[I Need New Wading Boots!]

If you have a narrower foot, Korkers are good. I have a wide foot and I love my simms riversheds with hardbite star cleats but they aren't particularly light. I find the rubber soles with cleats actually seem to grip better for me in freestone streams than felt used to.

[Classified Waters]

And these results came to whom as a surprise? Get over it.

 

Excellent non-contribution. By the way, if you want to use formal grammar to sound superior, try to make sure you don't **** it up. "And these results came as a surprise to whom?" is how it should read. The way you wrote it marks you as douche who likely knows nothing about trout or friends.

[Classified Waters]

I got this link from the Flybc board, and it's a letter from the BC Federation of Fly Fishers giving an overview of the effects of the classified waters system after 25 years. If I am interpreting the information correctly, it looks like it has effectively done nothing to protect the resource or the angling rights of British Columbians. http://www.bcfff.bc.ca/index.php/documents/file/73-classified-waters-25-years-later

[Aeration Question Supposed To Appear In Legislature]

Sounds about right... Thanks!

[Aeration Question Supposed To Appear In Legislature]

It won't load for some reason, what is the good word?

[I Think I'm Done Fishing]

Nice fish, congrats!

[Neoprene Waders?]

I've owned Seatux and if you want neos I'd highly recommend them.

[Reducing Break-Offs?]

As has already been mentioned, you could have some bad tippet material. I had that happen when I bought some RIO material from a store that was blowing out some old stock, and it sounds like the same sort of thing you are describing. If it's only happening when you are nymphing and not fishing dries then it could also be simple abrasion. I use maxima for nymphing and SA or climax for dryfly and still water for that reason.

["the Bob"]

Great report, thanks!

[Aeration Of Lakes May Come To End In Alberta]

As I read the article in Clive's original post, I don't believe that the intent is to say that a person can't make a hole in the ice. I think the intent is that you can't make a large hole that would be a siginficant hazard for other people on the ice without adequately warning them of the danger and taking reasonable precautions to prevent someone from accidentally falling through. I think something like a double log boom around the aerator with some of that bright orange snow fencing on it would be enough of a visual warning and barrier to cover the ACA's proverbial backside. Maybe I'm wrong, but that's my $0.02...

[The Biggest Canadian Environmental Disaster Nobody Is Talking About...yet]

Perhaps this is obvious and I'm just thicker than two short planks, but what exactly is the issue here? What is in the material from the tailings and how is it going to affect the stream? I can see some dark sediment in the slower areas, but compared to some other waters I've fished it still looks pretty good on the surface.

[Frustrated With Cheap Thread]

X2 on the new bobbin and the gelspun thread. I also like Benecchi for smaller stuff.

[Blood Clot On The Brain.]

I'm very sorry to hear it, BF my thoughts are with you and your family. Stay strong and keep the faith!

[Urge To Face-Punch Rising...]

I get what you are saying BurningChrome, but you’re talking pollution and I think what most people are taking exception to is the habitat damage/disruption caused by tires churning up the river bottom. If pollution is the issue we should talk stormwater management.

[Spey Casting From A Drift Boat]

Ranger, I’m not sure if this is what you mean, but you might consider a skagit or scandi style line with a head length that is about 3 times the length of the rod (give or take) as opposed to a more “traditional” spey line with a longer head. If you’re sharing a boat with guys using single handers then chances are the rower is going to position the boat accordingly, which means you’re probably going to have a hard time getting the entire head of a spey line out there to load the rod properly. Otherwise, it shouldn’t be too bad because the boat is moving at a speed that is similar to the water, which would be more like practice casting on a pond. The worst case scenario would be if the boat was stopped, which isn’t bad at all because it would be the same as standing on the bank.

[Goldeye?]

Thanks for the info!

[My Biggest Trout To Date]

Nice fish! X2 on zipping the vest pockets, I lost a box full of nymphs on Michelle Creek that way. Serves me right for nymphing on a cuttie stream... lol

[Recommended Set-Up For Fishing Kelowna Area]

I'd go with a 6wt - I grew up just over the hill from Kelowna, and spent about 10 years there myself. A lot of the fishing in the immediate area (eg the Aberdeen Plateau) could be handled with a 5wt quite comfortably, but if you go a little further afield to the lakes in Connector/Merrit area, or up to Kamloops, there are some lakes where the 6wt would have an advantage.

[Goldeye?]

Is it too early to start fishing the Red Deer for goldeye? I read somewhere that they start to run May/June-ish, but I don't know if dependant on water levels, temperature, all of the above, none of the above...? I'm looking for a family friendly fishery to take my kids out in the near future, and I thought this might fit the bill. Thanks!

[Qsf Limit And Fishing Question]

HOW DARE YOU! lol, just kidding - I think your logic is sound. I've heard arguments against doing so, but water temps are low, disolved O2 levels should be good and you're a knowledgable angler who knows how to play and handle fish. I don't see any issues. Have fun and good luck!

[Replacement Oars For Pontoon Boat]

I bought a set last season at Wholesale Sports.

[Can You Dry Fly Fish With A Faster Rod Or Do You Put More Trout Down?]

All things being equal, the action of the rod should be a moot point when it comes to presenting a dry fly because, ideally, your cast should completely unfurl above the surface of the water and the only disturbance should be caused when the fly, leader and line fall vertically. I think the reason that most of us favor a medium to medium/fast rod for dry fly fishing is because they are somewhat more forgiving than the uber fast models, which gives us a better chance of making a decent cast and getting the presentation you're looking for. So, to answer your question, go with the one that you feel best suits your style and casting stroke.

[Full Sinking Line]

If its a faster sink rate that's normal - I have a SA 6ips sinker that looks like it's 100% running line.

[Store Bought Vs Hand Tied Flies]

The two biggest differences between store bought and personal ties is that you have the flexibility to tailor the personal ties to the fishy foodstuffs you encounter and/or you can offer the fish something different. For example, is there going to be a substantial difference between the black wooly bugger you tie and the wooly bugger tied in a third world factory somewhere? If you go by the pattern, then no, not really. But, what if you happened to find out that a little bit of blue flashy material in the tail got more strikes than the standard pattern? Is something like that really going to make a difference? On the mountain cutty streams, maybe not so much. On a big Bow River Brown that could probably teach flytying if it had opposable fins? Yeah it does.

 

Since I got started in the hobby as a tweener, commercial ties have actually gotten pretty damned good and the materials are now usually about on par with what I can afford. The only way there is any kind of a "savings" is you do it because you enjoy it and you don't put a monetary value on the time you invest in to tying. Then, if you get seriously in to fly tying, there is always a new material, or a new hook, or something that is going to make your next fly the cosmic world destroyer that it should be, and because we really don't know what goes through the mind of a trout we fall for it.

[New Guy]

Welcome, lots of good small stream fishing all up and down the east slopes. Most smaller mountain streams are going to have cutthroat, whites and bulls. Some will have rainbows and/or browns as well, and there are some brookie streams like Cataract Creek, but in a lot of waters the brookies are more or less an invasive species. As Uber mentioned, there is a special license that allows unlimited harvest of brookies, but it is not something you can purchase online or from a retailer and it applies to specific waters only. If it's something that interests you search the forum and you can find some more info on it. Also, the Hook and Hackle club in Calgary has regular meetings and might be a good place to meet some other anglers and get the skinny on whats happening out there.