Smitty

Hey BigFry: How about a little valium? Or should I put on my math teacher hat and pick apart your reply for spelling and grammar, lol? Easy, everyone, easy. Peter's got a plaque on the wall at his house (I've seen it) recognizing his "cost-savings" measures. Just his way. Smitty

Peter: He's aware; I pm'd him. Good reminder for us all. Didn't want it to be a thing. Great story! Glad it was posted! Smitty

Lefty: Thank-you very much for sharing this. I learned something very valuable today. Appreciate it. This is the best part of the FFC. Smitty (P.S. And one more kudos to Hawgs. ; who strongly hinted at this to me years back. Cheers)

This.

More serious answer: 1. Stimulator 2. EHC. 3. Parachute Adams 4. Ant 5. Hopper 6. Royal Wulff 7. Some chernobyl-foamy ant beetle variation. 8. Green drake. 9. Midge - GG 10. Streamer; something classic like Bow river bugger or gaudy like a yellow cutthroat candy. 11. Straight from Barry's Trout Highway; Bitch Creek Nymph Smitty

Surely one of them is the CFF!

Hey everyone: Just getting back into tying after too many years of not doing it. And while I am busy trying to tie up some lake / wet patterns for a guided trip I'm doing this weekend for some kids, I might have a chance to chase the Hex hatch somewhere near RMH before the end of the week. Anyways, what's a good pattern for the adult Hex? My friend said size 6, parachute style. I'm looking for a common commercial pattern here. Hoping some place in Edmonton carries something like that; honestly, we don't even have close to the fly selection you guys have. And when it comes to adult mayfly patterns, I am lucky to get as big as size 8 brown or green drakes. Just wanted your thoughts. Unfortunately, it's incredibly short notice; no time to order online from a shop or Icky's... Smitty

Black Ant: If I had only one day, I'd probably fish Sheep creek (north of Grande Cache), or Muskeg river (south of Grande Cache). Sorry I couldn't give you somewhere close to Grande Prairie. Undoubtedly, The Little Smokey river is an excellent choice in numbers and size. And you aren't limited to the classic spot where the gravel road from Fox Creek crosses it a 2nd time near Grizzly junction. There is good water in it's upper and upper-middle stretches. My problem with the Kakwa is that it can have stretches of fairly featureless riffle water. Could be lots of walking involved. The river has more woody logjams and corner stuff in it's upper reaches (try south of the Two Lakes, near dead horse meadows if you have 4x4). I can tell you - by all means, someone correct me here - when I fished it twice along the highway 40 crossing, it was a pretty flat river. Wish I could tell you more; but honestly, been years since I've fished south of GP. I have fished more around the Grande Cache area. I'd stay away from the Big Smoky unless it is gin clear. Big Smoky usually fishes better in Sept-Oct, right into November when the bulls return from spawning. Plus, you probably gotta know where to go when fishing bigger water like that. Undoubtedly, it does contain some big bulls, but they'll probably start staging in the tribs late August... Hmmmm....out of your list, best bet probability wise is Little Smokey. Most fun exploring would be Kakwa, upper reaches. Simonette (could be a sleeper) report here: http://albertaflyfish.createforumhosting.com/simonette-river-report-t4208.html Smitty

Black Ant: First: ditto what RileyS said! Only fair for me to admit my ignorance and bias: although I am a "northerner" (Edmonton), I have never really fished the Fort Mac area. What I know is only what I've learned through Neil Waugh's Sun and AFG articles (like fishing for grayling on the House river). So, keeping that in mind, I am obviously going to point you - quite biasedly - in the direction of Grande Prairie for the following reasons: 1. It has a greater variety of water available for you to fish, with a greater variety of species. Generally, you won't find cutts or rainbows or browns (East Dollar) in the Fort Mac area, but you can in Grande Prairie. So you have more choices. 2. Speaking of more choices, there are more lakes for you to fish as a back-up plan ( know you said walk n wade) if the waters are blown out. Grande Prairie offers everything from stocked trout lakes to the typical pike-walleye-perch-whitefish lakes, Fort Mac really only has the latter (maybe 1 or 2 stocked ponds with trout). 3. GP offers tons of variety for grayling; most creeks in the Kakwa watershed have them; there is just miles and miles and miles of grayling water there. 4. Speaking of the Kakwa; it also has one of the remaining intact populations of bull trout. And though I haven't fished them personally, the Wapiti and Narraway rivers have bulls too. Ditto for Simonette river. And the Big Smoky. Did I mention variety? 5. Variety in landscapes; you can fish right in the mountains south of GP, or fish more of the boreal areas. Fort Mac just has boreal. Big pike would be a tougher goal in terms of walk n wade fishing; but again, I'd still go for GP. All the big rivers have pike in their lower reaches as they eventually meander towards the town of Peace river and it's namesake river. Fort Mac has the Atha-B of course. Have no idea to either location as for your realistic opportunities to fish for pike on foot. Naturally, stillwater pike fishing is available in both cities - I think it's a wash here. There just so many roads, trails, and waters to explore, Grande Prairie would be my choice (I've probably made that obvious, lol). Smitty

