much is made by the trendy leftie crowd about carbon footprints, fair trade coffee and dolphin-friendly tuna, but what about "fair trade flies"? For those of us who tie our own it's not an issue. But the others who don't, usually buy them from the bins in fly shops, big box stores or chains. These flies apparently aren't tied by grumpy old geezers in their Bowness basements but in giant Third World sweatshops largely by ladies trying to feed their families. Kenya for some reason appears to have cornered the market. So are these women getting fair wages for their efforts? Or are they being exploited so anglers can have cheap (well sorta) flies and the fly shops, chains, etc. can maintain hefty profit margins? Should there be "Fair Trade Flies" stickers on fly bins just like there are at latte shops? Or is it a case of what you don't know won't hurt you? The same question should be asked about off-shore rods.

Check out section "J" of the Alberta Fisheries Act regulations. Regulations 43(1) The Lieutenant Governor in Council may make regulations (a) establishing categories of licences, activities to be authorized by licences and classifications of licences; ( respecting the terms, conditions and transferability of a licence; © respecting the eligibility requirements and applications for and the issuing of licences; (d) respecting instruments under section 18(; (e) governing the imposition and collection of royalties in respect of fish caught pursuant to a licence; (f) respecting the inspection of fish, fishing equipment and fish processing facilities and of the handling, marketing, processing, storage, transportation, preservation and disposition of fish; (g) establishing quality standards for fish for human consumption; (h) respecting fish, fishing and the handling, marketing, processing, storage, transportation, preservation, disposition and sale of fish; (i) respecting the propagation, rearing and keeping of fish; (j) respecting sportfishing guides and activities involving assisting persons to sportfish; (k) respecting competitive fishing events, competitive fishing event participants and activities involving competitive fishing. The statute is already on the books and has been a bone of contention at the Fisheries Roundtable for years. The guys from the Pass are particularly incensed. The standard response back from SRD brass is that there is no big push from the guides to be regulated. Which is hardly the point. Especially with the classified waters issue in the East Kootenays still burning. The government has had the power to get a firm grip on the guide situation for several years now. They've just chosen not to use it. There seems to be a pattern developing here. All show no go. Just wait until your see the wiggle room they find in the Land Use Framework. You read it here first.

It appears there are many shades of riprap. Some habitat-destroying outrages like the Allan Bill kind. Or therapeutic "bank stabilization and containment projects" trying to stop the Clearwater River rerouting itself down Stauffer Creek. Still, DFO for once in a blue moon appears to have done something positive. The Elbow rock wall was discussed at our TU meeting not so long ago so I suspect a member of the Alberta Trout Underground fingered the Parkies and probably had to apply a lot of pressure to make the feds do their job. Good work who ever you are and a tip of the fishin' hat.

There have been some pretty evil riprap attacks on the Red Deer River below the Penhold Bridge. Including one by a certain oil millionaire's house. I wonder if that one was legal? And how about the number they did on the Crowsnest River through Blairmore? Instead of a RAP-Line (as in report a poacher) maybe we should start a Report a Riprap Line. It could become quite an earner for TUC. By the way, it's nice to see that Fisheries and Oceans actually has a pulse here-a-bouts. If ever so faint. Did anyone in the provincial government get fired over this? And if not, why not? You gotta think there was a county council also lurking in the background. They seem to be Alberta's Great Riprap Warriors. Nice one Don. By the way, how is your in-stream containment project coming along on the Clearwater?