dryfly

Palmer http://albertaflyfishingcnp.blogspot.ca/2010_05_01_archive.html

Thanks Gary! Great to see. Glad Linda (mom) sent you a few pictures. This is funny. Jeff was a little rough around the edges. He spelled his nickname here, beedhead vs beadhead. The new bench uses the second spelling. All good. Clive

No matter what has changed, or how this is being done, the move is most welcome. Until now, in the past 4 decades little was done to enforce the 14-day regulation. Back in about 2004, a few "junior forest wardens" were handing out effete "warning" tickets that were no more than pieces of paper from Kopiko. Long letters to ministers with photos of hard evidence of abuse were ignored. The flag pole and sign at Ragged-Assed Road were taken down, but the gardens, hanging baskets, water pumps and cookhouse remained. I drove through there once and it was as if I was trespassing on private property. There was no political will, but I sense that most of the fault lied with senior bureaucrats, but could be wrong. The politicians did not care and the managers just wanted to ignore it because they knew it would be difficult. Who knows? Now the interesting thing is what will the dozens of free-loaders do? Can't see them ponying up $25 (?) per night for the Dutch Creek campground. Great news. Clive

Thanks. Was the "most fun" fish I've landed on the Crow in years. Some will recognize the spot perhaps...anyway it ate an X-caddis 100+ m upstream from where the photo was taken. Was hot as a fire cracker and ran downstream way into the backing, so we went for a long walk. A grand time. Was planning to be on the river this morning by this time, but had a bad night, so will get there just in time for the wind. This getting older crap is for old people.

Hung a nice one today...

Cosmic shot. Thanks. Where?

Thanks. An old fishing buddy (who passed in 1999) said, "If you want fishing value for money, go North." This was my fourth fishing trip to NWT. In 2014, I fished in the Arctic. Fabulous. (Because it was a late spring [and, yes, the Arctic Ocean was frozen wall to wall in mid July], we missed the char run, but it was a spectacular experience...catching lakers at midnight is a fun time.) I don't get a commission ( ), but if you want to catch a TON o' FISH for a half decent price, Hearne Lake is a great destination. Comfortable accommodations, very nice operators and the food to die for. Ken will take you out if need be, but it is straightforward fishing and can be done unguided. Was weird, after about 4 or 5 days, I had caught enough fish and figured one week was too long. Then when it was time to go home, I could have stayed much longer. I hope to go back in a couple of years. Clive

Thanks.. Was a good trip. Edie said the ice went out a bit early...she sent Al a photo at the end of May and the lake was ice free then.

Four of us spent one week at Hearne Lake from June 7 to 14, 2016. This was my second trip, although adc and others have been 3 or 4 times. This slide show ( ) was prepared with drone footage (dronage) and digital stills. We stayed at Hearne Lake Lodge operated by Edie Dull and Ken Yoder. (Here is the URL in case the link does not work: ) We fly-fished mainly for pike and lake trout, but also caught Arctic grayling and lake whitefish. We caught a few grayling and whitefish, a good numbers of lake trout between 3 and 8 pounds and many, many pike some up to 40 inches, with a fair number in the thirties. The lodge has many amenities including a cedar hot tub that is heated with firewood. There are communal flush toilets and showers. The fee includes boats and guide services if needed. We did our own "guiding" as we'd been previously: my second trip and the fourth trip for others. Edie and Ken and amiable and helpful and run a great lodge. I just can't say enough good things about the food prepared by Edie. She makes great entrees and her desserts were all "from scratch" and delicious. A great week. Clive

Last guy that said to me, "Shoulda got a Mac!" lost his Mac hard drive a few months later. Brought a warm sense of schadenfreude oer my inner being. ☺☺ Apple and Whole Foods are mere fashion statements like BC said. I suppose folks who bought the latest iPhone S6 something are already lined up for the next iPhone S7. ☺ In all fairness, Macs are good computers, but terribly over priced and no more reliable than most decent PCs. What was the question? Oh yeah, Win 10. MS, Win 10 and I are not BFFs ... overall Win 10 was fine until I got "critical error" on the Start menu...which is well documented fault and has affected thousands of computers starting last year and there has been no patch offered. So far, the error has not affected what I can do, but gimme a break MS. Fix the damn glitch.

Great move. Thanks for the post. Hope they get inundated with calls. Seems this should also apply to abuse of the old "14-day random camping" reg that was NEVER enforced....and peeps set up camps for 3 or 4 months. When these free-loading RV squatters invade streams for weeks on end and put water pumps in streams for wash water etc that should also be considered an abuse. "Book 'em Dano"

Yeah, blasting firearms in towns is a not a swell idea. The laws are regarding air rifles with a muzzle vel of < 500 fps are unclear. I have discharged an air gun in town to dispatch baby magpies. The RCMP website (2013) states "airguns ... are deemed not to be firearms for purposes of the Firearms Act and related offences in the Criminal Code." However, "....on Wednesday, November 5, 2014, the Supreme Court of Canada issued its ruling R. v. Dunn, finding that most air guns are considered “firearms” for all purposes in the Criminal Code except for licensing and registration." Very confusing.

