ParsonsBruce

After having a civil engineer design concrete piles for my deck my contractor suggested screw piles. I took the specs to my civil engineer who approved them probably because he worked in the o&g industry where they have been used for a decade. Didn't have to rip up my lawn and was able to start deck construction right away. My deck is heavy with a full roof connected to the house and a full outdoor kitchen which is now three years old. I highly recommend screw piles.

Grumpy Curmudgeon Day! I can't be grumpy today as I don't have to go into work. Instead I get to spent quality time in my wood shop. https://www.daysoftheyear.com/days/curmudgeons-day/

Nice fly, nice tying bench, nice man cave and great scotch that way the wife can't regulate your consumption. Cheers

I just got back from a weekend at Sylvan Lake and now I see why you guys are discussing snow blowers instead of fishing. No snow in Sylvan. The lane is plowed now it's Miller time.

For my acreage I have a 4x4 John Deere utility tractor with a bucket. Actually I can't wait for the first heavy snow fall to get out and play just like a kid with his dump truck in the sand box. Brag, brag, brag.

I have installed a thru the wall in my garage and there is some woodworking involved to fill between the studs on the top and the bottom. I recently installed a thru the door in my weekend garage and it's way easier because there's no woodworking. Use the door.

It promoted catch and release before it was regulated or in fashion.

I retired in April after 35 years in Calgary's O&G industry. I took up fly fishing with the mentoring from an uncle. My first success was on a dry fly where the Okotoks campground currently is located where I landed a 12" cutthroat. I was twelve and hooked. When I was 14 I learnt fly tying on my own by looking at the insects floating on the Bow and creating a fly that best represented what I saw. Returning to the Bow the next day and fishing with my designs. Very rewarding, 25" RB football that took what seemed to be half an hour to net was my greatest success. I grew up at the corner of Heritage Drive and Blackfoot and would just walk down to the Bow (before Deerfoot Trail). Back then the river had a smell to it and rainbow like color floating on top of the water. I don't tie flys anymore, eyes aren't what they used to be. I'm thinking of taking up rod building this winter and Spey casting next spring. I'm a woodworker (only in the winter) and one of my planned projects is to build some trout landing nets. It's really nice to have the time to enjoy the stuff you love isn't it Murray?

Sunday morning I watched the last five minutes for the "Dimestore Fisherman" and the host and his son were being guided down the Bow River by Terry Johnson from Fish Tales. I wish that I could have seen the whole show.

Oops here's my reply about hungry bulls. So I wanted to try out my new 3wt and had a few hours available today. I choose a nearby stream where I could target some 10-12" RBs. I hooked a 16" whitefish in a large fast running pool on an upstream cast. Worked it downstream of me when out of the depths came a large shadow that slammed the whitefish and drove right into shore and it saw me and headed back to the depths of the pool. What a great day to be on the water. Nothing hitting drys but was able the test the rod out on multiple RBs on nymphs.

I built a butlers pantry and an outdoor kitchen at my Sylvan Lake cottage. Adam did all the tile including the tarvernine floor. He is fussier than my wife if you can believe it. The outside tile is now three years old and still looks amazing. No cracking or heaving. Adam has moved to south Calgary now. PM me and I'll give you his phone number if you are interested.

Add me to the list. I'm so there, right down to the cigar. I believe the tendencies starts right around the time when the kids leave the house.

My story: fishing for walleye at Sylvan the other weekend with my ultra lite spinning rig when I tied into a monster pike in 25' of water. What a fight on this skinny little rod with the reel's drag screaming and my kayak spinning. So this weekend I'm out again and I find my reel's drag no longer works 😂. But I have my fly rod strapped to the side of the kayak so I can fish for white fish. Put on a size 12 bead head and an indicator and flip it out behind the kayak in 10' of water. Go to light up a cigar and notice the indicator isn't in sight. Set the hook and my 6wt buckels over and the reel comes the life. Ten seconds of adrenilan rush then nothing. I was left with a 4X tippit half it's normally length. Lite that cigar and reflected on what just happened and what could have been. No picture.

Thanks for the photos, I love cutts.

Slingshotz; I'd be interested in the Camelbak model you carry and the pros and cons.

I also had the same issue with a lawyers bookcase that I inherited from my grandfather. What I did was finish the repairs then I sent the whole thing out to get "dipped and stripped". After I finished with a clear polyurethane and currently it's holding prime residence in our dining room and looks like its 100 years old. May concern is matching what's been done in the past (Teck oil)? If this is something close to your heart you may consider starting from scratch like me.

I have my main home in De Winton (no AC) and weekend home in Sylvan (has AC) take the AC.! Right now I wish I was in Sylvan. It won't hurt for resale either. My kids who live in Red Deer have taking up residence at Sylvan Lake to avoid the heat this week. They don't have AC. It's so nice to have a constant and reliable temperature when you get home. I have Vacuflo at both places and Sylvan has the newer version where the whole hose gets extracted into the wall outlet. That's way better than dealing with a portable hose.

FFS (fish face slap) should also be included in the calculations for fish jumping record. So I'm handing the trophy to Andy, cheers.

Is anyone keeping a tally, if not I'll start. I think that it should be based on fish size and obviously how high. Today I had a 10" rainbow jump at least 4'. I'm not kidding! Ok the wind was blowing and may have attributed to the current record. Anyone wanting to challenge the current record? PS: the fish hit 3'+ on the second jump.

Today I decided to give the Bow River trout a break and drove 30 minutes to a smaller watercourse. I don't know about the rest of you all, but I find dry fly fishing I bit mesmerizing. Intently focusing on the prefect presentation, watching the fly, searching for surface feeding fish. It's exhausting and even though I pack some nuts, granola bars and beef jerky, I don't seem to get the time to eat any of if. Sure I can find time for a drink of water or a cigar but when it comes to either eating or setting the hook you know what I'm going to choose! Sure if the fish aren't biting there's nothing better to do, but I'm talking about a good day stream side with fish rising to my offering. Please enlighten me to your habits or I'm leaving this dead weight in the fridge next time.