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lad

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Posts posted by lad

  1. On 6/26/2022 at 9:26 AM, toolman said:

    Jay, unfortunately due to the City of Calgary's continued flood mitigation strategy, most of the water is going to get flushed through the system. Then they will dramatically reduce flows through the summer and fall to refill the many upstream dams for the winter. And, in tandem with the continued over diversion of the Bow and it's tributaries by commercial interests, it will ensure the Bow river trout fisheries future decline. The government chooses to blame C&R angling (and Guides), in the face of overwhelming scientific evidence to the contrary. Less Water = Less Fish. Period! The recent online Angling surveys, Guiding regulations surveys, Stakeholders meetings etc.... Smoke and Mirrors.

    (Hope to see you on the river this season, Jay.)

    Interesting viewpoint. I wonder what the water flows have been in the last 3 years from say June 1 to October 1 compared to the previous 15 years? We need those kind of stats to really find the answers. Also need to find out how many guides and fisherman are out during the same time periods. Is more water than ever being diverted and if so what is the reasoning? Who are the commercial interests other than irrigation, guiding, shuttles etc. If the Bow was left completely natural from the beginning I would think its quality as a fishery would be much lower especially when you take away the rainbows and browns.  The eastern slopes need to go to rod day allocations/ seasons  from both the commercial guiding and sportfishing community. It is guaranteed to benifit the fish and as conservationists  it is something  we personally can do to help the fish which is much more important than the fishmen. 

  2. On 6/20/2022 at 11:51 AM, FishnChips said:

    Toolman, thank you.

    As I watched alpine snow melt delay further and further and start at least one month later than normal in the Bow Watershed, I observed the Upper Bow was much lower and greener in colour than normal. Its colour reminded me of the Cowichan River of my youth. Curious about the temperature I measured it at a surprising 11C in late May when it is normally 4C during run-off. Outside air temperatures in the Upper Bow Valley were slightly below average all spring so the water was not being warmed by the air as much. I have a personaly theory (don't shoot me, I have no scientific training), that since the water was more clear and much more shallow than normal, that the river bottom was absorbing higher than normal amounts of incoming solar radiation  and is thus the water is warmer. Thoughts fellow fisher folk?

    Your theory sounds great. I have thought that the surface air temperature is 90 % radiated from the ground surface and 10% of the heat is directly from the sun. That is why temps cool when you increase altitude on a plane. Also why Newfoundland surface temp could be -30 but it could still be -5,  2 miles affshore. 

  3. On 4/21/2022 at 8:51 AM, jayanderson said:

    From what I've heard through many a conversation with a lot of fisherman over the years, just go to Saskatchewan! Piles of DIY options as there is 1000x more lakes, both fly in and drive in. Just look Slims cabins out of Sandy Bay.

    Northern Saskatchewan is a nice place to fish or hunt for sure. I would just like to fish lakes that have less pressure than Slims cabins. Not interested in any places that do have roads into them and the ones i am interested in have little to no traffic. Was thinking of flying in and using the cabins, that is why i was interested in pics of cabins. No way to get to the lakes in the summer other than walking or flying.

    • Like 1
  4. Spent some time today talking with a friend about fishing North and east of Ft. Chipewyan. I think it was Mikisew sport fishing or a similar name  that used to fly people in for unguided or self directed  fishing. They supplied the boats, cabin, fuel etc. Was wondering if anyone on here fished the area or had any pictures of the cabins on any of the lakes. I would think the cabins are still around. Would be a great trip to a fairly untouched area as there are many lakes with poor access. Float plane would be the norm.

     

  5. On 3/26/2022 at 11:53 AM, toolman said:

    Fish are really easy to catch in the dark. Top feeding fish, bright, sunny afternoons in low clear water, much more difficult game.

    Your skill set is way better than most of the fisherman i have ever met in the past. I have always struggled with the difficulty in wading or traversing moving water in the dark. Unless you have the path and rocks below the surface committed to memory it is quite dangerous in my mind and i don't enjoy that. Some fellows like yourself have no struggle at all. Casting without spending a lot of the time tangling in vegetation, logs, rocks and debris in the water is very challenging for myself as my pupils don't let as much light in as they did when i was 16. Down in the S.W. there is also a ton of wildlife that dont start to move until the sun sets and that too makes me quite uneasy and it for sure contributes to challenging the night.  What a kid will risk to catch a tank is awe inspiring and meeting them when i am returning home at dusk as they are heading out in running shoes is quite something and one of the things causes me to tip my hat to them when we pass. Tip of the hat to you and your mastering of fishing in the dark unless of course your go to is still water stocked trout. Myself I find it much easier to fish before the sun sets. 