Hilarious story. Thanks. Yes, critters are more tame because we are not allowed to shoot them...well, not legally.

I agree 100% with jpinkster, "Urbanization has created an environment where these "pests" can thrive." There is a modern-day tendency to always blame something for a perceived problem (climate change being the popular whipping boy) without proper analysis. There are indeed more problems with crows and magpies because society wants to protect (even) pests; population has doubled in 40 years; we've created better habitat thought trees and feeders. There are twice as many people (than there were ~40 years ago) to be affected by pests and also by any single event, say, such as a storm or fire or flood. Inappropriate urban planning is also a huge factor in increasing vulnerability. I digress. Praying for rain this weekend across Alberta.

Yup, coyotes too. Sometimes we give unfair advantage to critters and they become problems. This is why I hate crows....our bird bath at the summer place. Body parts of gophers (good) and goldfinches (not good). This happened twice and stopped once a nearby crows nest was taken down. Crows soak food items in water so that their growing young (nestlings) have ample water. When the crows nest was removed the problem was solved. But again this year, they are back in full force. We are not allowed to use even pellet air guns...not officially anyway.

What Don said too.... They are pests for sure and eat a LOT of small birds like goldfinches, house finches etc. bcube said, "maybe we're returning to a normal level of magpies and crows, since there's less of them being shot for being 'annoying'" I suspect our society have made life easier for them and no one is shooting them. Consider the things we do in southern Alberta to enhance their lives: road killed gophers by the thousands access to garbage...these are scavengers possibly enhance pops of small birds (food for them) in cities because of the tens of thousands of bird feeders and horticultural plantings enhanced nesting ops because of tree plantings..certainly applies in prairie towns and cities...more trees that before settlement...good nesting areas for crows and magpies. All four apply at our summer place: bird feeders, lots of uncontrolled gophers (food) in natural park ways, no shooting, plus hundreds of nesting trees where it was once prairie, So, we are not killing crows and magpies and yet we've given them many advantages and their populations increase.

First rate! Thanks. .

Off topic? Perhaps not at all. Your NDP government is about to embark on a multi-BILLION dollar plan WITH YOUR TAX MONEY to save the planet from life-giving carbon dioxide. They will enter into contracts that will pay KWh subsidies to TransAlta, Enbridge, Suncor, Capital Power (and all the other owners of wind farms) to increase unreliable wind and solar that WILL DO NOTHING TO REDUCE CO2. The NDP (Shannon Phillips in particular) is currently seeking bids for ineffective wind and solar projects and will enter into 20-year contracts that will use YOUR TAX DOLLARS! Your government does not give a rats ass about quadders, and enforcement. But goddammit, they are going to save us all from the ravages of some trace compound with your tax money! Think of how you could spend those wasted BILLIONS OF DOLLARS on protecting the environment...to enforce fishing regs, to crack down on illegal and damaging OHV use...just think what you could do with these billions to enhance and protect your trout streams. Three more years of this radical, Greenpeace-style nonsense!! I am not necessarily pro fossil fuels, but I am pro math. The NDP can't do math. None of their plans to force "unreliables" (aka, renewables) make any mathematical or engineering sense. Have a nice day! ☺☺ I'm going fishing. Clive

Agree that trees need to be harvested and they will come down, one way or another. The precip and tree species we have here do not grow "old growth" forest like the West Coast. Slightly off topic. This is an interesting read. Unbelievable fires in 1910. http://mountainlegacy.ca/research/documents/Annand-1910Fires-FinalReport.pdf 1919 was also another huge fire year. One covered 2.8 million hectares on the AB-SK border.

