DonAndersen

Guys, For a couple of reasons I voted NO. 1] As far as a game fish - they don't fight as well as rainbows + they bite when you go to release them. 2] Rather than spending money trying a cross - about the 3N going to 3NAF on existing stocks. 3] And lastly, we have an Alberta Rainbow - yup a died in the wool real Alberta Rainbow - the Athabasca rainbow that will grow to 7 lbs. + given proper conditions. How about we spend some money on a local home grown product. And lastly, there is no evidence anywhere that suggests trout will control perch. Been tried in Phillis Lake with "0" success. catch ya' Don

Cabelas catch ya' Don

A group answer: 1] We fished Patterson for 4 days 2] Of the county employees and elected officials meet, all were interest and committed to the success of the fishery. 3] I had been in the Parkland in 2004 looking over what a local committed group had accomplished. They tried hard but like here, the perch lovers followed the "quality" lake guys. Spear, East Goose and Two Mile were screwed. 4] Would I go back - you bet. I've had an opportunity to fish the lakes from BC>Manitoba. Presently, in my opinion, there is nothing to compare to the Parkland region for the quality of the angling. 5] Unlike BC, where a friend had $5,000 of gear stolen, we had no such concerns in Manitoba. Many pontoon boats tied along the lake shore. All were still there in the morning. 7] We sampled only 3 of the possible lakes. There is enough variety within the area to keep me interested for weeks/years. 8] Manitoba fishing license are cheap. Get a conversation license. You get to keep fewer fish but then who cares. 9] Some of the photos were taken by my wife who enjoyed kayaking on both Patterson and East Goose. Some of you may have seen her & Morty on Beaver now and then. 10] For a copy of the FLIPPR handbook, call the Russel or Roblin Town Offices. The handbooks are free and detail the process FLIPPR uses[d] to accomplish what they did, provide lake info, some background. 11] And watch for road signs. Missed one and 100 kph in a 80 kph zone got me a $300.00 present. I was distracted by the Casino west of Rossburne. catch ya' Don

