seanbritt

When I was in middle school my friend and I used to play "baseball" with sunfish. My buddy was even crueler and would cut off one fin and throw 'em back just to watch them swim in a circle. Needless to say I've seen the light and feel much better about getting that off the chest! Also, I watched all 8 seasons of "charmed" and am now engrossed in "dr. quinn medicine woman"....because the wife has it on:)

I too have been a macman since 1996, and still have my powerbook (running strong) since 1998. My wife and I fully converted last year. If you don't need a laptop, I would recommend the imac desktop (http://www.apple.com/imac/). Slim design, super fast, lots of memory. Also bought a huge external drive to run weekly backups via the time machine application. I just can't believe how much memory is in these things nowadays. We have movies, thousands of photos, and over 900 cds on and its still got lots of room. As for viruses, there are definetly less viruses out there for macs than pcs. However, its because of sheer numbers. Essentially hackers get more bang for their buck developing viruses for pcs than macs. As soon as the % of mac users increases and comes closer to pcs, you'll likely see a surge in mac viruses (as explained to me by a tecchie). Also, as for pricing, mac's are standard priced. You won't see much difference from the mac store vs. future shop vs. westworld. Personally, I've enjoyed the folks at westworld as they know their stuff and aren't as busy as the mac store so you get more personal time with them.

Just wanted to thank whoever noticed the photo of me mishandling the cracker when taking my photo yesterday and directing me to the tips/good conversation that was archived. Although I've learned a lot this past year and a half fishing, I'm looking to learn more every day...particularly this type of info, which is one of the reasons why I joined the board. Didn't have a mentor, so been doing like most others and learning as I go. Too bad they didn't have a "fishing education course" that is a requirement for you when you buy your license. I remember having to take a hunter safety course when I lived in Massachusetts, and although I came from a long line of hunters, I still learned a lot. Anyone know of good books on etiquette/protocol when fly-fishing and practicing catch and release?

I'm in agreement that whities get a bad rap. They have certainly saved many days for me this winter and can put up a decent fight when they get big enough. I've enjoyed hearing people talk about how good they are smoked....will have to try that sometime this summer. Hooked into a football of a cracker yesterday. Not the longest one I've netted, but certainly the heftiest! I usually don't photograph fish, as I hate putting extra stress on them, but had to take one here. Don't worry, he was only out of the water for a few seconds. Any advice on shooting pix when you're flying solo??? The second whitie was taken from the Yellowstone last fall. Had a foul hook on the dorsal fin which prompted a 15 minute fight to the net! http://flyfishcalgary.com/board/index.php?showtopic=6266

Welcome to the board! Just found it myself about a month ago. Hope you'll enjoy it as much as I have.... As for the reel advice. My wife bought me a Sage Fli 690 two Christmas' ago and I ended up going with the Ross CLA 3, which balances the rod nicely. I've really enjoyed the reel and its helped me handle quite a few fish here and in MT. Also, I'm pretty rough on my equipment and I've taken a few nasty spills on rocks with it and it keeps on tickin'. I'm building a 4wt now and am planning to go with a Ross R2 for that one. In fact, Fishtales has a sale on some reels right now (Ross included) that you may want to check out.

I walk my dog down near Sandy Beach almost every day and have only seen one angler there all winter. Watched for about 20 minutes, and he didn't have any luck. As you likely know, that stretch seems to freeze completely over during the really cold spells, then open up when we get a break. I'm not sure if that impacts the fish or not. I'd be interested to hear how you fare. Good luck!

By the way, for dog owners, be careful. You have to have your dog leashed when crossing the pathway. THere were by-law officers there the other day issuing fines of $75 if you didn't have your dog on-leash for 4 feet while crossing the path.

I too was down there last week and noticed the new fencing. However, there are no signs that I've seen to date that say you can't walk on the other side of the fence. There is actually a few spots un-meshed, which allow you to access the river. I think the main reason the fencing was up was to contain the off-leash dog activity. I think its quite a nice balance, as the dogs have their place to run, the path is now free for bikers to ride unharrasased, and the fencing will help protect sensitive streamside areas. Look at it as a plus, there will be less dogs chasing after your flies now!

Ah! Gracias! Good thing I checked before getting on the wrong bus...LOL!

I agree with Redwiggler. If I were a landowner I would want to be compensated. What we're talking about here is direct access to the river from the property. You can always go around and access via the high water mark. In the states, private landowner access is not even a thought. If you were to go onto someone's property to access hunting or fishing you would likely be shot on the spot. I was surprised when I first moved to AB and found out all the differences to the states. I would also be in favor of paying more $$ for our licenses so we could get more policing of the river. I was in BC and stopped 2x on my trip for my license. Never been asked in AB. If we want to keep our fisheries, we need more protection of it!

That's a pretty good rate, about 200cdn for the trip and 50 for the tip (at an exchange of about 10-11 pesos to the dollar). I'm heading down in April and will be staying about 2 hours south of PV in Guayabito doing a Habitat for Humanity project. Westcoast, did you book in advance via phone or web? If so, could you pass on the contact?

Last year, during runoff, I had a really bad time of it. Kept getting caught on all types of rubbish running through the river. Must of lost about a dozen.

Does anyone know how Wholesale Sports impacted local businesses? I imagine it took a bit away, partly out of convenience due to location and partly due to better prices because of the volume they can carry. However, I think Bass Pro will be catering to a different crowd and may impact businesses in Airdrie (are there even any fly shops in Airdrie?) As for Southbow, I'll likely stop by a few times as its a great location for those heading out of town. However, saying that I'll likely stay faithful to my favorite shop due to customer service, etc.

Thanks for the explanation Brian and folks, this was my first expo and I didn't know how these things worked. I actually spent some time at your booth yesterday and enjoyed talking to one of your guys named Pat (I think). Anyhow, no apologies necessary. I posted because I went with a friend and his son and the son actually wanted to entered, but was a bit nervous about having to cast with guys who had such great techniques, like your gentleman who gave the spey lesson. Anyhow, I think its generous of Wright and McGill to sponsor the event and perhaps you can pass along our thanks to them for the event and the suggestion that they split the competition up next time into the pro/am style. -1978

Went tonight as well. I enjoyed the setup as a first time expo goer. One thing that was slightly disappointing was how the casting competition featured "pros" from the booths and the general public as well. Is that typical in these types of competitions? I noticed, however, that all the "pros" that participated were from some fly shop in Whistler and that noone from Calgary shops participated. Applause to our shops for having such great etiquette.