Pipestoneflyguy

Reading the comments I gotta add that my good days on the Bow are at known locations, known times, and basically known fish. I have explored a good deal of the Bow in my area and those explorations rarely resulted in many fish, it is the return trips that produce, I am at a point that I rarely do fish the Bow, but when I do it is very targeted fishing and I simply don't go there if the conditions are not conducive to success. With so many good options in the area I simply don't fish the Bow unless I can stack the odds in my favour. This is why I have good success, completely attributable to experience, not knowledge or skills. I have only fished the Bow in Calgary twice and got blanked both attempts so those that point out that this question is relative make a really good point. - "hotshot" har har, not likely, considering getting blanked seems to be my theme so far this year LOL, my numbers on the Bow are the result of the previous work I put into the river, good planning, and good record keeping, and nothing more. I still have unexplored areas between Lake Louise and the headwater to hit but even in those unknown waters I suspect I will at minimum get a few little guys even on the crappiest day, the river is much smaller here so finding suitable holds is a less daunting task than down river - and to be honest I save exploration for weather that suits dry fly fishing so the odds are stacked in my favour, even on "new to me" water as far as the Bow is concerned. If you asked the same question 15 years ago my answer would have been 1 fish for every 10 to 20 times out, and it was persistence in those conditions that earned me the success I am seeing now and it wasn't because I wanted some kind of bragging right - it was because I enjoy flyfishing wether I am catching fish or not, enjoying some success was an incidental development over the years of wandering up and down what I consider to be one of the most beautiful places the world has to offer. Geez not to put to blunt a point on it but at this point, if my dog could talk she would be able to tell you where and when to catch fish on the Bow up here just from her years of casual observation.

I used a TFO lefty 5 wt for 3 years - it is now pretty tired (noticably slower than new) and I didn't know guide wear was warranteed (did I read that right ?) but this rod is still a solid caster. I find beginners learn fast on it too. I keep it as a loaner now. I used a TFO 3 wt (8-6) most of last summer - I picked it up at the BP opening, can't remember which specific model but it has flat black blanks and a carbon fibre reel seat - I find it performs and powers well, even in stiff off shore winds on waters such as Hector. Despite the bling bling helios I will still use the TFO on a regular basis. I haven't had any tips break but I would refer to myself as tip-anoid, so I am very cautious with bigger fish (and trees). All that said I would guess in most circumstances I would still catch just as many fish with my $80 dragonfly, which was my first rod, but if you want to develop your casting I think the TFO is a good choice IMHO

My fishing days on the Bow are not particularly predictable, but that said, it is a the random "awesome" day on the Bow that keeps me coming back., Upstream of Banff average result is between 3 and 10 fish if I had to take a guess

I remember a business class in 1st year Uni (80's) - We were preparing to watch a 3M film on product development process and the prof explained how the product being referred to was a fictional 5 blade razor because it was more tangable reference than refering to a widgit or a thingamabob, he went on to explain that the idea was so ridiculous it would never exist so it was a perfect example to use, allowing us to focus on the process and not the product - now everytime I see that 5 blade razor advertised I wonder if that prof is in the same retirement home as the geography prof who told us we would be out of oil by the year 2000 - so much for predicting the future

Nice one Terry I was worried the irony of this thread was going to go un-noticed According to my missus, watching me fly fish is a close third right behind watching grass grow and waiting for paint to dry. She literally respopnds to every fish caught by asking if "we can go now" - I can just see a guy in a fishing vest telling that gang in the Green Street Hooligans that they should try something a little more exciting like flyfishing LOL

.......Mountainriverwanker

ack

Sunday - Drove 4 hours to Summit Lake (the nest), fished 3 hours, two hits, nothing set, Drove 4 hours home with a couple mildly pissed off, soaking wet buddies - Does that count as fishing LOL ?

Collect 500 bucks worth of bottles and buy Weedy's fly tying materials - heck of a deal for 5 bills

A had a dragon fly try to carry away a mosquito one day on an alpine lake- was pretty cool to watch it keep trying but it could only get about 3/4 of the leader off the water. after a minute of so it dropped the fly. Back cast into my elkhound once, luckily she listened to "STAY !" before reaching the end of the slack.

Hmmmmmmmm Big giant leaking holes in the earth in the gulf of mexico and iceland Meanwhile other parts of the world sinking in like in Quebec and Guatamaula coincidence, maybe not ????????

Awesome photo Tim, nice fly ! - I use the same one in both moving and still water ( with just a little more marabou on the tail, actually kinda hard to see but I have one on my flykeeper in my avatar pic)

It seems that the regs have two versions, there are copies floating around with the 7th instead of 1st, obviously the version with the 7th are wrong and replacements have since been printed and distributed, looks like you got the new version - which most people are at this point. It is looking like the typo must be limited to the general waters catagory. I don't know why the new dates for early lakes - They didn't have any regs printed when I picked up my license so I wasn't aware of the early opening until the next morning at work when a few guys whipped out their digitals and started rubbing it in. From what you posted it looks like Gloria, Leman, Marvel group actually opens on July 7th, just to make it a little more confusing - anyhoo - looks like your version above is correct.

