FlyFishingEMT

Congrats on your new boat. Interested to know how you like it?

Am I crazy for thinking the amount of pelicans on the river has increased quite drastically? I only get down to float a few times a year now and when I used to float all the time I don't remember seeing flocks of pelicans like I did this year.

The Ram will not support anything but C&R and even C&R is taking its toll but as mentioned in the article government needs to address the bigger issues such as atv use, cattle grazing, mining, forestry and O&G exploration in the Ram and many other Central Alberta rivers/streams. Dave has some pretty good ideas that would make a lot more sense than the proposed approach. It is a special fishery that deserves to be carefully managed. Lots of prime looking rivers in Central are void of fish and it isn't due to angling pressure.

Probably just two would be enough. The drabber color the better. I'll let you know next time I'm in Calgary! i forgot all about that water bottle haha. Remind me what it looks like I'll see if I can find it. Was it a big red one?

I would take it. I use it to tie weights to duck decoys.

Midge Stoner Zonker Bugger Clouser Dunn FlyFishy

I bet someone on here would trade you blades or let you try theirs to see. I would consider a trade but my blades are sawyers and i don't know if they would be interchangeable with the cataract set up.

I used those blades once and didn't find them to be any different than my cataract blades except in shallow water they do perform a bit better. I would guess you just need to get used to the big boat. Weight of your hull will make a big difference, I just got an old alumaweld driftboat and it rows nicer than my Lavro or Hyde did because it is so much lighter.

I like heat of the day hoppers.

A buddy and I tested our Baofeng hand helds and found they will transmit to about 4km in most cases but extreme terrain can reduce that to about 3km. They also have the feature where you can monitor two channels at once which might not be a bad idea for north fork road. You can get a magnetic whip for them to mount on a truck too. Pretty neat little units for $45.

Northfork I was trying to send you a PM but you inbox is full. Send me a message if you don't mind. Is your radio a Baofeng?

North Fork Road channel is Ladd 2(158.940) and they have signage when you enter loaded from FTR that radios are required. 90% of traffic ignores the signage including commercial traffic so be safe. As northfork stated the section where the construction is being done is pretty bad. I was on it a week ago and wouldn't want to be on it after the rain we just had unless you are in a truck or capable SUV. I would not go that way if you are in a car at all until the work is completed which looks like it could be awhile.

I don't get why everyone gets so upset about jet boats but i guess I'm the only one? It can be a bit of a piss off when one pulls into the hole you have been working up to but I've had drift boats and pontoons do the same. Most of them are pretty respectful, run the middle of the river and slow down for anglers more than the enforcement boats. Its not like most places in the city section are quiet and serene anyway?

No its the fabric bunching at the edge of the seams where the knees bend. Even tried a different size on the second pair to see if it would remedy the issue but no dice. I'm just giving my 2c I don't really care if people want throw money away on brand names. Every brand seems to have its issues or this wouldn't be a topic that comes up ever 3 months on this forum.

They wouldn't warranty the warranty pair that ended up failing in the exact same way as the first pair. When the cheap ones I bought failed I upgraded to sonic pro's and they failed right away. Then the new ones also failed in about the same amount of time. I had issues with the fabric along the edges of the seams around the knees where it flexes/bunches while walking. The fabric would wear through so I ended up having to patch the crap out of them to keep them going. At the time I was fishing a lot but still should get at least a season out of them and it wasn't even close. I had them blown out in the spring before the June 16th opener. Too hard to justify throwing $400 away on a product like that. I could get 3 pairs of the Hodgmans for that price with the same warranty. My hope with the Hodgmans is that the lighter wader material isn't as stiff so maybe it will actually hold up better to lots of walking. Its a long shot but with all the walking I do, very little of it is through thick brush. Time will tell but if they last a year that would be a new record for me. If they last more than half a season or better that will put them on par with other brands I have tried but at a much reduced price point. We will see!

I would go with Simms over Redingtons only because Simms will repair their product where as Redington will only replace within a year. Every pair of Redingtons I bought had to be warrantied within a year BUT they will only warranty once. If you get a new pair on warranty and blow them out in under a year they don't care and don't offer repairs. I just bought the cheapest hodgman stocking foot waders I could find at a local shop. They were $140 and I overpaid but supported a local shop. I only have about 15 days on them so far. They are warrantied for a year and are a Canadian company distributed out of Calgary so turnaround should be quick if i do have any issues. If I get a year out of them I win, If I don't I will get a new pair of waders. Hodgman also make higher end stuff that is pretty slick looking but unless they offer repair after warranty expires I would go with Simms. I have never had waders that failed from anything other than heavy use and design flaws. If I make a hole it is easy to fix, If the design is crap and seams blow out after 20-30 long days (redington sonic pro's twice) there is nothing I can do about it except lather in aquaseal and save up for another pair of waders. $140 hodgmans have the same warranty. I don't expect them to make it a year but time will tell.

