seanbritt

Midgetwaiter-I sent you a PM. Lorney, considering you're from shore I would stick with the single hand. The waves really play with your line and, in all honesty, you have your line in your hand (or stripping basket), looking for the roosters and you will have one, maybe two, shots at them and can only get in one false cast (two at best). I was fine with the 9' rods I brought, but as I mentioned to Midgetwaiter, you won't want anything under a 10wt.

I don't actually bother haggling, its a waste of time. Instead, I simply go to one of my second homes in Canmore, drive my hummer to Banff, hop in my private jet and sneak off from the airstrip there, hence avoiding all fees.

Good point, I wonder how many Canadians will be like "that's it, I'm selling my place in Phoenix because I can't afford the $5.50 twice a year!."

FHD, sorry to hear about your incident, hope you feel better! I would have done the exact same thing as you. Nobody has the right to inflict pain on another, period. For that alone he should answer for. I've been in similar situations where I've had to ask myself, do I let it go or do I do something. In the end, if you can contribute to helping stop this poor excuse for a human to do similar stuff to others, than that alone was worth you calling it in. I would take it so far as to press charges myself, especially considering you had witnesses. BTW, that is one of the worst cases of road rage I've ever heard of! You made some good points, re: him having a bad day at work, etc. But that is still no excuse. And who knows, maybe its the other end of the spectrum, maybe he's abusive and this is the type of report that his other victims need to build a case against him?

its safest to stay between treatment plant and fish creek. anything south is pretty sketchy and wouldn't advise going solo.

When I targeted roosters this past April, my guide suggested, and I bought and used, a Forty-Plus Coldwater Salt intermediate. I also bought the sinking, but didn't use it nearly as much as the intermediate. You could easily get away with only the intermediate. I know the coldwater salt sounds a bit odd, but it performed excellent for a week of roosters, jacks and other fish. I don't have a 9, but do have a either a 10 or 11, I forget. What weight rod are you bringing? If you have a 10, I would suggest at least that. I brought either a 10 or an 11, and thought my rod was going to snap on a few...and I didn't even land a grande!

I find a nice, and cheap, alternative is pheasant tail. This is especially handy when tying in quantity.

Check out my posting regarding the rods, but as for reels, like I mentioned: When it comes to saltwater, you may want to consider spending any extra $$ on a nice reel as that is the tool that you use that is MOST likely to encounter issues. Keys to look for are good and closed drag systems. Daniellson and now Sage make some dandys, but a high end Ross will work too. I own a Vexis, and it will work for saltwater but you have to be sure to rinse with freshwater VERY OFTEN. So, bottom line, you can make pretty much any reel work for saltwater but key things to consider: -closed drag systems will create less performance issues -good drag is KEY -whether a saltwater specific reel or not, RINSE RINSE RINSE with freshwater lots and often....this will increase the longevity of your equipment.

Good question, as I'm in the same boat with preparing for Cuba this April and am in the market for a 8wt and 10wt. For the folks who know me, I'm typically a Sage guy. However, TFO have come out with a new saltwater series called the BVK. Great saltwater components, including recoil guides. The folks at Fish Tales have field tested the rod on Christmas Island and in Cuba and have been very impressed. The thing you need to ask yourself is, how often am I going to use it and what do I want to invest. An 8wt is perfect for pike too, so hopefully you'll get use out of it both in warm waters and here back home. When it comes to saltwater, you may want to consider spending any extra $$ on a nice reel as that is the tool that you use that is MOST likely to encounter issues. Keys to look for are good and closed drag systems. Daniellson and now Sage make some dandys, but a high end Ross will work too. I own a Vexis, and it will work for saltwater but you have to be sure to rinse with freshwater VERY OFTEN. Someone already gave you the best advice, cast a few out. Try not to be upsold by specific names, etc. In the end all that matters is to get the proper tools that will work for the fishing you're doing. As I mentioned, I'm in the same boat outfitting myself after catching the saltwater bug chasing roosters in Mexico, so feel free to PM me if you want me to share any of the additional research I've been doing.

Easy, they're the best off-season boots I've ever owned. Just unclick and step out of boot. No freezing laces (the boa system is mostly internal).

Good reviews on the latest version of Korkers, especially the aspect that Badcaster mentioned whereby the soles are WAY easier to change, don't have the issue of coming out of its grooves, and span the entire width of the boot. Other improvements include a multiplier in the BOA system so it doesn't take as long to lace. Also, they are fitting more "true" to size, therefore if you are a size 8 in shoe you'll likely be a size 8 in the boot. The higher end boots come made of a whitewater raft type material, so perhaps this will help with permeability and help reduce transfer even further. Best part, price for ALL models have come down!

