Smitty

I pontificate this at length on the "redneck" forum, but I will keep it simple here: Fed up with trying to find freighter canoe rentals in the province. No one does it. Got 4 nights booked camping at Maligne. Can't really justify the cost of a freighter canoe that I only use for one damn lake in this province. Anyone want to embrace the 21st century mantra of the sharing economy and buy a canoe with me? I already have the motor and batteries. Used ones on Kijiji are going for $2000 (I am talking about at least an 18 foot, square stern, wide, stable canoe). Anyone want to do halfsies or thirds even? Bueller? Pm me if interested. Smitty

My only complaint is typical of a company with excellent customer service; they are frequently out of stock of the popular patterns. I looked today; very little parachute Adams left. I'm always late to the party when it comes to ordering flies from them. Great guys, great company. Smitty

I caught my first ever (and on the fly too) at Baynes Lake. Generally pretty small though. Not fussy; any surface popper or frog fly is good. Smitty

Also, instead of trying to negotiate the price, ask for additional goodies. Now, that doesn't help you actually save dollars, so the discount is better of course. But several US shops do offer right up front a free brand new fly line with a purchase of new rod (and in lots of cases, high end reels). At the very very least, you should get some free leaders, tippet, maybe a dozen flies. Fly shops should a good enough to throw some of those in when you're prepared to drop $500 to $700. The 2nd strategy of course is to buy used. Lots of high end stuff goes on sale second hand, especially on some of the BC forums. Kijiji too, and of course Ebay. The last strategy is to ask yourself "can it wait". Because I will tell you, I buy a lot of items in August when the a certain fishin store chain (not sure if I'm allowed to mention, you can pm me) has their annual sale. LOTS of fly rods 25% to 40% off, even better (50%) if the particular rod line is being discontinued. My dad and I have bought several Sage rods this way. Smokin' good deals. And, just heard today - though this won't likely be high end stuff - another certain big box store has an event this weekend; the discount bargain bin is double the % off this weekend only. Not sure if it's only a single location though in Edmonton. Again, pm me. Smitty

Hope some of you can make it!: http://aep.alberta.ca/fish-wildlife/fisheries-management/alberta-fisheries-management-roundtable.aspx

Problem is fivefold when you live in Edmonton and your local fly shops...aren't local. I tend to support Calgary flyshops when I'm down that way. That said, every store has it's ups and downs. For instance, in Edmonton; 1) Fishin Hole; (I am a former employee) very friendly, easy to deal with, especially Brian at the new west end store. Decent enough selection, but I don't like the brands of reels they carry, but the issue that drives me nuts s their 2 tier system of flies. You can buy the cheap flies that are cheaply made, or buy premium flies and pay a premium price. I might as well order online. But good overall. Excellent sale every year in August; best way to buy high end fly rods, by far. 2) Cabelas; I agree with the comments above; Norm is a good guy to deal with, but overall, the fly shop is treated like an afterthought by management. They do carry some fly tying materials not carried by anyone else though (for Edmonton remember). But what I hate most - and I HATE this - is the completely segregated operations between US and Canada. Incredibly discriminatory. Go on the US website, see a smoking good deal on an item (even factoring exchange) and will they deliver to Canada for an in-store pick-up? NOPE! All Canadian orders handled internally through Winnipeg. Sucks. Oh, and does the Canadian Cabelas website ever offer the same smoking deals? NOPE! So, I go to Cabelas, but I spend very little in the fly shop. Only as a last resort. I will give one positive kudos; I buy virtually all my SImms clothing at Cabelas; when they offer a good deal on clothing, its a good deal. It's the only store I know where I can buy Simms clothing at 40% off (otherwise, I'd never buy Simms). 3) Wholesale Sports; used to quite like wholesale; they were close to where I live, probably the best fly tying variety, some decent flies. Unfortunately, - this may only be the southside store - they've gone some sort of metamorphic existential crisis, as in "should we even have a fly shop". Huge staff turnover, difficult to find fly fishing specialist staff, and for about 2 years, they decided not to stock their fly bins; they were 80+% empty. The ultimate deal breaker; no flies???? That's the daily draw for fly fishers that purchase! What a doorknob decision by mgmt. Also, their advertising just blows. I never know when a sale is on, unless I physically go to the store. One kudos is that they constantly have a clearance shelf; picked up some top brand name fly lines for 40% off. Gotta hunt for them though. Anyways, having no dedicated fly shop in Edmonton blows, but it's been like that for decades, ever since Denny's closed their doors. I know of one fellow toying with the idea, and is currently running a virtual store through Facebook, but that's it. And I get that, I totally understand; between the 3 box stores and the fact that there's no Bow river, pretty tough to make a go of a fly shop in Edmonton. You'd be relying on a fairly small, concentrated group of hard core fly guys to make a go of it. Anyways, the Cabelas topic got me going, lol. Cheers. Mike 'Smitty'

