dryfly

HA HA! HIP-HOP pants. Sheesh .. all you guys and gal take "smart ass" pills this morning?

A bigger size perhaps! I wore XYZ waders for a few years and they were bullet proof, but snug--tight even. They wore at the inseams and made it difficult to step up banks. I think they wore because of the snug fit. I now have a new pair sized (as Sears calls it) for a "mature fit" ..also called relaxed fit or simply "fat ass" fit. They are borderline baggy. But they are like wearing lounging pants. Loose (but not silly loose like clown pants or hip-hop pants) and easy to walk in and step up banks without getting tight anywhere. This "relaxed fit" concept is just great. You won't win any beauty contests in them, but who cares? Comfy.

Spun deer-hair frog... Ribbit!

Glen .. keep 'em coming. Nice pix so far. Your report was great.... "Did you bring some BAW's with you?" HA HA

alban___ ... pretty funny about the dyed pudding. "Apart from that gripe, Santa better get his ass in gear and deliver a new Greys GRXi waist length fishing waistcoat, a pair of sock foot breathables, compound sole wading boots, 2 Greenheart 6 weight reels, 6 Metz saddles and some hooks!" AND "People overspend on everything and spend the rest of the year paying it off..." LS ... when you find the pots and pans..try making rice-crispy squares with craisins (dried cranberries) in the mix. Yummy.

Good eye GB "Twin anal fins." Howz NZ treating you? Nice pix BTW ... Harps..see if you can get it. Use any excuse. It would be fun--even with the inaccurate structure--but I really don't want it in my garage.

We were parked for an eternity at the RR X-ing on the Crowsnest Trail yesterday--waiting for a mile-long train at 3 kph! ZZZzzzz. Anyway, buddy was in front of me. Too funny. I got out and took some pix and yakked with him for a while. I asked him if I could get it after the promo and gave him a card--was not his call. I shoulda told him that adc drives a Tundra, eh? Would be sort of fun to have... Yeah ... something else to store in the garage. Other than the confusing patterning on the brown-trout-come-brookie, anyone see the major design flaw? Harps you are disqualified here.

So? She'll have a photographer there and you can see the pix when you get back. Gonna be cold anyway.

Wes .. If you have TWO cigars, I'll come no matter how cold..or not. I quit in July but smoked a few while we were at Whitetail in Sept. Quit since then. I could be talked into a good cigar on the solstice. And if it is -20°C ... I'll have DBT's sawbuck to buy one.

"I'll pray for your Christmas wish....." You're a doll. Thanks. I'll do the same. RE: BT shipping ... Pack them real good in a shoe box with paper towels. Send on Greyhound to the Coaldale station. Have them call when they are in. Phone is 403-345-6457. Send them on about Monday as I'll be away for a couple of days...will be here when I get home. Yum. I should get Blondie on the cheese sticks soon. You know? ... in case the recipe is not quite right and she has to make three or four batches to get them perfect! I'm a cheese stick wh*re. Even if they are not perfect, I still like 'em. ... I missed something dear to my stomach. Fresh roasted (high-end) chestnuts. GOOD ones are impossible to get in Canada--they are just not fresh. It's been years since I've been able to buy good ones. If you have never eaten roasted, high-quality chestnuts ... well, they are delicious.

DBT .. I got a fin at 2 to 1 that sez it will be well below fishing temps. I'm thinking -20 or more by late December. Not warmer than -10 on Dec 22. Wanna risk ten bucks on it? I lose $5 or you lose $10. You on? La Nina looms. Coldest winter in South America in decades. La Nina will rear her chilly arse soon.

