LynnF

Well Max, despite my smart ass remarks when you've posted these on Facebook, I have to say that I'm envious and jealous of all the time you get to be on the river. But most of all I'm impressed with what you catch - fruits of your labour as it were. Now...that pose where you've hoisted the fish....I'm gonna do that with the tyee I'm gonna catch this coming week. And if I don't, then it shall be a big, fugly halibut

That'd be the one! I'll give him a big old slug - always like it when I can punch someone and blame it on someone else

Awesome!!! What's your brother's name? Maybe we'll get lucky enough to have him for a guide!

That's awesome Brian! You can't put a price on a gift like that (well you can, but not the sentimentality of it). I've been looking for the same type of thing for Mike for a few years now. But something just to hang on the wall above his fly tying desk - real real vintage. Or maybe his brother's T&T with the Hardy reel that he's nary used but once. I'd settle for that. But I don't think it'd be a wall hanger!

I'll see your Father's Day Gift both of you and raise ya my Mother's Day Gift. PS - the new car came with the new plate

Guy at work just got back last week from fishing up by Langara and they didn't catch alot of salmon - said it was too early in the year. But he brought back some wicked good halibut that we ate last night. Wouldn't break my heart to bring back my limit of halibut. But hopefully the salmon are there when we are!

Wow.....stellar fish! Mike and I are headed to Tasu Sound in a couple of weeks for some big salmon. I hope to join the Tyee Club for my first time out - I'm a virgin ya know LOL These pics are helping me get excited about going, so thanks for posting. I'm excited about the trip, just not the helicopter flight that will get me in there so every little bit helps!

I'm sure somewhere deep down in the bowels of David's imagination, this somehow must have something to do with his trouser trout and my comments therein a few days ago. However, 'twas a funny little anectdote that brought about a chuckle from Mr. Freeman wherein he told me that the "helloooooo" part sounded exactly like me and how he said he never really looked that good in cardboard anyways. Oh..and by the way LS - I don't think those cardboard guys will work for you unless you lighten your hair. Significantly

Gas prices have never really bothered me until the recent hike to $1.34. Sure I bitched and moaned (who doesn't) about it but it's never stopped us from doing what we've wanted to do. With a 28 foot trailer and a pig of a truck to haul it, guess where the trailer is right now? In storage...and it's staying there for the summer. For other reasons primarily but I gotta tell you that I'd be choked if I had to haul that thing this year. Next year gonna be any better? Probably not.....what are we gonna do then? Chances of unloading that (if we wanted to) are...umm....NIL with the current gas prices. When does the price start going down again? Where does it level out? This certainly isn't sustainable so where and when does it end? It's a good thing we only have to pay for, gas and insure one vehicle in our family - there's absolutely no way we'd be able to afford 2 - who can at this rate? Which brings up another interesting aspect to this. Mike has a company vehicle. There are 4 vehicles that the company pays gas for and their costs have increased 40%. How do you think they're gonna recoup that? Same way everyone else is starting to - fuel surcharges. Think they're gonna go away now? Nope...even if gas lowers and levels off, they'll still be there. Think they'll still be relative to gas prices? Probably not....who regulates that action? Case in point - used to be when I booked a flight with airmiles it would cost me just the taxes - $110 for a $450 trip to Vancouver. Now with the fuel surcharges (which airmiles doesn't cover) you might as well buy the friggin' plane ticket outright. It's everywhere and it affects everything we touch - not just our gas tanks. Top it off that we just bought a new SUV which costs over 3 figures to fill up now and we're feeling the rage. It's not so much the pinch - you gotta live within your means and we do. But when other people/corporations are pulling the strings that affect your means it's a real tough pill to swallow. Can't imagine being in Brian's position. When it cuts that deeply into your life it's plain wrong. Somebody will do something real soon...I'm gonna bet.

