fisher26

Lol! (sorry about the fool comment just didn't want to be attacked personally for the validity of the video)

I hope you didn't get me wrong rickr, I posted this video as a point of interest or just something to talk about. Am I afraid of the government putting a chip into my body? No. Actually I believe Stalin isn't actually dead and he, Mao and Bush are going to get together and take over the world using lasers form satellites and robotics corpses of soldiers who did in Iraq. And that chip they have placed in you (they did it at birth) will inject lethal venom collected from rattle snakes into you from the giant computer controlling us all. Communism and the New World Order will most certainly rule the world in a matter of months. Did a mention there will be an asteroid crashing into earth at the same time so it will shock us into following the three amigos (Mao, Bush and Stalin) Seriously rickr, please don't take me as a fool. This is an interesting video on an Internet board that I posted. Not some extension of my deep personal beliefs.

Gary I'm a little confused, are you saying a train derailed? If so, what did it spill (coal, anti-freeze, oil?) and has it got into the Crowsnest Lake or river?

Just watch it full through. At first I was incredibly skeptical, however by the end it does seem plausible… Before you dub this video a joke at least watch it ALL the way through.

Take a few minutes out of your day to watch this. I want to hear some feedback on this. I was critical at first, however watch all of it and you may be persuaded. I recommend you watch it before its "pulled" from You Tube.

Lol, Maritimes maybe? Texans are TUFF! Even in the cold?

Welcome to Calgary. Fortunatley we can pretty much fish all year round... Where you from? Ontario? Texas? Good luck

Real nice ties I really like that first one, looks particularly deadly for cutts.

Nice ties.

All the fish are south of Calgary If I were you dont even bother up north

Your right! If it stays like this for a few more days it should help quite a bit. Ya for positive thinking!

There is only little ones up north

Brent don't get me started on the Gap. I used to fish it a lot maybe 5 - 6 years ago and even between that short time the fishing pressure has sky rocketed. One of the reasons I started the Livingstone thread was to get people thinking about how we can better preserve our rivers to protect them from getting ruined. The Oldman Gap, upper Oldman and Livingstone are on the brink of not over fishing but environmental strain. The amount of sh*t that goes on there is ridiculous. So many people fish that area but take no concern to the threats that are going to eventually ruin it. Random camping, poaching, rampant OHV use will eventually catch up too the amount of stress the ecosystem can take. Coupled with the major clear-cutting projects at the headwaters and oil and gas exploration the Oldman will eventually crumble. IMO it's not the amount of fishermen rather the responsibility these people take. Due to it's proximity to a booming city of oil workers that is exceeding a million people it gets a lot of strain. The frank fact is that people don't give a damn and fish it thinking someone else will take care of the problems. Listen to the guys who have fished in Alberta for 50+ years and they will tell you something must be done. As an Albertan all my life (although a younger one) I have seen this province go up and down but one thing is for sure the amount of people in Alberta will continue to grow. We must adapt to the provinces situation or lose what is valuable to us.

IMO the opposite is true for the Oldman. The feeder streams are pounded like crazy and the lower sections don't have too many people on them. I haven’t fished the Castle system tons, however I found the same to be true when I fished it.

Like every method Spey probably has it's time and place. The point Toolman is trying to make is to open your minds to the possibilities of fly-fishing with a DH. I personally think this innovation and popularity boom is great in terms of DH rods, where would we be in fly-fishing if we never tried something new? As for fishing Stuaffer with a DH all I can say is don’t go light on your heart medication. Now this is my personal opinion, but DH rods can probably be used in almost all situations. HOWEVER it is a matter of choice whether you want to use one. For me I will only ever fish the crow, Livingstone etc with a traditional rod just because I'm a bit of a traditionalist. I will probably never own a DH rod - again just because its my personal feeling towards fly fishing. TM and others have advocated for Spey fish in Alberta and it has really taken off. Mostly because of how effective they prove it to be. I can see the day not too far off when the bow is predominately fished w/ DH. I swear the bow must be hand made for DH rods.

Thanks for the replies. It's probably a combination of all the factors listed that cause this trend. I'm glad others noticed at too, I was thinking maybe I can't catch as many big fish in the lower sections! Any other thoughts?

