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The Copper Crawler An easy to tie stonefly pattern using copper wire as the primary material. Hook: Size 6 2X curved nymph hook Thread: Lt. Brown Tail: 10gr copper wire Antennae: 10gr copper wire Bead: 3/16 copper Underbody: Rusty brown ice dub Ribbing: 10gr copper wire Thorax: Rusty brown ice dub Wing Case: Pearlescent film marked with black pen or natural thinskin Legs: Twisted 10gr copper wire Tying Instructions 1) Tie in copper wire for tail 2) Tie in long piece of copper wire for rib 3) Dub a tapered body with ice dub 4) Cover the dubbing with the copper wire for the rib, each wrap touching the next. 5) Tie in wing case 6) Twist copper wire to make 3 sets of legs (I use the vice). Tie in each one with figure 8 wraps on top of the hook shank evenly spaced. 7) Dub around legs. 8) Pull wing case over thorax and tie down behind bead. 9) Whip finish and cement. 10) Add markings to wing case with black sharpie if using film instead of thinskin. 11) Bend legs into position. Note: You can use a drop of super glue on the joints of each leg to reinforce the shape if desired.

Tungsten, first time Ive been out in last 2 months...didnt fish last week?

Gotta love the big browns that get dressed up for halloween. Caught Nov 2nd on the Bow.

I actually consider a bloodworm to be a midge larva...and they are in fact red or orange and rarely larger than size 14. Maybe there are actual worms called blood worms but I was referring to midge larva...sorry

While the red chenille and wire worms caught fish I wasnt convinced they were the best worm pattern. I tried a lot of prototype worms this past fall and spring on the Bow. I'd fish a triple worm rig to test all of them out against each other. I found a couple of interesting things after about 100 fish landed. Fish preferred the more natural colors rather than red. Fish preferred worms with a "hot spot" on them. Fish preferred worms that were NOT weighted really heavily. When given the choice fish preferred worms about 1.5" long. With these findings Ive been able to come up with a pattern that works killer for me. Keep in mind this pattern was meant to imitate natural aquatic worms, not earthworms or bloodworms. Experimentation and creating new patterns is one of the joys of fly fishing for me. Happy fly tying.

When I fish nymphs I mainly roll cast but more often than not its more of a "power haul/sling back upstream" from the end of the drift. Ive gotten pretty proficient at it and can do it backhand and forehand and get it out there up to 50ft. If I have to I will correct it immediately afterwards with a traditional roll cast. After all its like cdock said..the cast doesnt have to look to pretty as long as you can get it out into "the zone" ... then mend and use line control to get the right drift.

Like I said my tests were negative. I agree that if someone knows they have a herniated or bulging disc that core exercises ARE NOT going to fix it. Im just talking about mysterious back pain with MRI / CT being negative. Talk to a doctor before doing exercises. Bandee - What I mean by core exercises is I guess pretty vague. I dont do pilates (Doc said its a bit too intense for back injuries to start with) but a lot of the same positions I try to hold are found in Pilates. The link you gave is somewhat similar to what I do but a lot more of my exercies involve a ball. My doctor gave me about 40 different exercises (printed out on paper) to do and I pick 4 each day and do them. Rotate through them evenly and start with the easier ones and work up to the harder ones on the ball later on. About half of them use an exercise ball. Sorry I do not have an electronic version. The most important thing is to engage your TA (transverse abdominus) and Multifidus muscles. These are inner abdominal muscles that support your back! You have to learn how to do these contractions if you have never done core exercises before. These contractions are the same thing that pilates is based around for the most part. Drawing your belly button into your spine without using your diaphragm etc.. I think the 3 most beneficial exercises for me have been the plank, side plank, and sit-ups on the ball with TA engaged. I'll post more if anyone has more questions..gotta run.

My MRI was negative too, however I could throw my back out putting on a pair of socks. After almost a year of this, the problem just compounds on itself and your inner back muscles become very weak and strained. I tried chiro, physio, accupuncture you name it. Finally I went to one doctor who identified that I kept spraining a joint in my lower back because the muscles bracing that joint were too weak. Furthermore I could not sleep for more than 4 hours a night because my back would just go into spasm when resting. After 10 weeks of CORE EXERCISES EVERY DAY I feel WAY better. Now I can bend down and lift heavy things. My fishing is no longer affected. The odd time I do tweak my lower back I can usually recover from it completely within 5 minutes of stretching whereas before I would be out for days with heavy swelling. As lame as it sounds, strengthening my inner abdominal muscles has pretty much cured me. I used to pretty much ignore this advice in the past thinking it had to be something more complicated. BTW, I have always been pretty fit and have lifted weights often before the injury so I was surprised when I was told a part of my body was very very weak. I just never focused on core training when going to the gym and now its become my focus. Hope this info helps the people with "mysterious" back problems.

