jack

Brown wooly buggers with a copper rib. j

OK, so how long has this thing been "leaking" at 5 times the rate of initial estimates? And nothing has actually worked, yet? And apparently, "depth" is an issue? At what point does this become a "Just maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all", moment? No, this isn't a gloating, I told you so, thing. This is a geez, mother, this is just getting worse and worse and the "can do" attitude just hasn't made a dent in the problem of 5000 barrels a day spewing into the ocean. j

The black plastic cover turns and just slips off. BUT You don't need to remove it. All that does is cover the disc drag. You need to oil the bearing on the centre hub shaft by just putting a drop of synthetic reel oil around the edge of the bearing at the shaft at the centre of the black covr. Where you want to grease is the one way bearing inside the spool. j

PHWFFC on your Facebook "search" j

Been doing it for 20 years with wild and domestic, doesn't change colour, have never found them turning brittle, Mike. j

BC tried that several years ago, the government got crapped on from great heights by chambers of commerce, tourist associations and fish & game groups all over the province. So the service was reduced on some to "User Maintained" with no camp fees and added fees to campsites that required daily maintenance. So far so good. j

I was referring to the actively operating rigs in the path of hurricanes. I know they're "on top". j

With the past year being a very low incidence rate of hurricanes(theoretically attributed to El Nino) and the increase in the number of "ultra-deep" production, I would submit that whether my expressed comments are hyperbole or not is yet to be determined. j

Hopefully, you are right, but as drilling distances increase, so does risk. With the increase in the number of deep sea wells in the Gulf, the risk is even higher. Will "technology" improve the risk? The next 5 years will probably tell us. Is thinking "Ohhh crap, what are we getting ourselves into?" after this, admittedly, one of a kind incident, so far, a "knee-jerk reaction", or is it simply questioning our future dependency on oil and the lengths to which we go to to secure a domestic supply, in an objective manner ? j

I think the facetious "thanking the industry" is just that, facetious. However, one cannot deny that the oil industry has, over the past several years, established more and more high risk drilling sites in order to supply the unflagging demand for higher priced domestic oil. Deep sea drilling is high risk and the deeper that drilling goes the more risky it gets. With respect, comparing historical spills with current deep sea operations on the Gulf is like comparing the automobile accident rate between 1910 and 2010. There is no comparison. The explosion and fire was caused by a massive pressure surge from a well 1900 metres below the surface, the result is a leak, that is so far, unstoppable, 11 presumed deaths and a billion dollar pile of junk on the bottom. This, just when the industry had finally recovered to pre-Katrina production levels. Current plans are to drill in even deeper water, thereby exponentially increasing the risk of massive, uncontrollable leaks. Taking advances in technology into account, this is not real good news for the Gulf. Why is industry funding such risk? Demand. Dependence on oil and because the price of that oil makes the risk worthwhile, period. The current, ever-increasing spill is 3 miles from the Louisiana coast and the proposal now is to burn it off, which can be between 55% and 95% successful. Except, of course, that it takes hydrocarbons off the water and puts them in the air. Mitigation in terms of slowing or stopping the leak is weeks or months away. This event does not make the future of the Gulf look very bright. The fact of the matter is, they are developing production there because it's the only "domestic source" left and that, now obvious, high risk production will continue. Because the demand and price is there. j

Fish Tales has a grass boulevard beside the street, too. j

Above all, remember that fly fishing is recreation, if the rod you are casting feels like work, put it back on the rack. Pick out rods in your budget range, ignore the "brand", line them up and cast them all. Pick the one that "fits" you. j

"but you missed the rod day booking system for NRA's" Would that not be duplicated on CWs ? Resident, non-resident and alien angler numbers are all tracked, along with CW tags. I suppose the only thing they don't track is the area/watershed, although that info is recorded through the steelhead questionaire. I'm just wondering what other tracking info would be valuable? j