    • Like 2
  6. 10 hours ago, SilverDoctor said:

     I have spent so much more time watching the water and finding actual fishing lanes where Trout go to feed than actually fishing. Certainly prospecting is a way to go but I have never been a one to flog the water with "go to flies". My best tool is actually a small pair of binoculars to look for trout that are either rising or in many cases just finning on the bottom between hatches. Not all areas hold trout. There are literally dozens of different bugs that are available to Trout during the course of the year if you are a Dry fly fisher. Beginning with Midges, Stoneflies, Ants, Caddis and Tricos plus a host of others. Each has not only its season but its time of day and place on the river. Some are early morning or late evening in the dark so that all you hear is gulping trout to try to target with you casts.

    From just a personal point of view I fish with the objective of getting to know the river, when and how the trout feed. I have kept a concise fishing diary of such things as water temperature, flow height, and bugs encountered on all the streams I fish, they are all different but the research is half the fun. I also take pictures of Mayflies and other bugs to have an idea what I am up against and need to tie or find a fly that matches. That is not to say that you can't fish any way you want but this is what makes sense and satisfies me. Maybe I'm just getting old and set in my ways but it's what gives me pleasure. I can fish Nymphs and do very well or swing a streamer and nail a big brown in a lie, but my goal has always been to fool a trout feeding on surface or slightly subsurface and catch trout on my terms. I cant count the hours it has taken me an to slowly get myself into position behind a rising fish and get that one or two drifts. Mind you I've blown enough stalks on trout but its part of the game.

    Just my Old Guy two cents.

    Great Post Silver!

    • Like 1
  7. In a perfect world I would go down to the river and see fish rising and I tie on a fly that matches and start catching them.

    In the real world, my world anyway this hasn't happened too many times in my fishing career but one August many summers ago i tried something a bit different. 

    My usual style is i try all my -go to- flys,  about six of them and if i don't succeed with any of those i tie on one of the next 87 i hardly ever use.  They  never worked much before and probably will carry on with the same rate of success. 

    It got me thinking what actually constitutes a hatch or how many times does a fish need to see bug on the water to decide its a hatch and it will  start feeding? I don't believe they hit the first bug that floats through their window as it wouldnt really  matter much what fly you had on. Would it be the fifth six or how many. Does the first bug of the hatch get a worry free ride all the way through..... Possibly but I think it would get hit by the first hungry 4" dink trout sooner or later.

    So one day about fifteen years ago i was near a bridge in the SW and there were hoppers everywhere it seemed. I sat down nearby and watched and realized that a very few actually hit the water but when they did they would not get hit until they were flowing with the river and at almost a collection point so to speak.  I watched for about an hour and i wasn't fishing, just hanging out. A fine summer day built for watching moving water for sure. A few days had passed when i returned and  there were many dead hoppers hit by cars on the road as it was a fairly busy road into town. I picked up about 40 of them  and took them home with a plan in mind to create a hatch. I waited until the hoppers were no more and the air was cooler and returned without any gear other than my hoppers. I dropped a dead hopper in the water where i knew it would drift through a hole which held fish that i have been to so many times before. Notta thing hit, no action what so ever as far as i could see. I kept at it dropping those hoppers one at a time until the seventh one and BANG!  Down that sucking thing went and it was better than catching it with a rod as by then i just wasnt ready for it. I am sure my heart skipped a beat and my eyes bulged on the first hit. I kept at it dropping a hopper every minute or so and the next half dozen got pounded hard. Some of the hoppers were in pretty brutal shape as they didnt die a gentle death, they got hammered by everything on the road. I dont know why but after those first ones the next ten never got hit at all and i left. My conclusion was these fish are actually not too bright and are quite habitual and have an on or off switch programmed in them. I think  if you have a hopper on the end of your line and could cast it over the same trout seven times perfectly you should catch them. It should work for most natural hatches too if everthing else is there sholdn't it? If everything lines up with all things like water temps, pressure etc. we should always be able to make a hatch instead of matching one....right?

