jack

ANY hybrid species is expensive to produce and stock. Alberta should establish a properly funded lake stocking program with both "quality" and "trophy" management of selected waters, long before the stocking of any exotic species is even considered. Non-resident and alien licensing should be increased and the funding should be directed to stocking programs. How about "Guide Licensing" ? How about a "Stocking Surcharge" on resident licensing? All directed exclusively to stocking management? j

I know it's not fashionable to praise the BC government, BUT, in this case, praise is due. Thanks to: Minister Penner Director of Wildlife ALL Regional F&W Managers "PHWFFC and ESPECIALLY PHWFFC-BC would like to thank the British Columbia Minister of Environment and the Director of Wildlife for their support in issuing an exemption from licensing permit for all fresh/non-tidal waters in BC, for PHWFFC members "in care" who are under the supervision of PHWFFC. BC is THE FIRST province in Canada to support our returning troops in this way. " j

Surf the 'net for info, pricing, applicable details. Putting as many rods in your hand and trying them with a line is the ONLY way to decide which one "fits" you.

Spray pure white vinegar on the area on a hot bright sunny day. Re-apply the next day, if similar conditions, for the really tough plants. Kills most plants within hours. Beats Roundup or Agent Orange. j

I think when people criticize a place for "not having any culture" what they mean to say is "not any of what they consider to be culture", which is substantially different from having no culture at all. To me, "culture" is the way of living and entertaining one's self or one's community that has been developed over time. It depends on what is available to people in the area. To my observation, calgary has a diversified and multifaceted and for the most part, outdoor culture. Many people in large metropolitan cities of the world(with LOTS of "culture") would give their left eye to live where there is free space and outdoor culture like Calgary . j

With my "current wife"(of 35 years) I have tied a subtle little "ON SALE 50% OFF !! j

Geez, why is it that ALL you guys with pansy hands have attitude ??................. Oh wait, I HAVE "pansy hands", too !! Go figure! j

Wes: I just finished a design mock-up of a "Women's Only", fly rod combo. The limited prototype production should be starting soon. The initial samples will be 2pc 9' 5wt, with smaller cork grip, single foot wire loop guides for less weight. Moderate/fast+ action. It will come with a matching cartridge reel. NO they are NOT PINK !! After receiving input from about 50+ women fly fishers, some very experienced and some rookies, the consensus was that pink has been done to death. The prototypes won't be here "next week" or anything, but if the lady would like to test one out when they get here, I would like the first impressions of someone who is relatively new to "our obsession". Tiana, "ladystrange" will have a couple for evaluation, probably in early August. j

Tied on a #8 dry hook, with a pale orange body, it makes one helluva October Caddis for steelhead, also. j

Granny has a bit of a haul in Utah, yet. He is trying to get a tech manufacturing company up and "over the top" operationally so he can retire "and get back to where there is some water to fish in!" He will be in Trail, BC at the end of July, for his son's wedding and he has a date on the river with Satch and I and many beers. j

True, but what can happen(and has), a record of shipments is established and one item marked "gift" will be charged tax or if there is a duty(not many these days) and sent on. If the tax/duty is remitted without an appeal, then "precedence" and evidence is established. In the "bad old days" prior to internet buying(was there ever a time?) Customs on both sides traced a number of purchases back to the sellers and really ugly stuff happened. BUT, that was a couple of people who were really milking things on a regular, almost weekly, basis. j

I think, by comparing the two situations(Niger Delta and the Gulf) that any entity that is engaged in any kind of development on public/crown or commonly-owned property is only as responsible as regulations make them. "Deregulation" can take many forms and in many cases is justifiable in order to make the existing, sometimes convoluted/contradictory regulations more clear and workable. However, when regulations are downgraded to make developers less responsible, then whistles should blow and lights should flash. j

"I simply have them put on the declaration form "gift" and under value "$50" even if its over." That's cool, as long as they fully understand that they are committing a criminal act and there is a chance, however slight, that it could lead to a "knock on the door, by unsmiling people in uniforms with guns.". j

#8 nymph hook. Small plastic bead chain eyes, olive wool for an underbody, olive crystal chenille for the over body, pheasant tail biots for the legs. Use a layer of deerhair or styrofoam for an underbody for the floating model. I've also used crystal chenille and olive ostrich herl for a sinker. j

