Golfman09

As soon as I read the first post I knew this thread was going there. However, if you did park it down there you could probably charge the rest of us clowns to go and stay there to fish.

Some buddies and I are heading to Kimberly to play golf in September and are looking for a sweet place to rent for a Friday and Saturday night. If anyone knows of some good rentals that would fit 8 people let me know. I think its going to be the weekend of Sept 11th-13th but that is still to be determined. Thanks. Mark

I vote 1 as I think people from other places/ provinces should pay a premium to fish waters in other areas, especially when a little higher license fee will probably not change the choice of a much larger cost for the vacation to get them here. Those funds can then be put towards enforcement and stocking programs to further enhance the fisheries....the thing that I would assume would be that these people making the trip to fish in Alberta from elsewhere would be the least of our worries for enforcement as they may be the most educated and respectful with regards to our passtime. At least with the fly fishing community. I currently hold three licenses and paid way more for the ones that I'll only use for a handful of days vs. the Alberta license. Change the mindset a little....I couldn't play 3 rounds of golf for what I paid to fish for the entire year in three regions......hhhhhmmmmmmmmm.............. I don' t think people will mind if it will improve the area for their next visit and in turn will benefit the locals who benefit the most.

I have the black rubber and have been really impressed with it in multiple fly rigs....no fouling and from the looks of things less protective slime stays with the net when the fish is released. It is heavier but I use it for the boat only at this point. I have a smaller cloth net for wading. I'm not sure about the spook factor though. my 2/3rds of a nickel.

I found a box of BLL and didn't mind it at all....Much fruitier than Corona with Lime but it'll do for hot days....But what I am impressed with is the Budweiser Chelada(Added Clamato, Salt and Lime....I will definately be bringing some of that back. I need to find a Walmart where I can pickup a boat load.

So I'm not a river guy by any means basically by my proximity to them....and the steady action Bullshead provides. But, I'm down in Montana and spent yesterday fishing the Middle fork of the Flathead river. The sign at the access point says it is illegal to fish for Bull Trout. Now, I can understand if there were only one species- Bull Trout....then you don't fish. But with there being Cuttthroat, Rainbows, Lakers, Whities and Bull Trout I just can't get my mind around it. There would be the more obvious large streamers to target them but outside of that I just don't get it. The reason I ask is because I caught 3 fish...1 cuttthroat, 1 ???( I was chatting with a raft full of people and caught one while discussing my day of fishing to that point. They proceed to applaud my efforts and I got distracted....just before he was at my feet he got off. Either a cutty or bow though.) And a skinny 12" Bull Trout. So with the Bull if the game officer showed up while I had him hooked what would the outcome be? I was using a stonefly immitation so wasn't targeting them per se. So, is this just a really hokey rule that they cannot enforce or is there something I just don't quite understand......or both! Mark

I'm heading down there next week and really haven't done much in the way of river fishing. Just wondering what I should take along with me or at least be prepared to tie once I'm down there drinking beer. I'll be there for a week and probably get out a few times depending on the family. I plan on getting the tying gear out while sitting around the campsite so I can learn a few new patterns as well. Any direction you can give would be appreciated. Mark

I placed an order a few months ago and they had trouble getting it together...sizes that were showing in stock were not there, etc. In the end I was given a really deep discount on whatever else I wanted to order as well as a couple of free fly boxes(their error ...they were so confused about what was happening because of the wader sizes that they shipped out 2 different fly box orders when they were supposed to cancel the first one) In the end though I was left a happy camper and got a smoking deal on my order.

Looking forward to the 8' for some small water stuff.....thats something I don't have in the arsenal right now. Will definitely give it a look.

I test drove the 5wt. and Trend reel that Tim had at BH today. Was really impressed with both rod and reel....although there were more fish hooking up for Tim than I... That reel will definitely be the next purchase I make, once the warden opens up the safe...... That rod was able to punch an indicator through the wind without problem ....and with the extra length it make is really easy to keep the fly off the water.

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.....