murray

Try using a 12 or 15 inch piece of 2 inch wide masking tape fastened to the desk sticky side up. After cutting anything off, simply stick it to the tape. When you're done tying, all you have to do is scoop the tape into a ball and get rid of it. Its fast,clean and cheap and it works for me. Murray

Rick, that was a great story, you have a real story tellers knack. Today I decided to forgo fishing in favour of raking the lawn. Now I not only feel every one years, I ache too. I think I made the wrong decision. If you're ever up at 5:30 and want to hit the river on a Friday, give me a shout. Murray

My very first rod was a 6# Orvis Clearwater. I used it exclusivly for the next 4 years. It was a great rod. I'm kind of sorry that I gave it to my son a couple of years ago. It was a mid flex 7.5 I think and it really suited my casting style to a "T". I know everyone has a personal favorite make of rod, well the Orvis line is mine and I dont think you can go wrong with the Clearwater. The only thing I dont know for sure is if it is available in a 4 piece. Mine was a 2 piece as the 4 pice rods were fairly new then. I loved it and wouldn't hesitate to buy another. Murray

Ive spent some time at the Best Canadian motel in Blairmore. It's O.K. as far as price goes. The rooms are just regular motel rooms, nothing fancy. Their phone number is 562-8851. The Highwood Motel phone number is 562-8888. There is another one out on the highway between Blairmore and Bellvue. I think its called Goat Mountain Cabins or something like that. I'll have to run out to the truck to confirm. It's right alongside the Crowsnest River and looks real nice. I'll get the number and post again in a couple of minutes. Murray The correct name of this place is called Goat Mountain Get-A-Way. P.O.box 1166 Blairmore Alberta. T0K 0E0 Phone (403) 711-2430 (I'm not totally sure of the the phone number prefex) The rates I was quoted last year were as follows Peak time from June 15 to Sept 22. Weekday for 1 person $105.00 and 120.00 for 2 people. Weekends $135.00 and $150.00 Off peak times from Jan 2 to June 14 Weekdays for 1 person $85.00 and $100.00 for 2 people. Weekends for 1 person $100.00 and $115.00 for 2 people. Having said all that, I have never stayed there and have no connection to the place other than simply having driven by. Murray

I started to read this thread as a matter of interest to see if other people on this board have similar ideas as myself with regards to river etiquette. First off, let me say that I do float upwards of 10 or 15 times with my pontoon boat. In the last 5 or 6 years, i have passed litterally hundreds if not thousands of wading fishermen and ladies. Not once have I deliberatly encroached on anothers space. Notice I said deliberately. There have been the odd occasion when I have not noticed the people on shore, or when I am fighting a fish and actually trying to get to the shore, that I have drifted close to another angler. I only say this to point out that I am not completely innocent. As I scrolled down the various posts, it struck me that a lot of people that walk and wade are all for river ettiquette as long as it's the boating crowd that is giving way to them. I even read one post with veiled threats of throwing rocks or deliberately casting at the boaters. That didn't sound all that courteous to me. Granted the one guy that said it was time to start packing rocks qualifyed his statement with a (ha ha just kidding). I know of no quicker way to start a war than having people throwing things at each other. It seems to me that river ettiquette works (or should work)both ways. It's simply a matter of respect for each other. My default position is to respect everyone until it is proven that that respect is not warranted.

Rick, that was truly a great story. You have a knack for telling it just right. I had no trouble imagining myself standing right beside you. Everything you said about the anticipation and excitment leading up to the trip is right on. Darn, now I'm going to have trouble getting to sleep thinking about my next trip in June. Thanks for the story Rick. Murray

I'm hoping to be there Saturday and Sunday. I'll be wearing a brown ball cap with a beat up Doc Spratley poked through it. Murray

I'd like to help with the set up but I work from 7:00 til 5:30. If your doing anything from 6:00 on I could help. Send me a message if that works for you. Murray

