rehsifylf

Thats just wrong. Your WIN is on your license - so there is no need to have the card. Like my wallet isn't 'Castanza'd up" enough that I need to carry around yet another plastic card. I don't think this guy knew what he was speaking of, cause a WIN is only required to purchase a license (i.e. you don't even have to have a WIN Card as long as you have the number for on-line purchases). If you go to purchase a license for the first time, they give you a WIN immediatley, but you won't get your card for 6 weeks. Does this guy imply that you have to wait 6 weeks to fish. Did you get his name/number? Not that its a big deal, but there should be no 'warning' here. If he said, its a good idea to have it with you, thats fine. I think he is the one thats needs to be issued a warning. As I had a quick look at the regs - I just noticed that you can buy alberta licenses on-line now. I missed that news.

This baby'll get you where you need to go - and has plenty of room in the back. Won't be good if you or any of your family are alergic to shag carpet though.

Couple of points zed (and smitty I guess). I think this is a valid topic for discussion I'm not sure I see anyone bitching about $20/day. What I see are complaints about 1) There is no option for an annual license covering all of the rivers for non BC Canadians, 2) The changes were driven by a small group of partisan stakeholders and were aimed at making the rivers more exclusive - not at protecting the fishery - and without proper public consultation and debate before they went in (including consulting the public in the areas around the affected rivers), and 3) The regs are not equitable. The article is 4 years old - well, so are the regs. So I think it speaks to the real rationale behind the changes, not the revisionist version that has since emerged. To quote the author, Mark Hume, "Many of B.C.’s best waters are getting crowded. And most of the crowding, at least on the Elk, Wigwam and other southeastern rivers, is coming from Alberta. For those of us who’ve lived in B.C. a lifetime that’s a bit perturbing." But then, in the same article, the author states: "On the Elk River licensed commercial guides and assistants have increased from 9, in 1995, to 52 in 2002." Hmm - the guides were local, no? Regarding his statement on the source of the crowding (ALBERTA): Creel surveys suggested that angling pressure had increased ten-fold since the early 1980s, and that almost 80% of anglers surveyed originated from outside the province - 49% from the US and 28% from Alberta. That would suggest about 23% from BC and 28% from Alberta. This sounds about right given the location of the Elk to Alberta population centers. BC has some excellent regulations that were all in place place well in advance of these changes - catch and release, bait-ban, slot limits, barbless etc. But as even Dave Brown said: "In the process he [the author of an article] has attempted to draw the readership of Fly Fisherman into the very confusing realm of good-old-boy B.C. politics, where a minority of local anglers and outfitters feel that they should be able to roll back the clock to the days before "The Movie" and introduce measures that would deter anglers from outside the province from accessing these resources." This was from a letter to Flyfishing magazine in response to an article talking about over-pressure on the Elk (don't have the date - but I believe it was shortly before the new regs came in). Note - for earlier posts where the local guides were placed in one category - that might not have been fair to Dave and any other local guides who might not have been fully on board with these new regs. Don't know where he stands on this, but his statement would suggest he would not support this. Finally - and I promise I'll let this drop (for now ) - wanted to say that I had a great week-end on the river. Best part was that I met some other fishermen - one from Elkford who was super-nice even after he saw the plate on our truck. I never once got the feeling that he had any problems whatsoever with Albertans. Also met some folks from Calgary there who went out of there way to be friendly at the rec site. Shared some stories and beverages, and even discussed these regs (I think they would vote no). The week-end is was pretty much a mirror image of a trips taken up to 2004 as far as fish #s, size, number of other groups etc, which is yet another reason I question the what the new regs intended to do. Final note - caught two cut-bows in one hole, without checking the throat would have sworn they were full rainbows.

I guess I have to use more emoticons. Hard as it is to believe - some of you couldn't figure out that I was joking about the sales tax idea. And in case it hasn't been said enough - this has nothing to do with whether $20 is a fair amount to fish those waters. But - enough said. Looks like the vast majority feel these regs are not fair.

You're right Keith. I think a few people have pointed out that crying about this is not good enough. To me the only thing worse than crying about this is not crying about it. MTB - principal is important to me, not BS. I think a few approaches have been taken so far and failed - but perhaps because they focussed on only fishing reciprocity. Maybe we should focus on reciprocity of unjust application of discriminatory conduct. How about we impose a sales tax on all British Columbians when they drive into Calgary and load up on tax free stuff? It wouldn't really add much to our revenue, and it likely wouldn't stop them from coming - but it would be fair according to their rationale, and be a real nuisance. After all, it is Albertan income tax payers that pay enough tax to negate the need for a provincial sales tax. Also - have you seen how busy the malls are lately? And I've seen BC plates in the parking lot - so it must be those damn BC people coming into our province to spend money (how dare they?). We must figure out a good method to get rid of 'em so that our malls can be emptier and we can enjoy a day of non-combative shopping. Well - that's just a first idea. I'll try to come up with some others

All I will say is that I fished the Elk for 10 years before the regulations and a) always had spectacular fishing (except flood year), never saw half as many drift boats as on other excellent fishing/drifting rivers (including the Bow). If fishing pressure was the issue, then the regs should have applied to all people fishing the river including locals. Does it make sense that someone born and raised in Coleman has to pay $20 a day to fish a river 15 minutes away, but a guy who lives in Vancouver pays $15 a year? But lets ask the board.

