fishfreak

i dub thee slayer of perch!

I am in awe of these pics. can't wait for the August update!

Nice looking browns! And that's a sweet 'bow on the second last pic. Thanks for sharing!

that is one awesome fish ya caught. awesome pics!!!

awesome pics! i haven't been back to the crow for a while, but it's a great river.

Everybody has some sort of indulgence, whether it be a $1000 Coach or LV purse, a $2500 carbon fibre road bike, a $1500 set of golf clubs, a $50,000 boat, a $500 chef's menu meal at a nice restaurant, a $10,000 first class flight, a $75,000 German car, or a $800 fly rod. Ya gotta splurge on something, right?

Just wanted to bring up this old thread as I just ordered an Intex Seahawk from Cabelas for $120 US!!! I've got a friend who is going down to the states soon, so she's picking it up for me. All in with shipping (to the US) and exchange rate comes out to $160 CAD. The Mariner is also on sale. I'll let ya know how it goes. Oh yeah, they've also got some pontoons going for under $300... crazy! I gotta limit my time on that site.... it's dangerous.

i suck at streamer fishing, so i'll go with my double SJW combo with a copper john up top. fun times to be had on uncrowded but dirty water!

Oh sweet, I didn't realize that the Elbow was catch and release upstream of 22 now. Looks like one of my letters to Jim made a difference. I caught nothing but bulls (mostly small) in the foothills, so the changes to the regs are a good thing.

fishing in a dingy is a bit tricky. i tried it a few weeks ago, and things kept getting in the way. i ended paddling with my hands to steady the dingy in the good water, and the oars to get to the other side. however, i was restricted to short casts. next time, i would just use it to get to spots that can't be reached on foot. i wouldn't recommend the cheap walmart/canadian tire $10 specials. the weekend some of those were $8, i saw several discarded on the river the same weekend. probably something to do with the vinyl (cheap) compared to PVC. get something non-vinyl with at least 2 air chambers. the coleman $30 2-man (but only fits 1 comfortably) special would be the cheapest i'd go for. just don't hook your dingy. wow, that came out wrong...

nice fish!

Dang, awesome pics!

You could take a mountain bike for a good part of the hike, as it would shorten your commute time. That's a long hike from the bridge to the old base lodge, and then you have another 4 km after that. Plus, at the end of the day, you just have to coast all the way back down. Weeeeeeeeee! I did it in September before it was closed and it was awesome. I hiked up to a lake in Kananaskis last week and there was no ice there, so I imagine Fortress is good enough to fish now. I'd recommend humpies, griffiths gnats, caddis, and adams for dryflies if they're rising, and even if they're not, hehe. It would probably be a good idea to bring some nymphs as well just in case. If you want a shorter hike, I'd try Rawson or Chester, both in the 3.5-4km range.

awesome fish! those are HUGE!

boooyeahhhh!

Yeah, I had a tough time pinching those ends. Thanks for noticing, I'll have to find them and pinch them back. 18 gauge is too thick to be working with, especially at the ends.

Just tied these up tonight. Pretty standard recipe, with a glass bead and copper wire. This one was 18 gauge red copper wire that I bought from Michael's. The skinnier wire is easier to work with though. After about 5, you get on a roll and can make them pretty quickly.

that's a nice brown!

This would be a pretty good starter pack.... Once you get these in various sizes you'll magically end up with another 20 different types of flies and your flyboxes will multiply like spores. I would say I catch 95% of my fish on these (I suck at streamers, so I didn't put any in). - Turk's Tarantula - Orange Stimulator - Hopper - Chernobyl Ant - Big Black Ant (my own) - Copper John - BH Pheasant Tail - BH Hare's Ear - Stonefly - Caddis Emerger - BH Prince - Elk Hair Caddis - Griffiths Gnat - Parachute Adams - Green Drake - Blue Winged Olive

boooyahhh! nice lookin' bows and brooks!

I just finished watching one of his old shows on youtube over the last couple of days, and also have recordings of a few of his old Iron Blue episodes. He's a great host and I really enjoy the way he gives tips. It's a lot like his writing style - organized, logical, and enjoyable. Bring him on the New Fly Fisher!

i'll be eagerly waiting for you lucky bastards who are able to fish opening day to report back on water clarity so i can hopefully find some decent water on the weekend.

sweet fish!

between them and hanson's, i'll need a 2 hour lunch break.

I've done that in a rental wetsuit when I'm scuba diving, but I wouldn't wanna piss in my own waders. It would be too much of a pain to wash off.