Cutman

I am looking for a fly rod I can use for bonefish on an upcoming trip, but also one that can cross over to streamer fishing on the Bow and elsewhere. I have a 4 and 6 wt right now, and was thinking an 8 wt. would be just heavy enough for bonefishing, but also good for chucking streamers. I prefer a medium to a fast action rod. Anyhow have any suggestions for a rod under $300? I have been happy with TFO rods and have been considering the TiCr. Thanks for your suggestions.

Thanks to everyone for the advice and to dutchie for the generous offer. I will take him up on that. Robert - try for Goldeye in August on the NSR, although I heard they were scarece this year.

I've been fishing the Bow for a few years now. I fish more in central AB, where I do reasonable well. More often than not, I catch fish. Not on the Bow. In over 30 trips, I've caught two fish. One up near Canmore, and one in the city. I have been all times of year, from April to December to August and September. I've tried dries, nymphs, traditional wet flies, and streamers. I can't figure out what is going on. I think I have narrowed down to a few things, or a combination thereof: 1) Not deep enough 2) Bad drift 3) Not where the fish are The first is easy enough to correct, and has brought me no luck. I think it is probably the last one. I see other people fishing and catching fish around me, so I don't understand. I am using pretty standard flies (hell, I've tried everything) and the San Juan has never worked for me on the Bow. It's a mystery.

I am doing a bonefish trip this winter and was wondering if anyone uses a 9 ft., 8-weight on the Bow for streamers? I use either a 4 or 6 wt. rod right now. If I can use it all the time, then I mvight spend a little more on a better rod. Sometimes I think it would be nice to have a little more power when checking streamers in a wind. Any suggestions welcome.

Totally. I went and bought a $100 TFO rod and its the best rod I have used.

This is great news. I just spent a week out at the Lazy M. the stretch downstream is definitely slowed by the dam. Lane would be able to give exact location of dams on that stretch. Parker

As a photographer, I'd be pissed too if you got close enough to be in the shot. Plenty of river for anyone. No need for you to disturb someone trying to make a living just cause you may be nosy.

The Hardy looks almost pristine to me and includes tube, sock, and plugs for section ends. The Leonard is definitely used, but is still in good repair.

Looking for good patterns for PMD fishing. Area has finicky, well-educated brown trout with PhDs in imitation indentification.

Dude: What about nymphs? I know you asked for dries, and when I started fly fishing all the patterns were so damn confusing (e.g, CDC PMD emerger). I didn't even know what a nymph was and thought all flies were dry flies. Really depends on where and when you are fishing. The real question to ask is "what insect activity will be going on then?" For example, fisin the Bow in September, maybe small BWO's and Trico patterns, perhaps hoppers. Tricos fished early morning, Hoppers on hot, windy afternoons on grassy sections, BWO on chilly, rainy days. So weather, water temperature, area, and time of year are your main variables. Forget the patterns for now and get into the entomology. You can cover most of mayflies with a Parachute Adams in various sizes, 12-18. Best all-round dry-fly mayfly pattern. A good hopper pattern can also be used for stones and salmonflies. Some people like an ant or beetle pattern. Add definitely a caddis pattern, like an X-Caddis and you are set. Maybe a Humpy as an attractor pattern on rougher water. Nevermind 10 or 15 dry flies. 4 patterns covers most situations. It is more about the size and most importantly, presentation, i.e., how you fish it. Also, you can always clip off the bottom hackle on a caddis to make it sit lower. Hope this helps. Parker

I was at some friends for dinner the other night and my hostess pulled out two beautiful bamboo rods, one of which was a Hardy. I have never fished bamboo. The rods were her grandfathers or great-grandfathers and are estimated to be used ca. 1930 or possibly 30 years earlier. I have searched the internet, but without much success. The rod appear to be a 10 ft. rod. It says in ink above th grip: Palakona No 2446936 "The Fairy" It includes a bag and tube, an extra tip section and is in great condition. Below the rod seat it says Hardy Bros., Alenwick and gives a number, "2186C". Can anyone tell me where I could find out more info? The other rod is a lighter rod, maybe a 4 wt. 8ft rod made by H.L. Leonard by Leonard and Mills Co. Both are beautiful rods. The detailing on the Hardy is amazing.

