theiceman2

I think you missed the piont, I am pretty sure people from every walk of life smoke weed, drink and smoke. It was just funny to see two totally seperate groups disrespecting the river interact. One was bait fishing with downriggers and the other was ripping up and down the river on quads. I never guessed the quad would break the bait fishermans rod and the bait fisherman would tangle the quad. Its was irony at its best.

Fishing on the Oldman this weekend. Multiple times groups of Redneck Quadders ripped thru the river above me; one even had a trailer pulling kids. The pool would go milky for about an hour and then the dry fly action would start up again. Needless to say it was frustrating. Then these two Hillbillys pull up in their truck and set up camp. They proceed to rig up their canadian tire specials attached to the trees on 40 - 100lbs test with down riggers and bells, all long lined from their fire pit to the big pool. I counted four lines total all running into the pool. They stoked their fire, drank rum and cokes and smoked canadian classic ciggs and asked about three times is we had any weed. Well back come the quadders after a full day, right thru the top of the pool, 40lb test all in their face, tangled in the wheels, and burning on the hot exaust. The pool went cloudy again but I continued to fish and laugh my ass off because before this I didn't realize there was a difference between Rednecks and hillbilly's.

I know in NB you apply for a license for salmon and you are assigned a string of pools if you are sucessful. I think that would be alittle over kill for a trout stream. I do believe the regs should be catch and release only for starts.

Pretty smart to blur the river bank.

http://www.campingalberta.com/highcountry/highcmap.pdf

vote 2 for charcter. You could hit it wit a small dab of car touchup paint, but dont do the whole thing.

I second the Jumpingpound, lots of very small cutties out there and easy access. Not really your sport fishing waters, but great to get her started and keep her attention. PM me is you want access details, rig set up ect. Matt

Good on ya! Can I ask what was the one biggest thing you changed? Matt

Thanks everyone for the feed back. I did manage to get out yesterday, and after all consideration, I picked up the SA GPX. Mike at Bow River Trout Fitters walked me thru every line they had in the store and that was the finial out come. Thanks for everyone's feed back and thanks again Mike. PS they have a few spools of Orvis in 6 and 7 weight on for half price @ BRTF if anyones interested. No 5wt's though, and I didn't feel like over lining. Matt

Its time for a new line, any recomendations? 5 weight med-Fast action rod (Sage Flight), I do lots of nymphing but I also like to throw a dry fly and the odd streamer. I am leaning towards the GPX, simply because it seems like a no gimmic line that is an all purpose line...Would love to hear feed back. Matt NOTE TO SELF: STUDDED WADING BOOTS AND COILS OF LINE AT YOUR FEET ARE A BAD COMBO

I don't know why you guys are gong thru all the trouble, you someone should just call a tow company to "remove an illegally parked RV". They would love to take it out of there. The owner has to pay fo the tow fee or the RV would not be returned.

That is the most redic thing I have ever seen! They all say fishable, but I wouldn't be casting those.

The biggest piss off here is the river was perfect and in the midst of the biggest Stone hatch I had ever seen.

High Stream Flow Advisory have been issued for the Bow River and Oldman River dranage basins. See the link below. http://environment.alberta.ca/forecasting/...casternotes.pdf

I just think it will got caught in the vest zippers less, thats the seller for me. The only downside I can see if they dont look repairable, at leaset with a traditional net you can patch a hole.

I have been checked twice in 5 years, and one of those times the guy didn't even get out of his truck, the other time we diserved it as we were walking thru a park with open beers. I think Alberta should enforce a license display requirement like you see in the east coast. Back east you are required to display your license in full view in a clear plastic pouch on you back. That way F&W can scout the rivers with Binoculars and see who is who on the river, and check the logs to see if there is a multiple offender, and if the guy has been checked twice earlier that day.

Can't imagine loosing my dog. My wife convinced me to get my first dog four years ago, and I can't believe it took so much convincing. Funny how a dog can win your heart, after eating a couch, my wifes wedding shoes, piss killing my lawn every year, scratching my hardwood, staining the leather in my car... you get the drift and I don't think I would have it any other way. Just say the word river and he goes nutzo! Here is a small taste of the couch carnage.

