Smitty

Dave reached out to me. He has no issues with anyone who would like to ask these questions in a respectful manner on the FB page. Just an FYI. I imagine he would welcome an open, respectful discussion and the opportunity to clarify any issues. Mike

Guys. why I asked the question: "What is your angle here" I'm all for an open discussion. But let's be frank, often noble intent leads astray. Too often, discussions de-volve into soap box ranting. And so, I am being terribly pre-emptive here, let's be aware of that before a thread goes 3 pages. Look, fish handling is an important discussion and deserves to, and ought to be discussed. It's been discussed before, and deserves re-visiting now and then. I'm simply saying that I hope that beyond the closed system of the FFC batting the issue around between a couple of dozen forum regulars, and a group of semi regulars, and hundreds of lurkers, at some point, the bottom line is reached. And that is, because the publication is small, and we know who runs it, there is an opportunity here to voice our concerns directly. All I'm saying. Cheers.

Bron, it's not about ruffling feathers, trust me, you're tame compared to some of the previous forum members I've seen over the past 10 years. And yes, I'm surprised actually you don't see this, it IS different than the Calgary Sun; part of a massive multi-national newspaper media conglomerate corporation of which the Sun is but one newspaper amongst many, as opposed to a husband and wife team publishing a single annual magazine? I don't think it matters a whole bunch that you don't know him personally; if the pictures ruffle your feathers, why not drop him a line. He's a fairly approachable guy. If you meant no disrespect, fair enough, but then...why not drop him a line? Because, then, may I ask, what's your angle then? What's the purpose of the thread? Just to rant? These are fair questions, imho. And no, I'm not one of Dave's besties or president of a fan club. Mike

Bron: Respectfully, if you have issues, doesn't Dave deserve to hear about it directly from you, if you have concerns? Instead of airing your complaints on another forum like FFC? Mike

I wonder what the "ideal" length for a raft would be... We have a Metzler that is now 30 years old. Time to retire it. It was 11 feet long, and though at times I had 4 adults on the boat, it was always a squeeze. I was thinking of going 14 feet, but I am concerned about the manoeuvrabilityof a larger raft. 14 feet is ideal for lakes; as long as I can put a motor on it. But! Does having a motor mount and hard floorboards complicate the issue? Wondering what the perfect lake and river raft is for 2 to 3 people, safe for up to class 3, yet comfortable enough for the lakes and electric motors. Sorry to hijack, good thread / discussion.

Is FFC concerned about any potential exposure or liability if lawyers are getting involved? You may want to lock or even delete this thread.

Why the false choice? To my mind, it should not be "either or", the AEP budget should be set from general revenues, and then supplemented by the fines from violations. Alberta's environment is there for everyone to enjoy, it shouldn't fall on the backs of fisherman and hunters to fund protection of the environment. Public resource should equal public dollars funded from everyone via general revenue taxes, and then the fines could be specifically funneled into the AEP budget. Just a thought. Mike

Bron: One example; given the arm dynamics / ergonomics involved in a method like European nymphing, some anglers prefer a very light reel; less wear on yourself when extending your arm extensively throughout the day. Mike

I'm sure Jayhad will rent it to you Don, though, the rumour is, he only takes deposits and payments in the form of custom made bamboo rods.

I caught one 12 inches. Another guy got one 6 pounds.

Was there mid June with Phil Rowleys group. Over 100+ fish caught. Straight out from the boat launch across the lake, 13 to 17 feet of water, off the drop off. All Chironomids; black and reds, gunmetals, ice cream cones, purple glitters, and chromies. Black and red was the favourite. Good luck! Mike

Old McDonald Farm on Buffalo Lake: (Hopefully there is no blue green algae warning). http://www.olmacdonalds.com/rates.html I think there's fishing for pike. Or, maybe a bit cold for swimming, but Kananaskis country, Mt Kidd is family friendly (and booked waaaay in advance): https://www.mountkiddrv.com/ Can try fishing Upper / Lower K, there are some creeks in the area too, Of course, Sylvan Lake. Great fishing lake, by the way, hear it is fishing well. Pine lake too, lots of family related activities. Do you want to be close to the mountains? Go with Kananskis or Beaver Mines suggested above. Or try Waterton. My only issue with Drumheller area - well, any area in Eastern AB - is that the heat can really settle in during July / August. Without A/C in the trailer, I find sleeping difficult. When you're close to the mountains, at least it cools down in the evenings. Smitty