Went to visit one week old Samson on Saturday. He's in here somewhere LOL. He'll be coming home to us on July 25th. Then we went to Petland to buy him some stuff. I stayed to the "stuff" aisle and Mike went to the pet adoption aisle (never, ever a good idea). Well...there was Jake. Formerly Michael, 11 month old yellow lab with a poker caller on (Mike loves poker...you see where this is going). He was surrendered by his owners for "being too active and needing too much attention". After moping around the grocery store, coming home and talking about how crazy it was, checking out the boat to see where they'd both fit, we went and "adopted" Jake. He's an unbelievable dog. He's got a lot of behavioural and training issues from his former life, but he already is doing things so much better and showing us what a smart, smart dog he is. And affectionate doesn't even cover his demeanor. He's already fit into our lives and we're so happy he's here. I think he's our fate. We had seriously talked about getting a second dog when Samson was a little over a year, but I guess Jake had a different idea - so we just did things a little backwards. Here's our Jake: We sure still miss Jessie, but having these 2 sweet pups in our life makes it so much easier now. There will be many a fun float down the river with these 2 boys....I can't wait

I'm not into Star Wars and I so want that. That is by far the coolest thing I've seen in a long while.

We force our 14 year old to do it. That counts.

Hey thanks for this link!!! Not only did I find what I'm looking for, but I also found a bunch of other cool stuff that I need. I had no idea Orvis had such a wide variety of dog stuff!

Soooo.....with our new golden puppy due to be born any day now, we are planning for his arrival mid-July'ish. This time around our house isn't as easily puppy-proofed as the last one but we're starting to figure things out. One of the things we really need is a gate. Like a baby gate, but not a baby gate. It will go across a hallway entrance to keep puppy off my beige carpet and in one area of the house (when he's not in his crate). But since it's in the main part of the house I want something nice - in an oak or similar wood material. And I want something that can be permanently mounted to a wall and swung open like a gate for when we don't want it across. I know somebody out there makes them because one of the breeders we went and saw had a really nice one but couldn't remember where she had it made. Ideas? Help? Thanks!

Wow....that's all that happens? Clearly the party is not in Cranston

Yep....several years ago. LOVED IT. Had some pretty quiet days on the back lakes in there in the early days of my learning how to lake fish. I'd certainly go there all over again - it's a gorgeous piece of the world. Lucky duck.

Mike and I went for a walk last night and saw 2 vehicles up on blocks with no wheels. One - ya OK the guy is changing his tires. Two within 3 kms? Ya...too much of a coincidence. One was a big 3/4 ton brand new truck, the other an Escalade. I would imagine that anyone who would want to go to all that trouble and take the risk must see those tires as pretty valuable. Guess this must be the new "thing" to be doing. Seems it's right in our own back yard now....beware the rubber thieves.

I've been using the same guy now for 4 years to do all my office moves. He also moved the lawyer at my last company who had many tens of thousands of dollars of antiques, collectibles and EXPENSIVE furniture to be moved and did a stellar job. He is very personable, uses his own guys (won't subcontract out), personally supervises the move and will do whatever you want. He's top notch in my books (I'm pretty picky that way) and won't use anyone else. His name is Jim DeLay and his number is 850-8525. Tell him I referred you - he'll bring me get more Bernard Callebaut chocolates if you do Good luck with your move - how exciting to be in a new house!

Absolutely.....sending well wishes his way from Mike and I.