Gonna bump this to the top again. Plan A and B fell apart. If anyone is going to Regina - or knows of anyone - in the next 2 weeks, and wouldn't mind doing a delivery (happy to a pay a fee) please contact me. And no worries if they are not going to Edmonton; I'll be happy to come to Calgary to get it. So I'm just looking for someone doing the Regina to Calgary portion. Any help is appreciated! Cheers, Smitty

Hi guys: Just wanted to ask; need a new line for my 7 weight Z-Axis. Going to chase bulls next week in SE BC. What do you like for streamer lines for tossing big flies? I am deciding between the Rio Streamer Tip versus something like the Rio Outbound Short Tip. I hear the Outbound Short Tip can throw flies like a cannon; is it versatile for other situations? Which one of the lines would be good for the Bow? Probably either, does anyone have a preference? Cheers! Smitty

BiggyJ: Appreciate the heads up; unfortunately, it won't work. Too bad; you see, this a motor for Maligne Lake; 80lbs thrust 24 volt. Unfortunately, your friend's motor won't cut it (In fact, my dad and I already own a 40 lb thrust motor). Thanks though! Smitty

Hi guys: Working on a deal to buy an electric trolling motor from a fellow in Regina. 2 things: 1. Does anyone know anyone in Regina that could go out and look at it for me? 2. Does anyone know anyone that is coming to Edmonton from Regina in the next 8 weeks that could deliver it. SO the advantage here is that I don't need the motor right away - I can wait until the end of July. Help! Mike

Peter: I can do it before next Wednesday, but I'm not free until this Sunday. Which hospital? There is no "Royal University". The Royal Alex is downtown, and the University hospital is on the southside. Let me know! Mike

Hi guys: Gonna post this in a few forums. I sold a rental property; I'm treating myself to a new lake fishing setup. Have a rod and reel set-up already; so I am now choosing fly lines. I have 5 spools total. I am looking at the following Rio lines: Rio Indicator II Rio Intouch Deep 3 Rio Intouch Deep 5 Rio Intouch Deep 7 Rio Aqualux Rio Hover InTouch Camolux InTouch Midge Tip Long Now, there are 8 choices and 5 spools. I need to eliminate 3 choices. Obviously Rio has some overlap and redundancy, so hopefully it wouldn't be too hard to pick. But what would your top 5 choices be in terms of covering all the bases for stillwater fishing? Smitty

I think I saw this destination a few years back at the expo or somewhere. But for an unbelievable reason I forgot about it...and then stumbled on it again today. What blows my mind is size AND numbers. It actually sounds a little exhausting. Definitely on the list: http://www.yellowstoneangler.com/index.php/fly-fishing-travel/jurassic-lake-argentina-huge-rainbows gonna repeat this on the other forum Cheers, Smitty

I definitely will do a year long -flyfish-then flytying-then back to flyfishing club. But, as long as I am a substitute teacher, its nearly impossible for me to give a school a year round commitment like that. Just the nature of being a sub; you never know if you're going to be at the same school enough times to maintain the consistency needed Materials and equipment wouldn't be an issue; I'm sure the NFLT / TU guys in Edmonton could / would help. Cheers, SMitty