Weedcatcher: I too got skunked on the Bow when I started up. I have made some progress and maybe I can share a few tips. I recently switched to a corky style indicator, which makes a bit of a splat when it lands, but is very visible, especially in rougher water. I was totally shocked to see how much drag (or microdrag) I was actually getting on what I thought were drag-free drifts. High-sticking also works well, especially to get you line off the water to reduce drag, particularly in areas of different current velocity lanes. Also, DEPTH was a huge problem for me. I was nymphing my fly in the middle of the water column and it was sailing over the heads of fish that were holding on the bottom. Through trial and error I eventually found out where therefish were holding (I almost stepped on a large rainbow) and where they were not. Observation and experience - both good and bad -is key. That is why I like fly fishing. You have to think. If you are not catching fish, you keep making changes based on observations and previous experience until you do. I think the two key things are drag and depth. If you fish enough likely holding places, you will find feeding fish. There is a very good book called Wisdom of the Guides by Paul Arnold, which I consider a must-read for any new fly fisher. Practical advice, straight from a variety of guides. Very informative. Chin up bud. Parker

But that is the point, i.e. that the system provides quantitative measurements that should predict how a rod behaves, facilitating comparisions between rods made of different materials and with different tapers. As I understand it, adding the line weight to the rod and meauring the frequency (CCF) my give you an idea of the responsiveness of the rod with the line weight added. Also, frequency may be a factor of taper, among other things (e.g, stiffness, action, etc.), but it is still measurable and therefore comparable. I don't think for a minute the system will be implemented bymanufacturers, but I have not heard of anything better. At the very least, it gave me some insight into the physics of rods.

That brings me to my next question. Aside from distance and shooting line, how do weight-forward and double-taper lines compare for delicate presentation? Also, I have seen a lot of new "nymph lines" and I wonder what the difference is (i.e., taper, running line width, coating, etc.)?

Just read the Common Sense System (CSS) article. Very interesting. The part about the DBI makes sense to me. Can't weight to measure my rods to see if the numbers confirm my impressions of their actions. If there was a standardized system used by rod manufacturuers, it would be a lot easier to buy the right rod. At the moment, most of what we have is hear-say and marketing hype unless you can gets your hands on a rod for a meaningful test. Parker

I should mention that my 4-weight line is a weight-forward and my 6-weight line a double-taper. I like the way my 4-weight rod feels, but I'm not sure whether that is the rod, the line, or a combination of both. So many variables. Just for shits and giggles, I am thinking of trying my 6-weight, double-taper line on my 4-weight rod this weekend and see what happens.

I've been reading this book lately, Wisdom of the Guides by Paul Arnold, and some guides recommend going one or even two line weight heavier than the rod weight. I think the rationale is that weight of the line is based on the weight of the first 30 feet and if you don't always have 30 feet of line out (not including leader and tippet), then the rod is not being loaded suffiently. Also, one guide mentions it allows you to "feel" the rod loading more and is therefore good for improving technique. I have two rods, both inexpensive, a Redington and a TFO, 6 and 4-weight, respectively. I'm thinking of trying a 5-weight line on the 4-weight rod, and maybe a 7-weight line on the 6-weight rod. With the 4-weight rod I do a lot of small creek fishing where I rarely have 30 feet of line out. Also, I like the way my 6-weight feels when I have a sinking leader, providing some extra weight as the rod is pretty stiff. I should mention I weigh about 145 lbs and perhaps not as muscular as some. Thanks for your opinion. I don't want to go out and buy a 5-weight line without some verification that this is a valid concept.

Preferably a patient, relaxed, knowledgeable guide with extensive experience in the Rocky area. Please PM or email me. Thank you.

I fish the Bow River in Calgary on and off and I'm from Edmonton. Having said that, I consistely find that fellow Edmontonions are the rudest, ignorant, sorry group of fisherman I meet on the Bow and elsewhere. In my limited experience, I find the limited grasp of fishing etiquette and C&R techniques of some anglers to be appalling. As a responsible angler, I am concerned with conservation issues and the impact of anglers on Alberta's fisheries. To that end, I try never to remove the fish from the water during the release. I never take pictures myself, pose for fish pictures, or measure fish during the release process, as I find it is all I can do with two hands to get the hook out with the least possible damage and stress to the fish as quickly as possible. I frequently see people pose for multiple pictures holding the fish out of the water way too high, dropping it, picking it back up, generally taking way too long, and laying down fish on gravel, silt, sand, snow, or grass for pictures. It is now wonder I often find 20"+ fish dead in the rivers I fish. You can try to educate people, but some just don't give a #$%#.

Anyone have any suggestions for winter black or brown stonefly patterns? Relatively simple would be better, as I am a new tyer. I was thinking along the lines of a black A.P. nymph or something like that. Suggestions?