BRH

I can only assume your post is directed to me although I don't know for sure ... I don't know who josh is. Caution in making assumptions would likely be a good exercise here. However, if there is a "josh" using my handle ... good lord that guy writes eloquently! *lol*

That's nonsense maxwell. If you're nymph fishing properly, you're not supposed to be "pulling" the flies at all whether you're fishing upstream or downstream of your position. Setting the hook is no different in either situation. That's utter garbage maxwell! No doubt there is considerable difference between fishing from a drift boat and wade fishing from shore but to suggest a float trip won't help a neophyte learn how to fish (foot, walk and wade, toon, whatever) is total crap. The techniques used from a drift boat are exactly the same techniques used when walking and wading only a whole bunch easier. While it's easier in terms of technique, it's also exponentially more difficult to effectively cover the water. Water coverage is significantly more superior in a walk and wade scenario. The only misconception here is the general ideology that anyone taking clients on fishing trips on the river has the tools to actually teach a fisher how to fish. Most folks booking fishing trips on the river don't have the tools to teach a fisher how to fish. And that holds true for the folks piloting boats as well as those toting clients along the banks. Precious few of all the folks booking fishing trips on the river are what I would consider to be actual Guides, folks equipped to teach a fisher to be a better angler (as I stated in my previous post). That's why I suggested an individual considering booking a guided trip (float or otherwise) be sure to do his/her homework first. If he/she books a trip with a "guide" who doesn't have the tools to help improve his/her angling ability, he/she is going to be very disappointed and subscribe to the misconception you willingly proliferate.

Just a couple of additions to the comments 'SanJuanWorm' made. 1. Use a size 4 or 6 wire San Juan Worm. If you find the SJW continually bouncing on the bottom and getting hung up on bottom debris, move the strike indicator down the tippet a foot. Continue to do this until your SJW is just tapping along the bottom. Be cautious not to mistake a strike for a bonce on the bottom. As you fish different depths of water you will need to make an adjustment in the strike indicator position. 2. Start covering the water by first casting straight upsteam then 4 feet further out then 4 feet further out from that and so on until you are casting pretty well straight out from you. Cast at least three times to each spot before moving on to the next zone, 4 feet further out from shore. Picture the proverbial clock laying on its back with you standing at the pivot point in the middle. First series of casts should be to 12 O'clock, straight upstream from you. Then each series of casts after that should be at the 1/2 hour mark until you reach either 2 O'clock or 10 O'clock depending on whether the river mainstem is on your right or left. 3. Effective mending comes from experience. The reason for mending is two-fold; to keep the line as straight to the strike indicator as possible without altering the dead drift of the strike indicator and therefore the dead drift of the flies and to prevent the line from unnaturally affecting the drift of the strike indicator and flies. If you're casting straight upstream, there is very little mending to be done. When casting upstream, effectively all you're really doing is stripping in line to remove the excess between you and your strike indicator while refrainig to cause your strike indicator to deviate from its dead drift. While I don't subscribe to the dead drift, it is a reasonable starting point until you have some practice and get the technique down. Once you get the mending technique down so you're mending to minimize the slack line between you and your dead drifting strike indicator and preventing your line from dragging your strike indicator and flies, alter your technique very slightly so that each time you mend you cause the strike indicator to move 1 or 2 inches (the diameter of the strike indicator or slightly more). This slight movement will cause the flies to bob or wiggle giving them the appearance of being alive. After each mend and slight movement of the strike indicator, prepare for a strike. 90% of the time your strikes will come immediately after this slight movement. You have to think of this in terms of what the fish sees. There are millions of pieces of garbage and debris floating down the river every minute. If your flies are just like all the other pieces of dead junk floating down the river (your flies are dead drifting), the chances for a strike are minute a best. Also keep in mind that it will take 4 to 5 seconds from the time your flies hit the water for your SJW to sink to the bottom where the fish are. If you're casting to water where you only get a 4 to 5 second drift, you're not fishing the bottom and you're not going to catch many fish. 4. Don't neglect fish feeding water. If you've waded out to waist deep water to start your fishing, you've already walked passed half of the feeding fish in that section of the river. 5. Unlike what 'SanJuanWorm' says, allow your flies to drift downstream well below you. It will take practice to master the mending technique when the flies get downstream of your position. You can even feed line off your reel to extend your drift. Fish all the water until the flies pull tight against the line and begin to drag. At this point it's time to cast again. This doubles the amount of water you're fishing rather than terminating the drift when the flies are straight out from you. If it is in your budget to hire a guide to show you the ropes, be sure to do your homework so you end up hiring a guide who will actually show you how to fish the Bow. Many of the guides on the river won't. You have to actually get into some fish on purpose, rather than by accident, to learn something. When you're down on the river, pay particular attention to the boats drifting by. The boats passing you who always seem to have a fish on are the guides you want to hire. Consider that well over half of the fishermen on a guided trip have also never fished the Bow before and if the guides are consistently getting their clients into fish, those guides will be able to help you improve your river angling. Of the 100 or more individuals who book fishing trips on the Bow River, I know of only 4 or 5 who I consider to be actual "Guides". Be sure to get a Guide as opposed to someone who books fishing trips on the river.

