rusty

Just want to clarify, mike: your friend could afford gas, housing, food, etc in BC but not the $20/day license fee? I see one of two scenarios. 1. You can afford, but not justify it. That's the same as a lot of things, fishing included. If the license cost went up again next year, would you stop fishing? Doubtful. For most of these folks, they'll stay on the east side of the border, fish different rivers, and maybe treat themselves once in a while. It's a choice. It's the same for me with golfing. 2. You can afford it, but not for the number of days you used to fish it. Put me in this category. In 2001 I fished the Elk, etc for 21 days. Instead, I fish down there maybe 3-4 days a year now. If I'm remotely typical of the average, then the fishing pressure is reduced, the experience is preserved, and we all get to enjoy it (albeit less so). You are going to have to explain to me how someone can afford $55 for a year's BC license and gas to get there but not $20 for a CW stamp. Either way, the rod fee is low enough that nearly everyone can afford it, but is implemented in such a way that people will reduce their rod days and trade quantity for quality. And, as a bonus, more cash goes into the system. Next year I'll go to the Skeena with a couple of buddies. Cost of gas: $600 Cost of camping/lodging: $250/$1000 Cost of food: $1000 Cost of CW stamps: $420 How is that unreasonable?

I think there's one for sale on the AO board (a 790RPL, that is).

Shhhh! We're lynching someone! Out of here with your "reason"! Sure, the only difference is really that one is regulated game and the other isn't. I think you have to look at these guys as not just breaking the law but also being unsafe as well (high powered rifles at water = dumb). Honestly though, I've seen worse - there are vids on youtube where a little kid is laughing is head off breaking injured goose necks. And we all know how much fish and game gets wasted in Alberta every year, either by freezer burn or whatever. But hey, this is a bulletin board for a bunch of people who hook fish in the mouth, drag them around to the point of exhaustion, and then take them out of water for pictures. I don't think the difference between most fishermen and hunters and these guys in the eyes of the public is as big as most of us would believe. For the record, I shoot gophers AND hook fish in the mouth and drag them around to the point of exhaustion. (Sometimes I even take pictures!)

That pic with the speedrunner in the water should be the Loop catalog cover. Awesome pictures. I'm amazed I don't run into you more often!

Smitty, If it was the RPL (Reserve Power Lightweight) and not the RPL+, the EXACT same blank is used in the VPS (Variable Presentation Series), but with cheaper components. The VPS was discontinued last year. You can easily find a factory VPS kicking around (there's a 586 for sale on the board here), or, if you want to kick it up a notch, track down a blank and build it with singlefoot guides and a nicer reel seat. I have a custom 890-4VPS with Fujis and it just pounds line like nobody's business. My wife built a 690VPS a few years for a Bow River rod and she won't fish anything else now. My 890 cost about $300, while her 690 was only $225. I have a good friend who does amazing rod work if you're looking for a builder, and there are a few guys here (CDone is one) who do great work as well. The ZAs are quite a bit faster than the RPLs. The predecessor to the ZA is the XP, which "replaced" the RPL+. They actually sold both for a while before they stopped making the RPL+. Some folks compare the VT2 to the RPL+, but I find the RPL+ is a much nicer rod to cast.

Actually, it was the work of a few of the guys on the AO forum that brought this to light. If these guys get what they deserve, it'll be one more example of the forums helping crackdown on idiots.

You'll have to do some real convincing to show me that you can afford gas for your vehicle, your yearly BC license, your food, your time off work, etc but you can't swing the CW stamp cost. Maybe it's going to mean that instead of fishing for 9 days you fish for 3 - but that's the whole point now, isn't it? I don't know too many folks who can afford to be in the EKs but can't afford $20/day. And yes, you're exactly right. It IS about the experience. That's why some of us shell out a fair amount of coin to fish private waters right here in Alberta, whether that be on Palmer, Lake A, Elliot's, or otherwise. That's why there are quite a few very successful private lakes right here in Calgary. You fish Elliot, right Hydro? What do you think it would look like there if they opened it up to the public? How would the experience change? The AMP isn't about privatization - it's about giving everyone the opportunity to enjoy the fisheries without a million other guys there. The guides got cut back the same as the public did, by way of rod day quotas. With the very high pressure that was there before, guides and people with real money are more inclined to seek out private paid access to the rivers. In a way, one could argue that by charging $20/day we're keeping more of the rivers accessible to everyone. They've done different things elsewhere. In Montana, some rivers have no nonresident float fishing on certain days of the week on stretches that rotate. For example, no NR float fishing from Glenmore to 22X on Mondays and Tuesdays, 22X to Mac on Wednesdays and Thursdays, and Mac to Carseland on Fridays and Saturdays. Again, this works because a very high percentage of rods are not in hands of MT residents. And we haven't even touched on the benefit that all those dollars flowing into the fisheries is going to do. I've seen more enforcement in BC in a year than I've seen here my whole life, and there's a lot more water to enforce on in BC. Finally, if you grab a map and see how they've assigned classification, you'll also see that there are huge expanses of creeky rivery wilderness where you can fish to your heart's content without a stamp.

