dryfly

Thanks rickr. Also thanks to Jeffro for his first-hand insights.

rickr... I can never do that. Har har. I don't drink, BUT would love to chat some day -- on a river somewhere maybe. I think "big oil" is basically "bad" and we all are getting royally screwed by them all of the time. Like right now with the obscene gas prices while THEY make huge multi-billion-dollar profits. Royal Dutch Shell made a mere $9 billion in the first quarter. And I am paying for that bullshit. We all are except a lot of folks make BIG bucks in the patch--well above other industries. So "they" pay at the pumps, but they also get huge salaries. But in this instance, it is grossly unfair to peg the "tar sands" as bad while many sectors of society are all major contributors to (in this case) bird deaths. This case is "acute" and visible. The millions of bird deaths from many other causes is spread around and mostly hidden. We are all implicated indirectly or directly in bird deaths. Whatever the actual (ridiculously high) figure is on bird morts from cats does not matter. Cats kill hundreds of millions of birds annually in North America. But it is not seen, it is spread out and basically ignored. The rev's cat from three houses down skulks around the neighborhood all day long lurking in the bushes--it ain't digging worms. But no one says a thing about these vermin "invasive" pets. ("But it is not MY cat!" Yeah sure honey.) rickr, you are bang on ... this MOST unfortunate event is instantly pegged by eco weenies as "big bad oil" and you are spot on when you say, "The company screwed up, hopefully they will fix it and move on." Yeah, fix it and do everything possible to make sure it does not happen again-- too often anyway.

THIS IS INDEED UNFORTUNATE, but must be put in perspective. See the chart. BIG killers of birds include windows, high tension wires, pesticides, communications towers and cats. Yes, Muffy, and her kin eat an estimated 500,000,000 dickie birds in North America annually--and even if the estimates are out by 100 percent. The fact is that cats eat a LOT of birds! And of course wind turbines kill birds too. (Yes, those darlings of the eco weenies everywhere... !#$!% turbines!) So while Suzukians are driving their hybrid cars to eco meetings, owning pussy cats and and buying green-friendly (NOT!! ) wind power THEY too are killing birds. Bastards eh, just like you and me and those bad-ass tar sands sonsabitches. It is ALL about perspective. I don't like the bird deaths any more than anyone else here, but it is all about reality of daily life. We all interact in the environment that sometimes (always actually) harms critters. Facts of life. We can hope this event will forces changes in how they operate up there. Now where's my gun? ... there's a cat on the front lawn eating a robin!! You can read about pussy here ... There would be an estimated 500,000 (or well more) domesticated and ferral cats in Alberta that would kill hundred of thousands of birds annually...figures suggest even a few million.

No pickerel in those lakes ... whitefish, pike and walleye. Badger is about (what?) 75 minutes SE of YYC .... near Lomond. Some pike pigs in there. You can fish close to the western shore so a tube would be okay BUT beware of the wind on all of our southern reservoirs.

Lynn .. welcome home. Pretty funny. I sposed you missed the ice age last week eh Lynn?! Harps, you got the wrong item. This is an item SPECIFICALLY about the "North Pole" and ice melting. They showed penguins on an ice flow with voice over talking about melting ice in the "NORTH POLE." It is media BS at its very worst...well, just more of the same media BS hype we are used to.

Hilarious Terry! Good to see you this weekend. Clive

Ever wonder if the media screws with your brain when reporting on GW? Check this news clip out ... wait to 47 seconds. If NBC has not withdrawn it yet you will see PENGUINS!! Yes penguins in the Arctic. It HAS to be true! It is in the media. Rock on media ... and keep up the factual reporting work! :P :P

bh is 20 minutes from Elkwater. That can't be much of a problem. Probably depends on where you are staying, eh? But BH is closer or as close as Reesor with its reportedly small rainbows and suckers.

Thanks to the Calgary crew that came down ... much appreciated. Guito and the conclave committee bust their tails pulling this off. Thanks to all! Would been nice to see a few more at the clave, but those that attended had a great time and lots was learned. It was fun. I may even start tying my own leaders and may have to consider a Spey rod. I could do that. The dinner was a full house with some 180 to 190 in attendance. The final $$ tally won't be in for a few days, but generally the auction went well. A few prints went for a song, but some went very well and the trips were well supported. Then there was the silent auction and a gajillion raffle items -- none of which I won. BTW .. the Stream Watch raffle was drawn...no winners from this message board. (Including me.) We made over $4K on the Stream Watch raffle! Thanks to everyone who helped!!!

Here's how to do pike more or less boneless.

Bump .. C'mon...just cuz the Kipper faded in the end. :lol: $200 anyone? Go Canes Go!!

adc uses this one....

Noted. Thanks rusty.

Bump. You YYCers really down on the Flames now that they are about to burn to San Jose, eh? Someone must wanna signed goalie stick for fifty bucks. If we erase Kipper's autograph maybe we can get more.