HSN is simply picking your line up off the water as it drifts past you. The biggest drag on your fly line comes from biggest diameter section which is your floating line, if you pick that up off the water as it drifts by you you reduce drag. Simply raise your rod to pick up the line as it floats by. IN MORE WORDS FROM THE INTERNET "In the sport of fly fishing, there are a variety of effective methods for presenting a nymph fly pattern to a holding or feeding fish. High stick nymphing is a common strategy employed by fly anglers fishing nymph flies in the faster, deeper water of pockets and short pools, and is an extremely effective way to fly fish when there is little or no observed dry fly activity or visibly rising trout. In high stick nymphing, a technique similar to short line nymphing, a strike indicator is often not used, but can be effective for practiced anglers. High sticking is a fly fishing technique designed to deliver a subsurface fly pattern on a dead drift to trout holding in moderate to fast pocket water and short, but deep pools. Line control is key in high sticking and nothing beats good old fashioned practice when it comes to executing this technique on your favorite river. Approach a pocket or pool with care and make a short cast upstream at roughly 45 degrees from your position. as soon as the fly sinks to the river or stream bottom, raise the rod tip high and follow the line downstream through the drift. As the fly begins its drift, lift your rod tip high, and do not allow slack line to gather and drag in the surface film. Let the drift continue across your position and lower the rod tip as it continues its downstream movement. Employing a "Leisenring Lift" as the fly passes your position can greatly reduce the drag that may be created by mismanaged or under-managed slack fly line at this point in the drift. Hooking a trout with this technique is actually quite simple as the reduced slack and drag in the fly line will heighten an angler's strike-sensing ability. At the slightest tug on the line, lift the rod tip quickly and confidently; with the help of this style of fishing, hook sets are a breeze. High sticking has often been given a bad name, especially by dry fly fanatics, but this technique, when properly dispatched on a favorite stretch of pocket water can be the deadliest arrow in an angler's quiver."

I have heard Max is pretty good from a few guys and micght be getting a call from myself if I can't start producing on teh stone fly hatch.

I tried a few different techniques. I was switching between a dead drift and very short fast strips in an attampt to imitate the stones I could see on the surface, swiming and chillaxin. I really think this one needs mastering because the river was alive last night!

I tried a few different techniques. I was switching between a dead drift and very short fast strips in an attampt to imitate the stones I could see on the surface, swiming and chillaxin. I really think this one needs mastering because the river was alive last night!

Thats what keeps bringing you back. The Bow can be a pretty technical river and your problem is either DRAG, DEPTH, or the water your are fishing, that will be the outcome of a guided trip. Remember everyone is tossing the same flies, the only varient is your presentation of the fly and what waters you decide to fish. The easiest fix is play with the depth of your strike indicator and with micro split shots to adjust where your fly resides in the water. Nest is work on your mend, if that means walking along shore to fight off drag then do it for a day. YOu will notice the subtilities and feel for drag free drift by doing that simple thing, walking. Then slow down the walking and make adjustments to your line by stripping, high sticking and mending till you end up with the same results. Last but not least is the water you fish. Remember only 10% of the river hold fish. You will need to be able to read the water, but in short fish need a few basics to be happy and call a stretch of water home. They need constant food supply that requires very little energy to get. So look for a converer belt of faster water with a dead pocket or reversing current that the fish can sit and hit that food belt without spending more energy then the food is worth. If this post was just a "RANT" as my wife calls them and didn't need an answer then sorry and rant away. Matt

Last night on the Bow the stones started hatching @ 10:00 to 12:00. HUGH rises, and turns on the stones all within 5feet from shore. I tried everything, foam realistic stones black, red and yellow, weighted stone nymphs, I even tried a greased line under a stimulator. I got only one big rise all night. I have always heard that if you get into a stone hatch it can be the best fishing you will ever see. Well not the case, I only got one big turn and the fly was spit. I would love to what guys ont he board do for stone success because I have never seen anything like this before.....hence the title of the post STONED! Matt

I actually did a blind casting of five different rods thiss year before buying the new Sage Flight. Everybody's taste is different but you should give it a swing. I would try to Loop also

I would love to see a rod builders opinion on here, but I believe overweighting is an attempt to correct for poor casting machanics. Fix teh root of the problem, and don't try to hide it. Matt