No, but Don is. j

Yup. He moved to Utah to do consulting work in the same type of industry that he and Don were/are involved in. Their company, Firebird Technologies was sold late last year, making both Granny and Don fairly "well-off". Don("Satch") has signed a 5 year CEO/management contract to stay on with Firebird, Grant initially indicated he was heading back to Trail at some point, just not sure when. This has rattled my chain, I'll shoot Granny an email and find out. If what he is up to is "suitable for general audiences", I'll post an update. j

About 2 years ago, I bought a Fuji camera online, stipulating USPS shipping. It came UPS with a brokerage fee and "other add-ons" to the tune of $76 and change on a $180 USD initial cost. The cool part was, they actually billed me after I had received it. I remitted the GST only ($13.50 or so Cdn) and advising I was refusing to pay the "brokerage fee and associated add-ons" as my shipping instructions had stipulated USPS and that the "brokerage" was fraudulent. Well, of course, UPS threatened collections, blah, blah. Fortunately, I have a couple of fishing buds, one is manager of audits for Canada Revenue Agency and another is an inspector with (what is now) Canada Border Services, who just happens to work in the Main post office in Vancouver, which is an "entry point". Soooo, of course I got the whole "low-down" on the process from my bud in CBA, then passed on the info to my other bud at CRA. About 3 months later, I got a letter saying they were no longer pursuing their claim and it was all a mistake on the shipper's part. That's how I became familiar with the entire process. j

No. "Brokerage Fee" is charged by a Customs Broker to do all the paperwork involved in importing commercial goods. UPS and others have decided to get in on the lucrative brokerage deal by using in-house customs brokers that they use for commercial shipments and apply those charges to personal goods, also(which are NOT subject to commercial customs brokering, by the way). The Canada Post "handling fee" is the charge Canada Post charges to collect money from you and forward it to CRA. j

Is it "brokerage" or a "Handling Fee" charged by Canada Post? What happens is the parcel comes up to one of four Canada Post points of entry and is shunted to the Canada Border Services side where it is catagorized, evaluated and inspected, then shunted back into the mainstream parcels again, when it is delivered and Canada Post has to collect the GST or GST and applied duty(if any) then the "Handling Fee" is charged. j

Go to a dealer get a new bladder or contact Outcast and get one coming. Patch the PVC shell from the inside and outside. Inside with a oversized PVC patch and contact cement, outside with Marine Goop or similar. Get a new bladder. ' j

My wife asked me last year: "How many personal fly rods do you have?"... "38"..."Why on earth do you need THAT many?" .... "19 different fishing situations and a backup for each." " You've had that answer ready for some time, haven't you?"...... "Uh huh." j

I have the Discovery 10 IR Standup (not made anymore due to skyrocketing aluminum costs), same dimensions as the FC 10. I stand up while on rivers, but only when I'm anchored. It is VERY stable. The prototype was tested with a 6'4", 285 lb guy standing, leaning on the bar, in an 8" to 1' chop during a wind storm on a small lake, in BC. He did NOT get wet(much to my surprise!). Look where the lean bar comes on his thighs, that's how big he is: j

Probably hit the Moby Net catalog, too !! j

Lance: Do you have any 6wt set ups now? (lines, etc) If so, take them with you to Fish Tales and try out both Stillwater rods with your lines. There are loads of guys like to overload the WWF4-1005 with 6wt lines, while the 1006 is a little bit more 6wt line "compatible" . The 1005 was designed to have a wider line grain window than the 1006, that's all. j

There are several aspects to "fish friendly", not just the the difference in mesh material. A fine, soft, flexible mesh is important, mesh that is wet prior to landing is really important(no matter what the material is), size and shape of the net, in accommodating the whole fish is very important. An ideal net (for the fish, not the fisher's "convenience") will have a fine, wet, mesh that fully supports the skin of the fish, without removing slime. It will be deep enough and have a straight bottom so that a fish will lie there quietly and have the fly hook removed without thrashing around. If a fish is bent in a "U" in a small curved net, it will thrash and increase it's level of stress significantly. I don't know if anyone makes "the perfect net" for the fish, but I think it's a mistake to only focus on one attribute of a landing net. j