Pipestoneflyguy

The fence and schoolyard lad mentioned is a great Idea, I use our local ball diamond myself - perfect time to check and re-tie knots, and allows you to carefully inspect and clean your line, not to mention work out any twists that might be on there. Its a great idea to learn and use your knots at home, instead of trying to figure it out in the middle of a fishing day in the middle of nowhere !

Thanks everyone - Rob is incredibly grateful for the care packages he has recieved, and all the other support ! Rob is one of those fellas who always hands you one of his secret (and usually very effective) flies without a moments hesitation - I have more than a few squirreled away awaiting replication It never fails to impress me how awesome the people on this site can be !!!!! BTW - been a victim myself more than a couple times - when I moved out west, my 1st night in Calgary my car, with everything I owned was stolen. When I got to Lake Louise the next day, word spread and within a couple hours guys I had never met had equiped me with replacement ski touring and climbing gear, a mountain bike, not to mention a new set of clothes, including everything I would need for backcountry skiing - I'll never forget that kindness and I always look forward to a chance to pay it forward.

Ha - I knew it Peter - we're all nothing but bait to you aren't we !!! Plumeja - Bear bangers, spray, knives are all only good in very limited specific situations - if you search the forum you'll find a couple discussions debating the topic exhaustively. They can be usefull but there use is predicated by your understanding that your behaviour is the most effective method and tool you have The single most effective method is avoidance, as in, warning the bear of your presence - bells are somewhat effective in open lighty brushed and sparse treed area's. In dense low undergrowth and brushy areas the sound doesn't carry very far - alongside running water of any signifiagnce, they will give virtually no warning at all - Bears have zero interest in interacting with you and will avoid you given the opportunity (be aware of terrain traps along rivers and such) - sometimes they will follow your trail out of curiousity so be very wary of carrying fish or smelly lunch, and make extra noise when backtracking out if you see tracks or scat on the same trail Single best thing you can do (and is a good practice for a number of other reasons) is to travel in a group or at minimum in a pair - make noise as in loud conversation or singing - or like alot of us, bellow alot of "HEY BEAR" yells as you go. If you are travelling alone - make lots of noise, and make sure you let someone who is dependable know exactly where you are going, what you are driving, where you are parking and what time you are expected back, and at what time, you want the alarm raised if your not back as expected.

A member had a pack stolen out of his truck 2 weeks ago - he just realized his vest with 4 flyboxes (almost all tied by himself) were also in the bag. Rob is a super nice guy and has volunteered with both the provincial and parks projects - he goes by Mountainriverwalker on FFC If someone approaches you with a vest and boxes with a "too good to be true" price please get info and let Rob know ! He has stopped working and is in school fulltime so I am giving him a new vest I don't use, if anyone wants to donate a couple flies pm me Ill send you an address. I'll ask him to post specifics about the vest and boxes, Thanks

Ahhhhhhhh I see (I actually read the rules )You guys aren't missing a beat ! I was being sarcastic anyway (should have used italics LOL) - Couldn't resist,... bored at work + thinking about fishing + thinking about fish photos + thinking about old debates, it's a process, not always constructive....

Two industrial garbage bags, two big elastics, and old workboots and burley wool socks at the thrift shop, and your fishin ! LOL My first breathable waders were Wardells - they were inexpensive and I used them for 3 years without having a leak or needing to seam-seal them or anything. I still use them as back-up or my loaner pair. For cheapies I had real good luck with them. Also have a pair of cheapy Bare breathables I bought dirt cheap at Bass Pro on sale, they seem to be doing OK too (Only 1 season of use, these were my "how did my ass get so fat waders" two summers ago). Eventually I will drop on a new pair this summer - going to treat my self to a pair of Patagucci's

Go to the "PHOTO POSTS" section, choose your favorite six threads, copy and paste "Dood - that photo rocks ! You are a super awesome flyfishing machine, some day, flycasting gods willing, I hope to post a photo like that too !" Do that 6X, and you'll be good to go !

Happy cake day Doc !