Vagabond! Lol...I should hire you to be my advocate, PR guy, and pitbull...all rolled into one lol. Appreciate the sympathy. To be accurate, the school board generally approves these trips; not a board issue, and I think I construed it the wrong way there, so my bad. I mean, if the board approves ski trips (far more risky imho) and outdoor ed trips where some schools allow the kids to fire guns, a simple flyfishing trip should be no problem. And it isn't. It was kind of a rant-of-disappointment on my part. Anyways, the issue is that, the problem with the Flyfishing club is that it is a late in the year shoulder season thing. It only works during May and September. June is normally out, cause with exams coming, alot schools drastically decrease the field trips during June. So the problem here was that at this particular school, the principal felt it was too late in the year to start something like this, and the fact the school is already plumb full of clubs and trips already. So I lost out for starting late and competing with other activities. Too bad, the quiet polling I surreptitiously took amongst the kids indicated to me it would have been a popular choice (it usually is). Appreciate everyone's support, and your passion Vagabond. Nice to know the FFC community is there. Smitty

Thanks guys; disappointing news - the principal didn't go for it. So no club this year affiliated with a school. Thinking of just striking out on my own and do my own Kids Flyfishing Club thing that operates outside the purview of a school board - something like a low /non profit company thing. Charities way too much hassle and work, and I need 5 people to start a "society". And frankly, I don't want to be dependent on "other people" having to "get it" to do something I am passionate about; getting kids unplugged from their devices and getting them into the outdoors. Thanks for the help and suggestions though! Much appreciated! Smitty

Some good suggestions here. Thanks! Keep them coming! Smitty

Hi guys: That time of year again, and it looks like I could be starting another Fly-fishing club at a local school. I have plenty of Flyfishing dvd's - especially from an instructional perspective. But these videos do not serve to well as a "hook". (pun intended). They're a bit on the slow paced side. Can anyone recommend a dvd, or Youtube or Vimeo type video that is fast-paced, a bit rock'n'roll-ish, and is short - as in 1 to 5 minutes - that would serve well in just showing the kids just how damn cool this sport / hobby is? I'm thinking the more variety the better in terms of small fish, big fish, multitude of settings, casting, people enjoying themselves, etc. There are also some really good film makers here in FFC, I'd be happy to acknowledge you if you have some of your own content to share. Anyways, suggestions and/or links are appreciated! Thanks in advance! Smitty

Look, let me say this; Don's a smart guy and has done lots of pro bono work (Barry M too) in terms of trouty issues and getting them discussed and addressed (often, physical labor is involved). And I want to, and do, respect that. I respect that a lot. The bottom line for me is, and I'm sure Don is checking this thread, so I'll ask him directly, is this: Where on the top 5, top 10, top 20 list does the "otter issue" fit in? I mean to ask this seriously and respectfully. Between the otters, ecosystem balance, habitat loss, angling pressure, fisheries management, industrial intrusion, erosion, climate change, logging, and everything else, is the otter thing in the top 3? Top 20? Does this issue merit serious serious consideration? Cause we can certainly make the jokes, and everyone - including me - can post a "smart-remark" reply, but, give him credit, Don at least is a defender of all things trouty. And that's intended as a compliment. Hey, trying to admit my ignorance here. There are smart people on the FFC board. There are smart people plugged into these kinds of issues. Where the hell do otters fit in, in terms of priority? Cause ya, I'm pretty skeptical. And I know the topic has been done previously, just wondering if anyone has an update besides somewhat interesting anecdotal videos. Are the bios actually compiling data here? Smitty

And the fear mongering continues Don... And here are some reasons why you shouldn't visit Austrailia... http://www.viralnova.com/australia-is-dangerous/ More seriously, if the bios have some credible data, and the really think something ought to be done about otters, well, I'm open to suggestions. But if we're going to have a serious discussion about what's bad for trout, should we not at least talk about the vast thousands of km of gravel roads criss-crossing the back country with x % of them having poor culverts and/or bridge designs, and the attendant erosion that goes with them? Just a thought. Smitty

If you already have enough gear, then... Buy some memories. Go somewhere for some early spring fishing. Or save for a later date in the summer and take the trip then. But if you really have all the gear you need, spend the $ on a bucket list, never-been-there location. Smitty

Barry Mitchell's book "Trout Highway" can provide some insights; 1. Short growing season. 2. Relatively infertile. 3. Anchor ice in winter; poor survival rates. All I got. Smitty