murray

Rick, I'll stop by Costco and pick up some plastic plates and forks and knifes as well as some plastic glasses for the Orange Juice. I'll bring my own travel mug for coffee. Murray

Boy I think that would work like a hot damn on the river. The only real problem I see is convincing my wife that the condoms are really for tying flys. Murray

Mike, why not stop in at the Hook and Hackle meeting held every 2nd and 4th Wednesday at the Bow Waters Canoe Club off 17 ave beside the irrigation canal. They have a beginner tieing group that can walk you through some flies. I think they're in the middle of the classes right now but you could at least sit in and watch. They will also have a table set up at the Fly Fishing expo this coming weekend so if you show up, introduce yourself and maybe try your hand at it whith one of the guys or gals. Murray

Last year a friend of mine had the same thing happen to him. His insurance replaced most,if not all of the stuff that was stolen. The hard part was simply rembering all of the items. Murray

My wife bought me a GPS tracking unit for Christmas. So far its only been on the river twice this year but going forward it'll be with me every trip. The way it works is it will track where you are via GPS signal and can send a predetermined text message with an attached Google Maps link to a family member or friend on either a phone or "e" mail. You can simply check in everything is OK. Or if your in trouble you can send a help message or you can call 911 in a real emergency. It works all over North America including places where there is no cell coverage. I think it's a great little tool. On another note, I cary a roll of black electrical tape with. Courtney showed me a neat little trick, simply run a little around the joints of your Spey rod. You'll never have to worry about sending your tip section into the river again. Murray

Rick, I've got one of those 100 cup coffe makers that could be donated to the cause if you like. Of course it would come complete with coffee already made at at your door by 8:00. Let me know what you think. Murray

Couldn't have happened to a nicer guy Birchy. That looks like a rod that will be with you for a long time. Congrats Murray

Peter Birchy and Max are right, all of the suppliers and shops will have complete outfits to try out but my suggestion is if you want to see how a particular rod throws your line that you already have, bring it along. I'm sure they would be happy to string your line on any of their rods. I always enjoy trying out these rods, its one of the things I go to the show for. Murray

I'll be there all three days, signed up for three different seminars. I'll stop by and say HI. Hopefully there'll be a bunch of people from the board hanging around, I always like to put a face to a name. I might sit and tie a bit with the HOOK and Hackle club. Murray

Rick, I also signed up for a couple of seminars but cant remember the times. I'd love to join you but will have to wait utill I confirm the times. As far as help goes, count me in if I can make it. Happy to kick in for some supplies, or picking up some stuff etc. Murray

When I first started to tie, a good friend suggested the following. Take a strip of masking tape, turn it so the sticky side is up, fold the ends over sothat it sticke to the desk. any time you cut or trim something just stick it to the tape. At the end of your tieing session, just gather it up and toss it. Murray

There is also a Super 8 that is on the West side of McLeod Trail just south of The Wingate. You cant go wrong with either one. Murray

I had a call to patch some things up yesterday, I left Calgary and drove directly to Pigeon Lake, 3 hour trip very normal driving conditions. Got everything repaired and headed back at 1:30. It was smooth sailing up to Red Deer, that's where the snow started. Roads were icey but just slowed down and it was no problem. As I drove past Bowden, traffic was heavy volume but still no problem. A half mile south of the exit to Highway 2A, we ground to a halt. It took 2 hours to get from Bowden to Olds, After that we could pick up a little speed (up to 50 KM/Hour). At the Didsbury overpass the RCMP were diverting all traffic over to 2A again. It took another 1 1/2 hours to get from Didsbury to Carstairs. Once I was back on the QE2, it was clear all the way in to town. All in all it was a slow and frustrating trip of 6 1/2 hours. It was only after reading the paper this morning that I heard someone died as they were standing ouside of their vehicle just north of Airdrie. My heart goes out to the family. Murray

AJ, first off, I would like to congratulate you on your self control. With some people,that jerk may well have ended up in the drink. I dont condone or suggest violence was the right response but this guy is such an ass. I hope with some persuation, you are able to talk your son into joining you on the river again. I know its been said before but we're not all elitest,insensitive jerks. I know how sensitve young children are as I have a 4 year old granddaughter that would just fold if someone was talking to her as this idiot did to you and your son. My granddaughter has just started asking if I can take her fishing with me. Just for the record, I would also remove the hook from her lure and I would most likely use a spinng outfit myself. I can't see a single thing wrong with that. Murray

Peter, I bought one a couple of years ago. Mine isn't the self inflating kind but the kind where you have to pull the cord also. The reason I stayed away from the hydrostatic type was a thought that it may inflate if you got splashed and soaked the PFD. I have since heard that the hydrostatic style will not inflate unless it is activated by a certain amount of water pressure ie:submerged in 4" of water. As far as practicality goes, its great for floating the Bow or other water. It's compact enough to wear comfortably underneath my fishing vest. The hydrostatic type was more expensive as well. Murray

