jack

Are those the Tiger Eye blanks from Servier? j

I don't think Canadians have anything to get on their high-horse about. First, our "system" is not the most efficient, or cost effective, by any stretch, but then "profit" does not create efficiency either, not when the public purse is paying. I don't know if a public/private health care system like some European countries have, is the answer, either. I've been treated very well by government operated hospitals in both Canada and the U.S. so my own personal experience is myopic. In Saskatchewan, when medicare was brought it by Tommy Douglas, there was a exodus of doctors out of that province. The sky was going to fall, there wouldn't be a doc left in the Prairies. They all moved to BC and by the time they had all settled in BC, by gawd, medicare was nation wide!! THEN they were all going to move to the States! It was ALL about $$s. Pretty soon, under medicare, the docs were making 250-300 grand a year and the specialists were making 600 grand and everyone joined a clinic to share expenses and everyone was happy and half the doctors moved back to Saskatchewan for the "quality of life". And so it goes. When Grace and I were first married and living in an apartment in Vancouver, there were two couples who moved in to the building and the two wives shared an apartment while the husbands worked in Seattle and only came up on weekends. Both women were in their early pregnancy, they moved to BC, established the 6 months residency so that they could have their babies and not be crushed with the medical bills they would have had back in Seattle, because they did not have any medical plan. There are American retirees in the Seattle area that come up on a charter bus every 3 months to do the tourist thing in Vancouver and fill their prescriptions at some pharmacies !! But, I guess it works both ways, when I needed to be "fixed up" after a particularly bad landing (in some trees), the company flew me to Johns Hopkins in Baltimore for a year of surgeries to put "Humpty Dumpty back together again". A cost shared by Workers Compensation and the company medical plan. j

The health insurance industry in the U.S. is huge, add pharmaceutical manufacturers, doctors, medical technology manufacturers to the lobbyist mix and you have huge $$$s to be spent on negative campaigns and flowing into the pockets of Congressman's election campaigns. And don't forget that many Americans are not informed about how the rest of the world works. So, many sheeple are led by loud and long diatribes that contain scare words like that boogey-man "SOCIALISM". As the so-called leader of the free world, they all know that "SOCIALISM" is EVIL, right? And the Tea Party is born. j

From my perspective, "tip heavy" is something to be avoided at all costs. It certainly is not "designed" in any rod that I deal with. In fact, I am always looking for ways to not make one tip heavy. Essentially "tip heavy" is derived from the attempt to design/build a moderate action graphite rod with a certain indestructible quality. The composition involves the lower(less brittle, but heavier) IM graphites and a higher resin content. This usually happens in the higher line weight rods where the weight is expected and counter-balance with larger reels and lines. There is a way to create a moderate, progressive loading/releasing rod with lower IM graphite and less weight, but that process is proprietary. j

On loon infested stillwaters, I switch to a "silent" reel, although there is a substantial adrenalin rush when a 14" 'bow on the line changes into a PO'd 14 lb loon ! j

From the GLoomis Website: "G.Loomis rods, custom rod blanks and Syncrotech fly reels are covered by a limited warranty against defects in workmanship and materials for the lifetime of the original owner. " I think that's pretty clear. The "Expediter Service" is very similar to most other manufacturer's replacement warranties, they just vary in price. When it comes to warranties, I think it is important to really understand the conditions that are in writing, not what anyone "says" or what anyone else assumes. I spent 3 months comparing manufacturer's warranties in order to develop a "lifetime warranty" for a rod manufacturer and let me tell you this: Read what the warranty actually says in black and white, NOT what you hope it says or what someone else tells you. Not trying to pimp or bash any stuff. Just trying to put facts in place of myth. j

I've lined my Amundson 1134 with a 300 airflow scandi and an SA Sharkskin 8wt Steelhead taper both work well for spey, I also have a 6wt SA Sharkskin for single hand dry flies. j

Yeah, but then, so have the Yankees ! j

Phil: Go down to Wholesale Sports in the South Edmonton Common, go in and talk to Nick and Norm in "Fly Fishing". You might also cultivate "Doc" Monteith: http://www.albertastillwaters.com/ j

I have a friend of mine who raises championship black lab retrievers. He just sold his "Wing & Trout Outfitters" in Vanderhoof, BC. He is a former director of Ducks Unlimited and his dogs are second to none. He does have a litter happening in the spring sometime. If still looking and want a real calm, quiet retriever with outstanding working dog bloodlines, PM me for his contact info. No, I don't know if all the litter is spoken for. j

Just keep in mind that "maximum load" and the "safe working load" on any pontoon is about 50-75 lbs apart. There are lots of examples of guys at max load all the time and "for no reason" there is a catastrophic failure of the frame. j

How much "practice casting" do you do? Do you false cast without a leader? Casting without a leader and "snapping" the line as you begin the forecast can crack lines(I know from personal experience). Had a line guy tell me "don't do that". j

OK, I'm calling you naive. 1. There was no "official reasoning" behind this law. As stated, it was dreamed up to try and appear to be doing something to control the chicklet chompers from doing each other on the recreational lakes of Onterrible, without appearing to be pandering to "The Centre of the Universe". Inland and Maritime law is federal, therefore this was enacted across Canada. So a cute little test that even a one-eyed old fart who hasn't ever studied or used any maritime rights of way, etc can pass with one error, makes things safe? How about forgotten within two days? The whole thing was and is utter nonsense. Just a money grab for the feds and their hired "examiner contractors". j

When I was in Calgary for the FF Expo, the City was using a de-icing pretreatment similar to what some cities in BC do. Applied in liquid form it is more effective than straight salt(works to -15C) and contains anti-corrosion components. j

