FraserN
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Posts posted by FraserN
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Two Edmonton City workers are contracted to work on a city recreation park. They need to find out the height of a flag pole to know the size of flag to put on it. They are stumped. One asks the other," what will we do? This has to be done by the end of the shift, or we are in trouble."
Just as they are scratching their heads, along comes a gorgeous blonde with an oversized hand bag. She stops to chat, and says" Hows it going guys? Not so good, they reply, explaining the dilemna they are facing to her". She replies:" You guys are in luck today, because I have a solution to your problem". Then she unzips her handbag and pulls out a large wrench. She loosens the bolts on the base of the flag pole, and gets the guys to help her lay down the pole on the grass.
Great! One of the workers says, now what do we do? She says, no problem. She pulls out a tape measure from her handbag and asks one of the workers to hold one end on the tip of the pole and another reads the number at the base. They do this and it reads 35 1/2 feet long. She writes the number down on some scrap paper and gives it to them. Then they push the flag pole back up, and she tightens the bolts at the base again. They thank her for her help, and she walks away.
Both men turn to each other and start laughing, when she is gone. They nod their heads and one says to the other, " Isn't that just like a typical dumb blonde. We ask for the height of the pole, and she gives us the length!"
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For flyfishing, definetly bifocals. I am also in my forties, and have noticed a reduction in my ability to see dry flies on the water. I use mainly small flies, so this is a significant problem. When a fish takes, sometimes I miss if I did not see the fly. It was not a problem when I was younger. Also, bifocals are good when tying small flies. I am always looking over my glasses when tying small dries or nymphs. It gets to be a real pain sometimes.
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That is a bit of a tough question, jtaylor. Let me answer it this way. The pattern of streamer used is most important in this style of fishing. Even with the pattern, it can vary from day to day. For instance, one day a black wooly bugger in size 4 might be the ticket, but then another time, a size 8 olive/brown wooly bugger might be what the trout key on. I keep trying different patterns until I find the size and color that works on a given day. Having said this, the action imparted to the streamer: speed of retrieve, strip-stop cycles, ded drifts etc. are also very important. I know this because on several occasions, I have fished with less experienced fly fishermen, where we are both using the exact same pattern I tied for us. I catch fish, and the other guy doesn't. It is frustrating, especially when I tell people how good the Bow is, and they keep getting skunked when we go. So, obviously both pattern and action imparted are both important. It is a subtle thing that takes years of experience to learn. I think it was Jim Mclennan who said that the learning curve on the Bow is a slow one. I couldn't agree more.
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I keep track of the details of each and every trip I take flyfishing. I find my log helps me greatly. By detailing what worked or did not work on certain days and times of year on various streams, patterns emerge which are very helpful. A properly kept log enhances success greatly.
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I have become exceptionally proficient at fishing streamers, but I have been doing it for over 25 years. It is by far the method I am most effective at. No matter what time of year or water conditions, I almost always get fish on streamers. I cast a long double haul across and quartering upstream, and immediately make a mend in the line. I get more hits on sinking line, but I also do well using floating line with the streamer just under the surface. The takes are mainly at the bottom of the swing, but can occur anywhere along the retrieve. I noticed this fall on the Bow, I was consistently getting trout on the swing, and others were having trouble getting any results at all. This means it boils down to technique and getting the proper action to make the streamer come alive in the water. That is where experience comes into play, many years and thousands of casts until it starts working for you. Also, it is important to have a good, fast action, stiff rod that can push out long casts into heavy wind all day long. I have always preferred rods like this, and they do well for streamers, but the drawback is that they are not soft enough for dry fly fishing as effectively as looser rods. I take the good with the bad, since I love streamer fishing and am good at it. Nymphs, on the other hand, I find much more difficult. Only recently have I been having success here after literally years of frustration. Like I stated before, fly fishing is difficult and requires a ton of practice and effort and persistence to be consistently successful. I hope you find this helpful.