Excellent point headscan. marty ... is it extremely important to match your line to your rod. If the rod is a 4 wt, be sure you get 4 wt line. If the rod is a 6wt, be sure you get a 6 wt line. The reel isn't as critical but is still important just the same. You should buy a reel that balances the rod. One might think that if you go to a pro shop you wouldn't have to worry about this and the guy behind the counter will provide you with equipment that matches. Not necessarily so. From my experience, the buyer beware rule applies. Go with enough information to protect yourself from being lead astray.

marty ... that's probably the question of the decade. If it were me, I'd be looking at a stiffer 3 wt or softer 4 wt for the small rivers and creeks and some of the lakes depending on the size of the fish. For bigger waters I'd be looking at a stiffer 6 wt or softer 7 wt. This does not mean you can't use the heavier rod on the smaller waters or visa versa, but generally this rule will hold true. I wouldn't go with anything less in a 9 foot length for the heavier rod and probably would be looking at an 8' or 8' 6" length for the lighter rod. I also wouldn't be going and breaking the bank with your first purchases. There are some very good less expensive rods that will serve your purposes. Once you have some experience and have a better idea of what you like and what you want, then go ahead and spend some big bucks on higher quality rods. Some may disagree but that's what I'd suggest. If you're going to get carried away with spending money, pay a little more for a good quality line and less expensive rods rather than the other way around.

BrianS ... there's a few pockets I'd be quite willing to tell you about, with detailed specifics, to help you as you're getting started. You can probably appreciate I don't really want to advertise them here but as a neophyte to the sport I'd be willing to share. If we don't help the new comers to this sport at least a little bit, we're doing ourselves a disservice. PM me your e-mail address.

one4adventure ... just one more thought before I leave this. Have you ever noticed that, in general, wading fishers wade out into the water as far as they can and cast to the middle of the stream while the boats, the ones with the bent rods, position themselves parallel to the bank and fish to the shore? Better water? You're standing in it!

*lol* ... I was thinking exactly the same thing. And the three guys in my boat wouldn't be slowed down by waders. *lol* Think about it. The guy behind the oars likely spends over a hundred days a year manually rowing a boat up and down the river and all winter on a rowing machine keeping in shape. Do you really want to throw rocks at this guy? *lol*

