bloom

http://www.flyfishingcanada.net/views-updates.php?id_pag=68

$35 for the flies

Slide the line (I only use straight tippet) through the indicator, then bring it back up to the top of the indicator and run it through again. Sometimes, you don't even need a toothpick to hold it in place as it's so tight. I usually use the froghair indicators with bobber stoppers, and they don't stay too well on straight tippet.

just run your line through the indicator twice

Yah, but how to you get permission from the people at Ross Creek Golf course And how about the other problems of catching a golfer in the backcast. (Gone through this many times when I take my little girls golfing there) Thought about this before and the problem is that golfers can be as crazy about their sport as us. No use getting up at 6:00 am to get the pond to yourself as you can guarantee there will already be people on the course

Thanks for the info Don (pm sent also). I was thinking the stocking this year was around 29,000...even a drop from the previous years 'standard' of 35,000.

Thank you Conor...someone gets what I'm saying (just not the 8 years part ). It's hard to keep going and asking for change when we're not even letting one idea play out. -Lower stocking rates were asked for, we got them...it will take time for us to see the effect. -Trips were asked for, we got them...it will take at least 2 more years to see the affect these have on the false spawning attempts. Sometimes this reminds me of work where they keep coming in with a new policy every year and we really haven't given the other ones a chance. We keep joking what the new 'flavour of the month' will be. I know what the stocking rates are on those "Cow guy" lakes and their VERY LOW. Those numbers on a public lake wouldn't work. The angler hours on BH and the private lakes are vastly different. Put that same number of fish in BH and they would be gone due to hooking mortality alone. (Don, send me a pm if you're interested in more info on these lakes) I DO appreciate all the passion (from all sides) for these quality fisheries lakes though. I like where all this is going in Alberta but there is definitely a need from the passionate people (ie. DonA, Clive, ADC, TimD) to keep this moving.

Stocking rates have dropped a lot over the past few years...only problem is that it takes time to see the difference. The number right now is ~28,000. If you look at the history, there was a year when there was an 'accident' and 2x the number got put in. I don't have the data in front of me but it was like 70,000 and it was ~3 or 4 years ago. It will take some time for that stocking class to dissapear. It would be interesting to see what the stocking rates were like in the early 90's late 80's? Others may have different memories than I, but I always remember BH in the 90's to be a lake that no one really went to. Whenever I was there, the parking lot was basically dead except for a few guys in boats who went down to the dam. I also remember a 'big fish' to be around 18-20'' out of there. A 28-30'' rainbow trout is a HUGE trout.

When a cop says stop...you stop. Whey you're high on coke, trashing places, threatening people, and attacking cops...expect to be tazered. I say put the blame on the person or the parents who made him that way.

As mentioned earlier, it would be tough to set stocking rates as you wouldn't know how many fish would survive. The reason this lake was developed was to create a fishery where you would always have a chance to catch a quality fish. Before BH, there were times when you couldn't catch a fish over 18'' (or even 14'' in some lakes) because people would never let them get there. We might be right back in the same boat if the regs get changed to keeping the smaller fish...they were never given a chance to get big before, so don't see why it would happen now. There's just so many people on these lakes in Ab and it doesn't take much to clean a lake out. In the 90's it went through a pattern here in Southern Ab where the lakes would systematically get cleaned out. Once a lake started to produce fish around 14+", everyone would congregate there and meat it out. Then they would move to the next lake the next year...sort of went in a cycle when a lake was only really good every 2 or 3 years, and some years, no lakes were producing. Right now, BH gives us a chance to catch numerous fish between 14'' and 20'' every year. I guess the problem now is how to go from good to great!

Don, any info you have on the AF3N and how they got into Alberta would be great. Would like to see them down here.

Did you watch the video...cause that's what I'm getting at

Yup, forgot about that Beedhead. Some big ones did move back into the pond, so we'll see what happens come next spring. Can't imagine that we're going to get ice off again in mid to late April like we did this year.

Don, I checked into this when they first proposed the idea of stocking trips, and unfortunately they are not AF3N. The trips used to stock Ab lakes are 1/2 female and 1/2 male. So yes, we'll still have some large, coloured fish cruising the shorelines, but the females will hopefully stay away. Good post Dryfly...we're on the same page. Yes, would I like to see more 'bigger' fish caught, you bet, but it's still my favourite lake in Ab. All these ideas that people are coming up with have been discussed with the 'powers that be', but we need to find a balance between letting one idea run it's course (ie. the triploids) between changes every year, which could result in upsetting many people. I would like to see the size go up to 24'', but not sure how this would go over with the people who keep fish. ie. "It's already tough enough getting a keeper out of that lake, now they just made it tougher!". One under 16'' may be ok, but that would really mess up the stocking I feel. How could you predict how many 3 year old fish would be in the lake? Stocking numbers would need to be 'tweaked' every year and this would take 3 or 4 years to get an established number....which is worse than what we have right now in regards to stocking. Stocking numbers have been dropped a lot in the last few years (~28,000 trips this year). Again, change takes time and we need to let an idea run its course. The best news about all this though is that Terry Clayton is very easy to work with, and I feel that he has the best interest of this fishery in mind (although he has to put up with someone very passionate about this lake ). I'll be meeting/talking to him a few more times this winter and I'll keep bringing these ideas up.

Ahh, Depeche Mode, forgot how good some of their stuff was back in the day.

So, lets hear what brings bowcrow to tears

ps. watch it on mute.

For those who took time to fill out the survey a while back, here's the results. survey results

Some funny (and scary) stuff here Click here if the movie does not play.

Eddie, I like the incident 001 and 002 pics better. sounds like you got an interesting story to tell

Couple more to add... -when fishing trophy lakes (that don't necessarily have the numbers)...go where you see fish. Keep an eye open, and if you see a bay or area where fish are rising, get moving. -big chironomids always seem to work. Even when the smaller ones are hatching at the end of the season, I still have luck with size 10's and 12's (need to be really good imitations of the ones hatching though). Guess they can't pass by the big meal. Doesn't hurt that they stand out more also.

Well, what are some of the 'epiphanies' you've had on the water this year? Some of mine are: -when fishing boatman on lakes, the strip has to be really fast...almost as fast as you can go (and hang on!). This has been my best fall fishing for boatman. -sometimes a dead drift when nymphing rivers isn't the way to go. I've found that if you mend too much, there can be too much slack between your indicator and flies (i.e. your indicator is right above your flies). I've been out fished by people mending very poorly and I know their flies and being dragged through the water. This works though as they see the takes a lot better than I do as their line is taught between their indicator and flies. -Bowcrow can make one bad ass fire -Fluorocarbon sinks even faster than I thought (noticed this when I dropped two new spools of Froghair over the side of my boat and they were gone before I could even grab my net) -Scotch tastes the best on the side of the Crowsnest River in the winter.

I've been looking at a new reel for my 6 wt...and right now it's coming down to 2 things...performance and weight. I'm really starting to like my lighter outfits after casting them all day long. I own a bunch of high end reels (Loop, Danielsson, Ross, Hardy, Islander), and I'll probably get a Nautalus or Islander IR due to the wieght issue. I feel all these high end reels are more reel than anyone needs these days anyways.

You're not the only one

Rick's the guy...good guy to fish with. Didn't know he's still running the festival...haven't heard about it in the last couple of years.