DonAndersen

Fishing.... I've got a Major rod. Bought it near 60 years ago. It was solid glass. The rod was equipped with spin guides, slip ring reel seat and a all cork handle. I paid a whole $10 for the rod and a spin reel. Took me nearly a year to make the money. Regards, Don

Folks, I've been pondering the Energy East pipeline and what it would cost to build and operate. The question is: with tar sands effluent at such a reduced price and with the pipeline tariff, would there be any money left for the producer? Regards, Don

With thanx to Taco who wisely saved this site. Looking over the legacy pictures it is clear that there exists a lot fewer trees in the first set of pictures as compared to today. The ridges I hunted when I was raised in Turner Valley are now completely covered with trees. Not a lot of elk habitat left. The grasslands are now forest. http://mountainlegacy.ca Don

I use both the Morgan Mill and planing forms + planes. Depends on how I feel. Heading for the web site over the next week or so are several rods. Plus I have two more in the build line up. Kinda laid back this year. Only got 7 in the works. I think I'm spending too much time on the IPad >Facebook. Thanx for posting the video SD. Don

Clever old Grannie... Yesterday my daughter e-mailed me again, asking why I did not do something useful with my time. "Like sitting around the pool and drinking wine is not a good thing?" I asked. Talking about my "doing-something-useful" seems to be her favorite topic of conversation. She was "only thinking of me", she said and suggested that I go down to the Senior Center and hang out with other people my age. I did this and when I got home last night, I decided to play a prank on her. I e-mailed her and told her that I had joined a Parachute Club. She replied, "ARE YOU NUTS?" You are 78 years old and now you are going to start jumping out of airplanes?" I told her that I even got a Membership Card and e-mailed a copy to her. She immediately telephoned me and yelled, "GOOD GRIEF, MOM, WHERE ARE YOUR GLASSES?!" This is a Membership to a Prostitute Club, not a Parachute Club." "Oh man, I am in trouble again," I said, "I really do not know what to do. I signed up for five jumps a week!!" The line went quiet and her friend picked up the phone and said that my daughter had fainted. Life as a Senior Citizen is not getting any easier, but sometimes it can be fun.

Whoops - shoulda been 2016. Don

Website shows no location or dates for Red Deer. Why? Don

Bcube, Being as the otters showed with PC's. Maybe, just maybe, they will follow the PCs. Just what our Ttout streams needed. A stocked predator. F.....g idiots Don

Hate to burst the bubble but the flood of '95 washed a lot of cuts into the Crow downstream of the falls, Within a few years they were gone, Some places cuts can't live no matter what other fish exist. Removal of any trout or char will not magically result in an explosion of native species. In some cases it will help & in others the result maybe no fish at all. Up my way, you could remove all the Browns and brookies and in very few higher elevation streams there may not be any effect, Things are not all that simple. Don

Folks, There may be some of you contemplating building a bamboo rod. Starting in 1988 and continuing every second year since, a group of bamboo rods makers gather in BC. Originally we met @ Corbett Lake and now meet in Kamloops, BC. There are programs to suit beginners to professional. Here is a registration form. The group numbers from 50>100 with several hundreds of years of experience. If you are interested, give George a shout. The registration form is attached. regards, Don

Gee, I never thought about lifting the pictures up and looking underneath. I just appreciated the talent required to create the pictures. Must be a shack nasty season outbreak. Don

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/artandfishing/fishpics-hand-drawn-pictures-of-fish

The hand cleaner I use now is Fast Orange without pumice. Just the gel. MAKE SURE YOU DO NOT BUY THE CLEANER THAT HAS PUMICE IN IT!!!!!! If you have used your stones with oil for years, the pores in the stones are filled with swarf and nearly solidified lubricant. Use Fast Orange to clean the stone. I got a black Arkansas at a farm auction that took nearly a whole weekend to clean. Mind the stone was 6" wide and 18" long. A smear of Fast Orange on the stone prior to use works great on both oil and carbaradom stones. If you want to hand sharpen your knives, I'd recommend water stones over oil types. I have 250, 1,000, 4,000 & 8,000 grit stones. The only one rarely used is the 8,000 grit. And if any of you want the best damn kitchen knife ever, head to Lee Valley and buy a "Peasants" knife. See: http://www.leevalley.com/en/garden/page.aspx?p=52770&cat=2,40733,40738,52770 I have three, one @ home, one in the fishing trailer and one @ the acreage. They were $25.00 for the first one. The blade is real steel not stainless. Sorry, no bling but stays sharp which last I recall is the purpose of a knife. Need more, give s shout. Regards, Don

I sharpen my own equipment. The kitchen knives are sharpened about once a month. Takes 15 minutes or so. I found that sharpening using a 1000 grit gives the knife the "tooth" required to shear through meat/vegetables. My personal knives carried each day are also sharpened with the 1000 grit stone I use a water stone like this one. http://www.amazon.ca/Suehiro-Japanese-Sided-Whetstone-Sharpener/dp/B00HF5P6LQ/ref=sr_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1453302959&sr=8-14&keywords=japanese+waterstones The planes used for bamboo however are sharpened to shaving sharp using water stones. For those using oil stones, use gel hand cleaner as a lubricant. Water wash the stones and let dry. I've got Arkansa stones that have been used for years that look brand new. Regards, Don