Thanks rickr. My point was and is that no one has the legal "right of way". It is a courtesy extended by most and rudely ignored by others both in boats and wading the banks. If a boat extends the courtesy it's because the pilot chooses to respect your presence. Those idiots who don't extend the courtesy are not breaking any laws and legally have every right to float right through "your" water. So rather than getting livid or contemplating throwing rocks or purposely attempting a tangle or shouting profanities at the boaters, let the idiot pass and don't allow them to ruin your day. Obviously they could care less that they just floated through "your" water so while you may be ticked, it's only your day you're wasting on fretting. I spend over a hundred days a year in a drift boat on the Bow River and at least that many wading her banks. In the many years I have been doing this, not once has a wading angler thanked me for making special effort to "leave" him "his" water. Not a nod of the head or a tip of the hat. Not even when I'm obviously straining at the oars to make distance between my boat and the wading angler has any wading angler ever thanked me for the extra effort I made to show him the courtesy. Maybe it's a general expectation of wading fishermen that the water in front of them is "their" water and because of that no acknowledgement for the courtesy is necessary. By contrast I couldn't begin to count the number of times I've been thanked by other boaters for changing my course. Courtesy is a two-way street.

Still devil's advocate ... a pedestrian in Alberta has the 'right-of-way' by legislation. Not so in other jurisdictions. Is there legislation in Alberta giving the wading angler the 'right-of-way'? If not, it is illogical to associate the two. I'm not trying to convince you of anything. I'm just asking for a legitimate reason for the wading angler to have the right-of-way that actually makes sense with something other than emotion and/or perceived opportunity and/or avaliable options. Is the water not public water? Are the fish in the water not the boater's fish as much as they are your's? Is there a clause in the regulations that I have overlooked that cites the wading angler having the 'right-of-way?

Amen to that!

Continuing the devil's advocacy ... so because the wading angler can't cover as much water as the boater, the wading angler should have the 'right-of-way'? Doesn't he have the same opportunity to be a boating angler as everyone else out there in a boat? Can't he too go where ever the hell he wants except for that which he can't reach because he's not in a boat? Don't boating anglers have to make do with what they can get to as well? Aren't boating anglers also wading anglers from time to time?

I actually laughed out loud reading this thread. Most boaters, there are always exceptions, give a wide berth to wading fishermen regardless of the pole style in their hands. It is the courteous thing to do. But pull their lines out of the water in addition to giving a wide berth ... give your head a shake. Most of them respect that you walked in to the spot you're fishing and are quite prepared to "leave" you some water to fish but if you expect them to take their lines out of the water as they "leave" you some water to fish just ain't going to happen. Most are quite happy to meander down the middle of the river to allow wade fishermen on both sides of the river "their" water. But take their line(s) out of the water as they pass? Give me a break! For those of you wading fishermen who have encounters with discourteous boaters, believe me, boaters have the similar encounters with those same discourteous boaters. Further to that, boaters also have encounters with discourteous wading fishermen. Just because they're wading doesn't make them exclusive. For the sake of being devil's advocate, what gives the wading fisherman the 'right-of-way'? Is it because of his mode of transportation? Is it because of a misconception that he expended more energy to get to the spot he's fishing? While most are quite prepared to yield water to the wading fisherman, can some one please tell me why the wading fisherman has the 'right-of way'? It's all public water so what makes the wading fisherman more deserving of the water? one4adventure ... do you honestly think that if the boaters pull their lines out of the water as they pass your location it is going to enhance your chances of having success? I hate to be the callous soul that breaks this to you but a fishing party in a boat passing, fishing, lines in or out of the water has little to do with your chances for success. If your success is dismal, it's got nothing to do with the boat, the fishers in the boat or the fact that they passed your location.

That's a pretty bold statement without outlining the criteria to support your statement. To some people, line casting ability would be the criteria. To other people, the ability to catch fish regardless of their casting ability would be the criteria. To some it would be both, as I indicated. Others might include the ability and willingness to teach other fly casters the art of both casting and catching. Then there's the size of the fish that some may throw into the mix making one of the criteria the ability to consistently get into big fish. To some the criteria may also include the individual's active promotion of the sport and preservation of the resource. When you state monger is "the best flyfisherman in Alberta", it means different things to different people. To me it means all of the above and conjures up an image in my mind's eye of a handful of fishers I have had the priviledge of encountering on the Bow. You may or may not know them. They're the guys who you avoid being around on the river because they're frustrating to follow. They seem to always have a fish on, their casts are poetry in motion, and it doesn't seem to matter who they're with, all their companions are seemingly mirrors of themselves. I have no doubt monger is a terrific fly fisher but I know of only 4 or 5 such individuals that I would put into a "best flyfishermen in Alberta" class. It may be that monger is one of those 4 or 5, his pseudonym ensures his annonymity. If he is, he is certainly part of an elite group of fly fisherman. Picking which one of that elite group is the best would be a difficult task indeed. And due to modesty, not one of them would take you up on your challenge. They don't need to. They'd rather be out there standing next to a guy, on his first day of flyfishing in his life, fighting a fish. And besides that, there's always some one out there better on any given day. Having said that, it is obvious you recognize monger with great deal of esteem. It is a wonderful compliment you pay him. It is likely I will never receive a compliment as flattering as that. I should like to meet him on the river some day.

