DonAndersen

Guys/Gals, Was brought up within 1/2 mile of Hell's Half Acre. What got me thinking about the place. Some ditsy developer bought the land and now calls it "Seclusion Acres" or something similar. Really unfortunate that part Alberta's history is now "little acreages in the hills" What is Hells' Half Acre - well it was where the Imperial Oil owned Gas Plant in Turner Valley flared the gas they couldn't sell. Eventually, the Alberta Gov't formed the ARCB and forced a change. I recall being told by a guy that lived near and operated the separators @ Wellington One, that the well flared 10 MMSCF/D to recover 10 barrels of HC condensate. They did it for years. I dug my copy of Hell's Half Acre - Early Days in the Great Alberta Oil Patch by David Finch out of my library and reread the book. Was great remembering some of the folks or their kids I worked or lived with when I lived in Turner Valley. For those that either work in or form the support of the Oil/Gas Business in Alberta, the book is a great read. The Oil/Gas Business of today reflects the history of how oil companies dealt with pricing/labor/environment. regards, Don

Folks, The list of contentious issues as detailed in Red Deer a couple of years ago have in the large part been dealt with. While it makes some sense re-visiting them from time to time, the biggy's were about done. And please pass along the name of the person from Calgary who attended - other than TUC's paid representative. I just knew that among 1.100,000 people there might be one person interested in Provincial Fisheries Issues. Damn, I was right - Calgary has yet again done itself proud! catch ya' Don

Best money this province has spent in a long time hiring Sheriffs. Don

Oh God - it isn't even February and already we're into GW. 2" of snow and Calgarians go nuts. Let's get back to something like fishing. Seems like there is enough BS from both sides to fuel an ethanol plant. Don

pacreseltoro, Using CUTE FTP 8.1 as the FTP program. Checked for "hidden" files and I can't seem to find any although the server says its exists.Tried to get through to Telus Webmaster w/o any luck. regards, Don

cheeler, My thanks for the pointer @ the tutorial. I read aritcle after article on .htaccess files and the one you pointed out was the only one that told me how to save the file. The qutoation marks made all the difference. pacreseltoro, Installed the .ht file in the public directory and for the life of me, I can't find it although the server does tell me that it does exist. Mumble/mumble Don

Anybody help a poor confused and bewildered old guy. Telus made me move my web page as they reduced storage space. Got my own domain name and got the site content moved. Now trying to figure out how to write and upload a .htaccess file and where to place it on the original site. HELP!!! Don

Clive, It's about choices when there is choices. Cottage industries will start-up to satisfy the market providing that the cost of production is within the reach of the producer. However, when cheap [meaning poorly constructed/designed/inferior materials] produced items displace or destroy a preexisting industry, your only choice is the crap stuff. And don't get me started on my rant on how many microwave ovens went south on me last year. It's impossible to buy a good one. They've been Wally Worlded out of the marketplace. You pay for junk - you get junk & sometimes the only choice is junk. catch ya' Don

HUH!!!! Don

Taco, Cane obsession started in late 50's. Plastic fishing poles and commercial tying happened about the same time. Maybe it was the Tupperware rods that did it not the tying. Whatever did it, it was a pleasure to playing on a level playing field with ya'. Don

Did it for 5+ years - brain is fried - that's why I can hold my own with folks on this board. Don

Guys, Fly rods are supposed to be rated according to the AFTMA standards of 30' of line. Wt. Grains Grains/foot @ 30' 3 100 3.333 4 120 4.0 5 140 4.67 6 160 5.33 7 185 6.17 8 210 7.0 3 wt @ 140 grs./3.33 = 42' 4 wt @ 140 grs./4.0 = 35' 5 wt @ 140 grs./4.67 = 29.98' 6 wt. @ 140 grs/5.33 = 26.26' So - a 5 wt. rod running a 3 wt. feels the same @ 42' as a 4 wt. @ 35' or a 6 wt. @ 26.3'. Looks like the 5/6 rods is about how many fairies can dance on a head of a pin. catch ya' Don