Classification, in the same way that it's implemented out west, will NOT work in Alberta. Why? Our pressure is local - it's Albertan anglers that are pounding the rivers. The AMP is about angling "experience", not about the fish themselves. There's little doubt in my mind that the fish haven't been affected - just the fishing. I just returned from fishing down there, and let me tell you, in no uncertain terms: I think the AMP, as implemented in the SE Koots, is a resounding success. If the Fernie economy is in shambles from all of the boycotters, you certainly wouldn't know it from the hour waits at restaurants, the constant stream of traffic, and the number of driftboats getting hauled around. Having said that, we fished good, popular water on a prime season weekend and saw very few other fishermen. The quality of the experience was way better than what it was 7 or 8 years ago before the regs changed. The yearly CW license that so many Albertans are pushing for defeats the purpose - you're trying to reduce angling pressure by making people limit their number of rod days. Our group bought well north of $200 worth of CW stamps and licenses, and spent about the same on gas and nearly twice that on food and lodging. Given that our primary driver for the trip was fishing, I think that it's fitting that 25% of the trip's group cost is going directly into the fishery. I think that most of the folks that are still "fighting" the CW regs, despite most of them being able to afford the stamps no problem, would like to see us do something "to reciprocate". That's just silly...we don't have the same problem (very high % out of province anglers), and as a result, we need different solutions. I laugh my head off every time someone tells me that they used to fish the Elk but don't go down there anymore. I want to shake their hand and thank them for contributing to the success of the CW program. As far as the stamps being a pain to get, I bought them using an iPhone in under 5 minutes. I just spent my 24th day fishing in our western neighbors' backyards this year, and one thing is abundantly clear to me: they are light years ahead of us when it comes to managing their interior fisheries. Let's recap: -They have a new system (SL-1,2,3,4) for managing quality lakes because they have so many; we are finally coming along, but still have to fight battles on a lake-by-lake basis (hopefully this is changing now) -They stock lakes very lightly with smaller fish often transported in the back of a pickup - we have a government run food bank project -They have quotas on guiding, managed by drainage, and have instituted policies to reduce angling pressure in areas where the experience is affected - we have a complete bloody free for all on guiding where tons of people with not even a few years under their belts and no real training are calling themselves "guides" We can't even stop the squatting and environmental destruction that's constantly occurring on the trunk road. We have a government who thinks we need MORE people to fish! Classification of our waters is so far down the list of priorities for our province that it's ridiculous to debate it.

Reminds me of the guy who posted detailed directions for a spot on the Highwood a few years back. Within 24 hours there was over 600 views of the topic. People post about spots here without thinking twice, but you'd never ever think of telling hundreds of people about it. I share lots by PM, but I don't like posting information for that exact reason.

Don, Would love to know which manufacturers - any Outcast PACs in that bunch?

Didn't check real close, but I'd say 6" or less. Water's way up on the grass in most spots.

Yeah...I was down this morning with the one formerly known as Bowcrow. It's BLOWN OUT.

I agree with Jack...the Korker guides are simply an awesome boot. Lightweight, quick to take on and off, don't shrink when dry - and, best of all, you can get cleated soles for scrambling around on the ice in the winter time. I wear Simms G3 waders, I own three of their jackets, one of their vests, their gloves, etc - but when it comes to boots, the Korkers win hands down.

Active Nymphing by Rich Osthoff Anything by Gierach (esp Sex, Death and Flyfishing) A Passion for Steelhead by Dec Hogan (awesome book just to flip pages on) Flyfishing Trout Lakes by Morris and Chan Contemporary Fly Patterns of British Columbia by Art Lindgren Advanced Fly Tying and Production Fly Tying by AK Best

Honestly, if your plan is to own only two rods I'd get a longer #3 over a #4. If you get a fast 3 weight you can easily fish lakes with it. If I could only own two rods I'd take a #3 and a #6 both in 9'.