slingshotz

Both decent cameras but the Panasonic won out for me for the build quality. Lots of reviewers have actually said that the old W60 was better than the new W80 (here's a very indepth underwater camera review: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/Q209waterproofgroup/). So far the Panasonic has been exactly what I hoped for, compact, durable, great photos, waterproof (I haven't gone diving with it yet though) but I've taken some underwater stream shots without any issues. It's been great in the cold so far as well. Here's some shots I took with it. The underwater shots aren't great as I was still learning how to use it underwater. http://s677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/l...taract%20Creek/ http://s677.photobucket.com/albums/vv137/l...20Vegas%20Food/

We've used the truck so much to get to remote fishing places and having a tent to crash in is a big bonus. My dream vehicle if they would ever bring them here like the Hilux:

Good to see someone else in the same obnoxious club Canadensis! Studded tires were one of the best $80 investments I put into my truck. I just wish I could put a big neon sign that would point and laugh at those idiots that were still on summer tires. BTW All-season Tires=spring, summer, fall NOT winter. "All"-seasons are meant for places where people think they get winter when the mercury drops to 0.

I really can't understand what the elitist attitude toward spin casting comes from. Still love my spinning gear and while I don't use it on the Bow anymore I still miss it many times when I'm getting skunked on the fly rod. The thrill of a fish on with spinning gear, fly or Tenkara rod are all just as exciting and gets my heart racing just the same. I enjoy fly fishing but I also enjoy sitting on a shoreline baitfishing or sitting in a shack jigging a smelt up and down, nothing wrong with any of them as long as I'm following the rules. I'm glad we never encountered anyone like that when I was growing up and fishing with my dad. Thought you handled it very well considering the situation, I probably would have taken down his licence plate and reported him to the CRA for tax evasion, people never see that coming . Judging from the educated posts on this board, I highly doubt that idiot is part of these forums so don't let that one bad apple make a stereotype out of all of us. I found my old 1983 fishing regulations (in mint condition too!) and on the front cover it's got a really great statement. Wish they would put it again on the new regs.

Technically you are gambling that the government doesn't collapse into a black hole like Zimbabwe

For those that believe that raising your own food is not economically sound, have a look at the concept of food miles. Sure when oil is cheap, transport is cheap and the cost of transporting food is cheap but when it gets expensive even transporting food from BC becomes fairly expensive. Just ask any trucker/trucking company how they were hurting when oil prices went up over $100, not to mention the farmers paying for highly inflated fertilizer prices all based on oil. http://www.lifeaftertheoilcrash.net/ I don't agree 100% with all the points in the website but there's lots of stuff that you have to think about and it's hard to sweep all the issues under the carpet. I'm not a hippy, eco-warrior, I drive a truck, don't car pool in my truck, work for a company that primarily works with oil companies BUT I also compost, recycle everything I can, grow a lot of my own food, eat mostly organic and local when possible and I do not preach the green values to everyone I meet as a religion. I hate it when people automatically lump people that do simple things like composting into the eco-fanatic crazy Greenpeace diehard category. My dad used to compost and raise his own veggies decades ago, but other than that he was as un-green as you can get.

I love the farmers market but I wish there was one everyday and have you ever seen some of the overinflated prices at the CFM?!? I do applaud the efforts of the local farmers though and how much more local good ingredients are available now and really don't mind paying more for the food. Just have to be wary at the CFM as there are vendors there that take advantage of the high prices there to supply a substandard product. And damn I guess Finland, UK, Australia and NZ are pretty nasty, guess I didn't notice when I was living there and luckily I didn't catch anything there. And places in LA, San Francisco, Connecticut, Utah must be pretty nasty too....although some of that is probably true due to the people living there lol Yup, I agree with the hunting your own meat and that's why I'm all for hunting http://www.urbanchickens.net/2009/04/defan...inst-urban.html