Thanks bigbadbrent!

That's quite the compliment! And quite the statement considering you have master fly casters in Calgary that can double haul an entire fly line and some backing to boot. And the fact that there are some very accomplished and famous fly fishers in the region. I can only assume from your statement that monger must be one of those elite few who are both. I will keep that in mind. Thanks for the heads up.

The two studies I referred to aren't exactly readily available. It's not likely you'll find them on the net. And neither were conducted for the purpose of determining stress or trout mortality as a result of high lactic acid levels. The one on the bow studied the impact of angling on Rainbow Trout natality as the trout congregate at the mouth of the Highwood before the spawn. The other studied the mobility of trout and their "homing" tendencies. While neither directly studied the mortality of trout resulting from exhaustion, both indirectly provide evidence regarding the ability of trout to recover from a battle. Both studies are available through Fish and Wildlife if you find the right person to talk to.

Very interesting reading. I wonder how Mr. Heise would explain catching a 21" Brown a second time, 15 minutes after releasing it from the first catch? I have some great video footage of the whole episode. Mr. Heise uses words like "may", "could" and "biologists believe" leaving all kinds of latitude because definitive data is non-existent. He refers to fish with "some kick still in them". I wonder how he would define, "some kick still in them"?

Research done on Gorge Creek and the Bow River would suggest you're wrong Max.

Absolutely I have concerns and release the fish accordingly. However, 20 minutes is nothing depending on what you're talking about. 2 hours isn't out of the question with a 140 pound tarpon. The length of the fight has a lot to do with the size of the fish and I'm not talking about a 10 inch minnow here.