Ha Ha P - An old friend of mine and I had to start using italics when we are being sarcastic when texting each other - she kept getting po'd when she couldn't tell I was just messing around, and vise versa I think a "sarcasm" font just might prevent a few needless deaths resulting from inadvertant and unintentional internet wars LOL

Bwah ha ha - I guess I asked for that ! I just noticed it from my desktop - that part is not visible on the phone version !\ I feel very "special" now !

George, well I guess if this thread is going to stray back to a somewhat serious discussion I will add that when I wade out waist deep the 1st thing I always do is loosen my belt, and squat down, if needed, and let the water push all the air out of the waders, and snug my belt back up at the surface to keep it out. I think the conventional wisdom is correct but my humble suggestion is to further mitigate potential risks by removing as much trapped air as you can, while recognizing the water will do much of that once wading anyway - I think loosening / retightening the belt helps it happen right away I also use my hands to toothpaste tube the air out before belting, but mostly because puffy waders bug me, and tend to catch twigs 'n such easier. Anyone who has sat in their vehicle wearing their waders already knows how much air they capture inadvertantly - BTW my 1st avi safety device was a bleach jug painted orange trailed behind me on a 30 ft yellow nylon cord - how's that for ghetto LOL, safety is dependent and relative to a multitude of factors as varied as the individual - I would hope its obvious that the internet is in general, inconsistent, and nothing more than source of potential ideas akin to bar-room discussion (read half drunken BS) and if someone is making decisions about their personal safety based on what they read here, or anywhere else, (on the internet) then, frankly the Darwinian effect has already kicked in, and the trailhead to being a statistic has been breached and is already being travelled by a fool with a hop in their step and a whistle on their tongue ! Does this mean I am essentially saying ignore my advice posted here, well yeah I guess so, unless you know me personally and can say with confidence what kind of person I am and what kind of risks I will take, should you really trust anything I, or anyone else says, probably not ! These are questions we should all be asking when it comes to personal safety decisions and where advice is obtained.

I just described this thread, from a simple question, to it's development into a plan for someone to jump put of a perfectly good boat in the middle of the river wearing waders, to my missus, her response: "Oh my god, you guys need to get off the internet and go fishing". I also survived an avalanche back in 95, someone wanna volunteer to try that out too ! Seriously, are we witnessing the evolution of a redneck cautionary tale here ! Face in palm, shake head ! And yes, of course I am going to come watch this "go down" lol

I hope this isn't like an Amish community, in that saying his name, gets me shunned too LOL We were planning an outing this summer and never got beyond PM's on FFC for contact info. Anyone got an email or text # for 420 - PM me please - A day of bankside debate about Willow and other similar programs might just be a worthwhile discussion.

Congratulations Dave !

Oh Yeah... and I miss the member number bit - I enjoyed that it showed I was one of the 1st members - no biggie tho

I noticed when I post it ignores my returns and makes everything into one long paragraph I have been fixing it by going back and doing an edit and adding an extra return between paragraphs Am I doing something wrong ?

Yep - National Parks (I have been living in Lake Louise for 19 years) Regs say "When Angling, it is unlawful to: Fish with or possess within 100 metres of park waters - a line capable of catching more than one fish at a time" A hopper / dropper rig is interpreted as in violation of the above !

