BRH

I guess if you consider teaching youth group kids and their family members to fly fish as guiding ... then yes, I guess you'd consider me to be a guide. I don't see it that way but everybody is entitled to their own opinion.

It is usually prudent not to make assumptions about someone you don't know and know nothing about.

This Sunday I will have another pair of beginners in my boat. One is eleven, the other thirteen. Their casting isn't that great yet, we've been working on it, but I think they can handle the rod well enough now to deal with Bow River trout. In terms of people I've introduced to fly fishing ... I think that's number 47 and 48 this year ... although I've kind of lost track, it could be more. mvdaog ... from your critical and judgemental comments I must be lagging way behind you in the number of people you've introduced to fly fishing this year. I guess I'll have to pick up my socks.

Me rubbing people the wrong way is nothing new. I'm a black and white kind of guy. Most people are shades of gray (or some other colour) and don't know how to deal with me. It is usually a good rule of thumb to not make assumptions about someone you don't know and have no idea about. The beauty of a forum like this and the anonymity it affords allows all contributors to only divulge as much or little as they individually choose.

So if we all believe we should be sharing info with the next guy ... what's the secret on how to use them? Give us a bunch of examples. I'm sure there are lots of folks who frequent this forum that would be interested in the secret of how to use them.

Since we have all these "sharing" people on this forum, it might be interesting to "share" how we decide what fly we tie on. Since fly selection accounts for at least some part of the reason for fishing success and whenever asked about fishing success the inquiring angler always asks what fly you're using, then fly selection has to be consider to be an important ingredient to fishing success. Now I appreciate that the significance of fly selection will carry more weight to some than to others. Some might suggest that fly selection contributes about 10% to your fishing success. Others might rate fly selection higher. Regardless, I'm pretty sure everyone would conceded that fly selection is an important aspect of one's ability to catch fish. For those who consistently enjoy a fair amount of fishing success, there must be a reason they are consistently into fish. And since the table fare of a trout changes from day to day, week to week, month to month, and sometimes even hour to hour, how is it that these consistently active anglers can roll with these table fare changes and continue to get into fish? For the successful fly caster, there has to be more to fly selection than just trial and error. So that's the question. How do you decide what fly or flies to use? And what prompts you to change the fly or flies you're using?

hawstoppah ... yes, I would say our definitions of presentation differ a bit. In my books, presentation is how the bug(s) are set on the water and what happens to the bug(s) once they're in or on the water. Presentation isn't where you're fishing or what bugs you're fishing, only what the fish sees as he's looking at your bug(s). You can replicate or test presentation in a water trough. You can't test water type or bug type in a water trough. I typically use a powerpoint presentation as an example of this. The PP presentation has its own identity, usually a file name. The key players (actors) in the presentation are your flies. How the flies are threaded together, organized to create a story flow, their script and their choreography is the presentation. Where the presentation is hosted, the location the presentation will be shown is the facility (water type). As the audience (trout) and location (water type) changes so too does the key players (flies), their configuration, their script, and their choreography and therefore the presentation changes. Thank you all for "sharing" your thoughts. Where were all of you "sharing" people when I started fly fishing? Oh wait ... that was before there was even a fly shop in Calgary.

Thanks to all of you for responding. fishfreak, Hawgstoppah and robert ... I would put presentation at about 40% not 90%. One of my fishing buddies is evidence of the lower rating. You can give him the right flies, tell and show him how to fish them and he still doesn't catch fish. It's kind of like the guy to stands on the bank and repeatedly false casts ... it doesn't matter how beautiful the line in the air looks ... the fish are in the water. If you're not fishing where the fish are feeding, I don't care how beautiful or accurate your presentation is, you're not going to catch fish. And if telling the inquiring anglers what fly you're using isn't going to make any difference because 90% of fishing success is a result of presentation, then what does it matter what you tell them as far as the fly goes? If you tell them the fly but they don't present it properly then they aren't going to catch fish anyway so what difference does it make if you're honest about the fly you're using? Essentially you're not helping them at all. At the end of the day the inquiring angler, after having no success even after you told him the correct fly, is going to say, "we sure got a bumb stear from that guy." Personally, I'd rather not be the guy another angler considered to be one as having given a bumb stear. I think I'd prefer to be considered pompous or selfish or greedy. kungfool ... I hear ya! You never know how the information you provide is going to be used or the end result of providing the info. These are people you don't know and what they do with the info you give is entirely up to them. One bad apple can ruin it for a multitude of other responsible anglers. The prospect of an individual killing even one fish because of information I've rendered is reason enough to not give that info to anyone.

