BBBrownie

I got some of those beauty feathers Todd Scharf was selling at the show this weekend, so I should be crankin out some nice intruders this week.

So I decided to buy myself a good vise finally, got an HMH and I love it. It inspired a fit of steelhead fly tying (I constantly trickle through steelhead flies although the past few days have been obsessive). I decided to post a pic of a few for the first time. If anyone has any of their recent steelhead flies they'd like to share, that would keep our collective creative juices flowing! Please post 'em, I'd love to see what you are all tying! While I am posting, I might as well add a couple of winter brown shots just for the hell of it. Hopefully I can figure out how to post these properly... steel flies brown- winter winter brown

Grizzly Bear is one of my faves, been listening to Beirut a bunch lately as well. Heard a few new songs by a local Calgary band Woodpigeon that was doin it for me. On the way to the river much of the time the past year or two, Old Man Ludecke rules my stereo- good foot stompin banjo tunes from the east coast (although you'd swear he was out of Alaska or the Yukon). Perhaps not Rawk, but he's indie. Even has a song about fishin.

by the way, I don't mean to sound negative, just sayin'...

kill pelicans to save the rockies eh? Sounds a bit reactionary to me. Pelicans are a protected species, so "taking down" pelicans would be a terrible idea! Just because it seems as though there are more than ever on the bow doesn't mean that they are doing well everywhere. Kind of reminds me of culling wolves to save caribou except caribou are threatened, rockies are not. Just a thought...

Change your tactics then. Swing buggers, they will select more for bows and browns- actually i'm not sure I've ever caught a whitey on a swung streamer. Browns are hot for bow river buggers right now.

Water birth can be an option if it gets urgent- ass deep in the river! Jsut not in any of the holes I fish...

I agree with you. I'd love to see Lani's new flick, i'm in the middle of his new book- A Steelheaders Way, excellent book, the pictures are amazing- a bunch of Babine shots which is special for me. Have you seen his '80's 3M series, I've only seen video number 3, it is shot on the Babine and is classic. Actually, doesn't Steelhead Legacy have all his videos included on it?

Cortland 444 peach Teeny T-300 Airflo Delta Rio Skagit Flight These are lines that I like. I have a SA steelhead taper line (not of the sharkskin variety)on a reel at home for the single hand rod that I have yet to cast. Anyone have experience with this line?

Say, aren't you them fellers belongin to the flat earth society?

For the single hand rod, the only sink tip i've enjoyed are the teeny lines- I really enjoy throwing big nasties (intruders, etc) tied off a T-300. Beautiful line, really sails with a couple of big hauls. I like the feel of it when you can tick along bottom, big mend and stear that thing right through a run. I like the castability much better than even say a T-200.

I agree with the Cortland 444 WF5F Peach, one of my faves, while the Cortland Precision Trout Western Drifter Dynatip is complete garbage. For some reason I actually bought into the improved tip float and shooting power claims on the packaging. No durability, very limp.

Sweet! Hope i'm in town...

Well, whether you like it or not, ethics and stewardship are important components of fly fishing heritage and are important to many of us. Because I am hooking a fish, I will always try and minimize unnecessary stress on the fish above and beyond the hooking. Why wouldn't this be important to you? I agree, negative comments are not effective communication, education is the means to change attitudes, but to me, no one is being bullied here, it is just an observation that it is in fact unethical to increase mortality by suffocating/mishandling fish. Why is there a need for some too hold fish away from the water for any period of time anyhow? Unless it is dinner, keep the damn thing near, or in the water. And Sundance, I don't buy it. Fishin tv hosts should lead by example, not stupidity. You do not need an extended shot of a fish to see its beauty. You can get more than enough shot holding a fish over the water for 10- 15 seconds, then release, don't throw it, squeeze it, gill it. Craddle and release. Many new/aspiring fishermen get their first exposure to angling from these shows. Why can't they be held to a higher standard? If they focused more on technique, scenery/location, innovations in sport, their craft in general, then they wouldn't need these extend cock grip poses to glorify their jobs and fill precious boob tube minutes.

Get yourself a rifle, some shooting skills and a tag next year and blast a white tail or two and this will fill the freezer. Doesn't get any more organic than game. There are many whitetails running around, and they are non-native to Alberta (they followed agriculture and development north) so they are also a more sustainable choice than feedlot beef. There is also Second To None meats, I know there is a location on 4 st and around 21 Ave SW (mission next to Casablanca Video), they specialize in free range and organic meat.