The Oldman River chapter of TU is holding a conclave, dinner and auction on Saturday April 26 ... see here. Funds raised go toward projects in the Oldman drainage and toward Stream Watch in SW Alberta. Guito arranged for an autographed Miikka Kiprusoff goalie stick This is Kiprusoff brand stick.See picture. Thanks Guito..great work!! We are accepting pre auction bids here. Here's how it will work. Place your "maximum" bids here. We will accept bids here up until 6 PM on April 26. The HIGHEST bid (only the highest bid) will be used at the live auction on April 26 just like the eBay "maximum bid." A TU exec will carry the FFC bid. Say the highest maximum bid (here on FFC) is $300. The live auction bidding starts at (say) $100. The hidden bid will be held by one of the OM TU exec who will then bid $150...and so on. If the last bid is by the hidden FFC bidder at (say) $250 then the sticks goes to the FFC bidder. However, if the bidding is active and surpasses the FFC bid of $300 then the FFC bidder does not win. So the FFC maximum bid is the maximum that the bidder is willing to pay. The stick MAY go for less. Only one the highest) maximum bid will be carried forward from here to the live auction. Got that? THE OTHER OPTION IS TO BY A DINNER TICKET AND COME ON DOWN. TABLE OF EIGHT FOR $300!! Here tis! (Sweater NOT included...)

Go get 'em men! Kidding. Congrats to the finalists. Terry..show those young pups how to tie!

Boy THAT was hard ... sort of like choosing between the top and bottom pictures here ... (As one of the entrants going down in flames, I am allowed this post!) AND

Hey, thanks to all. No fishing today. Got up at 5 AM and we went to the trailer later and stayed till 4 PM...dinner with the grandrats, son and DIL. I did manage to squeeze in 122 pictures along the way tho. Thanka to all! Clive

Oldman River Chapter, Trout Unlimited Conclave, Banquet & Auction April 25 and 26, 2008 Lethbridge College Barn and Lethbridge College OPEN TO ALL !! Join us Friday 7 p.m. for a Beer and Pizza Social. Meet new fly-fishing friends, watch fly tying demonstrations and watch a video presentation. The Conclave starts Saturday morning at 9 a.m. April 26th. There will be an opening address and then choose from 4 concurrent sessions that will run for the rest of the day until 4 p.m. There will be lots of fly tying demonstrations and you can enter a fly tying or photography competition. At 6 p.m. Saturday night join us for a buffet dinner and auction. A small live auction, many silent auction and various items will be available. Come and support trout habitat. PLEASE DO NOT PM ME FOR INFO...PLEASE CONTACT THOSE LISTED. Tickets $80 for Conclave, Banquet & Auction $40 for Banquet & Auction ($300 table of 8) Children under 14 accompanied by adult $20 (conclave) Tickets available through the dinner committee: Kelly Oikawa 394-1561 kelly.oikawa@gmail.com Blair Spence, 329-6076 blairspence@shaw.ca Peter DeGorter, 381-1912 degorter@telus.net Henry Komadowski 328-2409 Richard Burke, 320-2925 grburke@shaw.ca Schedule of events Friday April 25 7 to 10 PM — Beer and Pizza Social at the DA Barn (Lethbridge College) demos booths and displays video entertainment raffles view and vote for fly tying and photography competition Saturday April 26 conclave schedule … 9 AM until ~ 4 PM There will be four concurrent one-hour sessions running all day. • coffee and snacks at 8:30 • demos • displays and booths • Lunch included in conclave price Concurrent session topics and/or demos Fly tying demos Casting clinics Insect identification Bullshead and chironomid techniques Outdoor and Fly-fishing photography Fly-fishing for pike Beer making Entomology and fly fishing Intro to fly-fishing Fly fishing Belize Leaders and knots Rod building Reading water And more!! Presenters: Allan Caldwell Blair Spence Clive Schaupmeyer Dave Bloom Henry Komadowski Kelly Oikawa Paul Harper Peter deGorter Richard Burke Rolf Schwabe Tim Bloomfield Vic Bergman Dinner and auction 6 PM at the DA Barn Lethbridge College 6:00 pm: cocktails 7:00 pm: buffet dinner from Sven Erickson’s Silent auction all evening Live auction to follow dinner Various raffles “Streamwatch Grand Raffle” Announcement of fly tying and photography contest winners CONTEST DETAILS HERE... PLEASE DO NOT PM ME FOR INFO...PLEASE CONTACT THOSE LISTED. Thanks, Clive

Escaped from a merganser, pike or poacher. (Or got drunk on Saturday Night and fell down the stairs.) Some critter probably. Seem to be teeth marks behind the main trauma.

Sweet. That's a lifetime memory for you barnes. Those will make you misty one day--guaranteed.

Be a good companion in bear country...heck even I could out run her.

I figured I was goin' down anyway... Now it is a given. Ol' crash and burn Clive.

No scary screams here ... Just to help everyone lighten up! The bricklayer's song!!