Okay .. I officially do not like Christmas. Got that? It is a pain in the ass. Sposed to bring out the good in all and it just seems to end up magnifying the bad. I literally hate it and have for decades. I am so happy when January 2 rolls around. The last two weeks of December simply suck. I am glad I am working on a gig so I can be busy during C'mas this year. Bah! HOWEVER ... I am not a total a$$hole nor Scrooge, so there are faint glimmers of good in it. So acknowledging the utter hypocrisy in it all here goes: 1) Food factors large in what's good about C'mas. Rusty..good one. Mince tarts that my mother made were excellent. Butter tarts. Tianna...butter tarts are cosmic but they HAVE to be frozen. Willie does not make them anymore as they are so fattening and have loads of eggs. We don't miss them. Mail me a few and I'll not refuse them. So ... years ago, we'd keep the BTs in the freezer downstairs and when I was commanded to procure said BTs from the b'ment., I'd always sneak a couple before heading back upstairs. You know they were always in little tin foil cups right? When we moved houses in '99 ... our youngest son to this day swears there were 87 empty BT tin cups behind the freezer. Me? My wife (Willie... good dutch name, huh Taco?) makes cheese sticks that are divine. We get this great McLaren's extra old cheddar in the red tubs (yum!) and she whips up these cheese sticks. Heaven! I am practically drooling on the keyboard! I love dark C'mas fruit cakes--it does not like my stomach though. My mother made an English steamed C'mas pudding... Oh god it's been at least over 40 years since I had that. 2) Decorations. Not yet, as she is in painting mode for a couple of more days. By the end of November, our house looks like Sears. Stuffed Xmas mooses, quilted poinsettia wall hangings, Santa Clauses ... Oh you name it, we've got three of each and Willie made 'em all. They do look nice. 3) Rum question.... Pretty much whenever the fancy strikes you I guess. Has to be after 9 AM. 4) Wish? Just some private thoughts on this matter. Lynn ... you know. Cheers! Clive PS: Dave I posted that well before its time..hit wrong key. Had some good things to say...

I think we should do it on Saturday officially .. more can come then. AND if we are up to the task and the weather is okay we can go on the official solstice day (Friday) just to ward of any evil repercussions from the fish gods--we can't be pissing anyone off now can we? Then we are covered. I'll see if I can make a "poster" in the next couple of days. I am still taking bets on cold weather tho.

Wes the solstice fish out was correct last year -- we had the date right in '06. The exact moment of the solstice is when the earth's tilt reaches a maximum, stops and starts its return tilt--resulting in longer days in the N hemisphere. Even tho we are still in for three more months of the shack nasties. As you know, the earth has 24 time zones and just because the solstice is on (say) a Wed in England (GMT..zulu time) does not mean that is its Wed here yet. Just like this year. The solstice is at 6:08 AM on Saturday Dec 22 at the prime meridian, i.e. Greenwich (pron. Grenich) or GMT in England and all other world regions in that time zone. But that is 23:08 Dec 21 MST here. So the moment of the change is on Dec 21 in this time zone. We should all be most nervous messing with the gods on this matter and we technically are breaking some cosmic rules by pretending the solstice is on Saturday Dec 22 --- when the earth starts its tilt change at 11:08 PM on Dec 21. It is not good to mess with these things you know ... could bode poorly for the 08 fissin' season. However, if enough folks want it on Saturday Dec 22 ... then so be it. I am guessing we will have to bag it this year anyway. It's gonna be cold cold cold by late December. adc is cranky about caving to the masses -- he's already emailed me from China about this. So we may go the day before anyway ... to appease the gods and get everyone off the hook.