Well, dad and I got a chance to take advantage of our auction trip to Maligne at the end of June. As usual Maligne was awesome, always hard to tell what's better; the scenery or the fishing. Usually the scenery wins. But our Saturday with Ray (aka "Creekside') was golden. Thanks Ray! I hope you offer this trip again as a fundraiser for Rickr. Rickr, good job in letting Ray offer the trip! My Thanks to both of you!!! You Calgary fishers sure miss out. Some pics: Ray was a terrific "guide" putting us over fish constantly. He was even better company! We were able to do some stream fishing on the home waters on the way back to Edmonton. Love these native 'bows: Some grayling too: Maligne trout are the best in the world. The. BEST.

Indicator nymphing is generally slack line presentation in terms of the indicator playing the role of "suspension device". Any tight lines by the angler has a tendency to pull the nymph away from the fish zone. Indicator does generally lead the drift, semi tight semi slack between indicator and tip of the rod. Conversely, you can drop the indicator or swap it for a sighter, go full on tight line approach. Generally this is called the "European" school of thought, whether it's done Czech, Polish, French, Spanish, Italian, or Luxemburg. The point is to lead or slightly drag the flies through the water, maintaining contact and feel. Generally, flies are heavily weighted and sparsely dressed or the cut through the water column quickly. More fishing by sight AND feel. But you do maintain contact. Kelly Galloup at the Slide Inn has a little disdain for the descriptor of "Euronymphing" cause American Anglers like him, and Charlie Brooks before him, did use tight line nymphing methods before the Euro craze caught on. One method of Charlies was to use heavily weighted flies but eschew the long Euro leader and swap it for super high density sink tips with short leaders and heavily weighted flies. Takes are heavy. Great for whitewater boulder fishing in the Madison. Kelly's method of dropshotting uses more lightly weighted nymphs with heavy drop shot off a tag to keep flies on the bottom. Usually fished with 2 or 3 flies. Check regs. The bottom line is that there are no hard and fast rules. There are variations on everything. I am becoming a more tight line nympher, never got too used to indicators (Still use them though). Contradictory advice comes from anglers adapting and using their own favourite methods. Do whatever you like and whatever works. There's no question fish can be caught on swung or swimmed nymphs. Here's a tip on mending line with the indicator system. http://redsflyshop.com/blog/best-nymph-fishing-tip-ever

Great song, underrated one from that album.

"I saw a TV interview with a woman in the group and she was livid that they had to move. They camp trailers had skirting up, there was a shed built and a deck. So there will be some that are going to be pissed." And yet, somehow, some way, I don't care.

Use the RAP line. It is a misnomer that the line is limited to exceeding fish limits or out of season activities. You can use it too for industry related problems, like hanging culverts. The worse that could happen is they'll re-direct your call to another department. It really is up to us to be the assistant eyes and ears to help the enforcement agencies for a variety of violations.

Nice post Scel. Of course, this is an age old question; who polices it then? Who decides what is appropriate or not when it comes to the issue "hotspotting" when it really is subjective. Stauffer is small water...but famous? Is that allowed? Who decides? We live in an information age, and information is readily accessible. Pretty tough to restrict it nowadays. It really is up to the individual ethos of every angler. I generally don't post many reports anymore. And if I do, I, like you, don't mention spots unless they are famous, but that judgement is as arbitrary and subjective as the next guy. As for the issue of the learning curve and "earning" it, well I have a slightly different take, perhaps. I'm all for beginners asking for or seeking help and getting it. I am not referring to merely holding the newbies hand and coddling them forever and not making them "earn" it, but pointing them in the right direction in terms of casting, flies, and yes, some more well known spots to go is not over the line. And the info is already there anyways. But yes, I do resent sometimes, the first question out of someone's mouth (before they congratulate you or thank you or show any modicum of appreciation) is " Where didja catch it?" . Yeesh. However, let me put it a different way; all of us of the older generation like or cling to the rosy picture of "having to earn it" the old fashioned way and put our time on the water before the dawn of the internet and the information age. Kinda like the "I walked uphill both ways in 4 foot snowdrifts just to get to school" type attitude. Well...oh really? Devil's advocate here; the fly-fishing community likes to brag about having authored more books for our hobby than every other sport; or the common quote goes. So...don't think Lee Wulff or Roderick Haig Brown learned from others, or read some books? They were newbies once. What about Brooks, Whitlock, Kauffman, Kreh, and others? Of course, lots of them broke new ground and were innovators, but my point is that information sharing has been going on a long, long time. Well before the internet turned into jet speed instant gratification. Everyone was a newbie once. Of course the internet info sharing has proved problematic; look at how the spin guys jealously guard their jumbo perch spots from the "hordes". lol. Anyways, good topic, not always an easy issue. There are still people that lose their minds over the mention of the holy virgin mother's river, but I think that cat has left the bag. Next week I am taking 2 beginners to my "secret" spring creek. Don't know if that's a responsible choice. Don't know if I'll blatantly just ask them to keep it a secret. I just might; I just might bring up this conversation and ask them to respect the "code". Lol. But yeah, I am not speaking about it online, that's for sure!

