jack

The Survey is done, 137 responses, from BC, Alberta(Calgary Fly Fishing was hosting it also), Onterrible, Newfoundland, and some goof from Grand Cayman Island ! (Just kidding, Sean is a friend) What is it "they" say? The votes are in and currently being "tabulated" ? Thanks everyone, a very high percentage of thoughtful and articulate suggestions. And, the winners of the Fly Rod Draw are: In BC WWF4-1005F- John Randle WWF4-1006- Mark Ring In Alberta WWF4-1005F- Mike Monteith WWF4-1006F- John Kent Each of the Wind Warrior "Stillwater Series" was designed in BC, for the interior stillwater type of fly fishing and is valued at $289.00 Each of the winners has been contacted by email, this evening. Thanks everyone for contributing and allowing me to contribute. j

At my wedding(34 years ago) my best man, as we were waiting for my bride to arrive at the chapel, kept saying "It's still not too late to cut and run, you know." j

Although there is "enough evidence to have a reasonable expectation of a conviction"(the criteria under which crown prosecutors will lay a charge under the Criminal Code), keep in mind a few things: -this is a charge not a conviction -in my four years investigating alleged sexual assaults and sexual abuse(in the 1990s), 30% of the allegations were totally unfounded -there are a wide variety of scenarios that constitute "sexual assault", not all of them involve physical assault -there are many times that prosecutors are encouraged by "political correctness" to proceed with charges, especially against high profile individuals. j

"Morrison said the studies are happening too slowly and the guidelines are too lax." Perhaps instead of sitting at his donation accepting desk, pontificating, he could head out with biologists into known "grizz country" and assist in gathering hair samples on "rub trees", document the samples, map the locations and submit the credible documentation for DNA testing and submission to the counts. j

