CopperJonny

Hey man , Im up in Mcmurray right now on a turnaround , should be finished in the next week or so , .......give or take a week:) . thats about the best that I may say at this point......it is a day to day business , and as far as I know ...Im on tonight , for now....nature of the beast . How soon are you in need of this help ? PM me if interested . maybe some details too ! - CJ.

Wow , I see a master boat builder in your future ! I am extremely impressed to witness some professional craftsmanship at work ! Kudos !!! Thank you for sharing this thread!!

Do it Rob !! if you like to create things you'll love it . EVERYTHING is a material sometimes , haha . Look out for the entamologist in you to "emerge"... dont forget the almighty Worm , in this river , and rubber legged chenille stonefly.....caddis , stimies , BH PT's , Princes , and what Mitchell said ...lots of flies are diff combinations of near same materials ....Have a chat with the fellas at Fish Tales , they will steer you in the right direction !!

Very good idea Brian . I'm going to donate as well . Thats what Im talking about !! .......Action !

So unless this is just a bitchen kitchen and a sounding board.........who's got an idea ?

. Signs are a perfect start ! IMO

Not kidding at all ! As I mentioned , IMO ! Thats why i said it . Take a look at "Rip Lip" , again IMO thats either a bad shot by a heron , or a treble hook at its best !! I have landed over 50 fish in the past couple of months and have not damaged one Eye , jaw nor even snagged a fish by accident !! I tie all of my own flies too . ( mind you Im pretty proud of that , and understand that alone is a miracle) yet I do have to dissagree with your statement. I guess after mentioning that I will thank Aaron , Chris and Matt at FT for helping me decide which hooks work the best and I will keep using them. Thats just my opinion . Which is built upon a rather first hand experience , regarding the basis of my opinion . Proof is in the puddin' as they say . Also its all in how the fisherman handles the fish...after all , fly fisherman tend to be geared toward conservation more than any other user of the river .And that I will boldly state , as a fact. CJ

IMO - it would be a great start if they made the river a fly fishing only river , to the Carseland wier ! ( i know , somewhat biased . But they do it elsewhere don't they!) Afterall , with all of the stars lined up correctly , which they happen to be regarding location , the Bow river's Blue Ribbon fishery is not much less than a miracle right!!

Well done guys !! Too bad CJ

I always look to diffuse situations myself . Its to easy for me to get mad and want to wreck 'em . But must stay proffesional at work , so I would try to make things fun , for both . just an idea... I would agree with them that they have a point , and be like .. "just a moment Ill be right back !"... Come back with a camcorder (at the ready ) and ask them to state their concern ! If they do say that you "will be sending to the head office for consideration" , and if they ask what its about , tell em" Im in charge of making a video , regarding harassment in the workplace for new employees!" and this is perfect footage of how to deal with impossible customers! All done with a smile , and extreme politeness . cause MEAN PEOPLE SUCK!! Personally I believe it should be legal to use a fly swatter once in a while ..... just sayin'

Bringing dreams to life man ! Creating Smiles , Yeehaws , and High Fives !! Thats what its all about ! Hats of to you Brother !

Ok steel and Mice it will be , and some heavy tippet material . Cause I know by the weekend I will be itching to cast somewhere and I'm sure I will have to resort to whatever is close a time or too. I will definately hit the Narrow Hills now ! But that wont be for at least a couple of weeks i figure , most of the other lakes I have found are either in the Cypress hills , or the Narrow hills areas , like Meadow , Burtlein ,Mullock , Piprell , Roblin?? , Twin Lakes , and Lady lake , Exner in Mukwa PP , Big Jade( not sure that sounds so good) , and Little Rasberry . All of these should have some trout in them . Wherever i find some good waters i will share , mid July in the sweltering praries , may be a bit warm in lower elevations but well see.. Thanks for the tips guys !!

