Golfman09

Clive....apparently I have no idea what I"ve been missing all of this time........must go convince my wife to hold a party ASAP!

Lynn.......I come to this site to get away from that stuff....my wife is an epicure, scrapbook, toenail painting, mary kay, blah blah blah, maniac. So....nope I won't be there....highly recommend the salsa though.....

I was out camping with the family....3 little girls under the age of 4.5.......can't wait til their teenagers..... We pulled into the Cypress park on Thursday to find 10" of snow still on the ground from the storm on Tuesday. Decided the forecast looked good so we stuck it out. Weather was awesome and the kids had a blast playing in the snow in 20 deg. C. Tried fishing Loch Leven but didn't have any luck.....I've seen decent sized Brook Trout on a trip last year but could not locate them this time. Didn't take the float tube along which was a mistake! Came back early on Monday so I zipped out to Bullshead in the afternoon but found things really slow....stripped streamers FOREVER but couldln't find them. Put the chronie and indi on and caught one 19" fatso that looked pretty beat up from the spawn. Then it happened....caught that bloody MUSKRAT......I tried to scare him away and get him to go deep but he kept on going and must have flossed my line while he was carrying other grass and stuff. Fought with him for a while and was able to break him off.......BLOOM, you'll be interested to know that your leech also catches muskrats........I was remarkably calm but really was shocked....usually they seem to know where you line is at and avoid it. This one charged right through without any thought. Hope the little guy does ok. I also did some scouting on Boiler and Belanger Creeks in the Cypress Hills. I'm a bit of a rookie on the stream thing but didn't see too much that looked to be holding fish. If anyone know some water that holds fish around there I'd be happy to hear about it. Its a great place to take the family and we will be back there several time over the next few years. All in all a pretty relaxing weekend.

I stopped watching when Chicago tied it.....sounds like they've gone ahead now....I'm not watching....really bitter at this point as they are playing like crap defensively. I enjoy watching a good game....this is just stupid.

My brother has kept pirrahnas at different times....watched him feed them mice....couldn't believe how fast they struck. Those things just shred stuff.

I haven't ever been a guide but in a past life was a golf pro at a pretty sweet golf course. Depending on your expectation making your hobby your career turns into a completely different animal. Being held hostage by having to entertain people that may not "get it" while continually being positive can be a difficult task. There can be lots of great days but it can make your hobby turn into a chore. I think it depends on your mindset and and how your market yourself as well. As long as you can still keep the pieces that you enjoy and compartmentalize the tough days then you'll be fine.

Case in point a few years ago when Cloutier was around....the Canucks never made it deep into the post season......"like pucks through Cloutier's pads.....so are the Flames of our lives" Without Luongo it would have been the Canucks in 6 instead of 4.

quad ditto.... I actually have a thingamabobber on as well as another indi just because I"m too lazy to take the other off because the thingamabobber works so well.....

Another one...

I was out on this past Sunday and they seemed to be surfacing for 15 or so minutes at one point. It was the warmest point of the day for sure....it was really the first time I could see the emergence as well as the fish keying on them for a short time. Here are a couple picks of what I have done so far. Any critiques are welcome.

I have had success with the regular chronimid patterns hanging them below an indicator.....I have yet to use any emerger patterns though...just tying them up now.

Thanks for all the suggestions....I'm seated at the desk and ready to tie a few up. Have a 4 day weekend coming up so I'll give them all a good test. Thanks for your help! Mark

I'm looking for ideas on patterns to tie for rising chironomids.....Anybody tied anything that works well? I'm assuming I"m looking for something that will sit in the film. Let me know if anyone has any ideas.

