DonAndersen

Folks, It sure isn't biological and your bad casting is more of a learning tool for you. As far as I can see, the only reason for barbless is not destroying the look of the fish. I caught an elderly cut outta the livingstone a couple of years ago with a broken jaw, one eye missing, both mandibles gone. This fish was really beat up. With barbless, some if not all the damage wouldn't have happened. After all we go it pretty places to fish, perhaps we want to catch pretty fish. FF is mostly about esthetics, there are a lot of ways to catch to catch fish easier. Are not pretty fish part of it. Don

Grinr, Be careful with chironomids - they breed. I now carry more chironomids than stream flies. With the huge diversity in sizes and colours a large selection is required. Depending on location, I've fished chironomids from over an inch in length to less than 1/4". And the colours - that experimentation will go on forever. The UV ones shown are a new experiment based on Reed Curry's work. See http://www.overmywaders.com/index.php?home Be aware, the flat water fishing is a whole new challenge requiring more expensive gear, on board electronics, a small selection of boats and the like. Mind you, there are those that troll Stimulators and do well on Stillwater Don

Snuffy, I own a Tacoma c/w topper. I chose the Raider Vagabound because the height of the topper doesn't exceed the cab height. My 2007 Tacoma barely gets into my garage with a 7' door opening. I have roof racks on the truck where I carry my pontoon boat. With my setup, I have about an inch of clearance. Another thing to consider when purchasing a topper. It it suitable for rood racks? Some toppers have goofy little windows where the rack pads need to be located. Catch ya' Don

Grinr, This is what I understand. Presently Alberta, unlike some other provinces, is not yet in full control of the fisheries resources. Any. Changes to acts/regulations have to be vetted by the Feds. Good thing or bad thing depends on the beliefs of the respective Govts. Do remember though why the Dept. of Fisheries and Oceans were in Alberta. A Federal judge found that Alberta had demonstrated that they could not obey not only Provincial but Federal statutes and ordered the Feds. In to clean up the place. Of course, over the past few years, the Dept. has been gutted c/w a complete gutting to Fed. Environmental & Fishery Acts. Seems like the Provnce & Feds. Are now aligned. And no - this is not a late April Fools Joke! Don

And continuing along with the lake flies, I tied some micro-leeches

Been working on my lake stuff as well and added some UV ribbed stuff to one of the boxex. They are the ones with the blue cast

And I've rebuilding my floating patterns and did some of these. The CFF [ one hundred fish fly]. Uses macrame yarn for wing and tail. peacock for a body and a crappy brown hackle that completes the patteern but is not needed.

Playing with Boobies Generally I hate spongy/synthetic boobies but for fishing I make an exception. After watching Brian Chan @ a lake near Kamloops fish these things and do well + listen to him talk about thier effectiveness in the program he presented in Edmonton last winter, I had to crank out some. Unlike the Brits who fish these things like Power Bait, Brian tosses them out, lets them settle a little bit and retrieves quite quickly. His method, unlike the Brits. method results no deep throat hookups which means fish release is very easy. The Brit. method generally meant that the fish were hooked deep in the throat making release near impossbile. regards, Don

Black is where it's at. . . . . . . . Do I win ? And if I win, I must share that the smell of breathable waders cause me puke often. You better be wading wet. Don

Monger, What I found in fishing some of these "tougher" waters, I got my butt handed to me. I either got better or the fishing ( catching) was poor. Challenging fisheries are learning experiences although I must admit they do cause hair loss/incoherent mumbling & nervous ticks. Don

Monger, In heavily fished waters, fish learn! They learn that large ugly balls followed by a rip of the lips means they should move away from large ugly balls. Certainly there is a lot of fish that don't learn quite as well or the water is faster/deeper where fish are not effected. For Stillwater guys, I suspect that fish are not as badly effected. There are few still waters that are as heavily fished as some of the following water in Alberta. For that reason, I tend to use more subdued colours often smaller in size. Fish even learn that some dry flys are " heap bad medicine". Regards, Don

Fishliv.. Rock snot, New Zealand mud snails, whirling disease & felt soles and the anglers & Govt do???????? Don

Taco, You know I was wondering the same thing this morning and concluded the greatest danger to fish populations in Alberta was apathy. The "herd" gets all excited about picking up garbage all the while nobody does a whole lot about Rock Snot. catch ya' Don

Guys, This appeared in the Hearld. http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/alberta/Expert+warns+against+commercial+logging+near+Star+Creek/8180602/story.html Don

plumeja, All contact cements are not the same - some are water washable. I use Lepagrd Contact Cement. http://www.homedepot.ca/wcsstore/HomeDepotCanada/images/catalog/061083154110E_3.jpg Get a glue brush as well. Metal handle and stiff bristles. Don

Plum.... For a whack of stuff on installing parts on a fishing stick see: http://rodbuilding.org/list.php?2 or for a different approach through forums, you should try this: http://www.rodbuildersforum.com/ Don

I just plain don't get it. Fish respond to natural colours - you know the ones - earth tones. Therefore your indicators shouldn't be about you but about the fish. So what is to be done? Use colours that are part of the natural world. I tend to use snow colours or Alberta Wildrose colours (note: don't confuse my indicators colours with endorsement of any political party), and of course dirt colours. Depending on the season, adjustments are made to the colour used. Now there is nothing wrong with bright pink or chartreuse on HOT PANTS! Catch ya' Don

Folks, Spray Lakes logging operation was looking for representative to the Public Advisory Group who supply's advice from various stakeholder groups to Spray Lakes regarding thier operations. http://www.spraylakesawmills.com/Woodlands/PublicInvolvementProcess/FMAMeetingMinutes/PublicAdvisoryCommitteeTermsofReference.aspx Above is some info on the Public Advisory Group and its mandate. Is it worthwhile - depends I guess. I sit as the Trout Unlimited reprentative to Sundre Forest Products advisory group. The Public Advisory group have effected some changes + I have learned a whole lot of the how's/when's of forest management. Need more info, give me a shout via email Regards Don

Got a new sharkskin 2 years ago. Does it cast further that the Cortland 444 - not so I'd notice, it is noisy and you soon learn not to fight a decent fish by running the lines trough your hands. You'll get rope burns. Won't buy another. Don

Wonderful idea! Management by oil spill. Don

http://www.flixxy.com/the-paperless-future-emma.htm#.UUJxMIy9KSO

PeteZ, Wrecker is bang on! The side walls on some of these rods are quite thin. It's the price paid for high performance. Don

Dryangler, I did a whoops on the Clearwater. From highway 22>Rocky was OK the last time i drifted it. Don't float the upper section. People die in there. And the main Ram is floatable in some sections. The British Army floated it a lot with only a few rappels over the falls. In the chutes of the Ram bodys's may take months to recover. Play on the Bow - it is safer. Don

Dry angler, I can't imagine an uglier day than attempting a float on Stauffer creek. A lot of places it is less than 15' wide with many places under 10" of water. You need bigger water. The Bow, Red Deer, Clearwater, N. Saskatchewan come to mind. Don

Trailhead, Great pictures. The ring on top of the post is where you tether Taco. Kinda like a hitching rail for wild-assed Dutchman. Don