Yeah, I don't subscribe to this either. The way you get around the slippery slope fear mongering is to take each case on a case by case basis. Secondly, humans regularly try to correct past mistakes all the time. No point in going "oh well, we screwed it up, lets shrug our shoulders and carry on". A good example is that the bios and angling public have chosen not to adopt a resigned acceptance of lake trout in Yellowstone Lake. And good for them; they try to cull as many as possible. It's not about reversing time or history, its about humans managing their impact. It was a good pilot program that had it's place targeting a few watersheds. With native, pure-strain cutthroat occupying less than 5% of their historical range, it was well worth the effort.

Nothin' better than kids catching their first fish.

Disappointed.

"Dam" it! I'd like to go, but I'm fishing the Bow that day!

Scel: Got my B.Ed degree in 1996. It has been a love / dislike affair from almost the beginning. A lot of days I've loved teaching. More than a few I've disliked it. A handful of days I've resented the hell of out it. It can be exhausting. I worship the ground that Kindergarten and grade 1 teachers walk on. Don't know how they manage. Be aware of a few things; one, the reality of a classroom is very different from what you and I experienced growing up. The classroom is a far more diverse environment. You can have a wide range of abilities and learning needs to meet, though that is mitigated by teaching in high school somewhat where kids are streamed. The physics are a big plus, because that might mean you could step right into high school, as opposed to "getting your feet wet in junior high". Still, you won't begin by getting to pick all your classes. Sure, you may teach math 31 and physics 30, but you'll also likely get math 10-3. I mention this because I think it's important to be very aware that tutoring a single student who presumably has a desire to improve is an entirely different universe than teaching 35 math 10-3's. I am at the point in my life where I simply cannot handle a 1.0 FTE teaching position anymore. Part of it is personal and a choose to also pursue a business, but part of that stems from the frustration of the modern classroom. Kids are generally...needy. Between helicopter parents, special needs, no fail policies, unworkable intervention policies, ELL kids, the diversity can be overwhelming. Most people don't understand that. Trying to serve the students and do what's best for them on a daily basis for 6 hours can be a grind, whether it's 7 periods in a junior high classroom or 4 periods in a senior high. Oh by the way, in teaching high school?: the semester where you get a 1 period prep is awesome. The semester where you teach 4 straight with no prep is a bit of nightmare. Add to all this, modern, trendy, "educational theory" practices in curriculum design and assessment, and you have a challenging job. And yet...many days it is worth it. You can make a difference in a kid's life. Funny, some of best memories are the extra curricular stuff. Coaching volleyball, basketball. Fly fishing club (see my profile pic). Cooking Club. Field trips. I still get an occasional email from students I taught 15 years ago. So, in the end, I am picky. I substitute teach most of the time. I choose my jobs carefully (which puts a bit of a black mark next to my name for downtown, c'est la vie). Subbing is great; get your foot in the door, if you're good, kids like you you and you only need 4 to 5 schools to keep you employed full time. And freedom for your time; as a sub, I can steelhead in November and I can fish in Montana in late April after the Spring Break if I like. So, it works for me. I guess the bottom line is that I wanted to convey the message is that tutoring is almost nothing like classroom teaching. Bear that in mind. However, if you have the time, money, and inclination to get the B.Ed after degree, more power to you. I know 3 friends that have done this - they're in the 40's, and so far, they love it. One of them almost went on stress leave though. It was an incredible adjustment for her. Your student teaching practicums will open your eyes and give you a solid indication of how much you like it. In the end, I'm reluctant to discourage you; it's a tough job, but it can be very rewarding. Mike

What is 'Must Be Nice'? A house on the banks of the Bow?

And here I thought you were tying up some traditional wet flies Clive...