creekside

I'm heading to Haida Gwaii for 4 days at the beginning of Oct. Have fishe the Tellel in the past and the coho fishing was excellent, with more time off plan to check out other options. Plan to only fish intertidal areas (cheaper). Would appreciate any advice on flies and rivers. Thanks in advance Ray

Outfit in BC that has Llamas.

Been working on my touch an go but without any current it's a bit tougher. What I find works best is a simple roll pick up back cast and let her rip. Awsome distance. Haven't tried the poke yet. Give her a go tommorow.

Picked up an Echo SR 4. Was out again yesterday but we had a bit of a cold snap on Saturday and all the fish were off the shoals till it warmed up late in the day. I have both the eleixir and the Tonic heads but would never figured the Skagit head would work overhead. Would the Skait head cast betterin the wind than the Scandi head? I'll have to give her a try. One thing I've noticed is you realy can't spey cast in stillwater or at least I can't without current loading the line and rod.

Hello all. Just want to thank all that have helped with both deciding to purchase and leader design. Was out on Friday for the first time (Maligne lake) and the advantages of using a switch rod were pretty obvious. Longer cast using a scandi head which dramatically reduced effort and with the length of leaders we were using (on average 20') no tangles and the fly was in the water at least twice as long as my partners. Landed fish with a heaavy hand with no break offs reducing stress on the fish. All in all probably the best piece of equipment I've purchased in a long time. Can't wait to use it on the Bow for our annual 4 night camping trip in July. Ray

Thanks all the info I need. I also use a chunk of Vanish and a small swivel to spreed up the sink rate.

Hello all Have been having allot of fun figuring out the different casting styles for both scandi + scagit heads and all the different types of poly leaders on moving water. Lakes are finally ice free here in the rockies and heading out this weekend with my Echo to Maligne for some early season indy fishing. Typically use 18-20' mono leaders for single handed but a little confused on what to use for my switch rod. I'm figuring to use the Elixir head a standard 7' 2x leader (for the indy) and tie on 5' of 3X, 4' of 4x and the rest in 5x. I have a full assortment of poly leaders as well but unsure if the floater or the intermediate will be of any use if I need to tye on all the additional mono to get the depth. Sure would appreciate any and all advise. Ray

Was talking to one of the guys @ whislters fly shop and he highly recommended the Echo switch rod (had a look on the net and it's lets say rather interesting looking). Any opinions?

Ok I've made up my mind and plan on taking the plunge and purchase a 4 or 5 weight switch rod. I presently own a 14' # 9 redington spey that I never use here in the rockies but really enjoy spey casting so it only makes sense to get a light shorter type of spey rod. So I would really appreciate some feed back on these 3 brands and what lines match the rods. Reels that I plan on using are either a #2 Marquis salmon or my Grey's saltwater reel. St. Croix imperial, Amdson (spelling) or deer creek. Kind of leaning toward the Imperial.

Howdy all. A couple question before I go ahead and take the plunge. 1: Will a 4 weight switch rod fell like a 9' 4 weight with an average fish on? 2: Any outstanding advantages for normal river Indy fishing ? 3: Can you effectively fish a hopper dropper rig? 4: I fish allot of small streams with minimal back cast room in heavy willows, will the extra lenght be an advantage or a hindrance due to the length of rod? Ray

Hello all. I’m by far not an expert but have spent some time on the flats over the years and also purchased my #8 with the same hope of using them for both fresh and salt water. Presently I’ve been using an IM*TFO rods for the last 8 years and last year picked up a newer TICR for a trip to Andros. Both are very stiff and can punch out the line in a fairly good breeze and are ok chucking streamers. While on Andros I had the opportunity to fish out of a proper bonefishing skiff c/w guide, and what I found as compared to wading is that often times the fish are spotted 90’ but just as often the buggers will just appear 30’ away. The TFO rods had no real problems at the longer distances but were defiantly over gunned or to stiff at shorter distance especially if you have to do a quick draw cast at those buggers @ 30”. The guide had a #9 line that I tried and it really helped on the short cast but affected the longer cast into the wind. I had the chance to cast many fine rods during my stay on Andros from Loomis to Sage and two rods really stood out as far as an all round rod that does it all. The best was the new Scott 9’ 9weight saltwater rod and the other was the Loomis Cross Current GLX. Both threw excellent loops, were fun to cast and could cast into the wind at long and short distances. I’d rate the sage XI2 a close third. Another rod that really surprised me was a ST. Croix unsure whether it was the Avid or the top of line rod but it was great, a little slower than the rest but had all the same attributes of a great flats rod. So when you decide to purchase your rod keep these qualities in mind, ability to cast long or short in the calm or wind, able to pick up and drop the fly with good accuracy with little to no back casting (this is really important) and most of all fun to cast. Good luck on the flats; it’s a new world out there. Sorry about the long reply. Ray

Hey Zed. all the above mentioned books have no pictures in them. might prove to be a tough read. But if you want to try I've several books kicking around, D. is coming up from Rev for xmas I'll box them up and have her drop them off on the way home. merry xmas Kent and a happy new year, already next years trips.

Sorry about that. try this one. http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/ab/Jasper/plan/index_e.asp You'll have to scroll down and find the link.