The chickens are (or should be) only raised for eggs they produce and not for the meat. There is a BIG difference if you raise a few chickens to have fresh eggs everyday and a bunch of them for meat. It's not really worth raising them for the meat unless you raise a lot of them and then you get into the problems of smell, noise, etc. I personally can't wait for the day I can have a few chickens in the backyard for fresh eggs but I honestly believe that there's just too many uninformed people in Calgary that will veto the idea. I've lived in cities where people kept a few chickens for eggs and if they are kept right, you never ever know that there are chickens living next door. I've lived in houses where people kept friendly chickens in the backyard and they are a delight to have around. There are some wonderful chicken breeds out there that are very quiet, make great pets and have great eggs on top of it. Generally all people ever hear of chickens is all the bad things, that they smell, are loud, carry diseases and attract vermin. I honestly believed that too until I started living and working with chickens many years ago. If this was a discussion about banning dogs (or many other animals for that matter) and you made a list of all the bad things that come with irresponsible dog owners most likely people would ban them too based on that list. The amount of houses here that have dogs that crap everywhere, smell and bark all day don't seem to be enough of a concern. Yes you can call bylaw services but I have never personally had or heard of many successes with them solving bad dog owners. However, it only takes a few chicken growers that have no clue what they are doing to screw things royally up (but the same can be said of dog owners). In Calgary you do also have the added problem of the weather and chickens will have to be killed before winter unless you have a proper heated home for them or you take them inside. I'm not bashing dog owners, I have a dog myself and the majority of dog owners are good with their dogs. For many people this is not about being eco-friendly or jumping on a fad, it's simply about knowing where your food comes from, what it's fed, how well it's treated and having the freshest ingredients possible. I know I'd love to have a trout pond in my backyard too for a fresh pan fry instead of buying fish shipped in from abroad grown with human garbage.

Interesting review, good to see a fairly unbiased article. Does anyone here have a Albright or used one before? They seem like a decent middle of the road rod and the 5 piece sounds good for backpacking or as a backup rod. Plus the prices of them are very reasonable.

What a great app, I personally dislike taking the fish out of the water for any length of time and like to release them as fast as possible so snapping a quick photo with the fish in the net while in the water, then using the net opening as a reference for the program should work awesome. Thanks for the link.

"Modern battery cases are made of polypropylene or hard rubber. These cases seal better, so external leakage-causing discharge is no longer a problem, provided the top of the battery is clean. Temperature stratification within very large batteries could accelerate their internal "leakage" or self-discharge if the battery is sitting on an extremely cold floor in a warm room or in a submarine." Link to a better explanation: http://www.homepower.com/article/?file=HP127_pg12_ATE_5 However in a boat there's still value in having it insulated in case any acid leaks and for when it's very cold.

Whenever I lose flies or spoons, I seem to find spinners to replace them. The annoying thing is that I never really use spinners, I never have great success with them. I have lots in my tackle box that just seem to be growing. The other only great find was hooking into a burb at PCR and pulling up the burb AND an almost new ice fishing rod. Another guy lost a rod earlier down the hole but sadly it wasn't his lol.

I used to do a lot of mountain biking and downhilling, lately fly fishing has overtaken my biking but one of my first high end bikes was and still is a Slingshot. Since the handle Slingshot is so common I just decided to add an Z to the end to make it unique. http://www.slingshotbikes.com/images/sling-power_callout.jpg, the new ones are pretty much the same but mine was one of the original yellow ones.

Anyone checked the temp of the Bow south of Calgary? I don't have a thermometer yet to check myself.

On the paved section of highway 24 (from from north of the river) where you normally turn left to go to Carseland, keep going south (on the gravel) almost until you hit the river and turn right before the farm house. The road winds down a coolee to a parking area with a boat launch.

One tip I still have to remind myself is to watch my backcast and make sure the line is almost all extended before making the forward cast, you'd be surprised at how long you have to pause at 2 o'clock on the casts. If you can, try taking one lesson from a pros/guide unless your friends are good teachers. Sometimes it's nice to not pick up bad habits from the start. I'm taking Jim McLennan's course this Sunday, can't wait!

How do you get the board discount? And thanks for the suggestions, I couldn't remember for the life of me Icky fly works.

I burned through a ton of flies in the past weeks and was wondering if anyone had a good source online to buy flies from? I know I should really get into making my own but just don't have the time right now. So far I've found reelflies.ca, hookedonflies.com, flyshack.com but only reelflies is Canadian. Thanks.