I drove by Policeman's last week just to see how it was comming along. Right now there are some barricades set up to block the entrance road from traffic. I walked in to see the new launch and it looks pretty much complete. I think a good spread of gravel on the new road and she looks good to go. The new launch also looks to be an improvement over th old launch but I guess I'll have to wait untill I can actually try to pull off the river to really see. Murray

This is probably a little late for posting but its the first time in 3 days I've turned on the computer. Yesterday in Edmonton, I picked up a copy of the Fly Tiers Benchsid Reference for 65.00 at the Fishing Hole. After a quick browse I can see what everyone says about it. I'm sure that with a little practice and some of the tecniques in the book my tieing should improve. By the way, everything in the store was 50 percent off. Murray

I dont tie real complicated ones nor do they look real pretty, but I've got the book that I could lend out if there was a promise to get it back to me. Murray

Connor, have you considered the William Joseph V2 waders? I have a brand new set that I won in a subscription renewal draw. I cant say how they are for durability but I'm sure impressed with the construction of them. If you were interested in taking a look at them I could meet up with you somewhere. Murray

If any of our lady members are interested, there is a Sage, VT2 Hot Pink rod for sale on EBAY. Here is the link for any that might be interested. http://cgi.ebay.ca/SAGE-Limited-Edition-Pi...1QQcmdZViewItem I'm not sure if this link will work. If it doesn't, try going to Ebay.ca,look in fly fishing, check the box for items in Canada, its on page 14. Murray

Flyangler,I read your report with great interest. That is one thing that is on my to do list,but haven't done yet. I would be very interested to hear more, such as where, when and how as well as the guides contact info. Last year I bought an 8 weight outfit for just such a trip. I think it would be such a rush to catch a Coho on the fly. By the way, great report and pictures. Murray

Another one you might want to look at is troutflies.com. Click on the tutorials section, there are a dozen or so flies with step by step instructions and photos. It's a good one for anyone that is just starting to tie. Murray

I would like to say a big thankyou to Wongrs for the organization of this event and to Pipestoneflyguy for donating all of those bags and gloves. It was nice to see someone had the forthought to bring a Bar B Que to cook everything on. I was one of the lucky many that won a prize also. Much thanks to Icky flies for donating some quality flies. Look out trout, I'm comming. The main reason I went out was to put a face to the names of all the great guys and gals on this forum. Now I can recognize a bunch of fellow form members as I'm stumbling along the river. Good time guys, glad I went. Murray

Dave, count me in for a hat, t-shirt(M)hoodie(M)sticker(2) Murray

58 and counting. I'm only halfway to where I want to be. If I can still fling a fly at age 116 I'll be happy.(OLD,GROUCHY,but HAPPY) Murray

I'd be in for a hat,T shirt and hoodie Dave. Keep us posted.

Sorry about that last try, Connor, I get decent Cell coverage around the Policemans Fats area but once you get down by the Highwood or south of Indus the coverage is non existant. Have you considered a pager? My work pager seems to work in areas that I cant use the cell. They're cheap, I think around 4 or 5 bucks a month. At the very least you could recieve a page with a priority code. Something like your home phone number followed by a 1 2 or 3 to indicate the urgency. By the way, I got your message. Sunday morning would work well for me. My Daughter and her family live over in Marda Loop area so maybe I could run over there after. Murray

Brownee. as far as I know, some of the Fly Shops in town will actually let you take a rod and reel out on the river for a test run for the day. Any how, you did the right thing, I would never buy a rod no matter what type,model or cost without at least casting it first. In my opinion, I think they should have rigged it up with a line and let you cast it on a piece of lawn ouside.

Conor, I have an Orvis Clearwater Classic 9 ft. 6 # that I gave to my son a couple of years ago. I wish I hadn't, it is without a doubt the nicest casting rod that I have cast. Maybe its just my casting style that matched up to the rod. I have cast some of the TFO's as well as Sage. I'd go back to the Orvis in a minute. As far as reels go, I still have the Battenkill click and pawl reel that matched up to the clearwater calssic. Its a good reliable reel and I wouldn't have any problem buying another. By the way, when I bought the rod, it was probably in that 200 to 300 dollar range. Murray