Just reserved a table. Looking forward to trimming down the excess equipment. Got some rods, reels, and lines to get rid off. Most of it old and well used, suitable for beginners or kids. Cheap. Some free grab bag stuff (line cleaners etc). Looking forward to seeing some of you there! Smitty

And then I suppose one simple question begets many: 1. How much government involvement / support / permission is needed? 2. How large a role do regional biologists play in the creation and sustainability? 3. Does Alberta have sufficient freshwater lakes available to create, say, a minimum of 4 lakes in a geographic region? 4. Is there sufficient appetite / demand at all levels for something like this; from anglers to gov't officials to enforcement etc? I ask all these questions, because a silver lining to the aeration issue may be that if there are enough of us frustrated and pissed off about this, perhaps there's some opportunity to create something out of the ashes. Mike

What would it take for Alberta to have it's own FLIPPR program in Alberta? Smitty

Hi Everyone: Just need a 10 weight rod and a travel rod case delivered to me for my upcoming trip to Cuba. If you can help, please msg me via the forum, or better, text me at 780-970-7886 Mike

I hear onion ring stack at Montana's is hard to beat.

Well, in the end, I increased the budget, sucked up the craptacular exchange rate, and decided on Cuba. This, based on the advice I got at the Expo; without exception, 100%, every single person I talked to encouraged me to strongly consider Cuba, since the US is continuing its path to normalize relations with that country, and I'd better see it before it profoundly changes - for better or for worse. A friend hooked me up with a "your man in Havana" type gentleman and has got me a private apartment with A/C and hot water, and a kitchen for $35 CUC a night! Considering 97% of hotels in Havana were already sold out, I feel pretty lucky (and the crappy 2 star hotels want $150 a night). So 7 days in Havana and then 7 days with the Fish Tales crew in Las Salinas. Looking forward to my 2 weeks in Cuba! Smitty

Did you check TripAdvisor? Lots of fishing operations have ratings there.

I've heard very mixed reviews for Pesca Maya. But I'll emphasize this is 2nd or 3rd hand information, no experience with them personally.

During late March early April? Mike

Well, for an Edmontonian like me, I look forward to the show every year. This year was no different, and I make it an entire weekend! The reason Murray didn't have time to go to many seminars is cause he let me go instead, lol (I promise to do more next Murray, promise!). It was great meeting people like RedBeard and Andy and renewing acquaintances like SilverDoc. We have no "real" flyshops here in Edmonton, so the show is a real treat for me. Sure, the same retailers and booths crop up, but that's fine by me. Got some smokin' deals on a rod (yay bonefish!) and wading boots, and ReelFlies had smokin' deals on flies as usual. I don't think there is any way I could have got the quantity of flies I did for my upcoming saltwater trip without their terrific pricing. So I thoroughly enjoyed myself, as usual. My only standing minor biffy beef is the price of the workshops; but that's because I am spoiled being from Edmonton; those guys at NFLT/TU know how to run a hell of a weekend seminar (next weekend! come on up) which gives you 2 days of seminar / mentorship for the price of one 2 hour workshop at the Expo. But that's the way it's been for years, so c'est la vie. Really enjoyed Tom R and Gary B; they both reminded me about the fun of the sport, and I have to say Gary in particular really stoked the fires of just challenging yourself - just for the sake of challenging yourself - to become a better caster. I'm thankful he spent 5 minutes with me to help me learn the puddle-mend cast. I'm really keen to become a better caster (especially if I am going to the salt). His knowledge of everything flyfishing - history, techniques, skills, etc, seems almost unparalleled, he's probably forgotten more than I'll ever know. And that's the best part - the people: here at FFC -thanks again Murray - , Jim M., the Yellowdog crew in Montana, all the flyshops are eager - eager I tell you - to help you out. So besides the presentations and workshops, I got A LOT of intel on where to go, and places to fish. And it's great just talking to people. It's a great community. And I'm thankful! Cheers, Smitty

Appreciate the suggestions, but I hear Florida has way more pressured fish and isn't necessarily kind to saltwater newbies. Doesn't the same hold for the Bahamas? I think Mexico and Belize are friendlier options, price and package wise. I'd love to go to Hawaii, but again, are there a lot of flats and options for the saltwater flyfisher? Both destinations have the major disadvantage of being US dollar places (yeah, I know Belize is too) and my feeling tells me that it would take a heck of a package to be price competitive on the flight+hotel+food+fishing to be competitive. And they generally don't do all-inclusives like Cuba and Mexico. Plus, no ruins... But the right priced Hawaii trip could be worth looking into... Cheers. Smitty

