Ricinus

I think MTB meant go west thru Caroline to Burnstick Lake Rd,, then south to Beaver Lake. Regards Mike

Hi Rick, I did a search on mono and you are correct, mono takes up to 600yrs to decompose. Couldn't find anything on floro but I imagine its the same. I guess it's back to horsehair and gut if you want to make a difference. Regards Mike

Sounds like everybody has had better luck with floro than me. The other thing about floro that bothers me is it's indestructible. Bits and pieces of this stuff are going to be littering our waters for generations and I'm not sure it's benefits outweigh this problem. Regards Mike

I found that when I tied Vanish to a regular mono leader, I got a lot of breakage at the knot. I used a triple surgeon's knot and it appeared the floro cut thru the mono. Regards Mike

That's probably true to a certain point, but if you have a big fish sulking at the bottom in a fast current I think you need a little backbone to haul him out of there. Regards Mike

I haven't fished since October, You guys are killing me!! Regards Mike

Another problem is the tankless heaters have trouble keeping up with a high demand for hot water. As long as you are only using one appliance at a time or only having a shower, they work fine, but doing two things at once they can't meet the demand. The other problem that was mentioned to me is they waste a bit of water waiting for them to heat up the flow. Both the salesman and the plumber recommended against them until they improve. This was 2yrs ago Regards Mike

Watched a Fishing Tournament on WFN with guys using these rods. 50+ ft long http://www.bosfish.co.uk/PRODUCTS/POLES/br874pole.htm Regards Mike

You might try the Calgary Horticultural Society for info (I think they have a web site). I read some where that Honeycrisp is rated zone 4 only because it hasn't been tested in zone 3. Trying to find one might be a problem as they were somewhat scarce. Regards Mike

Three Rules of Geezerism Always write things down Never pass a urinal Never trust a f*rt Regards Mike

If Don's testing comes up positive, I think this changes from a F&W problem to an environmental and health concern. You would now have a bunch of Govt Depts involved that do have the funding to take on further testing. Scientific studies do not sway politicians as much as public opinion, and if it is found that toxins are leaching into the water system, more than fisherman are going to be raising an uproar. I think the trick here is to take the onus off of Don to prove something is wrong and put it on the Govt to prove there isn't. Regards Mike

Hi Don Not sure what to hope for- find nothing ,back to square one- find something, what the hell can be done about it. In any event, Thanks for taking the initiative. Do you know if SRD has ever taken a fish and had it analyzed? Being at the top of the food chain, I would think that some of this stuff would be accumulated in the trout? Maybe something to look at down the road. Regards Mike

Hi Don, I think Lee Valley is known worldwide for quality and customer service. On top of the woodworking tools, the gardening stuff is equally good. The old story -- buy quality cry once, buy junk cry often. Leonard Lee's book on sharpening is the bible on the subject of how to sharpen just about anything. I bought the DVD Trout Grass and actually the slide show on your link is even better. Regards Mike

Lee Valley. I'm no longer allowed to go there unaccompanied. Regards Mike

I wouldn't be surprised if the collapse of the Walleye fishery has led to the reduction of licences sold. As for crowding, it seems to be more of a problem on easily accessible waters. For what ever reason a lot of Farmers and Ranchers are not allowing access thru their property which forces more pressure on waters accessed thru public land. Regards Mike

I have seen some of the rarer feathers on Ebay and shake my head. But the final products are works of art and its nice to see that someone is keeping the traditions alive. Regards Mike

Tako I think for an Albertan to fight a summons in BC, it would a pretty expensive proposition. By the time you factor in all the costs, it just not worth it. Simpler just to avoid the problem in the first place and use flies that aren't questionable. We'll leave the fight to you guys. Regards Mike

You might want to tie up some dry flys too. I don't know if they are that effective in the spring, but one never knows. Regards Mike

Would you let us know what the reply is? I'm curious to hear the response. Thanks Mike

A couple of things I would add to the mix are size and weight. Be sure to have some weighted flies because sometimes you have to get down on some fast water. Also have a variety of sizes because Steelhead can get spooky especially in clearer water. Like Don said, the trick is finding the fish as there are not many of them, so figuring out where steelhead like to lie and being able to read the water are more important than fly selection. It can be frustrating at first, but when you hook up you will know why people get obsessed about steelheading. Remember they are just BIG Rainbow Trout. Regards Mike

I think most of the rivers around Smithers are closed til the end of April, I can't find the Regs to check for you. You will probably have to go to the Terrace/Kitimat area to find Rivers that are open. Regards Mike

Canadian Tire carrys a couple different styles in thier boating department. Regards Mike

I tie my own flies so I can spend thousands of dollars on materials instead of hundreds on flies Regards Mike

Yeah, I found those guys too. I found a spare spool for my Hardy Golden Prince on Ebay, so I'm waffling back and forth. It annoys the hell out of me that a Canadian reel is 100+$ cheaper in the States. Guess I'll have to take my business south of the border. Regards Mike

If you can't find it locally, I would recommend Andy Snedden in Victoria. http://www.rodbuildersupplies.com/index.php Regards Mike