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Started fly fishing way back in the early 1980s as a teenager. Walked down to mackinnons flats from the road allowance on top of hill. No parking lot or boat take out back then. The river was very weedy in summers then, had very strong smell and uneducated trout. I used sinking line and Hardy reel, cheap fenwick rod that was poor quality. My leader was 16 inches of 8 lb. monofilament. I tied on a large black wooly bugger and cast until I got a strike. Nowadays the trout in the bow would laugh at this set-up, but back then, I caught some of the biggest Rainbows and Browns I ever got in the river. I have fished the Bow ever since, and still consider it our best trout fishery, but the changes over the years have been mind-boggling. The main one being the fishing is much more difficult and technically demanding now. Those who are just getting into fly-fishing now on the Bow will never know just how incredible the fishing was back then, even for a newbie, and thats too bad. I really miss those days. It was a lot simpler back then.
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All I can say is, WOW. you have really found a sweet little creek to fish there.
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Nice catch. Thats a good one for the Bow. They (Bull trout) are becoming more common on the Crowsnest.
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I often see them around the large shoal just upstream of Crowchild Bridge. Big, black, hooked beaked birds. Not a pleasant sight.
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I do believe they learn how to throw a hook. Can't count the number of decent trout, especially rainbows, I have lost on the Bow. They do this thing underwater with opening their mouths and the hook pops out more often then not. Browns have this trick of reversing and running straight at you. It produces instant slack in the line
leading to a foregone result. It can be very frustrating.
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I have a 6wt saltwater xpt sage I use on bigger rivers like the Bow and Oldman, and a 5wt. I use on smaller streams like the Highwood and Elbow.
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I have taken to screwing down bike tire treads to the bottom of my korkers (sans sole). It works pretty good on the Bow, even though I have to replace the treads when they fall off once in a while. It is only a temporary measure until I get a new wading boot (probably Simms). I wont buy korkers again because they fall apart too quickly with the rough kinds of walk and wade I do.
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The last photo is amazing.
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I agree about the sheep. So much pressure on the easily accessed pools now. Not like it used to be 15 years ago, when you could get your bullie out of the first pool you came to anywhere above Turner Valley.
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I had a 17 inch rainbow on the crowsnest below lundbreck falls take a wooly bugger, and then take a leap over 3 feet high. It was in september of 2007, and I still remember it like it was yesterday.
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I use empty camera film tubes for my dry flies. They are perfect for preventing the hackle from being crunched out of shape.
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It had a pattern of spots on the cheek, adipose fin, and spots along the sides were all the same size and spacings, sort of like you see in the comparison photos shown above. My fish also had a notch on the upper gill plate and same leader marks on the body, meaning it had been caught many times before.
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I have had this happen in the NW stretch of the Bow, several times. I caught a 17 inch rainbow in 2011 on a streamer in July, then another the same size in August on a dryfly about 200 yds downstream. When I compared the photos of the two fish, they had identical spot patterns. It is pretty neat.
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I bought from them at the western flyfishing exposition. Great hackle. Cheapest price I have ever paid, also.
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I am in the same place. One fish this spring, Trips to Bow, crowsnest, and oldman rivers. Very mean trout for me this year on nasty rivers.
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Its like any less expensive starter rod. I have a cortland 5wt. that is like a TFO. I use it on small streams and places where a likely fall could break a rod, like in mountain canyons. But, as for casting performance, it just cannot compare with my 6wt. sage, which was over 5 times the price, but worth it in my opinion.
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The pike have always been in the Lower Elbow, and the trout and whitefish seem to do fine. Target the deep, slow pools with heavily weighted streamers and you will catch a pike sooner or later. -
My favorite dry fly pattern to fish is an elk hair caddis, followed closely by a PMD; and in the fall months, I really like fishing tiny BWOs.
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I used to catch the odd whitefish in the Crow, but I have not caught one in years there. They have really crashed in the City section of the Bow river because of a 5 fish limit. I hope they get the protection they need as they are a decent sportfish.
Leaking Waders
in Ask the Pros
Posted
Just fill the pant legs of the wader and hold it under water in a bath tub. You should see tiny air bubbles coming out from the leaking area. Has always worked for me, even with the tiniest pin hole leaks. Then use repair kit as explained in the instructions.