Well, my list isn't overly impressive from a numbers perspective, but it feels nice to think about my rods on a cool snowy day with little work to do... -Browning Backpacker (early '80's 6 or 7 foot 5 weight) -Browning Boron 5 weight 8'6" -Martin 6# 8'6" -Sage LE 586 -Sage XP 690 -Echo 2 9# 9' -G Loomis GLX 8# 10' -Sage Z-Axis 8129 Reels? 3 or 4 old (early to mid 80's) reels ranging from 3-5# -can't recall the brands of any of them. -Okuma Integrity -Ross Rhythm -3 Ross CLA's -Loop Evotech HD

I like the Loop G3 Evotech 8-10 HD, they are probably the nicest reel I have had the pleasure of owning. As the G4 is coming out, or may already be, there are deals to be had and they more than enough line, with room to spare. As a bonus (actually one of the features that sold me on it) fishing steelhead in -10, and acccidentally dunking the reel, I encountered no drag freeze up problems, which can't be said about some other reels I have dealt with.

"Rainbow Chasers" by Irvin Austin MacDonald is a great outdoor-old time-settling the wild west type book that started a bit far fetched, but became one of the best trapping, farming, pack horse traveling books i've read. There are a few fishing references, but in a catching and eating fish context. Definately worth reading for anyone who likes old time pack train sort of reads. Although not novel, I also would highly recommend anything by Rodrick Haig Brown, Bright Waters, Bright Fish is the last I read and it was inspiring. He was an amazing man and you can still visit his estate on the banks of the Campbell River.

Hemmingway has some classic fishing related books, Im sure you are aware of Old Man and the Sea. Although not directly fishing related, anything Andy Russell writes is up among my absolute fav outdoor books- there is some fishing though, he used to fish as a kid up on Dry Wood creek, he even talks about noodling for trout!

It was great! Nothing fancy, but Ed really takes the time to reinforce important basic aspects of his casts through repetition. Should be very helpful for a novice such as myself to dial in my casting. History was great, he even threw in a bit of scotchin. The dude that was drinking scotch with Ed while he was tying was hilarious. I did notice a fair bit of product placement/advertising thorughout the flick.

There are sheep on both sides...As an Alberta comfortably bathing in warm oil I think it would be easier to listen to the BAH on the side of industry actually. Science has a long ways to go in regards to these climate change issues, but I side with those who believe that pollution is never good, and we always must strive for improvement and efficiency. Call me a firm believer in both the precautionary principal and the beauty of nature. Perhaps the world needs more tree huggers...trees are important for fish.

Perception is a good description. You perceive the theory to be wrong based upon your buying into the lies laid out by big oil and big industry. Do you think that it is alright to pour oil into the ocean? Probably not, so why is it alright to spew toxins into the air when we instead could look for solutions? It is all greed. And by the way, climate change doesn't imply a warming trend everywhere, it is a CHANGE. Just because NA has a cool couple years doesn't mean that it hasn't warmed elswhere. You appear to have the north american supremist mindset where you figure NA is the center of the world. Even if there is accusation of scandal, the world is rife with scandal, there are always a few that take advantage of situations for personal gain. That definately doesn't nullify the work of many well respected, well reviewed scientists. Do you figure that you know better than these people who have dedicated their lifes work to this, and have enough education to make you blush? Of course there are many uncertainties in the world, we have a long way to go, what makes you so certain that climate change doesn't exist? And beyond the question of climate change I still ask you, how do we have the right to pollute the air? The earth has more than just humans, other forms of pollution are not accepted so why should airborne pollutants be accepted. I am guilty of driving, using plastics, etc, that doesn't mean that I think it is OK, there needs to be a revolution, just like the one in the 70's and 80's where we started to realize that we can't just throw garbage everywhere, dump raw sewage into the oceans (although this still has a long way to go). Some people just buy into the dogma and the greed so easily, it's too bad so many of them are fellow Albertans. Scared of losing their pampered comforts and their fortresses... Roasting weenies on the fires of the apocalypse

Don't you think that is a bit harsh? Trucks can be driven perfectly safely on ice provided the ice thickness is sufficient. There are roads to northern communities built on ice...

That is amazing, I've heard of hittin em on a dead drift, but never had the experience. I am surprised those thin hook shanks were holding up!

Im not sure which model they were, but I had a pair of Korkers a couple years ago that had the toe seams basically disintigrate and the felt worn off 2/3's of the way through the season. Sure, they fit a bit tight so that may have contributed to the seams, but never used a pair of Korkers since.