I've seen them down around the Hutterite release site near Cypress Hills park.

I blew out two pairs of Korkers and had both warrantied with no issue. After I blew out the first pair I chose to upgrade and paid the difference and blew the 2nd pair out in maybe two dozen day trips. I was less than impressed so I phoned the warranty guy and this time they sent me the Devils Canyons and they have been good however the BOA wire did go on me this year. I was able to fix the BOA with my pike fishing tyger wire thats been sitting in my pack for a few years. I have been satisfied with the Devils Canyons as they have lasted 2 seasons now and aren't showing any signs of blowing out on me yet. BOA systems are not anything to be scared of as they are quite easy to repair.

if you can bag it and catch the queen they won't rebuild. Once you get rid of it you can put some paper lunch bags around the property to mimic other nests and they will not nest in the area again. I thought this was crazy but seems to be working since I tore down two nests this spring and haven't had another since hanging the bags. You can buy fake nests at home hardware as well. Put bags in my sheds, under my deck and other likely places for them to nest. Don't even think I've seen a wasp since I did this.

I think its hard to go wrong with a BVK. I own one and if I could go back in time I would probably own more instead of other rods I have acquired. I'm also a big fan of the Pieroway Tactical series rods however the price point has gone up on those so BVK might be better value. If BVK is too pricey the signature series is still a really good rod for a lot less money. $30 dollar warranty replacement is really convenient if you break your rod and don't want to wait 6 weeks for a replacement to come in the mail.

Last week I was catching whitefish on dry flies in a central ab river. First one was on an elk hair caddis then for fun I put a skidbitch on and caught a bunch more. I devised a scoring system that keeps things interesting: trout: +1 trout >20 inches: +2 whitefish: -1 whitefish >20 inches: -2 sucker: -5 calling whitefish a trout before netting: -5 calling sucker a trout before netting: forfeit I usually finish a day in the red if I pull the nymph rig out.

Brndawg is spot on. Say it once and if not obeyed you have to enforce the second time. To be fair its good to let them run a bit before you start training as they will get more attentive once the initial excitement wears off. If I started giving commands soon as I let her out of the truck I'm more likely to have to give a correction. Never give a command the dog doesn't understand and never give a command you are not willing to correct if not obeyed. Hardest part about training is being consistent. A book that really helped me is "Don't shoot the dog".

I have a 4wt 10ft Pieoroway Tactical Series and its been really good to me. Once you fish a 10ft rod its hard to go back. I have a few buddies who went and bought the same rod after casting mine.

I cook a lot of wild duck. Recipe 1: Generously cover duck breast with ground pepper on both sides. Wrap tightly with fatty bacon. Place in preheated barbecue on full heat 4-5 minutes per side. Eat! Recipe 2: Pluck chest of duck, breast out meat leaving skin and fat on the breasts. Brine in pickling salt, maple syrup, brown sugar, black pepper and guiness for 12-24 hours. Cold smoke for 3 hours with maple or cherry wood then fry skin side down on low heat until meat is medium to medium well. Duck has to be a little bit pink in the center or it tastes like bad liver. I sometimes use a meat thermometer and follow the same temperature guidelines as you would when cooking beef. I'm not sure if thats ok with store bought or not but I always do it with wild duck and have never gotten sick.

I've been through two pairs of Korkers and am on my 3rd pair. First pair were Redsides and the seams started falling apart badly after about a year. Phoned Korkers and they offered to let me put a little extra money towards a higher end boot so I got the Whitehorses (i think thats what they are called). They were crap and I blew them out in 6 months so I phoned Korkers again. Now I have the top of the line "Devils Canyons" and they seem a lot more durable but I only have a couple months on them so far. I have my fingers crossed they will last at least a couple seasons or I won't buy Korkers again. As for the soles on Korkers. I have alumatrax and they are great. The felts are good but don't last too long and the rubbers are a death trap. Anyway thats my experience with Korkers hope it helps. They do have pretty good customer service and stand behind the product.