rusty

Tough to say because I can't see the tail - but 20-21.

Wind knots generally occur because the line speed is not sufficient for the loop "tightness", so the loop collapses and you're left sitting on the bank cursing like a drunken sailor. Rather than opening your loops up, increase your line speed. I'm assuming that you're getting knots on the forward cast. Make sure that you're accelerating smoothly and continuously through the stroke and that you're stopping the rod sharply somewhere between 1:00 and 3:00 depending on your stroke. If your loops are too open, they'll collapse too easily at any sort of range - especially if you're slinging a weighted payload. The easiest way to keep that line speed up is to learn to double haul. Lefty Kreh has a great video where he demonstrates that line speed is controlled almost 100% by the line hand and not the rod hand. Brent - I would love to see a seminar by commercial tiers, demonstrating ways to tie quicker and more efficiently. Tom Cutmore had an article in Tributaries that was excellent. It would be very helpful to see what sort of tricks and methods he has for just cranking out bugs that are all identical.

Brett - very nice work. I'm with Harry...if you think about it we all live in a flyfishing paradise. Thanks for reminding us.

I've always found that a shorter rod feels more accurate in closer range. Where are you planning on using this rod? If it's mostly for fishing dries on smaller streams, I think an 8' would be a good choice. If you want a dry fly and light nymphing rod for the Bow or Crowsnest, a 9' might be a better choice. Your best bet is to cast both rods and decide for yourself. Go into a shop on a quiet day and test drive them. I would also say that if you're planning on using this rod for small stuff, check out a 3 weight. Don A will tell you that most #3s you buy today are #4s anyway. A short "fast" #3 like a St. Croix LU or a Sage VPSL are fabulous rods for the type of fishing a lot of folks on this board love to do.

Yeah...but that's the exception, not the rule. I've been shopping for a DSLR (Nikon D40x) and have found that the camera can be delivered for 25-30% less than you can buy it in the store - and it usually comes with a 2GB card or a tripod or some other goodies. I agree that we should all try to support local retailers, but I'm not up for shelling out an extra $300 to do so.

Um...can we get an opinion from someone who works with rail? The first pics look like surface cracking and the gap looks like an expansion joint - which is open because it's no doubt colder now than it is in July. I'm all for raising concern where there is concern, but let's make sure that there's something to worry about first.

What time of year?

From what I'm reading now the hit in the oilsands won't be near what it is in the NG and conventional sectors. Obviously NG is our bread and butter now, but what about ten or twenty years down the road? Totally agree with Sundancefisher though - you'd really hope that some of these companies will see the error of their past ways and will think twice before laying everyone off just to complain about being short people in another few years. Lynn - what Petro-Can announcement are you talking about?

Looks like everything is riding out OK for now...certainly not the economic apocalypse everyone said it would be. What's the reaction like out there? At the EPC company I work at there hasn't been too much noise.

I have plenty of experience in both craft, on a few different rivers. Here's my take: If I have to choose for fishing reasons, I prefer fishing in the pontoon. You're in charge of your own destiny, and fishing from a pontoon is easy and enjoyable. It's easier to launch, easier to carry, breaks down better, doesn't require a trailer, can be used on lakes and rivers, is better in the wind, and you can store it in a closet. Pontoons get into places driftboats can't. You can float rivers later in the season when driftboats can't get through. However, if you've got two buddies and a full day, driftboat fishing is more comfortable, much more social, and if you're the one in the front and you've got a good oarsman, you'll catch more fish. A driftboat can quickly pull over to land a fish, while a pontoon has to float through more of the run. If you want to take a rookie on the river, a driftboat is the only way to go. A driftboat is a great idea and I love fishing from them. However, a pontoon is a lot less dough and you'll get out fishing a lot more. You can get a really high end pontoon boat for less than your share of an entry level Hyde or Clacka. My absolute favorite thing about the pontoons is that if 2 guys go, they can use different tactics and both fish at the same time. One guy can bomb the banks with streamers or hoppers, and the other guy can nymph deep seams. Those same two guys in a driftboat only have one rod in the water and are limited to one approach.

Rick - Sawmill has had real water supply problems and those fish are not what they were 6 or 7 years ago. Was something else back then - I saw fish over 10 pounds there. Aeration is a good concept, but IMO lakes that don't require it should be given priority. Paying for aeration so guys can kill 5 fish is just plain dumb.

