ironfly

Trebles are fine, it's stinger hooks that should be banned.

With natural populations, yes. With stocked lakes, well, they call them put and take for a reason. Yes, there have been studies. One came out in 2005-ish that claimed, if I recall correctly, a 40% range reduction and a 90% population reduction over the last 50 years. I think Arctic Grayling should be the poster-fish for C&R; as soon as you take them out of the water they lose all their beautiful colours, but regain their iridescence when you put them back.

Awesome.

Apparently you haven't looked at a stocking report recently. Alberta stocks millions of walleye.

The fisheries guys tell me they're too expensive for the provincial stocking program. I believe all the lakes stocked with Tigers are funded through FLIPPR. Private lakes might be able to do it. Variety is great, though. I think if I could catch a bow, brookie, brown and cuttie from the same place, I wouldn't miss the tigers.

Sorry to hear about your dog. How does one prevent this?

Sorry about that. I forgot that most people think dog-training ends with house-breaking. If you can't control your dog with voice commands you shouldn't even take it to an off-leash park. As far as skewed statistics go, they all are, but here's a little correction. About half of Canada's poulation lives in rural areas, about 70% of which is bear habitat, so let's say that the odds are a measley 1000 to 1 that a bear will get you before a car.

Don't kid yourselves guys, if a bear is stalking, they're as quiet as any other predator. I was once stalked up and down a 200 yard stretch of shoreline. I could smell him, but I never heard a twig snap or a leaf rustle. I know it was a bear beacause I came across his day-bed, and then his lunch. A bit of trivia for ya; both bears and cougars eat the hind legs first, but cougars gut them, bears don't.

Average annual Canadian body counts: Cars- 3000 Bears- 1 My little 40 lbs dog has treed a half-dozen or so bears in the twelve years we've been adventuring together. He thinks it's great fun. I figure he equates them with really big cats. The best thing about dogs is the early warning system. Bring a dog, carry bearspray. Guns are for hunting, not self-defense.

Nerdy enough for me. I wasn't trolling, I just didn't want to get into the technicalities of why aluminum doesn't break down, and get called a nerd, you big nerd!

Dxh, it's not you. That used to happen to me all the time, before I tyed my own. The way I remember it, I would've been happy to get an hour out of a fly. I had lots fall apart after two casts. Head cement will work, but make sure you dry every one completely, in an open space, and away from other flies and materials; once the stink of that glue gets in your fly box it seems like you'll never get rid of it. People still debate whether smells can put fish off. I think they do. Forget about the money; the first three years of fly tying cost me a grand total of about $200. After three years at The Fishin' Hole, it's probably twenty times that. Whatever you do, don't take a job at a fly shop for the discount. You don't need a Renzetti vise, my Super AA cost me $18, has held a thousand or so hooks, and still makes a good back-up. Scrounging materials is a proud fly tying tradition. It seems like hardly anyone ever mentions the best reason for tying your own; catching a fish on a fly you tyed is at least twice as much fun!

I hope he gets back on SFOTF. It's just not the same without him.

Great story! At first, I condemned Cory for being stupid enough to throw keys from one boat to another. Then I remembered, years ago I was working on a highways crew. A guy asked me to toss him a hammer over a ditch...when I did the handle caught on my sleeve just enough to increase the centripetal force dramatically (at least I think that's what happened). That hammer flew straight and fast as an arrow, right at his chest. Luckily he dodged, so I get to enjoy the memory of the look on his face. I'll never toss a hammer again, though. Or a beer.

It wouldn't be the first time I was wrong, but I'm pretty sure that standard monofilament is made of nylon. After all, "monofilament" just means single strand. And water breaks it down pretty good. 24 hours and your breaking strain is cut in half. That's actually faster than UV. When that Bioline first came out I got some and did a bunch of comparative bench tests and research. The only plus is that it actually biodegrades. I really question some of those degradation figures. Yellowknife has a little piece of history called "Tin Can Hill". Back when it was first established as a gold mining town, most people lived in tents and ate out of tin cans. Years worth of empties were chucked in big piles in the bush. These tin cans have been in full exposure to the elements for about 50 years. They're very corroded, but still recognizable. So if these figures are for landfill type degradation, that's way off. Also, 200 years for an aluminum can? Aluminum is an element! What does it break down to? It doesn't corrode, as far as I know.

I think it was 2 years ago, maybe less, that Outcast decided to cut costs (while still raising prices) by making the checkered metal plate an accessory. My guess is Gordo bought his before that.

Like maxwell said, they don't run far or often, but when they do they're just about unstoppable. I recommend a large arbor for the lower start-up inertia. On the low end of the budget, I've got a Redington Surge and it's treating me well.

I caught a muskrat once on a black woolly bugger. Put up a great fight, which led to a real letdown when I saw what it was. I do not advise trying to unhook one by yourself.

I was floating the Bow for the first time on Monday and we saw a couple coconuts. Sure made us curious. My major concern is if this happens on a regular basis, and these are commonly stuffed with seeds of various kinds, it seems like it could lead to an invasive species issue. I think we already have enough trouble with purple loosestrife, caragana, etc.

After fighting a big fish for a few minutes, it's sure nice to have that extra leverage.

I doubt this'll make you feel better, but it's not like the situation is any better for men. The vast majority of customers I've had came to realize that they would have to settle for "close enough". Waders come in about a dozen different sizes, how many different shapes and sizes do people come in?

It depends. If I'm going to a spot I know well, AND I know what's on the menu, I might take as few as a couple dozen flies. After I'd been fly fishing for a few years I noticed that when things weren't working and I'd tried a half-dozen different patterns, I could become paralysed by too much selection. All of the likely candidates had been refused, so I was left with a hundred different patterns and no way to know which would work. I can remember times I probably spent close to an hour choosing my next fly. I decided that the way of the minimalist was for me, and I've been a lot happier since. I'll never believe anyone who tells me there's only one fly they'll take.

The key word to me is NEED. I've always said you need at least three; one for the tree (or rock), one for the fish, and one for a friend.

Yeah, what could possibly go wrong with vigilante justice?

Man, this forum is sure good for a laugh sometimes! First one guy holds up Dave Jensen as a model of class and manners, then another calls Neil Waugh a liberal! Too funny!

http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,591364,00.html At no point does this article mention cooking. That's a myth; raw bones can hurt them too.