Folks, The fair trade discussion had several references to overpaid or underpaid tiers. Did a tad of looking @ CDN wages for 2009 and found this table expressed in $/hour Males $23.84 Females $20.18 All Employees $23.59 Basic assumptions are: 1} wages are typically 60% of a operations total budget. 2] the tier does 20 flies/hour 3] markup @ the retail level is 50% Wage - $ 23.59 Total cost of operation - $ 39.317/hour - this includes materials, work area, employee cost, light, heat et al. Flies produced / hour = 20 Cost/fly = $ 1.957 Cost @ retail level $2.949 And you guys want 'em for a buck - get real. Some 50 years ago when I started to tie flies, a single Joe's Hopper or Gray Bivisible was $0.25. My Dad made $1.25/hour. My weekly allowance was $0.25. You got 5 flies/hour worked. Now the average is $23.59/hour. Hell, you you guys should be paying $23.59/5 flies = $ 4.72/fly. Quit sniveling! Don

nebc, You talking boatman or swimmers. Much different bugs. Swimmers are generally tied on #12>#10 hooks whereas boatman are tied on #16>#18 hooks. A lot of fishermen use the term boatman when they really are looking @ or fishing swimmers. catch ya' Don

LastBoyScout, In addition to the responses already posted, there are a number of factors that will effect the "fighting" or perceived fighting ability of fish: 1] Species - jumping - rainbows do it - some sub-species more than others, browns rarely do it, never seen a brookie do it 2] Body condition - some waters are nutrient poor [ fewer insects] or over-stocked resulting in poor vigor of the trout. 3] Age - teenage trout tend to go harder. The 2>4 year olds are the best fighters pound for pound. 4] Disease - many fish are effected by worms/cysts etc effecting body condition 5] Sex - I know this is a family show but generally female fish fight harder than males! It's the "hard to catch" thing. catch ya' Don

Neil, Dan Bailey of Livingstone MT for years employed workers [ mostly female] to tie flies in his main street sweat shop. When the off-shore stuff got cheaper, the Livingstone sweat shop disappeared. Similarly, Winston Rods for some years farmed out thier wrapping serives to local ladies on a piece work basis. Apparently Wistons is now moving some of thier rod construction overseas. Bet ya' a buck, the work is not going to any G7 country. Up to the mid-70's, I could make more from my fly vise than working full time in the Oil Industry. Not any more. Done in by off-shore suppliers. Still, there are those that do make all or part of thier income from tying. They just charge what the flies are worth. catch ya' Don

Sundancefisher, The City of Calgary has successfully got both Banff and Bragg Creek to stop adding nutrient load via sewage to the Bow and Elbow. And you're suggesting a replacement of ..... more sewage. Certainly having Calgary return the sewage upstream of Calgary would prompt the City to make sure that the effluent from the city was clean. Great idea - talked the same thing over with SRD about the Crow. The sewage outflow nutrient has been reduced over the years. Allowing a slip-stream of P04 and N04 to slide by the plant would certainly help the hatches. They suggested that such enlighted management was really beyond them. Curiously, SRD [ F&W] did add some fertilizer to Obstruction Lakes some years ago. Worked till the load went through the system. I was involved in fertilizing 3 small lakes utilizing milled barley. In this case, there was no water outflow and the nutrient load was retained yielding some larger fish. Good idea but I'm not sure that sewage is the answer. although it is both cheap and plentiful - just yucky from most folks perspective. catch ya' Don

Neil, It isn't my containment project. It is the County of Clearwater. Tried to interest TU's Brian Meagher in helping the project along. He sent a letter. Suspect that he figures a letter will stop the overland flow. Don

