DonAndersen

Oil spills in Alberta A Global news report. http://globalnews.ca/news/571494/introduction-37-years-of-oil-spills-in-alberta/ I worked in the industry and wondered how many pipeline leaks are reported. Looks like some of them. Not a pretty or comforting news story. Don

defee.... Sam Livingston fish hatchery has equipment. Hunter Training folks have at least 5 sets of FF gear. See: http://www.aheia.com/contact-aheia Don

MrBo.. Are you old enough for a bamboo rod? I'd suggest a 7'6" 3 wt c/w a Bellinger or Peerless reel. Don

After having dug to a depth of 10 feet last year, British scientists found traces of copper wire dating back 200 years and came to the conclusion that *their* ancestors already had a telephone network more than 150 years ago. Not to be outdone by the Brits, in the weeks that followed, an American archaeologist dug to a depth of 20 feet, and shortly after, a story published in the New York Times: "American archaeologists, finding traces of 250-year-old copper wire, have concluded that *their* ancestors already had an advanced high-tech communications network 50 years earlier than the British". One week later, Canadian Dept. Of Mines and Resources in Newfoundland reported the following: "After digging as deep as 30 feet in NE Canada , Jack Lucknow, a self-taught archaeologist, reported that he found absolutely nothing. Jack has therefore concluded that 250 years ago, Canada had already gone wireless."

Rely 19, There are two species of mayflies that your mystery bug may have been If your mayfly was about # 26 or smaller and a very light colour bordering white, it was likely a Caenis. Where Caenis do exist, their populations will be vey high. I have never had a lot of luck fishing this hatch do to what I suspect is a natural very 6 square inches. Another late season mayfly are Baetius commonly called BWO's by most anglers. The Baetius typically found are Callibaetius but very late in the year a very much smaller Baetius appears that is quite similar to their stream cousins. I typically use #20's tied parachute style for this hatch. I suspect that your imitation was just too large getting you refusals. Matching this tiny of a fly to a 5 or 6x tippet should help. Good luck - late season mayflies can be a plague. Regards, Don

Fly fishy, Friday & Saturday were OK - Sunday was downright crappy for me with 3 trout to hand all this years stock + one very tiny minnow. The trout came to black micro leeches. Others did better - no idea what they were using. Things are slowing down for winter. It's strange but none of us have seen any boatmen. Regards, Don

Crow.. Now you know that the only people from Edmonton using plastic rods "troll"! And the above is a troll. Don

Now this is a fish story - a very small fish story. Was on Beaver and the coffee needed to be drained. Headed for the bank and cast once along the bank. Grabbed my hook and this is what was on it. Using live bait on Beaver - a hanging offence. But it occurred to me that there may be an upside. What if the minnow was attempting to get it on with my bug? Does that make the minnow a tad hopeful or me an excellent tier. Don

Folks, See http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-24231925 for info. Don

Uber.. Generally just IDing the sucker causes them to flee however some are stubborn and will require incantations. They are available @ my place. A bottle of Laphroaig 18 year old does the deal. Don

This type of occurence is generally related to a plotergeist. We've got one here. Effects the coffee pot. Sometimes the coffee ends up in the cup - others - all over the table. And no - it's not the Delirium Tremens - Doc says one beer/day - that's it and no more. Don

Winter arrived in Rocky in mid-October last year. All high altitude areas will snow covered unless you are very lucky. High altitude includes nearly all the cutthroat streams + the browns and BROOKIES are spawning. Not much fishing available. Don

Folks, Spotted this @ a local pond. Beat it off with my net. Don

http://www.liveleak.com/view?i=cf7_1356505998

Folks, Copied below is part of an email I got regarding the Hidden Creek sediment issue. "As suggested SLS has been going into Hidden Creek weekly to monitor the stability of the road they built/reclaimed. As we have been discussing there were some sedimentation issues in the creek. Here are pictures that I was sent from SLS showing what they tracked to the source of sediment. Please note the slump was on the north side of the river while all logging was on the south side and some distance from this natural slump" Natural Slumps occur here and there. One on the Cardinal River several years ago formed a small lake, one on the Bow below Caresland 20 miles is huge. It's in the Reservation Other slumps have made the news from time to time. Frank Slide comes to mind. That doens't mean however that we as fishermen should not be concerned. But this time we may have aimed @ a target that doesn't exist [yet]. regards, Don