I don't know if I'm doing this correctly or not but if the quote comes out funny ... it's 'cause of me. TroutSlayer ... The whole reason for keeping your rod tip high is to get the fish on the rod ... not the line. While it does lift more line out of the water the higher you raise your rod tip, the difference in the amount of line out of the water is insignificant. The closer the fish is to you, the less significant it becomes. If a fish is out 60 feet and you have your rod pointed straight up in the air, raising your arm above you head and keeping your rod pointed straight in the air is going to elevate you rod tip about 3 feet. The amount of extra line you're going to lift out of the water is only about 4 feet or less ... an insignificant amount. When I say the reason for keeping your rod tip high is to get the fish on the rod is meaning to say, have the fish fight the rod instead of fighting the line. The lower you point the rod at the fish, the more you're fighting the fish on the line instead of the rod. I'm not suggesting this is the issue with your experience, only that there may be some misconceptions as to why you hold your rod high. And holding your rod high doesn't mean raising your arm and standing on your tippee toes. Holding your rod high means pointing it straight up to the sky. This is the biggest problem I have with people learning to fight fish. I have an exercise I do with a stalk of grass to demonstrate why you hold your rod high. If you're fighting a fish with the line (pointing the rod at the fish), as soon as the fish jerks his head, the fish is gone because there's little or no give in the line. If you're fighting a fish with the rod (the rod tip pointing straight up at the sky), when the fish jerks his head the rod flexes, just as it's supposed to do, and the fish is still on the hook. I don't subscribe to the side-to-side tactic as mentioned by other posters. Sure you use side-to-side fighting techniques once the fish is within landing distance or to maneuver him around an obstacle but that's once he's within 20 or less feet. If you've got a good fish on and he's out there a ways, moving your rod from side to side is going to have marginal impact if any impact at all other than making you feel like you're actually accomplishing something. If the fish is out there a ways, the side to side thing is for your peace of mind, nothing to do with fighting or landing the fish. The other major problem fishers have with fighting a fish in the Bow or other streams like her is that they seem to think their job is to pull the fish to them. It's like their feet are planted in cement. If you're fishing the Bow and you've got a good fish on ... get mobile man! The key to fighting and landing a big fish in a stream with a current is to attempt to continually fight the fish perpendicular to the current. If the fish goes downstream, get on your horses buddy and hoof it downstream with him. If the fish runs upstream, certainly move upstream but be aware he's going to be coming back down before too long. If you've planted your feet in cement and the fish runs downstream, now you're not only fighting the fish but you're fighting the current as well. To demonstrate how futile it is to attempt to fight and bring a good fish back upstream in the Bow, take a stick (any one pound stick will do), hook it and throw it as far as you can out in the current. Once it swings past you and the current pulls the line tight, pull the stick back to you against the current. You can do all the side to side crap you want but it isn't going to make the retrieval any easier. You can also raise your rod as high in the air as you can, even stand on your tippee toes with your rod extended above your head and it isn't going to make the retrieval any easier. Next time, throw the stick as far as you can into the current then walk down the bank keeping the stick directly out from you and retrieve the stick. I'll guarantee you'll find it a lot easier to retrieve the stick the second time. Easier even if you don't hold your rod high and have all your line in the water or do any of the side to side crap. Now imagine the stick is a good fish. You've increased your chances of landing the fish exponentially by moving up and down the stream with him. As to why your line broke, there are a number of reasons that could explain it. Certainly, you could have not been giving him enough head and only you can determine if that's the case or not. Debris on the river bottom could have cut the line. There could have been a knot in your leader causing it to break. Your leader could have been damaged creating a weak spot. You could have been attempting to fight him on the line or he may have been downstream using the current to his advantage. For anyone to tell you what happened is impossible other than to just offer possible explanations. With regard to fighting a fish, why is it that many fishers want to retrieve the fish as quickly as possible? Isn't the biggest part of the experience the fight? "Give 'im the boots". "Heel 'im". I don't get that! So what if it takes 20 minutes to land a fish? If your pleasure is derived from fighting the fish, let him run ... play him for all he's worth and if it takes 20 minutes to bring him to hand, take pleasure in knowing that you and he had a terrific battle and that you're going to remember him and the battle for days to come.

The handle seemed fitting given the situation ...

monger ... the Bow hosts a healthy population of both Loch Leven and German Browns from the weir to the dam.

I'm not sure I really fit into this discussion. I believe the rod should be fitted to the type of fishing you're doing and the fish you're fishing for. I actually am a little reluctant to list my rods here for fear that my wife might venture in and read this. However, here goes ... 1 - 9' 6 wt Echo 1 - 9' 7 wt Echo 1 - 8'6" 5 wt Sage 2 - 9' 7 wt Temple Forks 1 - 10' 10wt Echo 1 - 10' 12 wt Echo 1 - 8' 3wt Loomis 2 - 9' custom rods - one 4 wt from Loomis blanks the other a 6 wt from Sage blanks 1 - 9' Hardy Bamboo - retired and in a show case on the wall I personally prefer the Echo rods although my second choice would be the TFs. Each rod has a different feel and different attributes that dictate which rod I'll use in any given circumstance. Having said that, I didn't even take either of the Sage rods out of their case last year. I'm currently on a kick with the Echo Denmark reel. I've used a number over the years but I'm really pleased with this reel for the time being.

openfly ... It's likely a little early for much of a variety of nymphs. A dull stone nymph might turn a few heads but nymphs won't be as productive now as they will be in a couple of months. I'd be looking more along the lines of the leech varieties and similar offerings. Take a seine net along with you. You'll be amazed what you find in the water.