BBBrownie

Alright, perhaps a couple of cutts as well...

Great shot everyone! Some hogs, and some beauties there for sure! Here are a couple pics I have handy on my computer right now that I can post...Ahhh...missin fishin right now!

Those are nice ties. The big rabbit would be good for bulls in more natural colors.

This film festival was fantastic last year, looks like it will be more of that fishin goodness again this year, always fun having a pile of fishermen getting together for a couple evenings. Michelle and Bow River Shuttles (along with Mount Royal)do a great job hosting this event, it benefits a great organization- the Western Sky Land Trust, lets make this important event an annual success! I know I will certainly be attending.

I am a complete window licker for steelhead patterns, so my only purpose these days is tying steelhead patterns, although I definately throw in the odd bugger/leech/intruder, occasional nymph (not big on nymphing when I can get around it) for the bow. I just find that I am spinning up steel flies every chance I have to tie, so I really just buy most of my trout dries - aside from caddis or other deer/elk hair dries. My other purpose most nights is to kill a scotch or two. I find scotch and big flies compliment each other...

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.

Hey, I tried the precision trout last year a bunch on the bow, I believe it was the western drifter brown trout model. I found it to be complete garbage in comparsion to the cortland classic 444 peach. Alhough it layed out nice straight casts the first couple weeks, slid through the guides well, there were some major problems. Even though I give my lines an occasional clean and conditioner, it was begining to crack up after a month, cracked to the point of unusable half way through the season. This line is very supple and soft which can be nice for cold weather, throwing nice straight lines, but the line was very grabby and wanted to knot up and tangle very easily. Anyhow, long story short, this product is completely inferior to the cortland classic 444, just by virtue of its short usable lifespan! (12-15 uses?)

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!