Taco, I'd take an old mine over a new one so that I could clean up the place. Even though we have better inspections, *hit happens. I'd rather it was from one location and not two. As far as monitoring industry activities, I must agree with others that it should be left to Govt. with the caveat that the industry must pay an inspection fee. The concern with Govt doing the job if often they don't. The reasons this happens are varied. However, in the event the Govt is not doing it's job, obviously someone else has too. A recent example that a lot of us were pleased with Streamwatch. Certainly it was obvious to most anglers that enforcement didn't happen. Another method had to be found. Ergo - STREAMWATCH. As it was funded mostly by the private sector, political interference was difficult. But finally, like most things, the Govt go a bigger role and realizing that a success couldn't be tolerated, destroyed the concept. To sum it, if society value something, they better figure out some way to make sure some idiot, group, business, Govt doesn't **** it up! Catch ya' Don

I'm quite surprised that any proposed mine is going ahead. Within the last year, Tumbler Ridge has shut down, Grand Cache has shutdown, Tech Coals operations in SE BC are operating at partial capacity. Why would anyone.propose a mine in the face of reduced sales and sale prices dropping from $320/t > $80/t. Damn weird. Don.

The failure of multi-section staff are: 1) each of them take time to assemble. Quick draw options they are not. 2) as the sections either stick making them tough to disassemble or come apart just when you need them make multi-sections poor choices. 3) leaving the multi together generally means it catches on most everything. And yes, I've got them and don't use them. They are a pain in the butt. By the way, to disassemble most of the multi unit, whack them soundly on large rocks. Kinds like you were beating the crap outta a snake. Generally that loosens the sections. Don

SeanD, Connecting the rope off the end and removing of the hand strap just about resolves the issue. I used old Karhu ski poles. Not expensive. I also removed the basket. If you fish very soft bottom ponds (like beaver dams)' leave the basket in place. I looked over Kiiji - lots of cheap stuff there. Regards, Don

Vitakeith, I have two collaspseable and one ski pole units. The ski pole is the one that gets used. I fish soft bottoms streams a lot, the collapsible ones are a real pain. Similarly on freestones, jam a collapsable in the rocks and it comes apart. If you decide on a hiking pole, make sure it is long enough. When standing, it should just fit under your arm pit. This length will allow the pole to be extended downstream at an angle. Most collaspseable poles are too short. I learned from the BC guys a neat idea. Use a 1/4" semi soft nylon rope that has a loop in one end with the other attached to the top of the pole. The rope length is about 6' long. Make a lasso through the loop and place it over your head and under your right arm if you wish to use your right hand for the pole. This is what I do as I use my left hand to cast. The rope length should be long enough that the handle of the pole is just about crouch height. Dropping your hand and you grasp the handle. It is fast to use when you need it. While walking the pole slips along behind you rarely catching on anything. Check used ski shops for a pole. Don

Taco, My thanx for the links. Sure does illustrate the forest issues are not that readily resolved. Doing my homework for the East Slope Hearings held about 1975, a report from Oregon said the silt from cut blocks was less than access roads. Seems like the lesson hasn't been learned in some area of Alberta. Regards, Don

But, beyond making sure the dudes are protected by insurance, why would the Govt care about the quality of the guide. Skill in rowing maybe but ability to catch fish -- hardly. Don

The scary part of "perceived importance" of guides was exhibited with the southern Alberta stream closures. Meetings were held by Govt & guides. Not sure if any other anglers were invited. Apparently the meeting were held at a Fly Shop providing guiding services. And further, licensing guides provides them with the belief that the guided areas are owed to them. After all, if you sell a license, that implies that you will supply something that non-licensed persons do not get. In the longer term this would arrouse the angling public and guiding would be gone. What has stuck in my craw is how guiding companies have to be told not do do things. A person might believe that a company would look after what supplies their income. Such appears not to be the case. If guiding companies cannot curtail their activities when the respurce is in jeopardy, perhaps they should be banned. Let the flaming begin! Don

Maybe the question should be: With the population of Alberta increasing as it has with recreational opportunities becoming more difficult, crowding is an issue. The Bow is but one example. Perhaps it is time to no longer allow commercial fishing or companies on flowing water. Regards, Don

Taco The Featherlight ferrules were supplied on the rod blank I purchased. The rod caught several Browns in the Crowsnest just above the Oldman confluence in 1969. That section of the Crow has been lost to potatoe chip greed. By the way, that gift to the spud farmers cost the Albertian taxpayers $900,000,000 + a whole bunch of the Oldman, Castle and Crowsnest rivers. A wise investment in Alberta's future. Don

Marks, The books were written by folks from BC with the result that some of the patterns are not transferable to Alberta water. However, there are many patterns that are. I own both and they were fine additions to my library with results showing up in my fly box. A good investment. Don