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DonAndersen

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Posts posted by DonAndersen

  1. On 2/1/2019 at 9:02 AM, fishjunkie said:

    I'm curious Don, do you try out a few fly lines to find out what works best with your rods?   There are just so many choices for fly lines these days I'm not sure if it's a bad or good thing.   And on top that you have all the hype to wade through.

    Hi,

    i fish Cartland 444 DT lines on 5 weights and under. Been using them for near 45 years. First decent fly line I got was a Cortland  333 bought from Harry Horner who worked at Woodward’s in Chinook Mall. I paid a whole $13.00 when my days pay was $10.75/day in 1964. In 6 weights, I use Cortland WF6F, and Sci. Ang. Ultimate Trout and several sinking likes from a number of companies. For bass and pike, I am presently using a wet tip  and a bass bug taper from Sci. .Ang. I have several steelhead wet tips and specialized shooting tapers.

    Several things about today’s line manufacturers concern me. Several build their lines 1/2>2 lines weights heavier than marked on the box. Each of them seem to confess the real weights on their respective web sites. Be careful, they will and do BS you.

    Most line manufacturers build decent products. I have owned several other lines from other manufacurers and returned to what I listed above. 

    I get about 250 days out of a Floating line cleaning them occasionally. 

    As far as bamboo rods,  I fish the same  lines on them or graphite or glass. Makes no difference to me. 

    The only line I own that really is different is a HDH (6 weight) silk line that casts further, lands lighter and lasts longer than any plastic line. 

    Some people talk about 25 year old silk lines.

    Regards,

    Don

     

    • Like 2
    • Thanks 1
  2. I couldn’t resist. There are more bamboo rod builders today than most might suspect. The builders exist in B.C., Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Ontario, Quebec and perhaps more further east. 

    In Alberta, I am aware of 7 builders which is a record. When I started some 35 years ago, there were two. 

    Unlike years past, most builders build to suit themselves with only a few selling rods. 

    These builders are pushing the material and designs into some really interesting places exploring ideas that folks who are driven to feed families often don’t have the resources. This has resulted in rods of two, three, four, five, six, eight and twelve strips as well as inside out rods, truncated triangle rods, hollow rods and on and on. While some of the following is not new ideas, the ideas are being explored.

    Like most crafts, web sites have appeared. 

    There are a number of videos on UTube showing the hows and whys of building a rod.

    A dying craft, it isn’t. 

    I started FFing with bamboo some 60 years ago and then traipsed along following the newest and bestest finally realizing some 30 years ago I had it right the first time.

    i still fish plastic rods  for coarse fish.

     

    Don

    Bamboorods.ca

    • Like 3
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  3. Been pondering new places and over the past couple of days ran a list of streams/lakes I’ve fished over the past 60 years. 

    A rough list shows 60 lakes or ponds with a further 80 streams and creeks. The water bodies were from the 49 parallel to close to Peace River unfortunately not a lot of them were in tbe east or NE part of Alberta.

    Does anyone have any suggestions for any places in tbe eastern area. 

    Regards,

     

    Don

    • Like 1
  4. 1 hour ago, 1961flyman said:

    I have spent 45 years Fly Fishing in BC for your so called Garbage Fish.

    BC Is Light Years ahead of Alberta in the Management of The Fish and Experience .

    Jayhad, I think you have a very narrow view of the Bigger Picture..

    In my experience all Trout are a Precious Resource and should be respected.

    And I can Guarantee you, I have caught more Trophy Brown Trout than you in my 50+ Years of Fly Fishing The Bow River..

    Go Enjoy your vision of Gold and allow others the same respect.

    Jayhad just rose and hooked his first riser for 2019.  Now if he had the same skill playing and releasing them.

    Don

    • Like 4
    • Haha 2
  5. 10 hours ago, Smitty said:

    You missed my point entirely. And how many of those were funded through the internet via Go Fund me or similar? Yes, municipalities have dealt with invasives, none to my knowledge were done with internet fund raising. It's all tax dollars. And they're done on a cases by case, very limited basis. And you know this obviously - you've been mentioning the perch issue for years, and very very little has been done. You disagree?

    Smitty,

    i realize the province does little. Municipalities seem not so comptose. Both done with tax $’s. 

    Clearly, if one waits for tbe province nothing will be done.

    the only solution is raising the money elsewhere.

    i don’t discount any method.

    Don

  6. 20 hours ago, Smitty said:

    No one (Ok very few) is going to donate to a campaign that proposes to poison a lake. People aren't dialed into an issue like that, and really most people wouldn't care. And, for the exact reasons Albertatrout outlined, I wouldn't donate to it either. I get the sentiment,  but these invasives aren't going anywhere soon.

    Smitty,

    Seceral  munipalties have poisoned lakes to remove invavsives. Some near Edmonton. Even Fosheries staff did one lake near Ft. Mac. 

    Lots of examples of dealing with invavsives.

    it can be done. 

     

    Don

  7. 59 minutes ago, Sparkplug said:

     

    Don, to be clear, I'm not advocating for the stocking of walleye or pike to address the invasives issue in BIR, or any other waterbody for that matter.  I acknowledge your perspective that the stocking of pike into a former trout lake to take care of perch is a form of reward for the illegal stocking of perch, turning a former trout waterbody into a pike/perch fishery instead.

    I thought that browns were the most (high) temperature-tolerant of the trout, and hence could have the best potential to grow in our relatively shallow/warm prairie lakes/reservoirs into fish-eating predators.

    Sparkplug,

    in order for browns to be large enough to become effective predators, they need food. Perch & Prussian Crap decimate the food resources. No grub means very littel growth.

    Don

     

    • Sad 1
  8. 5 hours ago, Sparkplug said:

     

    Thanks all for the additional comments on the "invasives" here.  If they are carp at around 10" length, then wouldn't a larger predator species like pike or walleye be better suited to dealing with these, than trout (other than lake trout or bulls)?

    Of course there would be juvenile carp around as well for the trout, but if the issue with the carp is prolific breeding, you'd want to take out more adults, wouldn't you (and hence the larger predator species)?

     

    Sparkplug,

    the concept of dumping pike into lakes after some idiot illegally stocked perch started with Cow Lake. Other stockings of pike again rewarded illegal actions. 

    We have lost 6 lakes in tbe Rocky area to illegally stocked perch with no end in sight other than the Govt rewarding illegal stocking.

    Don 

  9. Unfortunately the belief still exists that removal of invavsives can.be accomplished by browns. 

    Never worked in Phyllis and it won’t work in Blood Indian for exactly the same reason.

    The lake has to be capable of raising larger fish but as the food resources have been depleted by overstocking and invavsives, thereis nothing left to raise  trout much beyond 12”

    Brooders are fish used to being feed pellets and not hustling the butts for groceries. They generally die soon after stocking.

    Don

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

     

    • Like 1
  10. 11 hours ago, Bron said:

    Hopefully they put on weight like Fraser valley rainbows! (lineage from sterile/low nutrient coastal lakes) 

    Bron,

    Thr weight of the fish will depend on the lakes where they are placed. The overstocked lakes in Alberta will never give them a chance to see what they can do. 

    There are however several lakes where they might do very well. Police or Bullshead come to mind.

    Don

    • Like 2
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