Good point - it'll make me feel better. Oh - and I've decided that I will need to avail myself of some services while I'm in BC. I'll make sure I take my trailer to the dumping station . BTW - last time I checked, my passport says Canadian, not Albertan or BCer.

Used to go down to what some described as "that river" every fall for years. But when our friendly neighbors to the west stuck it to us by implementing unfair tarrifs on us, i swore i wouldn't go back. Same goes for the St Marys in the summer. Well - after seeing some pics on here today, I just can't hold out any longer. But I can tell you one thing. I won't buy so much as a stick of gum while I'm there. Not a fly, not gas, not food, not lodging - nothing. It's not much, and might be aimed at the wrong people - but it's all the ammunition I have. I'm also going to keep track of what I would have probably spent in the province for the two nights and two days. As someone who holds a BC birth certificate - I'm still smoked over the double standard they applied regarding Classified lic. The fact that we can't buy an annual license and that one day on the river costs more than a BC resident's annual license still really bothers me. My last trip was fall 2004 - by my count - that 3 years * 2 trips per year * ~3 days per trip. This is what it cost the area, but of course they'll get $40 out of me this year. What really smokes me is editorials like this from tools that claim to be 'born and raised in BC' - but live in Vancouver. http://www.ariverneversleeps.com/backissue...5/letters.shtml. I'll wager that I have more family in the Kootenay region than he does. This guy - like many in BC - has an axe to grind with Albertans in general (Anyone who was born and raised there knows that kids are taught from an early age to despise 'Albortions"). If people in BC said the same things about a visibile minority that they say about (and to) Albertans, they'd lable themselves as ignorant racists. Calgary has 1 million people that are within 3 1/2 hours of these rivers. Name a BC city of more than 50,000 that is within 6 hours. This clown lives in Vancouver - only about a a 12 hour drive from the river he speaks of. Guess what moron - go check the rivers that are 3 1/2 hours from Vancouver and I expect you'll not find too many Alberta vehicles parked there, and I bet they are crowded. Regina is only 8 hours from the Elk and tribs. It takes about the same time to drive from Virden Manitoba as it does from Vancouver, for crying out loud. Man - now I'm all worked up about this again. I'm considering cancelling the trip.

I've had a number of reels over the years from very cheap to pretty expensive. I always found that the line i wanted to use (say heavy sink) was never on my favorite reel. So a few years back I bought two Lamson reels and 3 extra spools - so that all of my lines would be on the same kind of reel and I could have a dry and wet rod set up at the same time when fishing a lake. Those reels were Ok - but I had problems with the internals on the reels (which Lamson replaced, twice) and I found that they overspun easily unless you had the drag set fairly high. This year I went to replace the lot - and after considerable cost/benefit analysis went with 2 - Pflueger Trion 5/6 weight + 4 spools. I found them to be the best value (though I wouldn't suggest they are the best reels out there). For sure they are the best reels I've owned or used. I really like being able to swap lines and couldn't see laying our $200-400 for each real and another $100-$200 for each spool. The only knock I'd say is that they are a tad heavier than many other 5/6 reels, but I can't say as I've noticed while fishing with them. The reel is mid-arbour and is, I think, the same as the Orvis Battenkill, and the Reddington CD. No regrets on this move so far. As for Islander. While they may be good reels - I can't see how they would be good value (no offense intended - but they seem to be a 'look at me' item). While Hardy might also be pretty pricely, I think the symbolic value is high because you're buying history as much as buying a reel. There is an expression, I think, that says, "You can tell a lot about a man by his shoes". I think the same can be said about his fly rod and reel. Me - My gear says, "He wants good stuff but he is also one cheap :$*%&: "

I'd be content with being branded as a typical elitist snob - just would never want to be branded as hyper politically correct, or humourless. As far as I know, beating myself in the head with a hammer isn't illegal either, but I don't do it, cause I can't understand how anyone would enjoy that. Plumbers and Electrictians have a similar rivalry to bomb chuckers and fly fishers - and in my opinion there is nothing wrong with one making fun of the other. As for those that enjoy fishing both ways - well as a heterofisherman - I don't get that either. I'm not saying they're wrong, only that I am much better than they are. But I don't limit my superior attitude for those that like to chuck hardware, I make fun of the flyfishers I know that use 2 flies - I don't see that as sporting either (For once, I like BCs regs over Alberta's on that one). I reserve the right to mock or be mocked - without prejudice.

Sure, But with less than three treble hooks how are those guys going to be able to yank the fish out of the water and into the boat from 30 feet away?