Yeah , I was thinking Cypress Hills , yet may as well come here if i'm going to drive that far . Yet will be great to see them , and check out some Elk at the same time , all to make my mouth water , while trying some new spots .. I have caught a ton of Pike and honestly do not care if I ever handle one again they almost creep me out as bad as Eels , which in my opinion are " the only good eel , is wriggling in the fire"! I think my disgust towards pike , come from a swim at carburn years ago , when i was knee deep in the water and I saw one come up and just hover about ten feet away gawcking at my girlfriend as she was getting in the water ! I truly thought the little guy (20"er) was licking his lips ! ( couldnt blame him) but he definately had something else on his mind than i did! Maybe it was only waiting for some food to be tossed to him , or something . But that was the weirdest thing I saw regarding them . And No we werent feeding them , AND he was just a little guy !! Since then I have felt like "watch your kids" !!! Also , about 13 or 14 yrs ago I was working with a fella in a shop here , and he was telling me about his buddy ...who is rather big ex military bloke , and was an active diver during search and rescue . He was telling me about the time his buddy was at Sylvan lake searching for a body years before , and was in a very deep trench , when a "six foot" pike swam by him . I guess it freaked out his buddy , who you wouldnt think would be easily spooked ( so it mustve been some big for him to say 6' ). ......just sayin'......FreshWater barracuda IMO!! I know and respect that they have there place , as we do . But i would rather bowfish for em !!

Well as fate would have it , I am off to Saskatchewan for a job that should last until Christmas ! Yeehaw on the year-to-date . Boooo on having to leave this beloved trout stream , and work in Pike infested water's . Nothing against pike , well not too much , as I much prefer salmonids .Yeah I can't go anywhere without packing my gear along with me , so I'm sure i will get hooked up with some "fresh water barracuda". And have been researching streams and lakes around the Battleford's for trout waters . Looks like i will be facing the decision of taking the drive home to get my fix on the Bow every weekend or searching for brown and tiger trout waters.. Has anyone any info they may be willing to share on some areas for Sask trout !? I'm hoping to arm myself with as much info as possible before i head there ! if not , about the pike , ......do we need a steel leader or just go heavy on the leader , or woven etc. TYA... CJ

Thanks Flymart ! Yep I've been following Dave's entries for a few patterns , the last few years . Another great resource . Jeremy Davies also , and a fella named Nate . incredible the value of the internet ! Thanks guy's.....CJ

Oh right on Canuckcamper , Great to meet you as well !! Thanks man , these are some golden pattern banks . Awesome !! See you out there Bro !! CJ

Thanks Mike !! That helps , as that is what I have been doing for the middle set of legs , suppose I should cut shorter sections and do all three the same....Thanks Guy's.. Jon

Awesome Pics ! Now thats the life !! congrats Bro !!

Having been on a break from the river since Sunday and resting . At this age , day in and day out on the Bow still doesnt seem like enough ...hehehe . I have been stocking up on stones and following everyone's reports , I figure that it's also propably past due time to pile on the dries , and starting this season's dry tying with a variant of a pattern "Pacres" posted on here as , Dave McPhail's variant of a Surface stonefly by Lee Wulff . So I will dub this... "Surface stone wulff !" And after a first try at it , I am totally pumped to get back on some stimies and caddis !! I would like to take this and totally see what can be done.....foam body , elk hair wing , foamy post and some hackle.....I figure it will float great !! Hopefully some of you fellas can come up with some improvements , I would like to see what can come of this....Great Hopper/Stone pattern I figure . This was tied on a 1260 Daiichi size 6..... If anyone is interested , please pass on some ideas ! Im definately thinking this could be more like a stimie with a tail , etc ...just simpler to tie with less dubbing . I always find that part the trickiest when tying . Twisting the dubbing on the thread etc . And I figure the floatability with the foam will be almost second to none , if done better Oh and I'm thinking I will hit the river bright and early !! Southland or Dougiedale. Been too long already but the rest is worth it !! Also am planning on hitting the volunteer deal at Allen Bill Pond this weekend , if anyone is interested let me now and maybe we can car pool !! And i'm going to hit the reg's and see about stitchin' some seams on the Elbow , somewhere afterwards , "kill 2 birds w/one stone" ! Speaking of which , after checking the reg's , where is Canyon Creek ( gotta stay away from there)...man I'm itching for some brookies in my pan...cheers Jon

Thanks Lornce , very much appreciate it !! I have been used to tying them in last , but they look so much better tied in before !