It all started innocently enough with a couple of phone calls and emails to a friend in Red Deer. "Wanta go to the Parkland of Manitoba?" And so the plans were made, revised, made again, dates agreed on and stops thought about. The first stop was just over the Sask. border @ a small lake SE of Lloydminister. Sufferin Lake is perhaps 200 acres located within a Provincial Park with a campground and about 60 cabins/homes along the west shoreline. We got there Monday afternoon. Camp set we got to fishing. Wasn't great with only one landed. Decent fish though about a rainbow of about 5 lbs. Caddis hatching everywhere. Steve ended with 2 brookies of 3+ lbs + a smaller 3 lbs. rainbow. The next day it all changed. The weather got cooler and cloudy with few caddis hatching. We went here and there and there with little to show for it. Finally I started to fish a leech on a floating line along the shallows. The accounted for 6 hookups and 5 landed. All about 5 lbs. + The evening ended in rain that lasted all night and through a long drive down Highway #16 across Sask. to Russell, Manitoba. Just short of the border the rain stopped. Got more licenses and off to the campground at Patterson Lake. The campground is on top of a knoll less that 50 yards from the lake. Pit toilets, electrical service were provided @ $15.00/night. We fished Patterson for 4 days. The first day was about learning the lake a little. With a howling NE wind, travel in a pontoon boat was tough. Still we found some fish. Good ones too! The rainbows seemed to be in greater than 5' of water and really liked chironomids. The browns, contrary to popular wisdom were found in water less that 4' deep. Adult caddis + minnows were all through the reeds. Browns seemed to lurk within feet of the reeds although we did catch a few in water six feet deep. http:// While I only caught one brown of 7 lbs. or so, Steve landed a good one measured @ 29” and estimated @ 9 lbs. We got others from 3>5 lbs. After 4 days on Patterson, we headed the 1.5 miles to Tokaryk Lake. Unlike Patterson with it's large island, Tokaryk is a shallow bowl mostly featureless. I started along the bank with a Glen's Leech under a yarn indicator. The first fish was a decent brown of maybe 5 lbs., then a good rainbow of 6 or so followed by a brown I lost and then a really good rainbow of 8 or so lbs. It was probably the largest fish I landed. Good things don't last so I headed to deeper water and a chironomid. It was a good day with 16 landed, all greater than 4 lbs. Didn't catch any browns in deep water but the rainbows were HOT. Typically runs of 30>50 yards jumping all over the place. Bright shiny rainbows. The next day back to Tokaryk but good things rarely happen twice. It was a tough slog. Still, nine came to net including on brown of 4 lbs. Like the day before, it was deep water for me that worked. Steve, though, kept mostly to the shoreline and hooked a lot of fish breaking off perhaps 1/2 of them. OK, after 6 days of rainbows/browns it was time to try Tigers. So off to Roblin we went to camp. Great campground right in town. For $15/night, power was provided + free showers and flush toilets. We camped about 15 yards off East Goose Lake. A concession booth/campground office provided a source of great ice cream cones. With a weather forecast for severe storms over the next 2 days, we tie flies & toured the town. Finally, the weather cleared a little and we headed for Twin Lakes and Tiger Trout. I wish that the fishing was HOT like @ Patterson and Tokaryk but it wasn't to be. A slime line c/w a olive bugger got me one followed by 3 on deep water chironomids near the end of day. The next day arrived clear and calm. Unlike the experiments of the day before, I stayed with deep water chironomids and landed another 9. Steve tried here and there picking up a few. The fish were of decent size with 2 of them over 5 lbs. The Parkland region has some serious wildlife. Pelicans at Patterson harvest minnows in the shallows most of the day. And on Toaryk, a first for me on a lake - a garter snake out for a swim 50 yards or so off shore. And of course, my wife's best friend and navigator. Morty the Mutt. Some general observations. * most anglers we saw fished sinking lines and leech type of flies. * I pumped a number of fish and didn't find a single leech * the fish had chironomids, boatman and scuds in them * the areas visited and fished have some of the kindest and open people we've meet in many years. They are happy to see you. * don't move to Roblin. I've never seen a town with lawns/gardens/streets so well kept. Sure would take a lot of time away from fishing. * there was no evidence of the bank fishermen seem in Alberta. Litter on the lake shore was "0". * most anglers encountered were from Utah followed by N. Dakota. Few folks from Manitoba in evidence. * Pontoon boats were the boat of choice although most were equipped with electric motors so that the owners could back troll and cast. * We only encountered 2 other chironomid fishermen. * Take the gear you need, there seems to be no local fly shops. * if the Parkland fishery is near the the best for rainbows/browns that I've seen. * the water is by in large tannic in color. * bloom started in Torayk Lake a little - trips prior to mid-June may be best For more information on the FLIPPR organization who, along with the counties involved who operate the quality lake program see: http://www.flippr.ca/mainpage.htm And to sum up the trip, we stopped @ Boekle's Pond west of Hanna, Alberta for the last night. Boekle's Pond is a joint ACA/SRD managed lake. Guess what - there's no fish. According to a local, a ice-fisherman drove his truck into one of the aeration holes. There goes the aeration, There goes the fish. The Pond had 6 lb. trout in it the 2 years ago. Hip - Hip Hurray for the Home team. You really shine in how to manage a fishery. catch ya' Don

Guys, Is there still a maximum length of packages sent to Canada? If I recall correctly, it was 43". Don

Ladystrange, Seriously - what are the "rules" for teaching FF to women. I have been wanting and did try to get a women only course started in Rocky. Not enough interest but I'll keep trying. FF is a head not physical game. Women are able to do as well as men - probably better from my experience. regards, Don

scott, The belly boat has hung on a nail in my unheated garage for 35+ years, the pontoon boats for about 15 - so far - no issues. catch ya' Don

Colin/James, There is booby flies and booby fishing. The booby was originally tied to operate in much the same way as garlic marshmallows or Powerbait where the fly hovers off the bottom a foot or so. The line used was a type 4 or greater. It was cast out and the line was allowed to settle completely to the bottom. The booby was not retrieved @ all. The angler tucked his rod under his arm and waited. It was deadly as all get out and for that reason was banned from most English Stillwaters as unsporting. Just for the "unsporting" comment, I had to try it. Works but it is ugly. If you decide to fish it in the non-traditional way - go for it. The traditional presentation is tough on trout. A roly poly cast was named by the Brits. It is accomplished by tossing your line as far as possible, waiting for it to sink to your desired depth, tuck the rod under your arm and retrieve with both hands - fast. Fish react - particularly fresh stockers or very aggressive fish working minnows. catch ya' Don

Bobbies - the down side. While we all like 'em, well most of us anyway, there is a downside to bobbies. They are not terribly fish friendly. I have used them - rarely do any more. The fish tend to take them deep - like @ the entrance to the stomach making release & survival of the fish a real issue. While there are "traditional " bobbies there are a host of flies that can be tied to float, I've tied and used leeches & dragons. In every case, the fish ate the bobbies deep. If you intend to eat the fish, use bobbies - otherwise.... catch ya' Don