Great game. Bobby Lou was due for a big night and was the difference in the game. If you think the Canucks lack consistancy (which they do) take a look at the Flames as well..? When the Canucks went on a tear in March, Luongo's play was good but not great. He let in a lot of soft goals and by no means was the difference maker in most games. Also, keep in mind that Luongo was injured for 20+ games this season..if Kipper was gone for 20+ games this season, would the Flames and Canucks still be tied right now with 2 games left? I'm thinking no. IMO, on paper the flames are a better group of players but the Canucks are a better team.

X 2 btw - your trout paintings are cool

1 hectare - 10,000 sq meters so 85 * 10,000 sq m * 6.1 m = 5,185,000

I think you are right, I get the same answer and used a conversions website to check it.

Is the store open or is it closed because of the accident?

Nucks fan here... nice preseason game last night vs the flames, doesnt mean squat but still fun to watch! All the critics say the canucks will suck and miss the playoffs this year which I dont understand because I think the team they will ice this year will be the best lineup they've had in the past 3 years. 2 years ago they made it to the second round of the playoffs and also captured the NW division title. On paper, the flames have better players than the canucks but as a team I think the canucks will do better and be very hard to play against given their gritty forwards, D, and goaltender. As for Bert, good luck with him calgary fans...watch him float around and do donuts at the blue line and then take dumb penalties on your own power play...he'll never be the same player as he was before the 'incident'.

Nice fish, I would like to catch an atlantic one day. I think the guide was a little off saying 44" and 30 pounds - Ive caught 30 pound chinook salmon that look twice that size ... but who knows the pic might not do it justice. Thanks for sharing it with us.

I have my own version of the CDC Caddis which I have tested on the Bow and has become my "go-to" caddis pattern when trout are rising to emergers. Here is the pattern: http://www.fishtactics.com/ViewFlyPattern?patternID=3

Thanks that one looks good too! Cant wait to try them out.

Thanks I appreciate that, I can figure out the pattern just from looking at the pic.

I'm looking for a good adult golden stone pattern for the Bow. I'd like to swing the pattern and skate it across the surface. Is anyone willing to share a proven pattern? I saw a bunch of big stones get gobbled up close to shore this evening

Good idea but you might want to check with a CO before using it. I know with crankbaits and other lures, they can only have one hook. Some are sold with a hook near the head and a second hook near the tail. In order to use them in the Bow you would have to clip off one of the hooks. A CO might see this fly as a lure with 2 hooks??? I know treble hooks are allowed on the bow as long as the barbs are pinched (obviously). I'm wondering if the 2 hooks on a lure only applies to lures with treble hooks. I see in the regs something about a lure cannot have more than 3 hooks and more than 3 points but was talking to a CO last night that said you cannot have 2 hooks on a lure.

Count how many times bert takes a penalty during a flames power play this season - I'm pretty sure he will lead the league in this stat.

Is it a possibility that you've used 2 different cameras to take those pics? The software pulling pictures from your camera to your computer may have overwritten some of your old pics if the filename was exactly the same.... Say for example you have a canon camera...each picture it takes saves the file as imgxxxxx.jpg where xxxx is an integer that increments by 1 for each picture during the lifetime of the camera. If you have another camera that saves pictures with the same filename format its possible that when these photos were written to your pictures folder by your camera software, that older files with the same filenames were overwritten....hope this makes sense.

Thanks for the advice, appreciate it. I went to the massage therapist and have some really painful trigger points in my lower back. Realized most of my problem was my posture in front of the computer which is what I am on for 8 - 10 hours per day. In the 3 days that Ive changed my desk/monitor/chair arrangements I've actually felt a lot better waking up in the morning. I got a new desk 6 months ago with a keyboard tray that was too low and tried to make it work for me but I think it ended up %^$@*ing up my back as it put strain on my muscles all day long and then after sleeping for several hours, my back was stiff as a board. No more keyboard tray, the keyboard will remain on top of the desk for now... Thanks again...I feel too young to have chronic back pain and was getting pretty frustrated.

Thanks for the advice I appreciate it. I have a deep tissue massage scheduled this week and I hope it helps. I may try acupuncture too as a last resort. I've been lifting weights for years and stopped immediately after my injury...Ive resumed 6 months later and have been building strength again but my flexibility (especially rotating from the trunk) isn't the same as before. I bought a fitness ball to do stretches and some light back exercise and I hope that helps too. My chiropractor does do active release but it doesnt seem to be helping much. The pain I get is only in the morning and clears throughout the day as I become more active.

I was just wondering what your experiences are with acupuncture? Ive never been before but am seriously considering it. I've been going to the chiropractor for the last 8 months with mixed results. I slipped a disc in my lower back last spetember which has since healed with regular chiropractor visits and physio. Since February I've started waking up every morning with back spasms (in the mid back area just next to my rib cage on both sides). The Chiropractor does not seem to make a difference with this issue...and waking up in pain at 4am every morning sucks. Any advice? Thanks.