The one thing about saving for retirement and THEN enjoy it becomes troublesome on a number of fronts....I won't be able to play when I'm sixty with the same skill, ride the same bike trails, canoe with the same endurance, etc., etc., etc...... Yes, most of those things I could probably do on some level. Yet I don't really know if I would enjoy it as much as I do now because of the results I would see. I have a young family now and I want to be able to introduce my kids to those situations so they can look back and see that their parents loved life and were willing to make decisions to in order to let them experience as many things as possible. I remember the first time my dad and grandpa took me and my brother fishing.....they didn't have a clue what they were doing but decided it would be good to let us give it a try. We caught nothing until they finally broke down and took us to a trout pond that we basically were handed fish by the guy who fed them dog food all day. The dog food "fly" really worked....it was a "dry fly"....Anyways, the time and expense in letting us experience that has brought me to love the pass time now and I can see the need to let my kids give it a try as well. If that means that I don't retire for an extra 5 years or that other things are sacrificed I am fine with that. I'd rather make the choice to do those things now than save for the possibility of doing it later. Yes you need to save so that you are not a leech on society once your career is done, however I think you also need to make choices to spend when its right for you and your family. Some of these things are not just a reflection of the current economy but my own personal alignment of priorities. Everyone will and should have a different take on them depending on what your end result of life looks like. In the end I"m certain that providing the skills for my children to be successful is a better legacy than leaving them with an account full of money to rely on. Spend it while I'm here baby!

Enjoy! Should be a great year for some fishing in the new ride.....I'm getting antsy with mine.....really thinking about Montana this weekend. I'm not a patient person by nature....must travel to find open water.....

I may be heading that way for saturday....haven't quite decided yet.

One of the ones is the Holter Lake Campground I believe....but I"m not sure exactly how many there are.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b_X5FdpsWpg

I mentioned some of this before on another thread about the boat thing but it has really hit home here as well. We have made decisions based on having the "toys" necessary to do the things we want with our kids while they are young. We do a lot of RVing as well as just travel in general. That will not change this year or any other year as we have based all of our regular spending capacity on worst case scenarios for my income. I am a sales guy for an equipment rental company which is very slow right now because of the lack of construction. This is something we just started a year or so ago and really found it paid off as any changes that have come along in my income will not impact us negatively. I"d like to see things busier, however at the same time with the current pace of work I will be able to take all of my holidays this year as well as the balance that I haven't taken through the last 2 years. That is something that never would have happened without this recession. I hope that this time will help a lot of people refocus on the things that are of utmost importance in their life and make sure there is a plan in place for all possible outcomes. That way it will not be a major crisis if things go a little sideways. We are still in a position to spend and have continued to do so with the assumption that this will not get much worse through the next year before the up swing. That meant a new drift boat that hasn't even touched water yet......Come on spring.....lets go! If everyone was spending right now we would even be talking about it....damn media scaring the crap out of everyone! Gil.....buy the boat! Prices are reasonable....I know Clackacraft has a yard full of them right now....there has to be 70 boats in the Idaho Falls yard alone. I'm thinking they'll be cutting some deals for the next while.

I wondered if I rigged up a big "electric" motor for the back and rowed it around backwards.....just how much ice could one chew up in a day. Seriously considering some drastic measures! I watched my neighbor head out there this morning with the ice fishing gear....have to ask him how the day went later on. And by the way.....just as much beer must be consumed by the rower as the rowee......

I second the professional setup....I've played a few lately at the store and compared to the ones I and my brother have had setup there is no comparison. I have a Takamine that I have had setup and still to this point plays and sounds better than any of the high priced Taylors I've tried. Don't get me wrong...the Taylor's are beautiful, have a great sound and someday one will be in my home.....but the money I put into having someone adjust the neck, as well as a set of nice strings makes a huge difference. When I'm playing 3-4 times a week I also make sure to change the strings out at least every 4-5 weeks. Now if someone could get rid of the key Eb....I'd be a happy kid.

That needs a recliner on top.....kick back and enjoy a little float...

Ouch....I brought mine back on Saturday and cruised through the border....payed about 400 in GST and will have the riv payment to follow for 200. I'm guessing that was a 10k fine?? Now I just need some open water around the Hat.....hurry up and melt......

I would be in favor of a two tiered system with an additional cost going towards a license with a higher keep rate. Its those people who are costing the provinces more for the restocking each year. Why should they not have to pay for this benefit in comparison to me who fishes all year long and doesn't keep a single fish. Its just like shopping....pay for what you take home. Don't get me wrong....I have no problem paying for my license .....and that we probably don't pay enough compared to the benefits we receive from the managed fisheries. But why should someone who is causing a greater demand for restocking pay the same as someone that does not impact the number of fish because of C & R.

As long as it melts around the shore it should keep most off until its time for the fly rods.....sweet....