Sweet Adams Mitchell , and beauty Hopper Lornce ! Hey fella's can anyone share the secret to tying on the rubber legs "figure 8" style , as in chenille rubber leg stone . I've been doing the ole parallel tye ins which make them more of a cross pattern , if you know what I mean , I cant find any vids . And they just dont seem to look as good . Thanks guys Edit: Found it....manipulation of the legs via chenille wraps.

Ok here is the response , if anyone is interested..... Hello Jonathan: You had called on Thursday last week, indicating you were interested in helping with the Free Fishing program and we have added your name to the volunteer list. As well, here is some information for you on the Nature Language program for New Canadians taking place this Saturday, July 9th at Allen Bill Day Use in the Elbow Valley of Kananaskis to help new Canadians learn to fish in Alberta. We need help to organize participants, set rods and reels, untangle fishing lines, and tell fish stories. The event runs from 10am to 3pm at Allan Bill Day use, and please arrive in the morning at 9:30 am if you are able. You may volunteer for the whole day or part of the day. The schedule is ongoing with arrival of the morning group at 10:15 and the afternoon group at 1:00 pm. You do not need a fishing license this day but if you have your own fishing equipment please bring it. We will be providing fishing rods for participants. We are also seeking donations of fishing and camping equipment for the Nature Language programs. Here are the things you should bring for the day: Outdoor clothing for rain or shine – mountain weather can change quickly. A hat is very important. Water and a lunch or snacks for yourself. There are no grocery stores The trip to Allen Bill should take between 30 and 40 minutes from the west side of Calgary. (Transportation is not provided). Here are directions to the location at the following link. http://maps.google.ca/maps?f=d&source=...mp;t=h&z=10 And there a map of the valley here: http://www.tpr.alberta.ca/parks/kananaskis...lbow_Valley.pdf Finally, you can learn more about Nature as a Second Language and Alberta Parks at this website: www.albertaparks.ca/naturelanguage Best regards, Alison, Heather and Don Nature as a Second Language Kananaskis Country Parks Division Alberta Tourism, Parks and Recreation (: Phone 403-678-5508 (toll-free by dialing 310-0000 first) Ê: Fax: 403-678-5505

I would be honoured to go for a hike with you and Nantuc !! Maybe sometime in the future , would like to meet her !! We can chase some coyotes anytime , I'm sure she would love the exercise , I am always game for some as well !!

" Its a rhetorical question Farley" !! Then again you could take all the weight off and cast with that ....thats what I did for like 12 years on the Bow , because I was afraid to do the same....ticked me off !! tying and retying more than actually fishing ! Screw that I thought ! Yet .....only caught the odd fish !! Dries were fine ,streamers were great , but I missed out on all the fun , and my season's were about a quarter what they are now !! Keep the weight on Rob , 2x your rig minimum ..... Pull it before you get snagged in the same spot again (remember) : Doing the same thing ,expecting a different result is a definition of insanity !(look at me), suck it up prin'......Rob and love it .Your doing everything right , keep it up!! there is no "golden " knot , all you can do is go heavier on your line..( you already know this though) and even that doesnt always work...I had 30lb to 17lb (tippet) on the coast and a Stellar Sea Lion Snapped my heavy rod in 2 places last December !! As a member of the " Sunshine Coast Salmon Enhancement Society" ( Wilson Creek Fish Hatchery)( and waiting for winter run steelhead with 2 months to go) I was out crabbing and catching sole and waiting for the "sharks"( up to 80lb spiny dogfish ) when the old boy connected ( didnt even see him come in, was dark) just as I was done for the day..... Glad i wasn't in a boat I tell ya !! He was mad as H E double hockey stick!!! You ever get that " Im not at the top of the chain " hair standing up on the back of the neck feeling , you get around bears ...yep same shizzat ! this guy had a girth on him almost as wide as queen size bed , and was as long as a station wagon !! anyhow , thats another thread , was fun reliving it ......on land haha!!

Sorry to hear about the rod tip Rob !! , as for the flies........were 90% water arent we ?!! (depends on how many are left in the box) Or 10 lbs test man !!