  8. One reason i think people post less often is so many people sit and watch the forum and never post anything until they feel they can point their finger......

    Go on about the way the poster handled the fish or about their barb or what they are using for a net and on and on and on......

    Bitching about the other users of the water or what the gov or bios arn't doing for them blah blah blah. How everyone should do what they do and the rivers and streams would be perfect...

    Lets cut some slack to the posters and not be so dam critical of our peers. Just get out and fish!

    Just because you have been flogging the water since christ was a cowboy doesn't mean the new kid cant serve you a helping of humble pie. I have seen many local kids down in the SW that can draw out the tanks long after the sun has set and most fly floggers would "reel" at there methods and style of flogging the water.

    • Like 1
  9. I decided to go to the local Pow-Wow at the Standoff Reserve for the first time to see what it was all about:

    I sat down and the Chief came up to me, laid his hands on my hand and said:

    "By the will of the Elders and the Great Creator - you will walk today."

    I told him I wasn't paralyzed, But I did have a small bunion on my left foot.

    He came back and laid his hands on me and looking skywards, earnestly repeated his mantra:

    "By the will of the Elders and the Great Creator - you will walk today."

    Once again, I told him there really was nothing wrong with me.

    After much chanting and drum beating, I stepped outside.

    And WHAT THE ****? ‎


    MY CAR WAS GONE !!!!
  10. I just don't know. Maybe I'm super impatient. But how long is it supposed to take for clover to die from an application of 2-4-d?

    This is a patch of clover on my lawn currently:

    https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0E5FBjo93LdUHF2TFZwTW1TMWs

     

    As you can see it takes over 1/4 of my lawn. Which is complete bullshit. I'm just worried I didn't actually kill the patch and just killed some leafs

     

    https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0E5FBjo93LdYTgwQ2swOVBFQ1k

    https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0E5FBjo93LdTjFzZDcybnpyVlE

     

     

    How long do I have to wait before I can spot spray it?

     

    I just don't know. Maybe I'm super impatient. But how long is it supposed to take for clover to die from an application of 2-4-d?

    This is a patch of clover on my lawn currently:

    https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0E5FBjo93LdUHF2TFZwTW1TMWs

     

    As you can see it takes over 1/4 of my lawn. Which is complete bullshit. I'm just worried I didn't actually kill the patch and just killed some leafs

     

    https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0E5FBjo93LdYTgwQ2swOVBFQ1k

    https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B0E5FBjo93LdTjFzZDcybnpyVlE

     

     

    How long do I have to wait before I can spot spray it?

    I spot spray everything on the lawn from the beginning. Spray all of the Clover on the heavy side with your trillion in the morning just after any dew is gone. Clover likes low nitrogen conditions too so get a fertilizer that is very high in nitrogen when you are trying to "clean up" the lawn. Go heavier with it and i would pass on the slow release types too. Keep the lawn short and Mow often, not that your going to have a choice after the high nitrogen content fertilizer.

  11. A 10 liter jug of Trillion from UFA is currently 129$ Par 3 is also 129$ for the 10 liter jug.

     

    I was told at UFA they are the same and have bought both and could not detect any difference.

    You need to show them a land location like an acreage, farmland or Golf course with your name on it like a property tax bill where it would be legal to do so. You need to sign for it and they need to keep track of where it is being used. The fear is that some people will use it in a harmful way such as spraying way to much of it just before a big rainstorm and it being washed into the storm sewers etc. and going directly into the rivers. In their eyes you can not handle the responsibility but every golf course and farmer can. At one time it was not like this and the weed and feed and other types of herbicide worked well but they outlawed it and only the biggest users still have access. Imagine how many thousands of gallons of the stuff is used just on the golf courses in Calgary..... If you do use it just read all directions and be very responsible with its use. Lots of reading material on line. The active ingredient is 2,4-d and you can still buy it in some consumer products but it is so watered down it ends up costing much more. Bought 10 liters at a time ends up costing about 21 cents per liter instead of 15.00 $ per liter.....75 times as much!