We do??? But people always say they doubt my sanity!! j

You could always try one of those lightweight coiled batteries, but they are very expensive. That's an awful load on a small toon boat, you may be asking for real trouble. 300 is the max capacity, not the "working load". My gut feeling is: Start over and think bigger 'toon. j

I have faith that any bill passed by any Congress will be so watered down, so "pork-barrelled", that it will actually not change anything and cost millions of taxpayers dollars to do it. "Managed" can also mean the implementation of common sense regulations for those without common sense. Like anchoring on coral reefs, using drag anchors to rip up vegetation, kill limits, gear limits, select no fishing zones, etc, etc. We have such regs and zones on the Left Coast right now. The only "infringement" is on people's "rights" to poach or act like idiots. I also have faith that professionals in the field of ocean management are actually doing good work, in spite of all the factions who light their hair on fire. j

I'm kind of with ricinus on this, Rick. I reread the article a couple of times looking for the presented facts, but can only find "fears", suspicions, "appears to" and more conjecture. j

I posted this on the BC board this afternoon, thought I'd put it here, also: "So we're not perfect! We never claimed to be perfect. That means we've learned to be humble. We say excuse me and I'm sorry...as well as please and thanks. Even when its not our fault we apologize. Sure one arm of the torch didn't rise, but when the earthquake struck Haiti, Canadians raised their hands to say..."we'll help" And yeah, there is a fence around the flaming torches, but you can walk right up and shake hands with our prime minister and most famous Canadians. We put Gretzky in the back of a pick up, in the rain, not surrounded by police...and he was okay. By the way... the Great One is Canadian...and HE wasn't complaining! We do have security at the games, of course, but most people don't even have a gun they have to leave at home. The medals ARE under lock and key but our doors and our hearts are open to the world. It has been pointed out that some buses broke down last week .... but let's not overlook the fact that our banking system didn't . We didn't get the "green ice maker" right this time....but we will, eventually. Just like we did when we invented the hockey rink. Citius Altius Fortius If you don't reach higher how do you get faster and stronger? Was the first quad jump perfect? Should we not have given snowboarding to the world "in case" it didn't take off? So, big deal ... one out of four torch arms didn't rise. Good thing we had 3 more! It's called contingency planning! But remember...the Canadarm works every time...in outerspace... .and insulin turned out to be okay. We couldn't change the weather but maybe we can help stop global warming. We don't have the tax base of the US or the power of the Chinese but, per capita, we ponied up for some pretty kick-ass venues in the worst global recession ever . Sure, some folks couldn't afford tickets but our health care is universal. We have shown the world that we can raise our voices in celebration and song but moments later stand in silence to respect a tragic event ... together..spontaneously ... and unrehearsed. What's more, we don't need permission from anyone to have a slam poet, fiddlers with piercings, and a lesbian singer tell our story to the world while our multilingual female Haitian- born, black, head of state shares a box with her First Nations Equals !! We've shown the world that it doesn't always rain in Vancouver, that you can strive for excellence but not get hung up on perfection, And - we've learned what it feels like to be picked on by some no name newspaper guy and we don't have to take it lying down! So the point is not the snow, or the hydraulics or a couple guys being 5 minutes late to a ceremony. We know we're lucky that these are the biggest problems we had to deal with in the last couple weeks. So take your cheap shots....Guardian newspaper and cynics of the world, We're bigger and better than that." j

Let's hope it's enforceable in BC ! The "BC Forest Service" no longer exists, as it has in the past. "Forest Officers" are few and far between, like Conservation Officers. Anyone can make up a law, enforcing it, getting evidence, proving it in court is another matter. Lot's of people in BC(as in other places) just ignore "the rules". Rules intrude on "their right" to have fun. j

Don't know about others, but I look for someone who has outstanding "people skills" and who genuinely likes people and has a passion for fly fishing. They don't have to sell anything, except themselves as credible, genuine, knowledgeable, fly fishing people. I look for people who can assess the new equipment and give me constructive criticism based on their perspective. Why did I approach Ladystrange? Because she exhibited all of the above and when I asked the rest of the pro-staff crew, they gave her a thumbs up. j

Whoever designed the women's bobsled and speed skating outfits should get a gold medal. j(looking over his shoulder to see if Grace is there )

The 1106 is not a real "switch rod" in my estimation. The lower grip is not detachable and the action is not a compromise of single and two-hand. It is purely a light spey rod, period. In future production runs of the 1134, the lower grip may become detachable. Trouble is that adds weight, and it's such sweet rod at only 6 oz. now. j

The 1134 is a 3/4wt spey rating, also works well on a WF7F for overhead single-hand. As bloom said, 270-300 compact is best two-handed line. The 1134 is nothing like the 1006. The 1006 is a fast action rod designed to power cast in to winds and to roll cast a stillwater chironomid setup(strike indicator, 20' leader, swivel, tippet and bug) 70' out. And it will. They will handle up to 12-14 lb trout in stillwater. The 1134 is an entirely different, moderate, deep loading rod(as a spey should be) and will handle up to 5-6 lb fish in streams or small rivers. Yes, one could use an 1134 as a single-hand, but that butt handle would get real boring rubbing away at your elbow after a while. Right at the moment the blanks are sold out. More coming, but there are a few rods left in stock in the warehouse. The dealers most likely to order rods for stock right away are Fish Tales in Calgary or Flys Etc in High River. Alberta Rose Anglers can as soon as they open in April, I think. Appreciate spotting the error on the website. I emailed technoweenie to get it fixed. j

Your original statement was perpetuating stereotypical disinformation. I have provided my first-hand observations in the areas of oriental Asia where I've been. To counter that with subjective generalized accusations from a non-specific "report" is purely an attempt to quantify the stereotype nonsense.