Back in late September, I had the misfortune to break the tip section of my Orvis Zero Gravity rod. A couple of weeks after we returned home, I took the rod in to Country Pleasures to see what my options were. The staff at Country Pleasures were courteous and helpfull beyond belief. I was told that a shipping charge of 55.00 and little bit of waiting on my part was all that was required. They took my broken tip section and told me that because of production runs it might take 2 or 3 months to get it back. Well this past week I got a call from the shop that my rod was in. I was quite pleased at the quick turn around. When I stopped in this morning I was totally surprised to see that Orvis had replaced my Zero Gravity with a brand new Helios rod. To say I was pleased is a major understatement, I am thrilled. Way to go Orvis. To the Country Pleasures staff, I truly enjoy shopping at your store. The staff are all very helpfull and friendly. Sincerely Murray Aberdeen

I find this discussion very interesting. I know this topic has been talked about before but I sit here wondering why it is an issue at all. If it's all about protecting the Alberta Guiding community, ensuring that guides from outside of Alberta do not work here, then I think this is a topic to be discussed between the guides themselves. If this movement resulted in higher sportfishing liscence fees for me, I wouldn't be all that pleased. If the liscencing of guides resulted in safer, better trained(first aid CPR that sort of thing, I'm all for it. Would the end result be fewer numbers of guides on the river, I dont think so. For me personly, I cant see too many benefits and possibly a couple of downside points. I would not like to see my cost increase in order to liscence a bunch of guides. Murray

I've bought lots from Thorne's Manufacturing in the past and been quite happy with them. The prices are good, and they have an excellant selection. I started buying from their postings on E Bay as well as going directly to their on line store. Murray

I like the Fly Fusion magazine as well. In my opinion, it is a first rate magazine with top notch stories,pictures and an excellant fly tieing section as well. My only complaint is it only comes out 4 times a year. The other magazine I subscribe to is The Canadian Fly Fisher. When I first started my subscription, it had stories on alot of the water I fish here in Alberta. Over the years it has tried to pretty much cover all of Canada so there seems to be less stories from around here. It's still a good read though. It also has a small section about fly tying. Murray

Terry,my wife and I spent 4 or 5 days at Whiteswan in early September. We saw the same moose on the east end of the lake as well. She wasn't too worried about a couple of curious people in a zodiak and just kept on doing her own walk and wade. I got a couple of shots of her but they didn't turn out as nice as yours. We also spotted a grizzly on the north side, a couple of miles west of the campground. As far as the fishing goes, I did manage a couple of nice 20 inchers as well but I foud they were pretty spooky. I caught both of mine in the shallows on the east end of the lake. One was on a red Doc Sprately and one on my own version of an olive coloured Damsel nymph. I found the best way for me was to spot a fish, the water is crystal clear, and cast well out in front of it and slowly retrieve it back on a sink tip line. Murray

That was one of the funniest posts ever on this forum. I almost couldn't stop laughing. You made my day, thanks Murray

Try the Wyndham/Carsland campground. It's right on the river just past the town of Carsland. Lots of big trees and if your into birdwatching,you'll love it. Murray :$*%&:

Lynn, a few years ago, we had a wasp nest in the foam insulation of our hot tub. Our solution was to call an exterminator to deal with it. This was after lots of unsuccessfull attempts ourselves. The reason for my message isd to suggest what the exterminator guy told us. He said that the spray, foam oven cleaner is made from similar stuff they sell under the name of wasp killer. The good thing is that it;s cheaper too. Good luck on the Bees Lynn. Murray

The last deep cycle battery I bought (last Sept.) was from Interstate Batteries over on Barlow Tr. and about 61 ave. I paid $40.00 for a large capacity one. The deal is the ones that do not sell in their retail outlets in a certain amount of time, I think it's a year all get brought back and sold as out dated at a reduced cost. The selection varies depending on several factors but it's worth a trip or phone call anyway. When I was there last I asked if there really is a reason to use the RV type of battery or was it just a scam. I got a very good answer from the the guy at the counter explaining just what the difference is between a standard car battery and a deep cycle type. I can't relate it here but the explanation madse a lot of sense. The long and the short of it was, for things like a trollng motor, the deep cycle is the best option by far. Murray

I'd be up for another cleanup this year. Maybe we could convince Bass Pro to kick in a donation this year. Just as a SIDE note, the hook and hackle club did a cleanup last weekend from policeman's upstream to the bridge as well as downstream. We didn't get a huge amount of garbage but still managed 15 or 20 bags. I had heard that another group did a cleanup within the city limits on the same day. Because of these two cleanups, I wonder if maybe later in the year might make more sense? Murray