On the Bullshead - I've always had tremendous results with a purple or burgandy marabou leach (but purple seems to work best). Never seemed to have much luck on other rainbows, but worked well there.

Also important to note that not all 4x material is the same strength. I started using Rio Fluro Flex plus last year. The 4X is 7lb - and I find it incredibly strong (have lifted some very large logs off the bottom). Regarding matching tippet to fly - other than for size 16+, I just use the 4X. Also - I find that with the Rio plus - need at least a triple surgeons knot at the leader or it'll cut through. I see from Rio's site that for 2008 they have a new product that is 5X - 10 lb (not fluro carbon). It is a braided tippet material. Anyone tried it? Sounds pretty incredible to me. The 4X is 15 lb. Looks like Rio recommends a quadruple surgeons knot (never tied one of those) for this stuff.

I've been meaning to take my kids into Egypt for two years now. Possibly will make it in the weekend after labour day - but if not, then there is always next year. Chester and Watridge are abotu 5 km hikes off the smith Dorien. Easy one day in, fish, out. Watridge used to (and still might) have huge Cutts, and lots of them - but lately seems like the fishing has not been great (see my recent post on this). Chester lake has Dolly Varden and smaller Cutts. I've only fished it twice - the second time, caught lots of Dollys but they seemed to have large heads and small bodies. Oh - and I understand that the Green Drake Fly shop in Canmore may also rent tubes.

Doug, If you want to hike - most of the spots I know are lakes, and best fished from a tube. The Bow River at Canmore is wadable upstream from Canmore. You can check at the Green Drake Fly Shop in Canmore on where to go - we did that a few years ago and the owner was very helpful. In and round Banff, you need a Parks Fishing Lic (can get them at the park gates), for around Canmore you need an Alberta Lic. Our Alberta rates for our most welcome neighbors from BC are the same as for all Canadians - $22.50 annually, and over 65 fish for free. You'll also need a WIN card ($8 for 5 years). I hear that some provinces charge significantly more for fisherpeople from neighboring provinces, and restrict their access to certain areas - but I find that hard to believe. If you want to rent a boat - Upper Kannanaskis is a nice lake (really nice views) - about 1.2 hours from Banff I'd say. If you want an interesting drive, take the back road from Canmore (Smith Dorien/Spray Lakes Trail http://www.canmorekananaskis.com/hotels/ca.../kanspray.html) up to Peter Lougheed Park, turn right and follow the signs to the lakes (Upper or Lower). I've had some very good days on the Lower K Lake for Bull trout, but not in the last year or so - too many places to fish, too little time. The Upper used to be predominatly Rainbows, but over the past few years - seem to be more and more bull trout. Anyway - doesn't really sound like you're that interested in a boat. Sports Rent in Calgary rents boats - but they also rent float tubes and waders (or at least they used to). If you are interested in that, let me know - there are a few good, small lakes that have nice hikes to them (Chester and Watridge are two of them).

I was thinking that maybe if you used a really big bailing bucket, you could use it as an escape craft if your pontoons ever get punctured.

Worth it? This is one of the fish we ate. And yes - it tasted great. A few this size were caught but most were smaller. We had a few long distance releases that were probably larger, and I had one all the way to shore that was significantly bigger than this. For reference - the cork portion of the rod handle is 7.5 inches - so this fish is between 20-21 inches.

Easiest way to land a fish was to get to shore (but not too many spots on shore where you can stand up). You'll notice that even though it was a warm day, staying warm in breathables is tough. We wore touques some days.

Watch out for these guys! They are not afraid of us (We only had a small point and shoot camera with us - with no zoom). Over the trip these things really start to bug ya 9Good thing there was no axe at camp)

These beavers went by accross the front of our camps a few times. Good neighbors - we didn't baother them, they didn't bother us. I say bevaers, cause this is actually a momma with a young beaver in her mouth. It looks like a log, and I found it interesting that this is how she would carry it (maximum drag). We only realized it was a small beaver, when the I accidently walked into camp as she was going by. She pulled a Britney and quickly abandoned the young one - who then swam to shore and hung around our camp for quite awhile, until we got far away and the mother returned.

These were taken right from our tent. Tough to take this view every morning.

This was taken from the main camp. Very tough view to wake up to. The wind was almost non-existent every morning, ut the water felt pretty darn cool.

Fish On! Though the action was not fast over the four days we fished, it was consitent and fish were caught all over the place. You can see the kind of tube that worked well when the wind picked up.

The Chaba Crossing. About the angle the shot is taken from is the angle you cross at. A number of small channels and two reasonaby deep/fast one. Note that this was taken on the way out, so it is from the Fortress Lake sideof the crossing.

This is what the main Camp (where the fire pit is and where we cooked our food) looks like We were trying on our packs the afternnon we we're going to leave - Somehow, all of our kit grew and got heavier, even though we'd eaten about 20 lbs of food.