rusty

The river's really clear right now and I don't think any fall rainshowers are going to dirty it up much if at all. Just took the boy for a stroll down by Fish Creek and counted 14 rainbows eating nymphs in 2-3' of water in one spot. I would think you'll want to stick to small nymphs, or man up and fish dries.

Yeah most of the trips we caught we smaller than that...the biggest ones were 12" or maybe 13". You can really tell because they're nice and firm instead of a bit spongy like most of the bigger fish. Nothing over 20" for us this year Rob, and that was out of well over 150 fish between 4 guys.

Police Lake is a little farther and may be closed but is a nice spot with great action.

Happy birthday Lynn! Hopefully you spent some portion of it fishing!

I'd recognize that water anywhere...how long were you there? Spectacular pics.

The smell in my waders after three or four days is a noxious mix of wet, sour, ripe, and dead all rolled into one and left in the sun for a few days. It's enough to kill a man. The best cure is to turn the waders inside out and hand wash them in the tub with a mild detergent. An old dish brush does a nice job of getting out any stubborn dirt. Rinse them really really well and let them dry. A nice alternative if you don't want to go to all that effort is to dry them and throw a good handful of baking soda into each leg.

Shameful? Really? Calgary has one of the best wastewater treatment programs in the world. Either we all stop showering, pissing, and crapping, or we accept that there will be some impact from a city of a million people on the Bow. Look at many other places in the world or even in Canada (Vancouver Island) where insufficient wastewater treatment has caused major environmental issues and I think you'll be proud of the advanced systems and technology we have here.

Missed this one the first time around - good post Clive.

Outcast's warranty is lights out - I had three boats in there this winter and they were all looked after.

IMO one day of rain does essentially nothing. The clarity and temp may change a bit but the effect doesn't last too long this time of year. Right now the Bow is infested with tiny baetis (#18-20). The small nymphs and the dries have been working well, and there are still quite a few caddis around.

Ok then... No more steelheading (anywhere except on the salt) No fishing for salmon anywhere (except in the salt) No fishing the Bow, Crow, Highwood, OMR, Castle, etc, etc at all during Mar-May and Sept-Nov If you have a problem fishing for staging or spawning fish or think that you're above it, then you don't do it. The rest of us will leave that determination to the folks who set the regs. How do you know that bull was spawning and not staging? Just by the color? That fish isn't near as dark as some of the other ones I've seen posted here. Funny how when Jay (humble) posted that pic no one dared to try to give him hell for doing what these guys are. That's a damn fine bully man, especially for Alberta. Love the bear spray in the pic too.

Cardinal rule of sightfishing: if you can see the fish, he can see you. Either sit there super still until he gets comfy with you there, or back off to a spot where you can't see him. Big trout in shallow water are usually on Defcon 3 before you show up, so the odds aren't exactly in your favor to start off and begin with.

If you were to organize it as a fun event and really focus on the Streamwatch benefit, I think it'd be an awesome idea. You could even have a bonus prize for most trash collected. If it turns into a pissing contest as some would no doubt try to turn it into, that would be a shame.

Oh man...I like that idea.

Nearly any pontoon can float the Bow, but an 8' boat is a good idea. Cheap boats go for $500 but you can spend over $1500. Personally, I'd go with Outcast PACs. They're bombproof and comfortable. However, there are a lot of other companies out there now and if you want to save a few bucks they aren't bad. The following features are worth watching out for: -aluminum frames don't rust and are much, much lighter -polyurethane bladders are a lot stronger than PVC -thermally welded bladders and pontoons hold together better but cost more -a proper built in anchor system is really nice to have -a good comfy seat is important -leifield valves are more reliable and easier to use than summits Most of the included stuff is garbage (rod holders, pumps, etc), but it will get you by if you aren't using the boat a ton. My PAC 900 is 8 years old, and the boat and all of the accessories it came with still work like the day I bought them. I've seen a lot of other newer junk in rough shape by comparison. In my opinion, you should either pick up one of the low-end steel clunkers and save some money or get a nice shiny PAC. Outcast's warranty service is awesome and the PAC series boats are made in the US.

I would take lots of pictures and contact the Sun or Herald. They may have a slightly different take on things.

I'm with MTB 100% - it's twenty freaking dollars. My absolute favorite part is all the fellow Calgarians who talked about how boycotting the place would turn it into a ghost town. When I drove by the twin shops the other day there were over 20 vehicles parked out front. I used to make all the same arguments - and then I realized that BC was well ahead of the game and Alberta has a lot of catching up to do. The difference is that BC is trying to make sure that everyone can enjoy the fishing experience, while Alberta is foolishly trying to encourage more people to fish to pile more people onto our strained fisheries. Look at the immense effort that some of the good folks here put in to get the few quality lakes we have, then grab the BC regs and count the number of 1 fish over 20" and artificial fly only lakes in there. Number of days in BC last two years: 8 Number of times checked in BC: 2 Number of days in AB last two years: well over 150 Number of times checked in AB: ZERO. If you don't want to go, then don't.

I work with the guy on the far right in that pic. Pretty awesome story!

Going through Fish Tales is the easiest way - giving Sage a call and shipping it yourself is fastest.

Beautiful fish. Terry's a really knowledgeable guy and a class act to boot. Glad you had a good trip.

Sweet pics Max.

Honestly - don't choose, just get the 18-200VR and be done with it. A little extra coin and you're covered for everything. I also have a 50mm f1.8 which is a fantastic portrait lens. I picked up one without autofocus for $129 and it's fantastic for pics of the family and such. You throw a macro lens in there and you would have 95% of your shooting situations covered.

The only slight pain in the butt from the spool-frame float that I've seen is that the line very occasionally gets caught in the gap. This happens with the 2560 and the FWs, as well as nearly every other reel out there. Most folks I talked to that fished fast saltwater fish like false albacore were really happy with the Nautilus CCFs - that's why I picked up a #10. Like headscan pointed out, the best thing about the Nautilus is that the spool interchange system locks in well and doesn't give you loose parts like the Islander or other reels. You're comparing Ferraris and Lamborghinis at this point.

The Loop Opti reels are the nicest looking reels I've ever seen - I was sooooooooo close to buying one but changed my mind because of how light the frame is on them. You probably take much better care of your gear than I do though Greg.

Tim, I own a 2560. It's a nice reel with a decent drag, but overall I think you can get better reels. My personal preference would be the Nautilus FW5. I have an FW5 and an FW7 and I think that they're the best reel for the money these days. I'll bring the 2560 and the FW5 this weekend and you can decide for yourself.