From the "K" Div Media site and sent to all Divisional Officer's in Charge in Canada: "Mayerthorpe Criminal Proceedings: Sentencing Edmonton, Alberta - January 30, 2009 "This morning, Court of Queen's Bench Justice Eric Macklin sentenced Shawn Hennessey and Dennis Cheeseman, after accepting their guilty pleas on four counts each, of Manslaughter as entered in Edmonton Court of Queen's Bench on Monday, January 19th, 2009. Mr. Hennessey and Mr. Cheeseman were arrested and charged in July, of 2007 with four counts of first degree murder. A lengthy 28 month investigation provided the requisite evidence to lay charges of First Degree Murder under Section 235 of the Criminal Code of Canada. Mr. Hennessey and Mr. Cheeseman were charged for their involvement in aiding and/or abetting James Roszko. Roszko ambushed and murdered Royal Canadian Mounted Police Constables Anthony Gordon, Leo Johnston, Brock Myrol and Peter Schiemann, before taking his own life on March 3rd, 2005, near Mayerthorpe, Alberta. My deepest sympathies and admiration go out to each of the families of the fallen four for their patience, their fortitude, their confidence, and their enduring support for the RCMP throughout this most difficult of times. When your loved ones joined the RCMP, all of you became a part of our extended RCMP family. As a family, all our employees across Canada, and those serving at international postings, have grieved along with each of you. Our hearts remain heavy with the burden of your loss - - and with the burden of our loss. As the Commanding Officer of the RCMP in "K" Division, I thank all our employees for your patience and support throughout the course of a very long, very difficult, and very complex criminal investigation. I personally assure you that an extremely competent and dedicated team of investigators, supported by equally competent and dedicated legal advisors from Alberta Justice, conducted a comprehensive and disciplined investigation. An investigation that methodically and thoroughly followed the evidentiary trail, and with strength of purpose - gathered facts, and presented those facts to Judge Peter Ayotte at the Preliminary Hearing in April of last year. This resulted in His Honor, having bound both accused over for trial on a charge of First Degree Murder. As the details of any investigation are placed on the court record and publication bans permit, these details then become available to the public. On Monday, January 19th, 2009, Mr. Hennessey and Mr. Cheeseman, entered a guilty plea to four counts of Manslaughter under Section 236 of the Criminal Code of Canada. A Statement of Facts, signed by prosecutors, respective defense counsel for Mr. Cheeseman and Mr. Hennessey, along with agreement and signatures from Mr. Hennessey and Mr. Cheeseman themselves, was then read into evidence in Court of Queen's Bench. As the result of the facts presented the guilty pleas were accepted by the court. The "Agreed Statement of Fact", testimony and related evidence provided at the Preliminary Inquiry, and previously undisclosed evidence and information, has now been made public to all Canadians. The twenty-eight month criminal investigation into the murder of four young police officers on March 3rd, 2005, has been the subject of extraordinary speculation, uninformed innuendo and unfounded accusation, that has largely focused on the RCMP -- but has caused immeasurable pain to the families and loved ones of the four murdered RCMP Officers. This speculation, innuendo and accusation can now be judged against the factual evidence. Facts that are only now, available to the public in accordance with the law - -the law that we, the RCMP, have been and continue to be duty bound to follow. These facts provide for the context and scope of the four homicides and the extent of the criminal investigation that was to follow. Through the aforementioned agreed statement of facts, the public now knows: On March 2nd, 2005, Alberta Baliffs set out to execute a warrant authorizing the seizure of a 2005 Ford Pick-up from James Roszko, at his farm outside of Mayerthorpe, Alberta;Mr. Roszko departed his farm across a field, evading the seizure of the vehicle. Baliffs contacted the RCMP in Mayerthorpe for assistance, that ultimately resulted in the identification of an enclosed marihuana grow operation containing 280 plants, along with stolen automobile parts and truck frames;Mr.Roszko made several calls to Shawn Hennessey's work and home phone numbers which included a request for Hennessey to hide his truck at Hennessey's residence;Roszko later arrived at the Hennessey/Cheeseman residence, armed with a Luger handgun in his waist band, seeking a rifle that had been given to Hennessey by his grandfather;Mr. Hennessey wiped down the rifle, and then handed the Winchester .300 Magnum rifle and a box of .300 Magnum ammunition over to Roszko;Mr. Cheeseman provided Roszko with a pillow case, and some gloves from the basement of his residence, and placed the rifle in the pillow case. These articles were later seized as evidence at the scene of the four murders, along with a bed sheet, Bear Spray and a bottle of water;During this extended period of time, Roszko was enraged at the RCMP. Both Mr. Hennessey and Mr. Cheeseman knew that an armed confrontation with the RCMP was a real possibility; Mr. Hennessey and Mr. Cheeseman, then drove Roszko to the immediate area of his farm, where Roszko, Mr. Cheeseman and Mr. Hennessey could clearly see the lights from the police cars at the entrance to his Quonset. Mr. Hennessey and Mr. Cheeseman were present, as Roszko pulled socks over his boots before proceeding off in the direction of the police, then armed with the Luger pistol in his waist band, and Mr. Hennessey's Winchester high caliber rifle and ammo.Mr. Cheeseman suggested calling the police to warn them about Roszko, but no call was ever placed by either Mr. Hennessey or Mr. Cheeseman;After dropping off Roszko, later that morning Mr. Hennessey departed the company of his family and travelled to Edmonton for a work-related conference and Mr. Cheeseman headed off to work to engage a normal work day;At approximately 10 o'clock, on March 3rd, 2005, Constables Gordon, Johnston, Myrol and Scheimann entered the Roszko Quonset, while Cpl.Vigor and Cst. Hoogestraat prepared to effect a comprehensive search for stolen automobile parts; A well-armed Roszko ambushed and murdered four on-duty members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police inside the Quonset located on his property and attempted to murder Cpl. Stephen Vigor, who returned fire and struck Roszko twice before Roszko took his own life;Mr. Hennessey and Mr. Cheeseman learned of the murder of the four police officers and the death of Mr. Roszko, later in the day of March 3rd, 2005; Mr. Hennessey and Mr. Cheeseman did not contact police;Shawn Hennessey and his mother Sandy Hennessey discussed the fact that the Winchester.300 Magnum rifle was registered to Shawn's grandfather, John Hennessey. The senior Hennessey was quite sure that it was his own suggestion that they all "story" to the police the notion that the rifle had been stolen from the back of John Hennessey's welding truck;Shawn Hennessey and Dennis Cheeseman were approached by investigators on numerous occasions during the course of the 28 month investigation in order for them to tell police what they knew of the murders;Mr. Hennessey and Mr. Cheeseman were charged with First Degree Murder. The law clearly states that an individual who participates in the murder of a police officer, will be charged with First Degree murder, as opposed to the lesser charge of Second Degree murder. A Preliminary Hearing provided the courts with a portion of the evidence against the two accused that resulted in Mr. Cheeseman and Mr. Hennessey being bound over for trial on a charge of First Degree Murder;Mr. Hennessey and Mr. Cheeseman have pled guilty to a charge of Manslaughter on the evidence and information provided at the Preliminary Hearing. With the advent of a guilty plea, the Province of Alberta is now in a position to call a Fatality Inquiry. A Provincial Court judge would conduct the public fatality inquiry. Once the Inquiry is complete, the judge provides a written report to the public. As previously mentioned, in accordance with the law, I am prevented from commenting on any issues that could prejudice the pending Fatality Inquiry. While it can never be said often enough, I will close by thanking the families of Cst. Gordon, Cst. Johnston, Cst. Myrol and Cst. Scheimann. I acknowledge the extraordinary bravery of Cpl. Steve Vigor and Cst. Garrett Hoogestratt. I further acknowledge the outstanding professionalism of all the First Responders of March 3rd, 2005, and our criminal investigators and support personnel from Alberta, British Columbia, Ottawa, and across Canada, that assisted in the investigation. I want to thank Alberta Justice. I thank all the employees of the RCMP and our policing colleagues within Canada and around the world for your support. I want to acknowledge those in the media that have exercised professionalism, patience and integrity. Finally, I would like to thank all Canadians for your enduring support." Deputy Commissioner Rod Knecht Commanding Officer RCMP "K" Division"

