Flyfisher

Hmmm... read the site over a couple of times, nowhere did I read on it any claim that most C&R fish die. That said I have my doubts that those hooks would be much different than regular ones. Next thing, antibiotic dressing for your Royal Coachman's? Or how about vitamin fortified dubbing for your nymphs or better yet anabolic steroid dressing to beef up those triploids... oh my, I could go on and on... cheers

Hilarious!

I have a Pentax WG-1. Picture quality is poor. Were I to replace it, it would be with an Olympus Tough TG-820. http://www.cnet.com.au/best-waterproof-and...6436.htm#image6 http://waterproof-camera-review.toptenreviews.com/

Wow!!! Glad we don't get hail like that in BC.

Good post. Clear and succinct.

You can't beat the SA (Scientific Angler) Headstart fly line. Great line for the money!

Good rule of thumb regarding hook quality: avoid knock-offs usually sold at a to-good-to-be true discount. IE: at one time several suppliers were selling cheap hooks using the same numbering system and design as Tiemco. Those hooks were crap, brittle and broke easily. Usually you get what you pay for... buy good hooks. Several good brands have been mentioned above with the exception of Dai-rikki which are too brittle and nowhere's near the quality of Mustad (signature series), Daiichi or Tiemco hooks. I've used Tiemco's for years with few complaints.

Kudos... nice production work for a first. Please bare in mind the importance of proper fish handling is paramount. Best fishes, F

Best thing to do if you possibly can is to try the boots on in a shop with the socks and waders you'll be using. Otherwise going one size larger than the larger fit you mention should be OK allowing you the extra room for woolies. I'm a solid size 11 and use Simms G3's and Guide boots in a 12. tho I do not have extra room for thick socks or woolies and use instead a thinner synthetic thermal sock in cold water.

Another for Aguaseal. Be sure to clean the nick area well before applying the Aquaseal. 100% isopropanol will remove any residue or line dressing.

Hi there, thinking of making a first time trip to the Castle and Carbondale rivers soon. Wondering if the surrounding countryside there is as open to that big beautiful Alberta sky as that along portions of the Livingstone and Oldman rivers? I like the Liv/Oldman area at this time of year as it offers a variety of camping opportunities that provide early morning sunlight (when it's shinning of course) so one can thaw out after a long chilly fall night. Must be my thin Sicilian blood... best fishes, Paul

Where's PETA when you need them, they thrive on attacking the fashion industry.

Some of the fly and tackle shops here in BC carry them. Can't remember specifically which ones. Pretty sure I picked one up at Michael & Young in Vancouver/Surrey one time. Check the EZE-Lap web site for suppliers in your area.

I use the pen style (Eze Lap) sharpener to. Its a real handy design. The Mustad sharpener is big and klunky, making it difficult to sharpen small hooks. Sticky sharp hooks equal better hook ups!

I use the pen style (Eze Lap) sharpener to. Its a real handy design. The Mustad sharpener is big and glunky, making it difficult to sharpen small hooks. Sticky sharp hooks equal better hook ups!

Excellent point monger. Far better for wild fish to stock triploids rather than diploids in lakes like we did in the past. The fish stocked in BC lakes are not genetically suited to riverine habitat anyway, they are lake fish. It's unlikely they would move from a lake habitat into a stream in numbers that would compete for food with wild native fish. There are much more immediate pressing concerns negatively impacting wild fish stocks than this.

Smitty pretty well sums up my thoughts on the use of a throat pump. When using one having a large enough landing net is essential. I use a Moby net and chose the largest model. It floats and because of it's large flat bottomed bag there is lots of room for hands and fish. It's practically impossible to properly use a pump in a net hardly bigger than your catch. IMO, playing a fish well and leaving it in the water (proper catch and release practice) is more critical to survival than the proper use of a throat pump. Fly fishing is a bloodsport and by its very nature is invasive. So from where I stand proper use of a throat pump is really a moot point.

What's the problem Don? The car's a hybrid so you use gas for the trip to the coast. At home if in the city you use electric for bopping around and for the drive to and from work and charge it at home. "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." ~Winston Churchill

Monger, I quite liked your statement and I like the one above even better. Just wanted to clarify things a bit, wouldn't want anyone thinking that mining activity is a stream management enhancement tool in south eastern BC. As an aside, mining near the town of Kimberley in BC significantly elevated nutrient levels in Kootenay Lake in the 50's and 60's. Mark CK and the lower St Mary R were toxic but by the time that water reached Kootenay Lake it was diluted enough to be a major benefit to the fishery. Why do you think the productivity is so high in Elk tributaries that haven't been affected by mining? There seems to be far greater numbers of bugs there compared to Alberta. Generally productivity is highest in the tribs that have been affected by mining. I'm not familiar with enough east slope streams to make the supposition that there are more bugs in the Elk tribs... tho I'm working on it. That said and assuming your observation is correct, I'll hazard a guess by saying that I suspect differences in geology, temperature and rainfall might be factors.

Just so no one gets the wrong idea, what you refer to above as "enhancing" fisheries is not something being done by design or intention by government or anyone else, not now or ever. It just so happens that industrial waste leaching into the water in this unique case has had a positive effect on some streams. Industrial impacts on fish bearing streams are seldom happy stories. Sundancerfisher: wouldn't it be infinitely better to put resources into protecting the integrity of watersheds rather than into "fix" schemes such as nutrient replacement, especially in the Rockies where there are no salmon bearing streams? The carrying capacity of a stream is a function of a host of complex mechanisms and interactions. Nutrient level is just one interaction and in of itself cannot be assumed to be a "fix". I might wager that there are foothill and front range streams that have higher nutrient levels today due to human interaction (range land, agricultural uses, etc.) than prehistoric levels...

Can you elaborate? I imagine you may mean possible nutrient depletion due to loss of riparian habitat, impoundment, (reservoirs), removal of forest cover, etc... I'm not aware of any streams in BC receiving nutrient enhancement that don't have existing or historic salmon runs. Kootenay and the Arrow Lakes are supplemented with nutrients due to nutrient loss from impoundment and because of the introduction of mysid shrimp; the shrimp compete with keystone fish species like kokanee salmon for zoo plankton. An obvious question: Is range land and agricultural use in front range and foothill watersheds enhancing nutrient levels? Is there a benchmark nutrient level before development? Perhaps instream habitat loss (eg: instream structure (course woody debris etc.) is a more significant factor than a possible shift one way or the other from historic nutrient levels?

Hmmm, not really ambiguous if one accepts this as a plausible definition of a sportsman, "One who pursues fish and game with deep passion, conviction and respect for his quarry while honoring his heritage, adhering to his guiding principles, yet fostering a sense of fairness and compassion for others with whom he shares the fields and waters.”

Cast one and see how it feels. I have a couple of GLX's. Not sure where you are or what you intend to use it for, but for stillwater, large streams and rivers like the Bow I prefer the GLX Streamdance series. The 'Experience' model would be my choice in a 6wt. The Native Run is more of a steelhead and salmon stick - a bit much for most trout fishing IMO.

By and large a non-competitive sport. A blood sport to be precise.

Great story troutlover! The "Fish Gods" look kindly upon "basterd" scout masters.