You mean it might cost more than 30% of the price of a tank of gas for a fishing license? Shocking!

Exactly! And that right there is why there needs to be more upgraders built here. Alberta needs to think long term and in terms of "value-added" instead of being a warehouse for natrual resources.

Correct me if I'm wrong - but isn't AB currently on the low side of royalties worldwide? I've heard that this puts us more in the middle of the pack. The current 1%/25% setup seems like BS to me. I just can't believe that these megaprojects are "hardly profitable" when their costs double their budgets and they still recover their costs in a matter of ~3 years. The cost of heavy oil recovery seems high because you're trying to recover a massive investment over a short period. Can't speak for the NG folks, but the heavy oil side needs some downward pressure or you're going to be paying more insane prices for labor and materials in 2 years than you are already. In twenty or thirty years heavy oil will be the only game in town. These resources belong to Albertans and we should be getting as much as we can for them. Besides, do you really think that "big business" is going to roll over and play dead when they're asked to turn a bunch of money over? I think the best solution is to phase in the royalty program over 5-10 or so years and come up with a good plan to ensure that future generations benefit from the enormous wealth we've all been blessed with.

I think the coolest idea for a swap would be to have a common set of materials that everyone has to use. I'm not sure the best way to do that - whether it would be mailing materials or just having everyone buy their own off a preset list. Would be very cool to see what everyone would come up with. Could also do a "secret ingredient" type swap. Sort of like Iron Chef - except you could call it Iron Tyer. Allllllleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeezzzzzzzz CUISINE!

Which model? I think they're good blanks as long as you're not shelling out $900 for the final product.

Will be interesting to see how this changes if at all once Pine Creek WWTP is comissioned.

Yeah, the typical thing you hear from people is "well that fish ate my fly, so why would I need a pump?" I pump a few fish every trip usually - I like to see what they're feeding on and how much variety there is in the samples. If done properly it doesn't hurt anything. Brian Chan endorses it - and if it's ok with him, it's ok with me. Often times I'm picking up the odd trout and a quick sample will show me what they're really keying in on. One of the cool things I've seen with the pump has been the change in diet for trout in the Bow before and after the flood. Caddis larvae have become way more predominant in the samples I've taken. The essence of flyfishing is understanding the trout's ecosystem. A throat pump is a great way to do that, and it will really help people new to the sport see what they're trying to imitate.

Once you get them unstuck, wipe the male end of the ferrules against your nose to lubricate them slightly before you assemble the rod. You'll never have that problem again.

I walked the river through Fish Creek yesterday and I couldn't believe what I saw. So many people were wading up to their waist - but you can catch a lot of really nice fish in water no deeper than your knees or thighs right now. Toolman caught that whale of a brown this past winter/spring without even wearing waders. Fishing on the Bow rarely requires wading past your knees.

Many ferrule breaks are caused by getting a small piece of sand or debris caught in there, which slowly weakens the connection over time. I agree with LF though - your ferrules are probably not tight enough. Wipe the male end on the side of your nose and snug them together nicely. You don't need to brute force it in, but at the same time, it should be good and snug. If you're throwing a lot of weight, it may help to open the loop a bit. Also, never use the rod to loosen a snag - always point right at it and pull directly on the line. Snags probably cause 75% of rod breaks.

I fish XPs and "fast rods" lots - including a 10' #6. If the leader is breaking where you say, it needs to be replaced. LF is on the money. 1X alone is 10# - 5' from the end it's 15# easy. The only way a tippet like that will break is if it's nicked, damaged, or has sat in the light for too long. There's no way a 4 pound rainbow should break you off if you're fishing 1X. If you have the rod too steep when it's close you'd break the tip before 1X would let go. You really should get yourself a long handled net for fishing from a boat. A 3' aluminum net with a rubber basket should cost you less than $25 at your local Cambodian Tire.

Everything by Gierach - esp Sex Death and Flyfishing All of Jim McLennan's books - esp Flyfishing Western Trout Streams Active Nymphing by Rich Osthoff (this is my new favorite book)

We had our son on Thanksgiving day - that's gotta be significant somehow. Named him Benjamin. I'm officially in the market for a 6' #2 blank.

Deleted - sorry.