dryfly

Lynn slaps Dave

We could have used some redistribution of moisture wealth this summer. I am at my son's and can't believe the water in the fields--NW of Red Deer. I saw fields today that had not been planted--and simply soaked with small ponds. The RD River is high and muddy. Down south of Lethbridge they've not had appreciable rain since May. At the trailer lot near Cowley we had 40 mm of rain I think in early June and nothing for five weeks save a few drops here and there.

I'd guess that "Big John and the twins" were a little sore after as well.

Lovely Andrew, just lovely. I just want to know who is going to clean the partly digested breakfast off my keyboard?

Any body marks? A few years back we came upon a pool with several mergansers that flushed off. There were five of six dead trout in < one foot of water at the tail of the pool. Their bodies had "cut" marks which we presumed were the result of being caught by the mergansers. They have serrated bills ... sharp "lamellae" ... basically teeth .. for catching fish. We thought it odd that there were several dead fish all very dead, yet fresh and with the same minor but fatal wounds. I am guessing what we saw was mum and her kids and they'd been getting a lesson. I am wondering the same thing here. Just a S.W.A.G.!

"Toronna with a view "

(Prologue: Thanks for the comment. Oh geez, now I am in doo...your comment will elicit some wild and crazy responses. Taco?? I'm just a guy who likes to fish now and then ... Had you seen me break of two rainbows the other day ... I think the blue echos are still reverberating down the valley... ) I tested the Optio out the front window and it is only about ½ second too--if that. The delay is with the flash..that is painfully slow. (My old Nikon digital is 2 seconds!!) My beef with the Optio is the difficulty seeing the screen under bright sun ... it's "okay" but I'd prefer the viewfinder. Thanks again for the pix. Try it underwater. Fun stuff. Cheers! Clive

Thanks rickr. Looks good. Having a smaller waterproof digital is great for fishing. (Lugging a 3-pound DSLR is not fun.) Show us some underwater images when you get some. They are a tad tricky. I've found the best way is to put the camera on max wide angle--remember you can't see where you are shooting when holding the camera u/w. Need good light and clear (clear) water. Question. What is the "digital delay" time? When you took the rodeo pix, did you push the shutter and hope for the best? (Good rodeo pix, BTW!) Or is the shutter nearly instantaneous like a DSLR. (I've a new Pentax Optio W20 and it has least one second delay--maybe two. ZZzzz.) Good luck with the new camera. Clive

I wasn't having probs and now get tossed after every visit. Started at about 9:30 this evening.

Glad it turned out okay. Scary stuff.

The moment after....

I wonder how the closure of the cod fishery has affected the inland fisheries, like your brookie pond. Folks starved for fish are whacking brookies perhaps. I wonder. Have a great vacation on the Rock. Clive

esleech .. That is perhaps the most appropriate thread title ever, "The Real Greatest Outdoor Show On Earth." And people ask us whey we fly fish and let 'em go. "Couldn't have asked for a better day, and enjoyed the scenery and the solitude." Thanks for the great report. You are a wise man. Clive

Either a serious casting error or a badly matched line and rod. Casting is firm. Sounds like not enough power on the forward cast..... Problem: During the forward and back cast, too little power is applied to the rod. Without enough power on the back cast, the line will start to fall to the ground instead of straightening out behind. Without enough power on the forward cast, the line will pile up or the fly and leader will fail to straighten out properly. Solution: Apply more power to both the back and forward casts. Fly casting is delicate, but deliberate power must be applied to both forward and back cast. This solution is hard for people to grasp. It may be because fly-fishing is perceived as being gentle. It’s gentle in that the fly and leader—when dry-fly fishing—normally must land gently on the surface. But firm power must be applied to the back and forward casts to give proper direction to the fly line.

Hey girl...you copy it to DVD yet? Kidding. Kidding. Kidding. Please forgive me.

Not sure if details were posted here or not. Not much info here, but one wonders about a tube on a river. Buddy of mine tipped a tube on a lake once and would have been in real serious trouble had he been alone and in bad weather--we were able to row to him and get him to shore. He could not get upright. It was the second tipping for him so he slashed the tube and bought a PT. Clive

Yeah a hungry bull will eat that. Cool. I never ceases to amaze me how small a fish will eat a large streamer. Good luck. The next step is a fly this big.

It was more enjoyable and will be building another. Great stuff. Let me know when mine is done, and I'll come over and pick it up.

Thanks. My home page is here ... It's pretty messy ... lots of links (and links within those pages). Cheers, Clive

Failing all of the above .... First, with a soft/hard object (a dinner knife handle wrapped in cloth), super gently tap the offending ferrule section and then with two people gripping the sections with two hands firmly pull away and twist slightly in opposite directions. Good luck.

Outstanding. Congrats!

This is he and one of his buds...the 4X4 at the bottom is from the same area last fall... Their antlers will sprout for a couple of more weeks. Will be rather large by then. . .

Man there are a lot of huge deer in the Pincher area. This shot is not the best quality -- light was waning and I was handholding a 500-mm lens. This critter will make at least 4 by 5 and probably 5 by 5. Rack is huge and makes the head look small. Will try again in a couple of weeks to "shoot" this brute.

Nice fishy Lynn. Fat and pretty. We fished the Crow in Wed afternoon and it was sublime. Lots of willing rainbows in a relatively unfished reach. Thur was 37°C at the campground. Cooled down well at night--thank God. I played grumpa for three days with the kidlets....too damn hot to fish. Took kids to the Bellevue mine tour on Thur when it was a bazillion outside....7°C inside the mine. Brrrr....Also took GD and buddy to a small pond on Thur night..no fish....lotas caddisflies tho....the girls had a ball trying to cast.