Monger, Didn't you miss a couple of steps? The Golden Arches>toilet bowl>lump removal station and then to Water flow: Bow->Macgregor->Travers->Little Bow->Badger See all crap eventually turns to crap. Some is just greener than others. Don

Folks, We have no idea why AvidAngler removed the pictures. Any number of reasons could apply. BUT As he did, several thoughts occurred to me: 1] If he used his employees system to upload the pictures - he may be forced to remove them. But they still lurk out their & his employer is not happy! 2] Maybe he had the wrong creek and realized his error. Happens. 3] He may work for either the Govt or Spray which would caused problems. SO What should happen is independent verification that this issue is real with pictures taken of the slumping bank + upstream and downstream views of the effected area. If the bank issue is not of man's making, guess we thank those in charge of this green ball for screwing up another fish species. regards, Don

Guys, Avid removed the pictures for reasons unknown. So, the world needs some pictures of Hidden and the Oldman confluence if anything is going to be done about the issue. So how about one of you take some pictures and post them here - please. Regards, Don

Avid.. Why did you remove the pictures? Don

Folks, Troutfriend's description can be understood readily by reading what an Alluvial Flood Plain is and how it operates. Both Calgary and Highriver are located in such areas. See Wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alluvial_plain for a definition. In each case, a quick glance @ Google Earth will show, at least in Highriver's case, the Alluvial Plain at work. Several miles above Highriver, the river becomes quite braided always seeking new channels as the river bed moves downstream. Old oxbows are readily seen. Only white man's arrogance caused him to build here. The natives were a pile smarter. Doesn't take long to move a tent. Regards, Don

There has been a catastrophic release of mud and silt into Hidden Creek. It is dark chocolate brown, during low-flow season when silt is most devastating. All other creeks in the area are running clear. The Oldman is discoloured from the Hidden Creek confluence all the way to the reservoir. This disaster was predicted by many of us when Alberta Environment and Sustainable Resource Development set aside protection guidelines to allow new logging and roads on steep slopes adjacent the creek. Hidden Creek was habitat to threatened westslope cutthroat and critical spawning habitat for an estimated 75% of the surviving bull trout upstream from the reservoir. I and others warned them of impending disaster this spring when the reclaimed slopes began to bulge with groundwater. The response we got was condescension and some new monitoring (monitoring is always so good at fixing stuff after all). It appears no that, thanks to wilful negligence by the responsible management agency and irresponsible logging practises by Spray Lakes Sawmills, we can now kiss one of the last great streams in the upper Oldman country goodbye. Ask me how I really feel about this.... Kevin Van Tighem

Folks, It pays to take a second or 2 and look over how ACA deals out the money. Of the $ 469,000 paid out in the Large Grant Fund just $80,800 went to fisheries stuff and most of that to habitat examination. That is just 17% OF THE TOTAL. And then we have: ACA’s Grants in Biodiversity Program is run in collaboration with the Alberta Co-operative Conservation Unit, which represents a consortium of Alberta universities including: University of Alberta, University of Calgary and the University of Lethbridge. ACA’s annual financial contribution to the fund is $225,000. And it goes on and on. About time that outfit figures out who pays the bills. Hunters and fishermen are getting screwed. Don

Tungsten, Below are two bamboo rod builders that make blanks. Both of them are highly respected within the bamboo community. http://www.stonerodco.com/about-2/ http://www.carlinbamboo.com/pricelist.htm There are however other companies that provide blanks into the market that are cheaper than the two mentioned above. Be aware the the cost of these blanks clearly reflects their quality. What is clear however that a blank price of <>$400 doesn't mean that a rod you finish will be worth what the blank builder charges for a rod. The builder may spend 30 hours getting a rod finish completed to his satisfaction. Most first time bamboo rod builders rarely have either the equipment or skills to complete a rod to the level of perfection demonstrated by the blank builder. Regards, Don

Dave, Obviously, both levels of Govt have demonstrated thier competency to protect our fishery. So the question becomes: How does one acquire a Govt agency that is compentent? Don

Dave, Isn't the real question is why ESRD and Dept. of Environment from Alberta and Fisheries & Oceans Canada did nothing? Are the above agencies responsible? Clearly something needs to be done to kick the Govt agencies into action. Don