Thanks for your response Pete. The harm in telling someone what you're using and how to use it is purely a selfish perception. There is the chance that one day I will encounter the individual I've helped fishing a run and I won't be able to catch a fish in that run because he's caught them as a result of what I previously shared with him. A case in point. As we floated down the river yesterday we noticed 2 fellows fishing a run downstream we wanted to get out and fish. As we approached the run the 2 guys were packing up to leave. We asked if they were finished fishing there and they said they were so we could go ahead and fish it if we wanted. They said there's no fish in it anyway. We netted well over a dozen trout out of that run, only two under 20 inches. Had these two gents been people we had helped previously, we may have caught some trout but nothing like what we did. I don't feel it's a competition but I do like to catch fish and I'm reluctant to share information that may impact the number of trout I'm likely to catch. Had we openly shared our fishing tactics with them this time, there is a chance that it might come back to bite us somewhere down the road. At least, that's my thinking. Little doubt they'll be back to fish that run after watching us catch trout after trout. But I'm pretty confident that when they return and leave, I could still stop there and catch a trout or two or maybe more. Would that be because I didn't tell them how to fish it? I'm pretty sure it is. Is this selfish? Yes, but I'm out there to catch fish, that's the whole purpose of being there. I salute you for helping the two gents on the Highwood and I would have likely done the same. However, I think that is a bit of a different scenario, pointing out flies in their box that might work, than being pointedly asked what you're using and how you're using it.

We had a really good day fishing the river yesterday and, at points, caught a number of trout in front of other fishers walking and wading. On four separate occasions we were asked what we were using and how we were using it. How honest should we be? I have three schools of thought regarding this. First, we've spent years learning the river and the success we enjoy is a product of that experience. We have developed tactics that, quite simply, produce fishing success. We're also fishing from a drift boat. All these things give us an advantage over the average fly fisher on the Bow. But the success we enjoy is a result of time and energies spent to learn and fish the river. I'm not sure I agree with giving all that experience away to somebody I don't know, somebody whose fishing success I could care less about. Second, I realize that any fly fisher has to have a certain amount of fishing success to enjoy the sport and stick with it, and helping other fishers attain success is good for the sport of fly fishing. As one who knows the river and how to catch the trout that inhabit her waters, sharing information on how to attain fishing success would certainly be good for the sport of fly fishing. Third, the more fishermen who enjoy success fly fishing the Bow the better it is for the Bow itself. If more fly fishers catch fish on the Bow then there will be more fly fishers fishing the Bow and in that there is political leverage to protect this resource and fishery. The addendum to this is that enjoying fishing success on the Bow River for us is the norm, not the exception and that it isn't always a walk and wader asking the question ... we've been asked by folks in other boats as well. I realize that the measure of fishing success is relative and what might be good to one person might be mediocre to another. For some a six fish day would be a good day of fishing. For others, including myself, a six fish day would be a dreadfully slow day of fishing. I'm not sure how to provide my perspective on what we consider to be a good day of fishing without undermining the intent of this post. At the same time, the circumstances prompting one fisher to ask another what they're using may be important. If it is then I'll provide an example. So which school of thought is the correct one? How honest should we be when asked what we're using? Should we tell the person asking exactly what we're using or should it be up to him to go through the same learning curve we had to go through? In the interest of the good of the sport and the river, should we be telling him what we're using or should we jealously guard our fishing tactics? What should you tell a fisher who asks what you're using and does it make a difference who's asking?

You're probably right on the 100 year flood but then the water was flowing mud (not fishable) so there wouldn't be much point in floating it anyway. Nice credentials ... but you didn't answer the man's question.

I don't think there is any point at which taking a drift boat on the Bow would be dangerous if you're familiar with the river. I don't gauge whether or not to do a float on flow but rather on the colour of the water. If it is fishable, that's good enough by me.

I can't speak for guides and what their expectation is or isn't. All I can say is that some guides supply flies as part of the trip cost, others charge extra for the flies the client uses. It varies from guide to guide as does the price per fly for those who charge for the flies. If you don't like the idea of having to pay extra for the flies you're going to use, best do your research and book with a guide who includes the flies in his trip cost.

Some do, some don't. It depends on the guide/outfitter. Those that provide flies will tell you so on their website. Those that don't generally don't say anything about the flies.

Assuming you're talking about fishing guides, I'm all for it ... with a few stipulations. 1. Criteria for establishing competency are relevant to the waters. Troll fishing Pike in lakes in the remote north should require differing competency criteria than fly fishing the Oldman, just as fishing the North Saskatchewan is different than fly fishing the Bow. 2. Two levels of fishing guide/outfitter licenses, one for guide/outfitters, another for guides. 3. Enforcement on all levels of fishing activities become effective and meaningful. 4. Regulations reflect management of fisheries not management of anglers. 5. Some means of evaluating performance. 6. Licensing restricted to Alberta residents only. I'm not sure Montana has it exactly right ... battle fishing on the Missouri. Not sure BC has it right either ... elimination of competative free enterprise. I'm not concerned about the "guide" with 2 years fishing experience, a boat, a mini-van, and a website ... client's aren't stupid, they see which boats are catching the fish. If you're only objective is to reduce guides and rod days on the water then you're barking up the wrong tree. Political will is the only medium through which regulatory changes like this will take place and political pressure and lobbying will be the voice that's heard. Reduced guiding and/or rod days is not in the political picture.