Great topic. I am a firm believer in sharing information, whether it be about fishing or other things. You made two great points in #2 and #3. I would also add in a much more general sense that the root of not sharing is greed. What harm would it do sharing information about a fly or a run or a technique? Passing the information along doesn't mean that individual is going to catch more fish than you, and if so, who cares? Like you said, for the most part its not a competition. I love your third point about building up a community that cares about the resource. The best way to do that is build sportsmanship. If we all keep to ourselves (including information) then we'll come off as arrogant individuals who are self-centered and folks won't want to work together to protect what we have. However, if we help each other enjoy the amazing pastime we have then hopefully we can also help each other protect that resource.

One thing to keep in mind is if this is successful, it could be used as a model to address other issues in other provinces. So, our participation from AB is key especially if we want to do something on our home waters in the future!

No problem Jayhad. I just think its cool that folks not typically associated with the river are trying to bring attention to it. Lets face it, there are a lot of good points made here about garbage, etc. But we're preaching to the converted on this board. I would venture to say that 95% of the people we "complain" about are non-knowers. At least this is trying to bring some degree of attention to the, shall I say unconverted, regarding the importance of the watershed for various purposes.

My guess Rick is that seeing is believing. If you took a poll on how many people believe in UFOs I believe it would be highly weighted towards the "no" category, unless there was proof. Then it would likely swing to the "yes" zone. How many photos have been posted of the category of 30+?

Thanks for sharing! I saw a discovery show on taimen recently where there was a crew of biologists (of course, they were fly fisherman too:) that were studying them as the Mongolian govt. was going to preserve some of the watershed and wanted to know which stretch were the best for taimen. While they are migratory, many stay within the same stretch of river all their lives. An interesting note is that the Mongolian culture is more a red-meat culture than fish, as they were traditionally nomadic people. Hopefully that will help keep the pressure down. As for the fly-fishing outfit, there is only one in that stretch and they give a lot back to the community. In fact, there was a buddhist monastery that was burnt down and the money for the rebuild came mostly from the fly fishing community. And no, I'm not super knowledgeable, I just really enjoyed that documentary:)

This looks like a pretty cool celebration for the river: http://www.calgary.ca/portal/server.pt/gat...Celebration.htm. I know a lot of folks will disagree, but at least it is an effort to bring attention to the importance of this river and is being done so in a nice, non-traditional fashion.

Harps, I fully agree with you. Too bad there wasn't some type of program to selectively cull the other species you mention that are the true cause of 99% of the environmental degredation of the planet.

Good point Teck. If fact, in the parking lot of Southland yesterday I saw a truck that hat a pitbull sticker on it that read "punish the trainer, not the breed". I thought that pretty well summed up the truth about not just pitbulls, but all dogs.

Yes, I second that thanks for that analogy...made for a great friday morning! Made me think these guys are similar to the focus of a joke I heard last week: What are a redneck's last words (or in this case, these guys): hold my beer and watch this!

I find it easy to say what I would do if I was in that situation. However, when the moment actually arrives its a totally different story. Take for example photos. About 1x a month I vow never to take another photo of a fish unless its a goody over 24. Then I hook into a beautiful 22 or something that has magnificent coloring and decide to snap one or two. Congrats to whoever broke the record, and if what folks say on the board is true, you put in your time and were well rewarded!

I'm with Dekkard. There are many kilomteres of great fishing on the Bow. There are not many stretches of dog park (maybe .5km if you add ALL of them up). If you're fishing in a dog park, expect dogs. Not only did the anglers not have common sense, but very poor manners. You did not deserve that comment at all.

Wetduck urged me to post a memorable one. Here's one of two memorable ones caught this year, this guy was the fattest....fishing solo so had to snap a quick one while he was netted in the water. Didn't tape it, but Wetduck and I just measured the rod and think he's in teh 25/26 range. I noticed on the poll that there were quite a few 30+, I'd love to see some of those pix....

I think Jayhad quoted right from the horses mouth. If you want to make sure to do it right, simply call up the city or go down to city hall with your plans and they can direct you what you need to do. Or you can take each of the opinions you got from this thread, put in blender, mix for 3 minutes, and get an answer that may be right or one that may force you to do extra work when you move/sell.

Not sure about the water thing. I know its often hard to keep a dog out of anything if they're determined, especially water on a hot day! I've taken my dog down to the Bow many times and often to MT and she's been pretty good. I echo what others have said about having to know where they are. This can sometimes distract from the moment of fishing you're in, but if the dog gets well trained then it can be great. I often have a long rope that I'll tie to a tree. This way, the dog gets to be outside/have fun, but I know where she is when I'm fishing. Then she runs like hell and gets all her energy out in-between holes. A dog is also good to have on the Bow when you hike into a spot and want an "alarm" system that prevents drift boats from parking right next to you. This usually doesn't happen with experienced guides, but I've had it happen numerous times with "weekend guides" or folks with boats. Ever since I started bringing the dog along, haven't had that problem.