Folks, In an interview today, a spokesperson for Banff national Park told the interviewer that booze will be banned from all public campgrounds in the park over the May long weekend. Persons who show up will be either turned away or they can dump the booze. But, I'm not really pleased!!! Now the rowdies show up where I live but again they will be in for a surprise. Apparently 90 officers including SRD, RCMP + others will be attempting to keep the lid on. As a side note, watched a lot of decent liquor hit the ground last year. catch ya' Don

Guys, My tackle box is what holds the tools/vice/glue/thread etc. Then there are 3 tubs + of course the tying lamp. Trying to cut down. Got a new trailer on order. Need to cut down so that there is room in the new trailer for both wife and dog. Saw a decent case years ago that Darren Atkin had @ the FF conclave in Calgary. Should have asked him where he got it. regards, Don

Folks, I travel when fishing and always take along a selection of tying equipment and materials. At this point, there are 3 tubs and a tackle box full of "stuff". Do you guys know if anyone who makes a larger typing bag. Looked @ the Fish Pond Tying Bag. and it needs a much larger brother. regards, Don

Guys, I've caught browns 24" long that might have weighted 5 lbs. barely [flowing water]. A friend has a brown on the wall that was 24" - weighted 10 lbs. 14 ozs. [ beaver dam] Weight depends on genetics, water quality & flow rate. catch ya' Don

Smitty, Nope - no notable quotes from Glen Beck there. Amazing the amount of money he gets from feeding Paranoia, Racism & Stupidity. Reportedly over $20 million/yr. I'm in the wrong line of work. Don

Bloom, So you ran into the road runners. Have seem them everywhere. Amazing what greed will do! catch ya' Don

But Terry, Has Glen Beck said anything quotable? Don

MrBotangles, If you use your vehicle every day and drive some distance, using your vehicle battery works fine as a addition to the trailer battery. Failing that, a set of booster cables also works great. regards, Don

MrBotangles, If the trailer is earlier than the mid 80's, it may contain a space type of furnace that doesn't require electrical power. My old fishing trailer is set up like that. It's amazing the folks that come to visit when it's cold. Their forced air furnaces batteries are crapped out. If it does have a forced air furnace, using two 6 volt batteries will really help or better yet, some folks are partial to golf cart batteries.. For early spring & late fall camping, solar panels don't put out enough juice. A small generator is your only option. A friend who runs a 50w panel + two 27 group batteries is good for about 4 days. Mind you, he keeps it warm in there. As I don't have forced air furnace, I run the interior lights for about 8>10 days camping in early April and late September. regards, Don

Guys/Gals, I get a kick outta watching Coulter rouse the rabble on both sides of the political spectrum. She may sound ignorant or even stupid to some or a mentor to others but one thing is she's done is delivered a big GOTTCHA!! She's all about making money and couldn't have done it better. CDN's been had. Don

Folks, I just have to wonder the difference between us and the United States. Tommy Douglas - the father of CDNs present day medicare was voted as our country's Greatest Canadian. President Obama, who is trying to do something about the medicare system in the US is roundly criticized. From WIKI a summary of the US situation. At least 15% of the population is completely uninsured,[1][2][3] and a substantial additional portion of the population (21%) is "underinsured", or not able to cover the costs of their medical needs.[4][5] More money per person is spent on health care in the United States than in any other nation in the world,[6][7] and a greater percentage of total income in the nation is spent on health care in the U.S. than in any United Nations member state except for East Timor.[7] Despite the fact that not all citizens are covered, the United States has the third highest public healthcare expenditure per capita.[8][9] A 2001 study in five states found that medical debt contributed to 62% of all personal bankruptcies.[10] Since then, health costs and the numbers of uninsured and underinsured have increased. regards, Don

Certainly can. Don't sweat a reel size. Don

eatsleepfishrepeat, Some caddis show up quite early. There is a #10 ginger caddis that shows up on Stauffer about mid-March. Not much of a hatch though. catch ya' Don

And a "suspender" darner Don

This one tied using invisible sewing thread - wire rib This one used a yellow body over wrap of cereal box liner This one used a body of bronze Flashabou c/w jewelry bead vinyl wrap

Guys/Gals, For a summary of historical royalty rates in Alberta see: http://www.energy.alberta.ca/Org/pdfs/Info...t3-Formulas.pdf Trailhead, According to the above, the royalty rate was 16.5% in 1970. The total cost of the gas plant, land, drilling, pipelines etc. was paid out in slightly better than 1 year. Don