I am an evolving minimalist so I don't wear a flotation device on rivers. Don't plan on it either. Hell not even wearing a backpack now, just a patagonia sling - love it BTW I have been swept down 4 times (that I can recall off the top of my head) - all of them crossing the Bow or Kicking Horse towards the end of the day when water rose. Agree with most of what said, in how it relates to my experiences, but would add the following. There are two scenario's that result in two very different experiences in terms of what can happen. Scenario 1 - Spill-over or getting swept away. One spill-over / swept happened at the outlet of Hector into the Bow on 93N, it has a huge delta with feeding whities that hang out far enough out that to reach them, (believe it or not !) you have to wade out at least belly-button deep (unless you have a spey rod). I slipped into a hole, and despite a tight draw string and a belt, a couple big air burps and I was pulled into the current. There was still enough air trapped that my legs rose and, just like they teach you in white-water canoeing, and as Rick said, floated feet first, using my hands and arms to steer and keep my head up, and worked my way to the bank - I probably shouldn't say it but that one was kinda fun not to mention cool and refreshing after a long hot day, that said, repeating the same bushwack twice, this time soaking wet (I wore wading boots in so had to put the waders back on for the hike out - can you say "Chafing")was annoying. I often find myself belly and chest deep in the river, rarely fishing, but often Xing to avoid the nastier of two bushwacks. Sometimes on a hot sunny day, the water just rises faster and higher than you expected. Thats life in the mountains. Expect it if you fish up here. The other scenario - is the trip and fall, this one scares me. I discovered it falling backwards into our hot tub (yeah, that happened, and I was helped ! LOL) still wearing my wading gear. There was so much air in my waders I had to claw my hands up the side and lift my upper body weight out of the water manually, was almost impossible. A few weeks later I intentionally went ass-over-tea-kettle in waist deep water at the back of Emerald lake, with a friend, just to see if it was as scary as in the tub - yep, it was terrifying! with all that air trapped in my legs it was almost impossible to get my head to air - my friend had to pull me out. The idea of tripping or getting swept over in fast, knee-waist deep water (Often ideal fishing position) is 10 times scarier to me than slower deeper water IMHO. I thought about buying a floatation device but decided that if I get in trouble I will sacrifice my waders and since I already wear a knife on my waist..... I did test it, it is easy to bend over in the water grab the wader fabric just below the knee (puffed up) and slice them open - just would have to be careful not to cut my leg, but with the few swims I have already done, I know I will stay calm, so I'm not worried, about freaking out or whatever. BTW all the times I have been swimming, I never lost my rod - I call it "I could never afford another Helios involuntary rod grip theory"

For moving water, I used to swear by the football styrofoam indicators with the surgical tube inside - pros, I find they don't knot the leader as easy, are easy to move (a big "pro" on moving water) , install and remove, and they don't kink the leader. cons - a moment of losing concentration resulting in hitting a rock on your back cast and they tend to split in half - meaning a search for the pieces and possibly fishing without an indicator for the rest of the day. I tried (and still have) a few of the yarn indicators - pros, most sensitive,easy to make yourself with a pack of small o-rings and yarn, con - gets mangled beyond recognition on my lanyard. Nowadays I prefer the small foam indicator (looks like a badminton bird or a hula skirt LOL) Pro - would survive the armageddon hanging on my lanyard, very durable - installs and moves easy - survives a random bad back cast, clips easily on my lanyard - looks like a big caddis and produces the occaisonal rising nose bump, which allows me to stop nymphing, cause it's stupid anyway, and go back to working the surface, like a proper flyfisherman should ! Bwah ha ha ha - Just kidding, don't freak out or ban me please, it's just a joke ! Being an "In the Park" angler I can't multi-fly, for the majority of you, you can ! I would think using a big floaty fly is probably logical as you would be working two different zones at the same time

LOL - Talking when the ole man was listening to Paul Harvey would earn ya a quick cuff to the noggin - carried more weight for him than the Prime Minister, the President and the Pope all put together

Two area's I would like 1) Yelllowhead highway - Somewhere like Clearwater - gives you access to the whole Kamloops / Wells-Gray area, plus is reasonably close to the Jasper area - Access to the salmon runs - nice weather but not too hot like Kamloops. Affordable properties 2) Nordegg - Not much for services, and it is a tourist route, but you don't have to go far to find solitude and low pressure fishing, added bonus of remaining an Albertan. Short season but some of the best fishing anywhere in north america. Might take a while to purchase what you want in a home depending on what you are looking for.

It's amazing how many are now in the program - should be interesting to see the numbers next year with everyone starting with a full season in front of them !

B

Once a year, as gesture of goodwill, I like to toss you city folk a bone.... This is the day !!!! - epic light fluffy faceshot pow pow perfection out there boys and girls - this is the day to play hookey and bug out for the mountains - won't be eff-all for lift lines either and temps are perfecto. Its deep enough that my dog walked out on the deck took a look, and said f$%# that and walked back in the house LOL (and she is a friggin Elkhound that LOVES deep snow !!!) Peace and good turns !

Ahhh to be young....cat like balance, razor sharp reflexes, artistic and skillfull movement - yep the climber days are gone....I feel more like a wet dog in a soapy bathtub when I get into a canoe, and I don't know how, or why but I am pretty sure my centre of balance is hanging ever so slightly over the front of my belt....