".however they had there opportunity to change there ability to track user groups however could not pull the trigger on it. " Other than CW tags/questionaires and guiding rod-day totals, how would you propose to change their ability to track user groups? I'm interested to know the logistics of your methodology. Also curious as to how many, without comprehending what the regs actually meant, proceeded to set their hair on fire and sent snot-a-grams to the Minister of Environment ? j

And the classic explanation by Alastair: "It's a competitive thing. If you can't beat the fish, you at least want to catch more than the guy next to you. It's kind of like hockey, your team might not win the Stanley Cup every year, but as long as you beat the Leafs you're usually happy." :rotflmao: j

BINGO !! Thanks guys. j

When I was at the FF Expo in January There was a booth in the centre near the rear of the casting are that had the most attractive darkesh blue fly rods and I believe, building blanks. Does anyone remember what the company's name was? I believe they were from the Calgary area. I'm looking for that specific blue blank to build a special rod. The FF Events website doesn't have the exhibitor list up anymore. j

Put the hackle in a ziploc bag, pour in a 1/3 cup of isopropyl alcohol. Seal it, allow a couple of days to kill off anything, remove and allow to dry. j

The major things on a boat that affect fish behavior are light reflection(meaning make it a flat or matte colour not a gloss) and even more important: movement, which will cast a moving shadow into the water below. Any movement from above will mean "predator" to a fish. j

Four new SA spey lines are being introduced tomorrow at the M&Y Spey Clave in Chilliwack, BC. Skagit Extreme and Scandi heads along with some new short head lines. Should be interesting, as I have always found that SA lines are substantially more durable/longer lasting than some others. I'll post some thoughts after I play with them. j

Had a couple in the past. They are very well-built and have a typically "Swiss-made precision movement". And the "precision" is their downside. I found that any intrusion of foreign water-born matter(minute amount of silt, for example) would gum the works and I'd end up de-watering and cleaning just to keep it working. My thoughts at the time were "Do I really want something this finicky?". Just looked at the newer large arbor schematic, the guts look the same as the ones I had. j

This will sound nuts, but, I initially inflated mine with my shopvac, reversed to "blow", after I had run it for a few minutes to clear any residual dust. It blows warm air, taking all of the wrinkles out of the deflated and packaged PVC 'toons. Simply set the valves closed and place the hose fitting over the valve. The force of the reversed vac will open the valve. Filled with the vac is sufficient for travel(about 2/3 full). Top it up with a double action pump upon arrival. If you are going to pack in, inflate it to full(so that the 'toon "points" have some decent resistance when squeezing them with one hand a couple of inches back of the tip), packing an under inflated 'toon is a pain. Elevation has a minor effect on inflation, the increase in air temperature during the mornings is what really expands the air in the 'toons. j

12 lbs is about all you want to haul up on a rope, over a pulley, while sitting in a pontoon. That is sufficient to hold a 10' pontoon in a good flow, if you use lots of anchor line. As for the pipe with welded crosses type of anchor, it should work well in mud/sand bottom, but rocky bottoms may be a severe trial for it. Lots of fingers or flanges to get caught up and severely snagged between rocks. Even pyramids get snagged up sometimes, but there is a reason they are almost universally used on drifting boats and 'toons. I also have a personal aversion to cornered flanges like that being around my pontoon. j

My point, is that provinces are entitled to set their own regulations for their resources. The people of each province own those resources and should have input as to how they are to be managed. Non-residents do not and should not have any input or whining privileges, nor should they feel entitled to special treatment and it really doesn't matter what privileges they have in their home province. Maybe disabled Canadians should have universal low cost fishing licenses, nation-wide. I would encourage some nation-wide organization to pick that ball up. I'm currently asking the BC Minister of the Environment to allow special licensing for PHWFFC vets under rehab, for destinations in BC, under the auspices of PHWFFC. But, I'm doing that as a resident of BC. Know what I mean? j

BC flunked too. Do you think people in BC and Alberta finally clued in to how fake "symbolism" is? j