BRH

Thanks for the welcome ... I don't trophy fish either ... I find the monuments with the little cup mounted on top just sink to the bottom when you try to release them back into the water! However, I do tend to fish where I'm likely to tie into something slightly bigger than your finger. June is Giant Tarpon on a fly for me ... and I certainly hope they're a little bigger than your finger. Not that I'm going for a trophy (I can get one of those in a monument store right here at home) ... just something I've always wanted to do.

I gotta tell ya ... mikefromSundre makes more sense to me in this thread than anybody else. Those of you who choose to keep your favorite fishing spots a secret are maybe keeping them a secret from other anglers but certainly keeping them secret from the authorities who protect them. The only way to influence the political arena into preserving our fishing streams is to attract enough attention to force the legislators to act. A case in point are the fishing opportunities in Montana. Montana understands the value of their fishery. The majority of streams in central Montana have a boat launch every 5 miles, foot access almost everywhere and a state promotional program second to none. And every one of their streams is protected from development ... protected to preserve the fishery they offer. By contrast, Alberta has no concept of what fishery protection is or how to achieve it. Yes they've done some work on the Stauffer and Dog Pound but how about the thousands of miles of other streams in central and southern Alberta? Go ahead an continue to keep your favorite fishing hole a secret and, over the years, watch it fall victum to the development threatening every water course in Alberta today. The Raven River, North and South, is a perfect example of this. Sure they used the "Buck for Wildlife Program" to protect the banks of a very small segment of the Raven (Stauffer) but following a good rain storm, none of the Raven is fishable including that section known affectionately as the Stauffer. Same goes for the Dog Pound, Fallen Timber, Little Red, Sheep, Highwood, Gorge ... I could go on and on. If we are going to curtail this tendency, we've got to start making some noise instead of quietly trying to keep a "secret".

onthefly7 ... You're moving to some of the best trout fly fishing water in the world. The "Blue Ribbon Bow", the tailwater section of Bow River from Glenmore overpass to the Carsland Dam, is one of the top 10 trout streams in the world. However, it has been described as a technical river and can be tough to fish. Your best bet to get aquainted with the river and the fish is to hire a good guide. In a single day of fishing, he'll show you the ropes and save you years of frustration. While there are numerous other trout streams in the region, none of them compare with the Bow River.

Okay ... this is my first post so who knows what's going to come out. That may be a finned critter but it's nothing I'd be posting on here. Time for you to go after something bigger than your middle finger. I've used flies bigger than that minnow.