Howdy all. Now that things seem to have calmed down check out this link. http://jasperweb/CurrentInfo/Jasper%20Nati...Nov_24_2009.pdf

Ok all here’s one for all you old veterans. How many different rod brands have you owned since day 1. Since 1976 1. Fenwick fibreglass , 2. Fenwick Graphite (first generation) 3. Or vis All Rounder 4. Mike Maxwell Tiger Eye (I think that’s what it was called) 5. Sage RP2 6. Loomis ( brown blank late 80’s) 7. Lamiglass 8. Scott 9. Gatti 10. Talon 11. Loomis IMX 12. Thomas + Thomas 13. AJ Thramer (cane) 14. Scott S3 15. Loomis Metolius TFO IM8 and the newer model 16. Loomis GLX streamdance 17. Winston Ibis 18. Redington 14’ Spey. Rods #4 threw 11 were in my rod building days. Reels are few, Berkley graphite, Hardy Marquis #6 (still have and using), Tioga, Lamson light speed, Lamson Guru and a Greys for bonefishing, Hardy Marquis salmon #2 for spey rod. After looking at this list I think my favourite out of these rods are all of them same goes for the reels.

Howdy all. My Lab retriever ate the end off my rod tube and managed to extract one of the four pieces of my favourite Winston rod and chewed it to bits. Needless to say I was a bit p&^% off. I emailed Winston and explained to them what had happened and was simply asking if I could purchase a replacement section. They responded immediately and informed me that although the damage was over and above normal wear and tear or manufacturing defects that the Rod is still under warranty and would be repaired or replaced at there discretion. Now that’s what I call customer service. Or the customer service person owns a Lab and has had a few of his own rods eaten. Anyways Kudos’ to Winston Rod Company Ray

Howdy everyone. My trailer for my NRS 14' cataraft is shot. Need to purchase a new one. Any suggestions for trailer dealers in the Calgary area? Prefer a single axle with 13" tires. thanks in advance Ray

Hey everyone. Planning week trip at the end of july to float two rivers for multi night trips. We have already made up our minds to float the Elk from Sparwood to Fernie [3 nights] but need another destination other than the Bow which we'll be floating for 4 nights latter in Aug. Second leg of the trip on which ever river would be for 2 nights. Any suggestions, fairly competent rower up to class 3+. Oh yeah must be in Canada (long story). Ray

Yup to all of the above. Basic pattern Tail- tips of pheasant tail Body-peacock hearl or arizona sparkle or seal hair. Rib- orange ostrich hearl (optional but deadly). Hackle - brown hackle 1.5 x the size of gap. Shell Back - pheasant tail, i also stretch a piece of clear scud back over the pheasant for durability. Couple of turn of thread 1/2 way and whip finish. Last year we found a spot with tons of brookies and decided to experinment, we both use the same sinking lines stripped of the same amount of line I tied on the the ostrich ribbed double shrimp and my partner used the same pattern but not split in the middle. they both were identical ties except for the divided body and the the standard pattern was at least 3-1. Go figure!!!!

Just got back from Andros a couple of weeks ago and the fishing was awesome. But lots of rather large bull + lemon sharks on the flats (to many for this chicken to even go swimming). Lost two really nice Bones to sharks and holly c%$p do those fish move out when being chased by sharks or for that matter cuda's. Tried to break them off but the sharks and cuda's were quicker. Stayed at a place called Hanks Place on Fresh creek, great bar and restaurant and you can rent boats C/W 20 horse motors. Spent 2 days booting around Fresh Creek lots of wade able flats but the fish were few and far between for some reason. The rest of the trip was guided. Spent one day up in the Joulter Keys. Guide was Tommy. If you can imagine clean white sand flats (no boots needed) that are about 30 square miles in area loaded with cuda's and Bones that average an honest 3-4 lbs in large schools and you can't tell the sky from the sea on the horizon your in the Joulters Planning already for next years trip to this area we will be camping for 4 or 5 nights. Cheapest deal on Andros. North and Middle Bight. Guide Tommy. This is supposedly where bone fishing all started. Places like the Andros Bonefishing Club and the Bang Bang club are located in this area. Lots of singles and doubles tailing along the mangrove trees. Plenty of sharks and rays. Landed my biggest to date on Moxy creek, just short of 9 pounds on the Boga. Actually stopped at the Bang Bang club and meet the Charlie Smith the guy that the Crazy Charlie was named after. Very cool place. Next two days were spent on Young Sound and Somerset beach, Guide Bonefish Bradley (awesome guide very laid back) this area had the largest concentration of bonefish, both wading and casting from the deck. Plenty of singles and doubles as well as large schools of 2-3 pound fish. And just to make things interesting flamingos. Top fly #2 Tan Bunny Gotcha (2-21/2” long) Top big fish fly Tan Clouser Minnow/ same length as above. Top fly for tailers Blind Clouser Gotcha/ same length as above. If anybody is interested in more information give me call, got allot of independent Guides ph #.

Thanks all. Can't wait, this will be me and my partners 5 overnighter on the Bow and can't get enough. Last year we spent a full week floating it twice during the Trico hatch. Needless to say the fishing was great.

Planning on floating from Policemens to Carsland ( two nights) last weekend of April or the first weekend in May. Pretty sure that all the shelf ice will be gone but could someone confirm. Was still hoping on getting into some Rainbows at this time or will they be staging off the Highwood. Thanks in advance Ray