  12. I got it from someone in Edmonton. If you know anyone who lives on a farm they can purchase it at and UFA. A 10 L bottle will run you 300. I bought 6 L for 150 and split it with my buddy. I calculated it out and I think I can spray 85000 sq ft for 75 bucks. That's not bad

    A 10 liter jug of Trillion from UFA is currently 129$ Par 3 is also 129$ for the 10 liter jug.

     

    I was told at UFA they are the same and have bought both and could not detect any difference.

  13. @Lad - Could you shed some light on to the reason this was posted anonymously? OR was it not and the name just wasn't included.

     

    Secondly; it's purpose, there are several threads open on multiple forums on this exact topic, not to mention the individuals FB page. This sounds like a personal vendetta. Please don't turn this place into AO.

     

    Thirdly do you know much about the authors plan for action? Like him or not (the guy being slandered) he is out there, boots to ground doing something. As others mentioned above; we'd be willing to listen to the authors ideas but he doesn't offer any, just anger.

     

    Can you please clarify for this.

    Was not posted anonymously. There may be several threads with this exact topic but coming from a different angle.

  14. I know the guy who operates the Crowsnest Journal page pretty well. His love for our headwaters is undeniable, and I applaud all of the hard work that he is doing. While we don't necessarily agree on everything (which is incredibly healthy btw), I believe the work that he is doing is very necessary. If the OHV community is this angry with him, that likely means he is being effective. Far too many of the advocates for responsible OHV use are a whole lot of talk without any real action. I look forward to the OHV community coming to terms with the fact that a compromise will need to be made in the

    I would bet the writer knows Kevin or winston much better......

  15. I personally hope that ATV's are banned on the Eastern Slopes for able bodied users.

     

    Aside from that many also believe no one does more damage to an environmental cause than the fellow being discussed.

     

     

     

     

     

     

    An Open Letter to the Crowsnest Journal FB page :

    There are hundreds of thousands of OHV users in Southern Alberta and over 1.5 million ATV's registered in all of Alberta. You are one little person with an aggressive agenda hidden behind a facade of long hair and pseudo-science.

    Your free little page here on FB, and what is written on it, is often found repugnant by many decent, considerate people in both the conservation and OHV camps.

    The fact you haven't held a job for 3 decades speaks loudly of your reliance on others to support you; the same way you rely on a certain personality type to support your page. Most of the cocky little comments and replies you've made on this post and many others also prove your outright agenda to misrepresent the facts in order to facilitate your need for recognition.

    In fact, your narcissism only exacerbates the real issue here: you.

    YOU are a detriment to the watershed you so covetously proclaim to be warden over. Your undermining of a common belief held by the majority of wilderness users, that all groups deserve recognition and the opportunity to experience the wilderness however they most wish to, and not to be the recipients of the derision and finger pointing you so absolutely excel in, will cause further distrust of you.

    I mean, why be more open about their legal and thoughtful pursuits on the Eastern Slopes when they have you and your fb shaming tactics to contend with?

    I've spent enough time reading your posts on your horse and pony page and laughing at mean little tantrums, laughable attempts at journalism and a childlike persona. I won't spend any more though. You've proven again..and again....that my valuable time will be much better spent in assisting citizens who passionately care about their pastime, other people AND the environmental protection process.

    I encourage all OHV users to do the same. Ignore him long enough and maybe he'll go away? Not likely I know. But if you stop feeding him, perhaps he'll starve.

    I learned something very important today. No, not on that FB page. It was at an event....an important one for all ecologically inclined people of our area. I learned that one person, no matter how unbalanced and out-spoken, will never make a difference in the big picture. What will though, are the positive, impactful public displays and communiqués which are so well received by the general public and will continue to gain headway and popularity.

     

  16. Solder and heat shrink all the connections. Use the heat shrink called " dual wall" (it has a heat activated sealer in it) and you'll never have any problems down the road.

    Great advice above. Go to a good electronics shop to buy your material and get good advice on solder and flux, never acid core. If you don't currently own a soldering tool get a pencil style rather than a gun. 100.00 will get you one that will last the rest of your life.

    Watch a few you tubes on soldering as its a great skill to have. Don't melt the solder, let the solder flow to the heat.

    • Like 1
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