Thanks for the replies. I'm really interested in the salt, and somewhere warm, plus the Mayan ruins thing. Budget was trying to be around 5K CDN, but that's now pretty unrealistic for a trip like the hosted Fish Tales, or any lodge with daily guided fishing for 5 to 6 days. Cause you have to add a flight on top of that. So, more realistically, is to just find an all inclusive and meet my budget. SilverDoctor, sorry to hear. There's a lot of pain in Alberta right now. You know, you guys make a great point; as much as I desire to do the southern salt thing, this country has just so much to offer. It's just so vast, I don't have enough lifetimes to fish Canada, let alone do international fishing. Just gotta pick and choose. Now, let's not mistake ourselves, not much flyfishing to be had right now in the interior, and I'm getting familiar with the Island; does Terrace have good spring fishing late March? To be honest, I'm thinking of saving my great Canadian trip for the summer and do the Yukon thing. Anyways, I'm keen to try bonefish and tarpon. Permit too. So, gonna keep hammering away, maybe increase the budget, and figure out something. Thanks for the advice, keep it coming. Cheers, Mike

I know its a #firstworldproblem, but man, trying to get away for some sun, salt, and bonefish et al just sucks right now. The exchange is just super duper craptacular. Having to re-think my whole spring break trip, costs just keep piling up. I have guys at Slipstream Angling, YellowDog, and Fish Tales help me price out trips. Just keeps going up. And it sucks, I tell you it sucks, to be a travelling solo angler!!! Anyways, just ranting aloud at the rotten state of Denmark. May have to just go with a Redtag vacation or Escapes all inlcusive flight+hotel+food, and then just on the side do my best at a DIY self-guided fishing option. Or hire a guide for just one or 2 days. Do you guys like Pesca Maya? I think between Cuba, Belize, and Mexico, Mexico is far and away the best bet for bang for your buck. Oh, and trying to get to Cuba from Edmonton or Belize is...trying, lol. Any thoughts or advice? Cheers in advance Smitty P.S. Hell maybe I should just go to the Island again; I am already set up for Steelhead from last year. And no exchange rate problems. I could also just drive to Montana; still a bad exchange rate, but lots of early spring specials for lodges, and no flying costs.

How the hell do you get to Cuba? Aside from practice, practice, practice? I am NOT paying Air Canada $1800! Looking at WestJet of course, but what the heck? Takes 2 days to get to Cuba? Not looking good in terms of matching the trip dates with my spring break with the available flights. Appreciate any suggestions... Should I just fly to Miami or Houston and take a flight from there? But the US doesn't fly to Cuba, right? Or did Obama's "let's normalize relations with Cuba" decree open things up? Should I fly to Mexico? Or just stick with Canadian Airlines... Cheers, Smitty

I have the Amundson, it's been ok. I find it difficult to pull apart after a day's fishing. Any suggestions? Smitty

Hey guys: I notice that Fish Tales is offering trips to Cuba, and one of the dates works perfect for spring break. So I'm considering the trip, anyone have any comments about this hosted trip with Terry? Naturally, one of the things giving me pause is our weak dollar, not much I can do about that though. Also, after doing a fair amount of research, I have decided upon an 8 and 10 weight outfit for my saltwater fishing (bones, permit, baby tarpon, snook etc). Does anyone want to convince me to change that? Say a 7 weight and 10? 8 and 11? Any advice is muchly appreciated! Mike

Just got back from a ski trip to Revelstoke BC. Is there, generally speaking, decent fishing near Revelstoke, or along hwy 1 (Revelstoke Park, Glacier Park, Field etc) worth exploring. Goes without saying that I'm not trying to phish your best spots. Just wondering if it's worth the effort. My impression is that it would be typical high alpine, relatively infertile, coldwater habitat. Fish can be found, but they aren't terribly numerous or big. That impression formed by Backroads Mapbooks publication. The Columbia looks interesting; it actually resembles a river for a few km's between massively long lakes. Anyways, just kicking some tires here.

Next time just buy duck breasts with the fat cap left on and try this: http://www.foodnetwork.ca/recipe/seared-duck-breast-with-roasted-plums-and-celeriac/8480/ I didn't like duck till I did that recipe. The plums are nice, you can swap the celeriac for another starch or tuber if you like. The real key to this is don't overcook duck!

Thanks so much everyone! Based on recommendations here and elsewhere, I have decided to purchase Nokian Hakkapeliittas R2's...(non-studded) Cheers!