As Mike said, thank you all so much for sharing your condolences and your experiences. It really does help to read how others have dealt with this situation and to know that eventually this pain will fade with time. Our little pup is off to rainbow bridge to play with all the other good little pups of the world. Yesterday was the hardest day of our lives. We took him last night and stayed with him until his final breath. It was very peaceful and very good for us. Came home and felt how empty the house was – it has a different aura now….so quiet and strange. Woke up in the middle of the night and not quite awake went looking for him. When I realized he wasn’t on his doggy bed or in the hallway it was tough. Went downstairs this morning and went to pat him on the couch as he is there every morning when I come down. Not there. Sat at the kitchen table looking at his picture on the computer and I swear I heard him licking his paws. I left his water dish for him and my scarf just in case he comes back for a visit. I think he will….I believe in that. Mike said that he normally sees this guy walking one golden when he leaves for work at 6:15 every morning. Said that this morning he had 2 of them. Kinda weird. We did the right thing by him. You could see how much pain he was in yesterday and yet he never let us know about it. I just feel so bad that he probably suffered for so long without complaining. He was truly the world’s best dog. My heart is pretty empty without him. We will mourn him and when the time is right, we will get another golden. Our house is just a house without a dog. That was honestly the toughest decision and the saddest day of our lives. I know I will have to do it again with another pup, but all the years of joy and happiness that Jessie brought us were worth yesterday. I wouldn’t take any of it back. I hope one day I will be able to offer some comfort to someone going through this as all of you have done for us these past few days. Thanks again.

Some of you met Jessie, so I thought I'd write a little note (and hope it helps me through this process). Our beautiful golden, Jessie, our fishing buddy, our hiking buddy, our camping buddy and our best friend in the world has cancer. This comes as a huge shock to us as we didn't ever think that his slight limp could be something this serious and he has shown no other signs. But I guess it's serious and it's advanced and the only treatment options open to us are those that will only prolong his life briefly and inhibit his ability to do the things he loves so much. So, on Saturday we will take him for one last drive in the truck (another of his favourite things) and send him off to Rainbow Bridge to meet all the other good dogs of the world. Jessie won't even make it to his 7th birthday which makes this that much more painful. We thought he'd see at least another 3 or 4 fishing seasons but it's not in the cards for him. Still so full of life, and almost out of it. Jessie - the dog with 2 "bionic" knees has been the most super pal, companion, and family member. Everyone who knew or met him loved him. And he loved them right back. His love for people was only ever topped by his love for food (and all things inedible in our worlds). His love for the outdoors was unmistakeable and unrelenting. He knew when the boat trailer was being hitched and he knew when we were heading camping. He knew when I was just going to the Starbucks down the street and he didn't care - he just wanted to go along for the ride. Someone once told Mike and I that dogs always want to be with their owners because they worry about them and want to make sure they're OK. If that's the case, Jessie was our guardian and our protector. He went everywhere with us, did everything with us and was much more than a dog. He was a beloved member of our family and he is going to be missed as much as any child would. Our hearts are full of sorrow for what the next few days will bring, but it is inevitable and to prolong the inevitable is just to prolong his pain - that he never shows or complains about. As he lies by my feet, waiting for me to get up from the keyboard, I know what he is thinking. "There's a carrot in that fridge with my name on it, and she's not gonna get down the hall without digging it out for me". Little does he know that there are more than carrots waiting for him the next few days. He will leave this Earth a happy, full pup. If you're ever down Racehorse Creek way, look for the sapling that we'll be planting in his memory this year. We'll find the single one spot that he loved the most and that represents his love for that area and we'll mark it Jessie's tree so that we may visit it (and him) and watch it grow throughout the years. I can't imagine when or how the pain in my soul will ever go away, but I hope that one day I can look at the many pictures of our wonderful buddy and be able to smile because of the fondness of our memories of him and not shed a tear. He will be missed terribly by Mike, Hayden and myself.

My husband lived in Kamloops for 13 years (B.C. his whole life) and knew nothing but lake fishing when he left there. He taught himself (and me) how to fish rivers and, quite honestly, he's told me that fishing lakes for him now doesn't hold the same appeal or challenge. My advice to you upon your move to our fair province? Put away your Uboat for a bit and explore some of the finest rivers you'll ever fish. That's what we do here in Alberta and it's a blast! Besides...you got lots of folks on this board who'd be willing to show ya the ropes. You won't regret considering it - trust me

wow...the hoofin' business must have been lucrative this winter. I guess you're buying the drinks next time then eh? Kidding....nice rod. Fishing that is.

Man I wish they'd invent some new blonde jokes so I don't have to read the same bad ones over and over and over again

HOLY CRAP! I didn't even know that was TM!!!!