The Southern Alberta Council on Public Affairs (SACPA) has regular mtgs in Lethbridge and host a range of speakers. Visit the SACPA website: http://www.sacpa.ca This is a PSA only and I won't be replying to comments. Clive Will Coal Mining Once Again Impact the Crowsnest Pass Economy? Benga Mining Ltd has applied to the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) and Canada Environmental Assessment Agency (CEAA) for approval to develop a 4 million tonne per year metallurgical coal mine at Grassy Mountain, 8 km north of Blairmore, Alberta. The site of the proposed Grassy Mountain Coal Project is a historical open pit mine that operated from the late 1940’s to the early 1960’s. It will be the first coal mine in the Crowsnest Pass in 50 years and arguably bring much needed economic and social stimulus to the area over an anticipated 20 some years. The project, if approved, will produce high quality coking coal for the overseas steel manufacturing market. The Grassy Mountain Coal Project, like any resource development project, raises social, economic and environmental concerns. Many of these issues are addressed in the project application and supporting Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) document. The proposed project application and supporting EIA is currently undergoing both provincial and federal regulatory review which is expected to culminate in a joint (Federal-Provincial) Regulatory Review Panel Hearing within the next 18 months to decide if the project can proceed. The speaker will provide a brief description of the proposed Grassy Mountain Coal Project, including a bit of history of the site and its legacy. He will also briefly discuss the regulatory process underway and some of the key issues and concerns facing the project including how to manage the social license for resource development i.e. finding the balance between conflicting social, economic and environmental values before proceeding with resource development. Speaker: Cal Clark Cal Clark is responsible for environmental management, regulatory affairs, community engagement and First Nations collaboration as manager of sustainable development for Benga Mining Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of Riversdale Resources. Previously, Cal was with Cenovus Energy working on developing environmental management strategies to address key issues and enhance environmental performance related to their oil and gas operations. Cal holds a Bachelor of Science in Ecology (University of Guelph), and a Master of Education (University of Calgary) and has a career spanning more than 25 years in forestry, mining and energy sectors. Cal is married with three children and has recently relocated from Calgary to the Crowsnest Pass. Moderator: Knud Petersen Date: Thursday, January 7, 2016 Time: 12 - 1:30 P.M. (30 minutes each for presentation, lunch and Q & A) Location: Country Kitchen Catering (Lower level of The Keg) 1715 Mayor Magrath Dr. S Cost: $11 (includes lunch) or $2 (includes coffee/tea)

So soon we forget history. Many people can't see past last week or maybe a few years ago and have poor knowledge of the earth's history and view everything as "unprecedented." Must be the green-colored sunglasses, eh? It is easy to cherry pick one or two photos to "prove" either side: more trees or less trees. Sure some areas show blocks of logging...wait a few years and they WILL grow back...like ALL of the huge areas of greenery showing in the ML photo database. Remember there are NO old-growth forests here in the same sense as (say) Vancouver Island. The predominant species: poplar, pine, spruce and fir all have finite lives. Most don't live longer than a few decades...with only a few over 100 years. Insects, diseases and occasional droughts all take their toll...just like on people. Trees age and have a finite life span...something seemingly lost on many enviros. There is no debate about how should be logging is done and no doubt we can do better. But I am sure Shannon knows best as she seems to be a scientific expert on most things. But if you look at enough ML photos, it is readily apparent that overall there are far more trees in SW Alberta than 100 years ago. Well-managed logging, re-forestation, fire suppression and increased CO2 are all contributing factors. (As has been shown elsewhere the entire plant is greening despite rantings to the contrary. http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/GlobalGarden/ According to Shannon Phillip's forest managers, there are large areas in the SW that are developing into "fires waiting to happen" and one day we will see a huge fire that will make thew 2003 Lost Creek fire look like a weenie roast. Read about the SW fires of 1910 ... very interesting. http://mountainlegacy.ca/research/documents/Annand-1910Fires-FinalReport.pdf There is some good reading here. The discussion regarding the SW starts on page 29. On about page 35 or so, one gets the impression that the massive burns of 1910 were the start of the "fire suppression" mentality in Alberta. Onward. Clive

RE: aeration of POL Yesterday I rec'd the following note from E&P bio: Thanks for your message. I have seen, and as I’m sure you are aware the discussion about aeration is a live one. We are actively working on this file. I expect to have more information to discuss with you soon. It is being discussed. Shall see if POL can be aerated. "Dicky Birds and Snails get a sack full." Just wait until Shannon orders ACA to "do something" about climate change. She is on a huge ego and power trip and we are all going to pay and nothing will change except money will be diverted away from REAL environmental protection. Every million dollars wasted on imaginary climate solutions that stroke Shannon's ego will not be available for protection of fisheries and wildlife .... and hospitals for that matter. Clive

"I was going through 2 pairs of boots a year" It is patently clear that I am not fishing enough!!

Thanks for this great photo essay! Great stuff. You took it home in style. Clive

Three women: one engaged, one married, and one a mistress, are chatting about their relationships and decided to amaze their men by surprising them wearing black leather bras, stiletto heels and a mask. After a few days they meet up for lunch and compare notes... The engaged woman: The other night when my boyfriend came over he found me with a black leather bodice, stilettos and a mask. He saw me and said, 'You are the woman of my life. I love you.' Then we made love all night long. The mistress: Me too! The other night I met my lover at his office and I was wearing the leather bodice, heels, mask over my eyes and a raincoat. When I opened the raincoat he didn't say a word, but we had wild sex all night. The married woman: When my husband came home I was wearing the leather bodice, black stockings, stilettos and a mask over my eyes. As soon as he came in the door and saw me he said, 'What's for dinner, Batman?'