I make my own nail knot tools. I keep one in every kit bag. My biggest problem with store-bought metal ones was that when I inevitably dropped one, while changing leaders(wasn't using loops) in the pontoon boat, they sank like a rock, of course! :$*%&: So now, I build my own floating ones. 3/8 hardwood dowel, cut lengthwise dead centre at a shallow angle, then sharpened on a 150 grit sanding disc. Add a half-wine cork for the knob and coat it with thread sealer: The fine taper makes "neat" really simple: j

Give Brian a shout, he has become obsessed with chinook and taken his experiences over the last couple of years, from the Skeena to Alaskan Rivers, and turned it into some pretty interesting gear recommendations, that actually work. 14' rods for chinook are out the window, 12'6"-13' are absolutely the best for landing the big boys. Anytime after about 11:30 AM MST you can get him and chat him up: 1-888-822-3474 Whistler Fly Fishing. j

Mark, what I do is tie in a dozen or so of square cut white yarn fibres with one or two wraps of thread, then pull the fibres through the wraps, until there is about 1/8" sticking out, few more wraps, trim the running end of the fibres off and then continue on with tying in the rib, then the body. By the time you finish and whip it the gills only protrude about 1/16th". These are larvae, but the same works for pupae: Bodies are: Left to right, mylar Easter Egg basket nest stuff, grey macrame`yarn, black thread rib, grey yarn, copper rib, 6mm czech seed beads. All coated with Loon Saltwater Skalze urethane finish. j

Yeah, I am an "obsessed sight fishing over marl" guy, myself. Nothing better: Sorry: back to Columbia Chironomids. Gawd I wish spring would hurry up. j

The Wind Warrior 10', 6wt has been redesigned with machined reel seat and up-sized guides to meet the demand of river and beach fishers, Rob. The new one won't be available to fondle until late February. j

"Is Brian the Whistler guy on this forum??" That's him. Gifted caster and teacher. All 'round great guy. j

That will probably be up to the individual retail displays. Might be best to contact them ahead of time(or check a website) to see what they take. Most will take anything, but it depends on their card terminal arrangements. j

Would that be a Kingfisher 2825?(I've just never heard of a "29") If so, it's one of my "dream boats". Very much a coastal vessel, you should be directing your ads to boating publications that target both East and West coast of North America. Maybe even the Great Lakes area of Canada and the U.S. and Gulf of Mexico. It will be very much a high-end sales endeavor, that baby is worth a fair chunk of change and people who are in the market won't be looking on craigslist, I don't think. With the immediate economic future looking pretty ugly, I'd start flogging it right away, if you can. j

And solar powered for that "green, responsible" look, right? Or did you want it to burn bunker sea #2 ? j

I used all the responses with "dials" on them to wrap PETA trophies. j

Yeah, the "thousand metre gaze" is perfect! j

I personally like the hanging on the dock "trophy" pictures, rocks/grass/ice seems somewhat passive, you know? j

"It would be nice if we had more than a couple of marl lakes on this side of the mountains." Rob: Do Not ever pass up the opportunity to use chironomids on lakes with mud bottoms. Midges love the mud, in fact they prefer it to marl bottoms. If you are doing the early morning thing(prior to the sun hitting the water) try a #18 cream or pale grey coloured emerger: j

Figured I would boot this to the top, give folks another 10 days or so to get their surveys in, then we will call it done. I'll make the draw on or around March 1st. Due to the great responses, we thought we would draw for one rod from the Alberta group of contributors and one from the BC group. If anyone is going to the FF Expo, Brian Niska, at his Whistler Flyfishing booth will have a demo rod of the Wind Warrior "Stillwater" Series. 10' 4pc 5wt, designed by chironomiders, specifically for chironomiding. Be sure and take the opportunity to wave it. j

The shredded plastic strips that come in Easter Egg baskets. Use them for minnow bodies too. j

"The Gilley, A Flyfisher's Guide" edited by Alf Davy ISBN 0-88925-638-1 out of print but some around. The best. Comprehensive is an understatement. j

A friend of mine and I suffer occasionally from "tennis or fly casters elbow". It is sometimes inflamed ligaments and sometimes slightly torn ones.(or arthritis in the joint) In the case of the first circumstances, winter should rest it, but a definite aid to rest and healing is the removal of inflammation and pain. Don't know if it's available in pharmacies in Alberta(because it's an iffy thing here in BC, some do, some won't), but ibuprofen gel 20% is like magic in a jar for elbows and shoulders. j

Line and receipt is all you need. j

No, I heard too many "Left Coasters" had moved into town. Sorry, Colin, I'd love to, but putting a new website together in time for the launch of the new rod line on March 1st is stapling my butt to my office chair. I did steal away to the Kelowna dinner on the weekend and stopped at Savona with my trusty 1106 spey and managed 3 decent sized dollies at the Kamloops Lake outflow, though. Felt really good! j

Just finished talking to Brian, he will also have the Wind Warrior spey line up plus a couple of the new 10' 6wt Stillwater rods in the booth, for those interested to fondle and wave. j