DonAndersen

Jack, Gotta agree that enforcement is what it is about. Still, BC has @ least made the attempt of doing "something". What I find shocking is that perch are discovered in a BC lake and 1 year later, they are removed. Unlike Alberta where we are still waiting for some action after 30 years. Like we live in 2 different worlds. And don't blame Govt cut backs or other BS - all it takes is

See what happens when a Govt gives a crap!!!

I'm not a single fly kinda guy. This is just one of three chironomid boxes. Over-kill - depends on where you go and how you fish. Some tying notes: 1] Notice Mustad C068 hooks. Have landed fish + 6 lbs. on #16's - tough hook - only thing close is TMC 2457 2] Bodies are all protected with one coat of super glue + multiple coats of Sally Hansen's Hard as Nails 3] Thread for ribs is twisted prior to application 4] Herl is used for some heads. 5] Gills are nearly impossible with 1.5 mm beads 6] Gill materials are various things - Super Fly, Antron, Oral B Floss

InvermereAngler, Will take some individual shots in the morning + recipe. tallieho, No static bags on these guys - just 4>6 coats of Sally's Hansen's Hard as Nails. Started on some more static bags this PM. catch ya' Don

God do I hate those tiny BC chironomids. Got enough for the early season opener done. All on Mustad C68 #14's & #16's. All but a couple with tungsten beads for those fish that seem to be feeding @ +20'. Been laid up for a while so got time to do some tying.

Whoa on there!!! Professional or Pros do it for money - money is the only measurement of their competence. Whether or not pros are any good @ anything will only be determined by the market place. Some examples of pros include hookers & hockey players. Whereas elitists are by definition: The belief that certain persons or members of certain classes or groups deserve favored treatment by virtue of their perceived superiority, as in intellect, social status, or financial resources. How about you use expert! Don

bhurt, I've watched the organized programs effect my kids & grand-kids. Certainly lots of organized stuff. But I get back to my original observation - other than organized play, I hardly seen any kids @ either the playgrounds to the east/north/south of us unless they are accompanied by parents. About this time of year when I was a kid a 22, a can of beans, a knife and some matches and I was gone for the whole day. I'd suspect that if you treated a kid like that today - somebody or other would be howling child abuse. regards, Don

fish4trout, You angling for a rise? Don

Had to go out and get groceries and paid attention to where I saw kids. There was a bunch @ the community outdoor rink. Cars everywhere. Suspect Mom/Dad brought them. Are arena parking lot was full. Public skate rarely happens. The swimming pool parking lot was about 3/4's full. But there wasn't a kid to be seen except @ skating rink. Not a kid on the street anywhere. Not a kid with skates stuffed on his hockey stick, not a kid pulling a sled - not a kid anywhere. Maybe we got a breeding problem up this way. No kids being born. What really scares me - kids are not outside - outside people develop some sense of nature. Sure I see kids outside - most spring evenings the school ground is full of soccer players playing a supervised game with one or more parents in attendance. But I never see a kid just kicking the ball around for their own amusement. Scary stuff!!! Don

Folks, It's been a long time since I've seen kids outside playing by themselves. Used to see kids all the time 10 years ago. Where did they all go? Don't see kids playing road hockey, sliding @ the school ground and on and on. Are they all playing electronic games? regards, Don

southfisher et al, The meeting was well attended by folks from all over Central Alberta + @ least on guy from Edmonton and one from - are you ready for this - CALGARY!! Each of the Fisheries Tech, Biologist and Managers gave a talk on issues. The talks ranged from Lake Management Objectives, the Perch Issue, Regulation Changes, Quality Lake fisheries and so on. Enforcement folks gave a talk as well. According to the officer, 30% of all anglers are fishing illegally in one way or another. What the meeting a good idea - you bet. It gave an opportunity for the Fish Managers to meet the folks that they manage the fishery for. All the Govt folks were approachable. The meeting was facilitated by two ladies that did a bang up job. But, there were some things I found personally worriesome. 1] There was not a lot of mention about self-sustaining populations of this and that or bull trout. That can be seen as either a good or bad thing. Either there are no issues or SRD was unaware of any. 2] The illegal perch stocking is still ongoing with Twin Lake now exceeding the Perch Removal Policy. SRD apparently is in talks with Parks. First perch illegally stocking in the Rocky area was 1981. Rapidly counting on my fingers, that's nearly 30 years of.... 3] A question on Quads driving up and down creeks got some folks a tad steamed. One Fisheries Tech told us that instream problems are Dept of Fisheries and Oceans responsibility. On a personal level, I only posed a few questions and for the most part, they were not answered. I'll follow up the questions with SRD later. regards, Don

For whatever it's worth. People who assemble rod components get paid very poorly. Below is a work-up of most of the components not including shop materials, wrapping station et al from a component supplier on the west coast. Sage 9'0" 6 wt. Model 690 Z Axis = $417.60 American Tackle cork handle c/w wood trim = $ 38.00 Reel Seat of Nickel Silver = $52.00 Pac Bay Nickel reel seat = $47.00 Struble reel seat = $62.00 Pac Bay guide set $12.00 Snake Brand Guide set $ 18.20 Finishes and Glue $20.00 Rod Bag = $14.00 Alunimun Tube = $35.00 Give or take about $600 without shipping or labor. Unless these guys get a real deal on parts, anything less than $ 800.00 is a steal. Takes about 4>5 hours to assemble the components. That doesn't include the assembler ordering/stocking/client contact/work area et al. Be aware though, snake guides are worth what you pay for them. Pac Bay's are $.51 each whereas Snake Brand and H&H are $1.35>1.50 each. catch ya' Don

