bcubed

better yet, bumping a 2 month old bump to 'get this straight' Really, all the Bow needs is more boat launches. Our infrastructure for fishing is laughable. If you could throw a boat in at 17th ave, douglasdale, cottonwood, it would open so much river and different floats up, and move people around. Our main issue is that for the vast majority of anglers, is that police to mac is the only real stretch that they'll fish, therefore condensing all the anglers. Less of an issue, as it is something that makes me scratch my head, is the jet boaters that use there jets to hang out with the drifters all day... I don't think i'd fish a day above mack if i was under power, and i'd spend many many days below carseland.

ding ding ding

dear lord...size 2/0s for trout? Are you trying to catch them, or brain them so they are easier to land? Actually thinking to yourself that 'you're not doing considerable damage with mortality' due to the population size of the Bow as a reason to use a 2/0 is repulsive. For trout I'd suggest size 4 and smaller as the trailer. This is more then enough for ALL trout, regardless of 'chasing the big guys'. There is really no need to be fishing double hooks. If you're so hard pressed to land a fish, technique is going to do a lot more for you then adding more pointy bits. I'll certainly play the precautionary principle card on this one. I use mustad 3407 DT for shanks. Cut the hook off, and use a small stinger. You can get these in pretty well any size, so if you're tying a large fly, just go to a bigger 3407 (and cut off the hook..). The point of a stinger is that you have a small hook shank, such that it is harder to become a lever to pop out of the fish. Big Dirty's fly looks plenty capable, and isn't of ridiculous gape size.

My buddy BBT is a bit of a hack...

Right tool for the right job...I have 2 speys, a switch, and 5 single hands. You won't see me breaking out any of the speys/switches unless i'm on the west coast

Landing a size 18 softly is a different story then delivering a size 18 softly to a dinner plate sized target at 30-40 feet, without frightening the fish.. The fact of the matter is that a switch or two handed rod won't do virtually everything. Including those fish tipping on tricos at 100 feet in the middle of the river...........

I'd suggest finding a pair of Simms riversheds, and size them down to fit right without a wafer. Bring what you'd normally wear to a fly shop and figure it out. Could be a bit tough to go no neoprene just due to the width of wading boots

I'd suggest skipping the boots and going with a Simms sandal, but that's just me

Ya I have a gopro as well. Hasn't been out of my pack in a year

What rod? What are you planning on using it for? Need lots more info to dial it in for ya

I had better luck getting a seat replaced from them then I did getting an email replied to from WM... I'd take a good hard look at the Assault X in the trading section. I have the XX and would probably prefer to go for the X now, if I didn't occasionally have a second person with me

I'd wait for the fishing expo. Most major brands will be there so you can see them in person. Take a look at the Scadden Assault as well

Eastern rises is probably the best fishing flick put out in a very long time... Plus no AEG 'woe is me' bs

Unless you're seeing consistent rises, from here till April it's nymph time... If you're seeing a fish working on midges on top, then throw a dry. You'd probably raise the odd fish throwing blind right now, but pretty doubtful.

Likely midges at this time of year

Personally, kool aid is pretty wasteful as you're paying for something like 95% flavoring, 5% dye. Rit is also a dye mix, so again hard to be consistent I'd get some Jacquards Acid Dye (shuttleworks just south of Calgary carries it). Comes in a ton of colors, is very inexpensive and one small bottle will last you pretty well a lifetime. You can also be far more consistent when doing future dying, as you know the exact portion of dye being used. I've dyed many hundred polar bear patches, and have had great results using Jacquards. Id expect snowshoe to be similar. I use a large pot (not a good one), and a instant read thermometer. You don't want the water to get too hot as you'll ruin the hide. Id rather dye at 140F for longer then at 160 for longer. I've got most of my recipes down and typically doing the bath between 20-60 minutes, depending on how deep of a color I want. As Doc said, wash them well before hand. The biggest thing is the acid. I'm not shy about using a lot of vinegar as it's not strong enough to damage the fur, and is the only thing that sets these dyes. I put the acid in the bath about halfway through Biggest thing is take notes so you know what worked and didn't in the future

Just do some moderate trolling... He always seems around when I need a slap on the wrist

Born in BC but moved here by the time I could start remembering. Been fly fishing for nearly 20 years (not bad for a guy in his mid 20s). Got way more into it through high school and university. Worked in a fly shop and guided through university. Now a "real" job doing Environmental Consulting work. Really spend all my time trying to get out west for steelhead fishing...never enough time

I just bought an integrated 300 gr ultrafast sink tip, and cut the tip back to 12 feet long. Anything longer is going to be too long to be effective at manipulating your line, especially since the rod is shorter. I don't like looping sink tips on single hand rods as you can feel the hinge when you're casting. I'd also say that 95% of my fishing is using the floating line that comes with the Bass rod. No sinktip is going to beat 5 or 6 split shot at the eye of the fly. It will handle any bull trout if you know how to pull on fish. The rod has a very strong butt end, so make sure you make the rod do the work. Bulls are hardly renowned fighters, so all you have to do is know how to apply pressure. Odds are you'll be fishing pretty heavy leader, so just reef on em. There was a lot of guys using that rod (and the 330 gr Largemouth) as a Baby Tarpon rod. You'll be fine.

Spey rods are really really shitty at one thing in particular, and that is stripping. I've done a LOT of bull trout fishing (and a ton of Spey fishing)!and most of my success for them has been while stripping. Spey rods are truly unwieldy when trying to use them to strip flies back in, especially if you're trying to do it at any reasonable speed.. Good for swinging, not ideal for stripping. Considering that the elk really isn't that large, I think you'll be frustrated if you're stripping for them. Also, to be able to toss a good size bull trout fly (say a Chuck and Duck), you're going to need in the range of a 600 gr skagit, especially if planning on using a sink tip. When I was in Mongolia, the Spey guys are fishing similar fly size and tips are using 9-10 weight speys, with 700-750 gr skagits (and no, it's not just due to size of the fish) to be able to turn over the flies. Spey fishing comes down to one thing, and that is mass turns over mass. To compare it to steelheading, most steelhead flies are a lot smaller and certainly less heavy than most effective bull trout flies. Personally I bought one of the Sage Smallmouth Bass 290grs. They're built to turn over big bass flies, and have no issue putting a 300 gr sinktip on when I want to get really deep. Short height helps with overhanging trees, etc. also a great pike rod. Whichever way you go, improving your casting will improve your success over any gear change

Bow should be shut above 22 to avoid the whole situation of trying to avoid redds. But NIMBY for losing a couple months of fishing on a small stretch of river. Scel, when I was assisting on the Elbow Riv redd survey a few years ago, there was one patch that was probably 40 redds all together. Only so much good terrain for them to spawn, they'll make it happen where they can

And try to resist targeting bulls! They are already doing the dance (and have been for a while)

Considering how most boatmen legs are approximately as long as the boatmen body is long, those seem like overkill, but easy enough to trim if they don't work.

Think you're not looking enough, I've seen cormorants for as long as I've fished the bow, from Glenmore to Carseland . Maybe they're getting bigger numbers due to the otter population...

Lotsa loons in BC are trained to hear reels squealing and typically show up in a big hurry