OK I'm just tossing this theory our there. I have heard something similar to it before but I thought of this on my own. My theory is about Cutthroat and Rainbow hybridization in the middle sections of rivers. What I have noticed quite a weird trend, as you go further downstream on a cold freestone stream the average size of the fish seems to go down... Think about an average Livingstone cutt, now is the average fish (excluding Bulls) from the middle section of the Oldman any bigger? Not really in my experience the reverse is actually true. As you move further upstream into the Livingstone the size of the fish goes up. However there is much more nutrients in the lower river so the reveres should be true. Now this is also true for the Castle too. After fishing the lower portion of the castle I noticed that the average fish (rainbow, or hybrids) were significantly smaller that the ones much further upstream. Wherever the cutts are predominate and then rainbows slowly take over the system the average size seems to go down. My theory is that the cutts are more adapt to live in cooler water. The area were rainbows can scratch out a living, but are slowly spreading, have smaller fish simply because the rainbows don't do as well in the cold water. Have you ever caught a very large rainbow from the Livingstone? In my experience no. In rivers like the elk or wigwam where the cutt populations are pure (essentially) the average size is quite high. Stock it with rainbows and the size of the fish would probably go down simply because the rainbows win genetically, but in term of growth rates the cutts do better in cold water conditions. Any thoughts? Ideas? Contrary? Note: The above is a sketchy and scatter thought hypothesis. It is based on no facts and only the observations of a lunatic fly fisherman.

Ya lets get some good'ol fashioned fishing stories on the board. The winter blues are kicking in! I read a bit of that Calgary thread and all I can say is it's obvious its -30 in late January! How about some of those summer fishing tales...

Nice ties! A couple of minor tips: 1st - I personally tie all my stimulators or curved hook (like in second pic) so they ride nicer (IMO) in the water. 2nd - Personally I would use your vice to clamp the barbs before you tie (it'll save you lots of time and prevent you from crushing the hackle) 3d - On the second pic the hackle could be longer. Remember a rule of thumb is the hackle should reach approximately to the hook point. 4th - This is very minor however I've noticed you are securing the hackle with thread. This is OK, however IMO ultra thin wire is better and makes for a more durable fly 5th - Very minor too but I think you may be using a quite a thick thread to tie the flies. I prefer a medium light thread that way you get really nice trim heads that don't extend past the shank. 6th - Leave more room for the heads – however you’re almost perfect in this aspect. Great job, and there really neat looking flies! Keep raping that hackle nice and tight! Nice ties!

Lol, good point. I know those crow bows can be picky as hells come late August. However the reason I want to get more into matching the hatch is to experience the quintessential fly fishing experience more. So many people fly fish only with nymphs, a giant indication and 2 or 3 giant lead flies, and they catch lots of fish even if they're new. Don't get me wrong this is a great way to fish I just want to experience more of the traditional fly-fishing experience. Those crow bows sure are fussy. Thanks for all the help everyone, keep those recommendations coming!

So I have to admit that I love dry fly fishing but by no means I'm a pro. I have been fly fishing for a fairly long time and I don't have a great collection of dry flies. Most of the time I fish dries I'm prospecting, but matching the hatch is not my skill. I have started to read about the classic matching the hatch dry fly fishing experience and I really want to try more of it in the summer of 2008. Don't get me wrong I have done plenty of prospecting with coachman’s, humpies, trudes, stimmys etc. What I lack is the size 20-mayfly emerger stuff. You know the evening hatch on the crow and bow in autumn where you really need a good selection. What I'm asking what is the essential list of matching the hatch dry flies? The three main matching the hatch type insects are caddis, mayflies, and midge’s right? I'm just a little unsure... So what are the top dry flies for matching the hatch? (Including emerger patterns) Thanks for helping me decide what to stock my boxes w/ for summer 2008!

Good point DBT, we should help (or attempt to help) enforce our home waters first. I mean to a certain extent the best streams are basically from Calgary southwards. No sense policing those streams way up North that barely have fish in them when we have the popular streams that go unprotected... Very good thread, Streamwatch is a great program.

Brent you've cast it, do you think it'll wear out ones guides more so than other lines?

I’m thinking of picking up some sharkskin line at the Expo. Does anybody know what booths are selling it? What is the price at the expo (I heard it’s $100! but I’m hoping for a sale). Has anyone cast it, or owns it on the board? As mentioned before I have a Sage but it’s the Fli and it cast well but the line that came with it is junk, so I need some new line anyways. (Btw would they spool it for me? I have no clue how to spool line and I rather have it done by someone who knows, so I don’t catch a big one and lose it. And the $100 line!) So where are they carrying it at the expo? Anyone have experiences with the line? Is it worth the price?

Big relief, thanks guy's! I looked at it again today and there so small I can hardly see them. Remember I'm the same guy who thought my new breathable waders might have a leak in them because they deflated when there was air in them. I can be a bit paranoid mostly because I'm too cheap to have my equipment break on me. Thanks again.