Not sure this applies but I dramatically shortened wait times for a couple scopes on both knees by being willing to have the procedures done in Golden instead of Banff (Dr. Heards office) - At the time, they rented the Op Room in Golden a day or two a week for this purpose. Might be worth inquiring. As for my replacements, for both of them, I was offered dates about half the waiting time due to cancellations that occured (while waiting) - it seemed to me that my need to have the surgeries done to remain gainfully employed helped get me get dates with much less waiting period than others I have spoken with. Don't know if that applies to your wife's situation or not.

"so to sum up 1. FFC is rife with sarcasm. 2. don't wash truck in driveway 3. do park infront of neighbours flower beds just because it is fun. am I missing any thing. oh and Lady strange is not a bitch unless of course you refer to her as such."

Hey y'all Pretty well everywhere in the National Parks regs that say July 7th, should actually say July 1st. Figured I would share this in case your friendly VRC rep inadvertantly forgets to mention the typo when you buy your license and get you copy of the regs brochure. PGK - you may start fishing on July 7th - LOL - Rob~

Hey Peter Coconut says "Anne and Chuck, Beat and Stan 1961" - it belonged to my Grandmother (and great Aunt) but has become a source of debate in my family as to who should have it, In definance of sillyness, a cousin sent it to me, and since then, I have been taking photos of it at interesting destinations and emailing them to my family members (kinda like hostage photos). definately the most well documented and travelled coconut in BNP LOL.

Coconuts in BNP eh ?

Kay....So I talked to the Father-in-law last night - and he basically echoed what's been offered in this discussion Yes it is illegal to use soap when washing your car - and what he explained was actually quite interesting, has nothing to do with the validity of biofriendly soaps - it is an enforcement issue, a by-law officer has no means to either prove or disprove, a persons claim that the soap they are using is actually biodegradable or not. thus all soaps are banned for ease of enforcement - sooooooooo ahhhhhhhh, basically the city has decided your all, we some of you anyway (citizens I mean) a bunch of untrustworthy fibbbers LOL In terms of where the storm water goes, well there was no "one" answer - all kinds of ponds and overflows or spots that go directly into the river depending on where you are in the city and what type of structures, operations or whatever situation that may impact water is in the area is going on - essentially Calgary does their best to respond with a design best suited to the scenario at hand. BTW - Sorry Weedy didn't mean to poop in your potato patch LOL

Ryan, I suspect your grass will offer too much resistance for you to move by hand. Not sure about the power dolly - never tried one before - I welded on a reciever to my Jeeps front bumper - makes tasks like you describe very easy - maybe that's an option with your new truck

I hear ya MV - This post is actually a conversation I am quite interested in, Even though my comments are not always taken as intended, most of the time I am trying to take some of the discussion's "edge" off and "de-tune" the emotion factor with a little humour or sarcasm, when these things get hot under the collar. (although that isn't how things are always read by others, and I find that I end up inadvertantly fanning the flames per se.) This weekend I was about to wash my jeep and I ended up wondering the same thing about soap - I already know that our storm and overflow sewers all go into the treatment stream here so I went and asked my neighbour as he works in a out local treatment plant - I also explained to him that in the past, when I was volly firefighter, we used to do fundraising car washes and I remember using as much as 4-5 gallons of biodegradable soap with the consent of our utilities manager. Anyway what he had to say was that the plant was very well equiped to deal witrh the soap and if anything, the soap aids in reducing the build up of grease and fat within the system, along with aiding in the breakdown of other oils etc also flushing into the system from roads and parking lots. So up here anyway, the message is that biodegradable soap is not only allowed, but assists with the system's function and health. My father in-law manages one of the plants in Calgary so I am going to ask him about this, I'll post what he says.

A couple friends fished this lake this past weekend (belly's) - landed a number of rainbows - very nice fish

Hi Lynn - what your asking would be pretty expensive - might be cheaper to move the fence otherwise you'll likely end up having to hire a second contractor for the skid steer if you use burnco. I would expore hiring a few local kids for an afternoon and renting a wheelbarrow or two

"And you and your husband own 4 trucks??? that's hilarious, in a sad way. Oh alberta..... " That's kind of a cheap shot don't ya think - Name me a province that doesn't have motorsport enthusiasts or collectors within it's midst. No Matter how many vehicles a person owns, they can only drive one of them at a time ! All 4 of my vehicles are engineered and built to a specific application and purpose - can all the masses cruising walmart in their oversized V8 equiped SUV's hauling two bags of grocieries and two kids, say the same thing, not likely

Hey Coner - I have Severe Rheaumatoid Arthritis - gout seems to show up now and again too, part & parcel. The disease is rare in men, about 1 in 5000, lucky for me advances in medicine have it under control - if this is the worst medical situation I have in life I guess in the big picture I am pretty lucky The missus has been "suggesting" years that I see a dietician so I may take you up on that offer. I've never wanted to go because I know its going to be bad news for me I'm sure - I love my red meat and night shades too much - I suspect half my diet is on the no-no list - despite that I am thinking I need to bite the bullet now I'm creeping into my mid forties not to mention 16 years of high dose anti-inflamatories are taking their toll on my stomach.