Neil Waugh

Here's a little Saskatchewan gem.

Is that a cane in its paw? The old boy bears a striking resemblance to Don Andersen.

I note absolutely no discussion about Morton's proposed Open Spaces pilot project which is burning up the hunting boards. One component - called RAMP - will apply to anglers as well and the bullet and bow guys. Where landowners will get paid a hunter/anlger day fee for allowing access and habitat protection. Where the RAMP cash comes from has yet to be identified. And whatever happened to the high water mark? The ranchers are all for it. Which may be bad news for us.

135 views and finally a bite. You Calgary guys sure love to whine. But here comes the main event andnothing but the sounds of silence.

Stelmach is going to call the election likely on Monday after the Throne Speech. What are the top outdoors issues? Or will they even become issues? We don't seem to have much clout these days. Access, population growth, Landuse Framework, Open Spaces inititiative, Water for Life (or is it Water for Dams)... Remember one of his three campaign planks is Greening Our Growth.

Don't forget the Atha-B in JNP.

Sorry all to heck Taco, yup, it is ole Hoot. I was sorta leaning toward Red Rider too. But he wears a different kinda hat. My understanding is (geeze I'm talking like a flippin' lawyer) the Windermere bass were government stocked. As were the blue gills or pumpkin seeds or whatever those other darn things are. I didn't want a war to break out with my first post for a while. But it is a neat feeling that I can still flame it up. But since bass are there and it doesn't involve two days getting to Creston, it could be fun fishing for them without having to feel too guilty. I had a blast on my one and only session at Duck slapping deer hair poppers between the milfoil beds. You learn real fast that you can't mess around with any dainty fly rodding techniques and crank them out of the cabbage with an 8-weight just like the good old boys do on TV.

The hat's a genuine Wal-Mart. Provocative but with a dash of certainty. Taco, is it just me or are you starting to look a lot like Tom Mix these days?

I took this bad boy (or is it a girl?) through the ice over Christmas off Kinsmen Beach at Inveremere. According to the local rag there's apparently been a population shift in the big lake over the past few years. Giving the Columbia Valley sloughs a whole new meaning. I have to admit I was pretty surprised when it came up the hole. I expected to catch those fish with the politically incorrect name. Does anyone ever target these bass? For you southern boys I reckon you could almost day trip to the East Kootenays and gives you a whole new species to target.

Actually Rick Taylor (same guy who wants list WSCTs) has recommended doing something with Athabascans. Could be trouble there too. Especially if he goes "threatened." He just finished the DNA study but found they weren't much different than Fraser River redbands. The Ram story came when Don's friend Martha (don't meant to be too hard on her because she's having serious health problems) complained to the feds. And the goofs sent a crew of Coast Guard snapheads all the way out from Sarnia to see if they could get one of their cutters up the Ram. It was all part of her protest over the Sunpine haul road and the two "illegal" bridges. It also led to the invasion of DFO officers who kicked in the doors of a forest service office at High Level - with "guns a-blazin'" as on Alliance MP put it - at the height of their power. They moved SRD off the turf. Now they have all but abandoned the province again leaving a huge gap in management and enfocement of fish habitat. At a time when grayling creeks at Fort Mac are getting ripped up. Neil Waugh

By the way I'm not AZ I'm Neil Waugh. That's what the 'puter insisted I had to be called. If the monitor could rescue me I'd sure appreciate it.

Easy boys, I'm a sensitive artist. All this trust in Ottawa stuff is pretty hillarious. SRD's recovery plan may be about a few dozen remnant cutties in the top end of Cataract Creek. But that doesn't seem to be what SARA says for a species listed "threatened." "Harm and harrass" being the words that jump out like an auto wrecker's dog. Put that in the hands of the PETA or WWF lawyers in front of a Liberal judge and things may change radically. Laws have to be followed. And judges can make politicians follow them. Remember when the Coast Guard showed up on the Ram because Martha said it was a nagivable river. The day may soon be coming when I run into Taco on his new "home" waters - the Freeman or the Embarras. Remember, the NEP was supposed to be all about Canadianizing the oil patch. It's scary. Real scary.