rusty

you get the green or silver 2550?

Yeah...no. MEC's brand of clothing is far cheaper than any comparable product and I've found that it not only lasts longer but wasn't made by a 12 year old kid who was paid pennies in some third world country. Where else can you buy a pair of real Polartec 200 sweatshop free pants for $36? Polartec 200 Jackets for $45? Real goose down jackets for $200? High quality, properly made goose down sleeping bags for well under $300? Bombproof 4 season backpacking tents for $300? You can definitely knock MEC for being anti fishing and hunting, but you cannot knock their commitment to provide quality gear made responsibly for a very reasonable price. I would rather my dollars go to a company who will stop grizzly bear hunting than a company who sets up massive sweatshops in third world countries to exploit poverty for as long as it suits them.

Roloson was nothing short of amazing. Always in position and a helluva glove hand. Edmonton is playing really good defence too - very diligent about getting rid of loose pucks in the slot. Would love to see them make it. Flames sure played well too, but the officiating was just horrible. How do you not call the Pouliot trip on Vandermeer but then call the Vandermeer hit on Pouliot? How do you not call some of those late trips? Can't blame the officials though - Calgary had the chance to take control on that 1st period 5v3 and didn't cash in.

Nice rainbow...but a shame about the rod.

Seriously man...unless you REALLY know what you're doing, do NOT play with your house's electrical system. Besides electrocuting yourself (which is fairly easy to avoid), you can easily cause an electrical fire. Depending on the situation, your insurance could be void. If you're throwing switches then knock yourself out - but if you're rewiring anything, hire a professional or take the time to learn what you're doing. We're renoing my basement right now and some the wiring down there was horrendous. Scary when you think about the possible consequences. The insulation in one of the fixtures was completely burnt right out and the short could have easily started a fire in the middle of the night.

Bah...you never have to worry about good gear getting wet. Only time I've had an issue is when it gets really cold and the reel freezes up when it's been wet. And at that point, it's usually time to go home.

Don't want to start a big argument, but how is that any different than fishing to steelies or to salmon? Wiggy's a nice place, but be very bear aware. A few years ago when I was there we saw two black bears in there and saw LOTS more sign. Also, be very careful crossing it if it's been raining at all. It can come up in a hurry and it can become very tough to return where you crossed. A few of my buddies wound up going for a swim there and Conor and I almost had to pull Korban out a few years back. Be safe.

Watching the Flames tonight is the perfect indication of this team. Looked like Division 7 Atom in the first period and a cup contender in the second. Consistent inconsistency is the best way to put it. The Flames could be clear NW division leaders if they could just find their identity. The Oil have been fun to watch but they've been playing with no pressure. If they can stay loose I think they're in. They're a really exciting team to watch - I'll give you that. Fact is, however, that all the whining they've done about injured players was meaningless. The Oil's success is coming from great speed and some amazing creativity. They dismembered Minnesota last night. They should have been playing like that all year instead of making excuses for uninspired hockey.

Unbelievably well organized! Nice!

Cool pics! Rich Osthoff writes about that area a fair bit in his book and it's really neat to see some of that country!

If you get a shop to do it make sure they use an Albright. Lots of places use nail knots and something just doesn't feel right about that. On that note, I tried an Albright between 30# gelspun and my new running line and found it didn't hold. Any suggestions? How many wraps should I use?

Awesome Tim! Just beautiful.

Head down to MEC and get a pair of Trek pants for $36. Real Polartec 200 at a heckuva price. Polartec is environmentally friendly, ridiculously comfy, really warm, and doesn't absorb water like cotton does. I also have a pair of Polartec 100 pants that I wear in the transitional weather, but if you're going to have one pair you can't beat the heavier stuff.

I don't know...if a fish gets waaaay out there I like to get the rod nice and high to keep as much line off the water as I can. I also think 90% of people don't apply anywhere near enough pressure on fish on the Bow. Can't see why it takes some guys 10 or 20 minutes to land a fish. You gotta lay the boots! What are you using for tippet? For nymphing I wouldn't go anything less than 3X and I usually go 2X.

Thanks guys. Brett - you know it.

Don, Things have to start somewhere. Sure, I would prefer AF3Ns and C&R regs. Fact is that won't happen overnight. Don't agree at all though about the overstocking - if you slash the stocking numbers and keep an eye on things, it will reduce the pressure on the food supply. Food consumption rates should be more or less proportional to biomass of trout. If you've got 1/4 of the fish at 4 times the size, I would think that the amount of food that gets eaten would be the same in the worst case. Rome wasn't built in a day.