Fly Tiers are just further down the evolutionary chain. First there are cheap fishermen then comes cheap fly tiers. Gotta remember, fly tying is about saving money. catch ya' Don

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_srUfXnYLpc

ladystrange, The question is not stupid or silly. 1] Fish can die at from minutes to hours after being hooked. 2] Takes 1>4 days for dead fish to bloat & float depending on water temperature 3] There are 2 kinds of "tired" - lactic acid is the killer. A fish that is fought for a lonng time has a build up of lactic acid that might kill it hours later. A fish that is landed and released quickly has little build up of lactic acid resulting in a much better chance of survival. 4] Wounded fish [ gill hook for example] may swim erratically catching the attention of fish eating birds etc. 5] Survival rate in warmer water drops dramatically from 0>1% in cool water to >7% in warmer water. 6] Some die - tis too bad but it happens. regards, Don

Trailhead, Like you, I'm leery of stats. Still, we need something to go on. I found the below site that seems to give a decent clue. I used 3% for resident anglers. Maybe it's low - maybe high. Don Mortalities in Trout Caused by Gear Type and Angler-Induced Stress http://afsjournals.org/doi/abs/10.1577/154...BG%3E2.0.CO%3B2 THURSTON DOTSON Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, Yellowstone River Trout Hatchery, Big Timber, Montana 59011 Abstract Mortalities of hooked and released trout were measured at four Montana state hatcheries in 1978. At Yellowstone River Trout Hatchery, cutthroat trout (Salmo clarki) caught by single-barbless, single-barbed, and barbed treble hooks and landed rapidly showed no significant mortalities. At Washoe Park Trout Hatchery, Big Springs Trout Hatchery, and Bluewater Springs Trout Hatchery, rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri) caught and returned to water of five different temperatures (47-61 F) showed mortalities that increased from 0 to 8.6% with increasing water temperatures. All fish in temperature-related tests were played to exhaustion before release.

rehsifylf, Like you, I've pondered my effect on fish due to the numbers of trout I catch. A typical year [from personal angling records for 40 years] shows I landed approx. 1000 fish in the 110>130 days I spend angling. Using a 3% C&R mortality, I killed 30 trout. From the DFO Recreational Angling survey site below, I found the following quote: http://www.dfo-mpo.gc.ca/stats/rec/can/2005/section4-eng.htm In 2005, anglers caught 215 million fish of all species and retained nearly 72 million (Annex A.7). Resident anglers in all provinces and territories caught 157 million of this total harvest. Foreign anglers caught 54 million (25%) while Canadian non-resident anglers caught a relatively small proportion of the total fish harvest (4 million) during the year (Figure 4.5 and Annex A.8). Resident anglers kept 39% of the fish they caught compared with 22% and 18% share of fish kept by Canadian non-resident and foreign anglers. On average, each resident angler kept 24 fish in 2005. Every Canadian non-resident angler kept an average of 7 fish, while foreign anglers retained an average of 16 fish of various species. Residents caught 157,000,000 Kept 39% = 61.230,000 C&R - 95,770,000 C&R mortailty = 3% * 95,770,000 = 2,873,100 Total killed by residents = 61,230,000 + 2,873,100 = 64,103,100 Total Residents = 2,456,876 Residents killed 26.09 fish I must therefore conclude that although I fish a lot, my effect on the fish population is nearly the same as the Average Kill & Keep angler. It must be admitted though that through my C&R practices, the Average Kill & Keep Angler will not catch/kill nearly as many fish. You be the judge whether or not this is a good thing. catch ya' Don

headscan, I use carnauba wax I get from Lee Valley. Little pricey and I use it on reel seat inserts. Don Rickr, You really can't blame Flyfishfairwx for wanting to get the porcelain thundermug effluent off his fishing pole. After all, about 1,000,000 people try to coat your gear every day. Some with success.

Gee folks, Last I heard - 1 year in jail cost us about $45,000. A lousy waste of $'s. Deport her in a garbage truck from Toronto to the US. They leave every hour. NB - they give us acid rain and we give them Toronto's garbage. Good deal or what? Don

Lancaster, Got to Dept. of Environment site @ http://www.waterforlife.alberta.ca/559.html And read the info Minister's Advisory Group @ http://environment.gov.ab.ca/info/library/8239.pdf This advisory group gives you a real chill and a sense of the Govt "thinking". Taco - father and grandfather were irrigators east of Calgary - they quit doing it when they discovered what happens to the land. I'm fully aware of the impact on both our economy and environment of irrigation. Like the 3 Rivers Dam [that buried reaches of the Oldman/Castle/Crow] cost $800,000,000 & benefited 80 farmers and created 100 jobs. Oh - WHOOPEEE catch ya' Don

Folks, There is car wax and car cleaning products that are used for paint shining that may be mostly wax but could be and vary likely are mixed with very tiny abrasives. Be very careful what you buy. Don

You bet - as long as I can use my car washer in there. You got central drains like the ones you see regularly in "tank"? catch ya' Don

Flyfishfairwx Ah heck - I pop the multi-piece plastic rods into the washing machine. Works just fine. Of course for the good rods, I clean with water and wipe them down with car wax or similar products. And while your cleaning and polishing - don't forget your line & reel and a recoat on your Goretex jacket/boots/waders. Don

Terry, The chip in the head is magnetic - the strong magnets will suck the brains outta most anything. Works well on most mass storage devices. Don