rusty

I agree with Jim - the only difference will be once you pass the rear taper of the WF out of the tiptop guide. With a 9' rod, 9' leader, and a 30' front taper, you're looking at 48' to see any difference. Can't imagine that many if any of us are doing much fishing beyond that distance around AB here. Maybe on the odd lake, but can't see it on the Bow, Crow, or any other stream around.

Put me down for a hundy.

Happy birthday Brett.

IF you're using XP, head over to microsoft.com and search for the Picture Resizer powertoy. You can resize by just right clicking on the photo in explorer and choosing Resize.

pseudo, Guiding is like any other profession - it's a few bad apples wrecking it for most. Most guides I've run into on the river have been gracious, courteous, and respectful of the fact that they are making a living from something that belongs to everyone. Some guides I've run into will cut you off, talk down to you, and generally come across as if you're interfering with their livelihood. I think that your comment about the attitudes on this board is not particularly fair. I've heard good things about a lot of guides on here, and sentiment regarding Max and Brian on here is a direct reflection of the time they spend giving pointers and sharing info. Some guides have the exact opposite attitude - they're condescending and feel that because they spend 100 days a year collecting money from public property, they have more of a right to be there than those of us who don't. Myself and a lot of other people on here log as many days on the river, and I don't think this is something I'm making up. I'm all for the licensing of guides, if for no other reason than there should be a minimum standard we hold people to for safety. I think it's a good idea to have a handle on how many guides there are out there, and I think that the majority of well-established guides in Calgary would be for it.

My thoughts are pretty simple: if you don't like fishing for them, don't. But anyone who thinks that the only pre-spawn fish in the Bow are at the HW mouth needs to give their head a shake.

Just say hi and ask if someone minds if you jump in...but obviously, that only works if there's room. You don't want to crowd that badly. Last I was there I fished around for a few hours and jumped in when someone left. There are fish all over there - you don't have to fish the mouth.

To be honest, I'd try to get a discontinued Sage like a VPS on Ebay. In my opinion the TFO fishes better than the other rods in the price range but I'll bet you could pick something up on Ebay that used to be in the $500 range. You might even be able to score a VT2 or an old RPL+. Just be careful that you don't buy a custom rod (unless that's your thing).

I love Outcast. I bought a PAC 900 7 years ago, a FishCat 8 for the wife in 2003, and my brother in law bought a PAC 8 three years back. This past spring, I threw all three boats in a snowmobile trailer and drove out to the Quesnel area. The repeated bouncing of the frames on the pontoons created a leak in one pontoon of every boat. I've tried patching them, but the adhesive in the patch kit I had dried up as it only has a shelf life of two years. I tried other things (aquaseal, marine epoxy, adhesive tape) but just made a mess. Last Thursday, I threw all three pontoons in an old stroller box and sent them down to Outcast. They left a message on my phone today saying that two of the boats could not be fixed and required complete replacement of the air bladder. Guess what they charged me? Nothing. Nadda. Zero. Covered under warranty, despite the fact that the leaks were caused by my stupidity. All I had to pay was the shipping. They're even sending me some new patches that work without adhesive in case I get a leak again. Now that's a company that knows how to take care of customers. I worked with them a bit when I worked at a shop here in town and found the same thing. Do yourself a favor - buy Outcast.

If you're in Calgary, Wholesale sells bulk tips. Get yourself a 10' or 12' length of T-11 and off you go. It may not cast well because of the taper situation, but it will serve the purpose just fine.

Action Optics are great. They're made by Smith and are really comfy.

Happy birthday Clive!

Hope you have a great day Brian. Happy Birthday!

TL, let us know about Police please - it might be on the books for next weekend if she's open.

Agree Brian - the reffing has been BRUTAL the last week or so. How does Gaborik slash and break Vandermeer's stick and VM gets a penalty? Gotta start calling some of the diving too.

Are you guys stocking women's stuff too Brent?

I fish a 8' #2 T&T Horizon on all the rivers you mentioned. A #3 is a better choice for the lakes because of the potential requirement for long casts with side wind. You should think about building (assembling ) a rod in that line class. It's a fun and easy project and I think it's a lot of fun fishing a small light rod that you've built yourself. You can put really light wire singlefoots on it and it'll cast like a dream.

Wicked pics as usual Max. See you're wearing the Korker cleat soles - I will never winter fish again without them. Soooo nice for walking on the ice. What a river the Bow is.

Good call Rich. I have a MEC backpack from 1987 and a jacket from 1991. They still work and hold up just like good gear should. It may sound silly, but if you read Naomi Klein's "No Logo" and do a bit of digging on some of the companies out there, you get a good feeling buying and wearing something made responsibly. Go have a look in there - you won't believe how much stuff is made in Canada, and a lot of the made in Vietnam or made in India stuff is done in shops that are audited by third parties on a regular basis to ensure fair treatment. It makes you wonder - if MEC can be very successful and sell great gear at a good price while paying and treating people fairly, why can't most other companies?

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.