I'd never complain about BH - it's just an unreal place. It would sure be something if it could get back to way it was in Oct '05 though - we caught so many huge trout that 20" Bow River rockets looked like dinks the next time out.

Ben's now just over 5 months. It is completely insane how fast time goes by.

Al, PACs disassemble beautifully. Me and another buddy used to float all the time and do our own shuttles. I had a 2 door Saturn Coupe and he had a 2 door hatchback Escort. The seat and deck come apart from the side frames. You fold the pontoon ends over the side parts of the frame, stack them on top of each other, and you can easily fit two boats in almost any vehicle. Now that I have a Pathfinder I only fold one seat down and two boats go in easily. For long term storage I take the pontoons off and roll them up. I know plenty of guys who live in condos with pontoon boats. If you go with the PAC, the aluminum frame makes carrying the boats a breeze. I lived in a half duplex for a while with limited storage and I used to haul them out of a tiny closet under the stairs, up a flight, and out to the vehicle. I've floated the Bow in jetboats, driftboats, jon boats, zodiacs, duck boats and even a v-hull once and I can honestly say that the best one *for fishing* is the pontoon. They're easy to control, draft very little water, and allow two guys to fish 100% of the time. Plus, the new strapless boats are even quicker to put together and take down. The 900 strapless and 9000 are hardcore fishing machines.

Al, I fished in the WM last week on the Island for a day. I've owned a PAC900 for 6 years and have rowed lots of boats so I think I'm in a good position to judge. The best thing about the WM is that you can stand up and fish without getting out of the boat and without worrying about it floating away on you. Also, the lack of a rigid frame made the boat very light and easy to carry around. The material is also very tough - we dragged them around and had no issues. I really did not like the rowing, however. The fixed-type oarlock and short oars were not conducive to good rowing. I also found that there wasn't a ton of well-organized space to use (though the rear portion is more than large enough). The PACs are far more organized, and with the two side pockets and the rigid cargo deck you can easily fit enough "stuff" for a long day's float or a fall/spring trip where you wind up wearing a lot in the mornings and evenings. The seat system on the WM is stiff enough, but it just doesn't compare to the rigid frame and padded seat on the PACs. I love the built in anchor system in the PAC - it's super easy to drop anchor with one hand when you've got a fish on that you want to leave the boat to land. The enclosed frame on the WM would partially offset this problem. The WMs are a nice little boat, and they'd kill a framed boat when it comes to any type of hiking, but for floating the Bow I'd recommend a good pontoon over one anyday. Out of curiosity, what are they worth?

Awesome! Should be in town then and I'll see you there!

Whitetail is usually frozen until at least the second week in May. I've been up that way twice first week and got owned both times. Premier is almost always off by then though - so it's not a huge loss.

I'd call May late spring - because there will probably be bugs around by then depending on where you are. You can't miss with chronies in May almost anywhere. I tie most of them now with thread bodies and Wapsi wire ribs. Black-silver, black-red, brown-silver, green-red, etc, etc. My go to ice off pattern is a super easy but deadly-lethal small (#14) conehead leech. The tail is fairly sparse marabou, the body is leech yarn, and I put a small nickel cone right at the head. Fish it on a 12'-14' leader and hold on tight. Lots of fish chase it right to the boat or the shore and then smack it. Tie them in black, olive, claret, and brown. Also, search the board for Bloom's Leech. It should be outlawed on many lakes around here. Everyone and their uncle stares at indies in the spring but fishing chronies on a long leader can be a real blast too. Takes some faith and some concentration but after a little while you'll get pretty good at it. Sometimes you set for no reason whatsoever and find that there's a fish there.

Dude...that's a bit weak. Everyone knows there are deals online - but it's not fair to a shop to go in and ask to try some waders on and then say "wow these fit perfect - thanks!" and then walk out of the shop. Not sure about the Simms sizing, but I'm 5'7" with a 32" waist and I wear Med-Shorts and they fit wonderfully.

For me it's about having less "muscle memory" on that side. I fish fast single handers and generally don't bring the rod much past vertical on the backcast. The spey requires a much more fluid motion and I constantly find myself punching the forward cast instead of slowing down and letting the rod do the work. The left side doesn't have that problem. I agree though - having both in the bag will make you a more versatile fisher. A good buddy of mine hurt his right arm and after a fall and winter of lefty he's now able to fish either way.