At $9K for the pair, I am guessing not gonna happen .. AND/OR

I've not used a spey so have to be careful here. They DO seem like a ton o' fun and look great on a large river. However, I do not think they are practical for things like pike fishing where there are prospects of landing larger pike that you want to manage quickly and release. I fish a lake full of smaller pike and the extra casting distance they might afford would be of great use on some evenings when wade fishing. Back to large pike in a lake from a PT. You said, "you have the advantages of being able to plant the rod butt into your hip and use two hands to haul hard" True, but at some time you have to strip in the line or wind in the reel with one hand. It requires twice as much arm hauling with the single arm because of the extra rod length. "directional changes that you can place on the fish will tire it quickly " This makes no logical sense since the rod is a third class lever that requires more power to affect any movement--albeit that movement covers a greater distance. When a large pike decides it is going that way .. well, it goes that way. It goes wherever it wants. They generally do not cover large distances, but they are unstoppable even with a short rod. They would less stoppable with a longer rod. "let the rod do the work." The arm ultimately does the work. And now I am trying to visualize trying to power in a 15-pound pike with a 13-foot rod when you are alone in a PT. It will be very difficult to control the fish and also be in charge enough to get it up close for releases at the edge of the PT. Even when wade fishing this could be most difficult when alone. I can see this being a two-person operation. "However, the real advantage in using two handers, is in the casting control, using a variety of tips and large flys, great presentations at a distance which improves stealth, excellent line control and the fast, powerfull hook sets that are achievable at 75'-85' and even more, which are important when using large hooks for big fish.....Longer drifts means your fly covers more water, with fewer casts and ultimately results in more fish landed. Two handed Spey casts are also possible with little or no backcasting room, which allows you to fish spots that other flyroders pass up." Yeah, all of that makes sense. I can see their advantages for some situations where distance is required and they look like a lot of fun. They would be of advantage on rivers like the OM below the dam ... and the Bow of course. Thanks for the info. Cheers! Clive

From the acrchives .. forgot about this....maybe 5 years ago ....

"Gilda Radner" .. oooh close to the pope. Brings back fond memories of SNL ... WAY back, eh? Neil Young ... Jerry Garcia ... Nice.

maxwell .. Sorry, no can do. The spot is .. well, it's an awkward situation and generally not open .. small pond...blah blah blah. TM you wrote, "Seriously though, when the fish comes in to be craddled, you point the rod behind you and swing em in, just like you do with a one hander." Seriously though, I am having trouble understanding the physics here. A fishing rod is a "third class lever" in which "the effort expended is greater than the load, but the load is moved a greater distance. In other words, effort is sacrificed in order to gain distance." So we need more force than the resistance from the fish. And herein lies the rub. Okay, let's say I've hung a 20-pound pike in my PT and now have to yard it in close. But it's the last few meters where they get all pissy and want nothing to do with being near a PT. This is when they tow you around and generally are most unhappy with their immediate life situation. (I've a video tape--somewhere--of me hanging on to an 8-pound pike on a stiff rod. The pike is swimming up on the surface and TOWING a 16-foot Lund with two guys in it!!) I just can't see being able to manage a large pike with such a long rod. And this is aggravated in my case because I have skinny arms with little strength--in opposition to my not skinny overall body mass. (I'm in shape. Round is a shape. ) I've trouble moving a large pike with a stiff, 9-foot G. Loomis--that has the approximate stiffness of a 2 by 2 board. Can you enlighten me in the spey rod physics here. Heck, they've been around salmon rivers (like the Spey River) forever. And salmon kick up a fuss for sure. Wassup? Thanks and Cheers! Clive

Oldman TU Chapter meets tonight, Wed 21. 1) Starting at 6 PM, there will be a fly tying session for anyone interested. Assorted flies will be demonstrated. You are welcome to bring your tying gear. Lots of time for Q&A ... lots of fun. 2) The main program will start at 7:30. See link below . Oldman TU meeting Wed 21

: ) DBT has it figured, "Alberta style...just push the ice out of the eyelets....GENTLY!!" Also falls under the general category of "Suck it up princess." Actually, ice is manageable down to -5 or so without being too much of a PITA.

I'd say we have a winner -- unless someone has a picture of themself with the pope. Nice work BBT. As for you Weedy ...

Oh crap TM, I already wear a hard hat, face mask and jock strap with a "cup" when chucking 7-inch, 5/0 streamers. I could be classed as a WMD if I used a spey rod for pike. Scary thought. I've been ignoring the spey trend. A tad confused--it takes so little. How the hell would you land (say) a 40-inch pike with a 13-foot rod? Yellow hard hat. Yellow spey rod. Orvis would be after us for endorsements.

Toolman: "Then you will be Cool...just like us...." Too funny. rickr: When you reach a certain age .. you know, sometime after 40 .. well, you are already as cool as it gets and so you don't need neon rods. Old is very cool. But just in case that does not work I wear funny hats that are so dorky they have to be cool. Clive