Good stuff!!! http://www.cochraneeagle.com/?p=7873 Don

Sundance, Me - a bigot - Naw - just don't like lawbreakers. Don

Gee folks, I also use a spin rod occasionally - even have one made of cane. But - there are few spin fishermen who do a hell of a lot for the fishery resource. Wished it was different but ... And Sundance - there is some difference between trying to make a lake perch free in a gated community than dealing with the public resource. I clean up Beaver Lake several times a summer - so far I've found ONE piece of FF related garbage but the bait containers, pickerel rigs and on and on are beyond count. Do recall when Beaver Lake was "showcased" in the Alberta Fishing Regs. as the place to catch larger fish. One Friday, of the 40 anglers there, 16 of them were bait fishing, on Sunday, it dropped to 9 of 25. And this is a lake with plenty of signage. The best part was one woman who was leaning on the No Bait sign while fishing bait. Call to SRD resulted in a visit Monday and some busts. Doesn't mean that FF types are law abiding. As Rick says, a lot of worm dunkers switch hit. Some of the worm dunkers haul their ethics along. Recall a couple of downeasters that fished Beaver a lot. Always with 2 rods each. One day, one of them showed up with a fly rod. When I told him that only one rod was allowed/angler his response "Nobody cares if I catch my supper" left me at a loss for words. Two weeks ago, a couple of aged cowboys showed wives in tow. One fished bait, one fly fished. Both walked/drove past 3 signs that clearly explained the regulations. The one that fished bait caught and kept a fish. Like I said - wished that all spin fishermen would read and understand the regs. What really bothers me is the frank disregard for regulation by a large segment of the spin fishing group. They seemingly really don't give a d**n. Rather than other spinfishermen reporting them, FF types seem to be the folks that care enough to call. And the best part, spin fishermen attack those that do report their illegal activities. This, of course, leads to the branding of FF types as elitist rather than the real issue is why spin fishermen don't police themselves. Sure there are ethical spin fishermen, know many. But, by in large, most illegal activity is related to spin fishing/work dunking gear. Don

Folks, Lets try this for size. I belong to several fishing groups. Not a worm dunker in any of them. Never met a worm dunker who was interested in the public fishing resource. Never met a worm dunker who ever spent any time working to improve the public fishery. SRD enforcement target worm dunkers - why - 'cause they know that most infractions are done by them. But times are changing. As more worm dunkers learn to FF, the ethics of FF are getting diluted. Is FF only the answer - No. Just makes things worse. Brands FF types as elist. Not a good thing. I'd really like to see worm dunkers working to improve our fisheries but I'm not holding my breath waiting. Don

Jack, Them things have teeth - 870 Winchester - no need for buckshot - trap rounds work fine. Don

Folks, I have lived in the western part of Alberta for 60 years. During that time I've watched the camping issue change. The biggy was toilets, gen sets and water tanks on trailers. w/o them, the campgrounds would be full There is a huge difference between random camping and squatters. Random folks come and go - squatters should be removed. While random camping takes it's tole on the landscape, I have camped @ spots where random campers have used for years and made effort to find the junk they were, according to a bunch of people on this board, leaving behind. Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but it just isn't happening. Sure, there are jerks out there but far fewer than many years past. Curiously, even though the Gov't prepares sites for camping, most won't use them even if free. There is a great horsey site up on the Hummingbird, nobody in it - but located 200>600 yards away, the horesy set was in full force. Is there a cure for squatters sure - post the offender, in 2 weeks haul it away to a public auction. If the offender wants it back - he buys it. And in closing - Two summers ago took a 3 night trip c/w a tent that went up where I quit fishing. Used "random" camping spots. In one I found 1 bottle cap and a tiny piece of tin foil, in another, several empty cartridges in the well established fire pit but the last shocked me. Along the N. Ram, haunted by FF types, it was a pigsty. MT bottles, broken lanterns, tin cans and broken fishing rods. So much for the FF ethic. Last summer, much the same thing. So, all of us aren't good, all of us aren't bad. There are some worse than others. If you want to see how bad it really can get, go up to Ranger Creek on the Main Ram and look for the outfitters camp. Must be a couple of tons of junk laying around. But it's all old junk. Even they have improved. catch ya' Don The combining reference is separating the BS from the buckwheat.