skearns

We made it to the show Friday aft before the snow....and I got out without breaking the bank acocunt...renewed some friendships, watched a bit of J. McLennans presentation on the evolution of the Bow and it was interesting to see some of his pics of the river from the the late'70s...many similarities to now...Did anyone else stop by the booth for Possum Creek Retreat? I asked the gent where the resort was located and his answer was Bristol, Tennesse. We then chatted for a bit about the fishing there and then he asked me what month I thought I would be able to start river fishing here...I said last Friday and left him speechless....sk.

It happened again this morning....look dude you can't get on the elevator until I get off....and ladies first always....sk

A man in Scotland calls his son in London the day before Christmas Eve and says, "I hate to ruin your day but I have to tell you that your mother and I are divorcing; forty-five years of misery is enough". "Dad, what are you talking about?'" the son screams. "We can't stand the sight of each other any longer", the father says. "We're sick of each other and I'm sick of talking about this, so you call your sister in Leeds and tell her". Frantically, the son calls his sister, who explodes on the phone, "Like hell they're getting divorced", she shouts, "I'll take care of this". She calls Scotland immediately and screams at her father, "You are NOT getting divorced. Don't do a single thing until I get there. I'm calling my brother back and we'll both be there tomorrow. Until then, don't do a thing, DO YOU HEAR ME?"and hangs up. The old man hangs up his phone and turns to his wife. "Done! They're coming for Christmas - and they're paying their own way."

Apparantly this system is based our own cellphone signals that are picked up as we pass a transmitter and again as we pass the next transmitter and the interval is then measured....not sure how they can estimate how long it will take when everyone drives at differing speeds..it is the old vendor/client saying...when you have bad news, tell them early and exaggerate...after having lived in Toronto and Montreal 20 yrs ago I never complain about the Alberta traffic.... From CTV news reports: The pilot project involves 12 message boards and 11 bluefax devices. "Bluefax measures a vehicle as it passes past locations and estimates travel time between locations," explains Troy McLeod, the city's traffic manager. "What we are doing is displaying travel times along Deerfoot Trail to give drivers an idea of what it will take to get to a certain point along the road." McLeod says the same system is being used in many American cities and he's hoping Calgary sees a similar success. "Providing estimated travel times will allow motorists to know their destination travel time and make use of that information for route choices," says McLeod. "In the future, this type of system could be accessed by in-vehicle navigation systems to automatically course correct travel routes." Some travelling the Deerfoot on Wednesday say the travel time estimates are a welcome addition. "It will definitely be helpful," says Pat Lang. "It lets you know how long you'll be stuck in traffic." The experiment started on Wednesday and will end on November 23. The real time travel information will be available from 6 a.m. until 7 p.m. on weekdays and from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on the weekend.

Right up to your stellar quality H...it's the variety of fish that you hunt that excites me...keep on keeping on....sk

Jon, I decided to get into bird hunting almost 10 years ago now. While I am intrigued by big game hunting and enjoy the taste of wild meat , it required much more commitment than I had time to supply ( young family at the time). Bird hunting can be enjoyable regardless of your investment level. There are generally three differing types of bird hunting that I will describe below keeping in mind you can invest hundreds in any type of gear if you desire. As well for me, bird hunting is not about sustinence or filling the freezer, for me it is about interacting with this wonderful province's fall foilage and watching my Labrador Retriever work the land while running with the biggest smile. For further info you should read the Provincial hunting regs which can be found online. Enjoy... Migratory ( Ducks and Geese )....shotgun, access ( fields, sloughs etc), camo gear, blinds, decoys, calls, equipment to retrieve in water i.e. dog, boat, waders....I don't hunt much migratory anymore mostly because I never got properly setup and much prefer the taste of upland but it can be some fun action when it is done correctly...3-4 months season depending on location Upland...various grouse species, hungarian partridge.....shotgun for wing shooting, 22 for ground shooting, good pair of hunting boots, warm clothes. This is the one type of bird hunting that it is not neccessary to use a dog but it helps. Good public access on the eastern Slopes for grouse, partridge in the praries, good eating....3-4 month season depending on location Pheasant....currently my favourite, shotgun, usually private access is required to find wild birds but their numbers are way down this year. There are designated and non-designated release sites throughout the province where the government has sub-contracted the raising and releasing of pheasants, only legal to hunt the males, while you can hunt them without a dog, you will see and therefore have the opportunity to shoot many more birds with the use of a dog's keen sense of smell. Again good boots, warm clothes, blaze orange. 4-6 week season depending on location. Jon, I am sure there are way more experienced hunters on here who may or may not agree with my input but we had to get this thread continued. For me bird hunting is somewhat like flyfishing, can be done to some extent in a short period of time if required, somewhat minimal infrastructure and always good exercise. And like flyfishing it is a recreational pursuit for me where positive success is a bonus. My problem in the fall is deciding whether to hunt or fish on my next day off...sk

LOL...I actually watched that episode on Discovery last week. The baitfish was about a foot long and he used a strike indicator...somewhat uneccessary I would think...sk

Mine lay nicely up on the rafters in the garage beside the skiis....it also helps if you are 6'4" or taller....sk

For me it is usually quality over quantity...but when i do want to keep track of the quantity it goes like this...number of hits, number of those hits that are hooked and then the number of those hooked that are landed...of course it can be like counting drinks...after a certain number the memory plays tricks...lol...sk

We are on our second lab now and she can be a struggle for me to manage when fly fishing. Our first Lab actually helped herself to another fishermans lunch once while we (he and I) were both in the water. Now my second lab is somewhat more manageable but I spend some time trying to shoo her back to shore so as not to swim thru the run. And then when she is on shore I spend too much time keeping an eye on her and consequently have been late on reacting to hits. Especially when fishing in the city near the bike path, she stays at home. The other hazard I find is when I am resting she can't see the line and therefore you have to be very careful when changing flies or line. When fishing outside the city in a secluded area she does come and i know what it means to her to get out and run and explore. Just three more months to pheasant season...sk

There are several spots a few hours from Calgary west of Sundre that we have ridden to. In particular Dormer and Eagle lakes near the Ya-Ha-Tinda Ranch are in great trail ride country. Eagle lake has some monster brook trout, it is about a 4 km ride or hike but can be difficult to fish from shore so a boat ( belly, inflatable raft etc) of some sort would be beneficial. You can also check the streams and rivers in that area including the upper reaches of the Red Deer river as well as the Panther river....usually don't publish names but these should be far enough and high enough to keep the lazy hords away...enjoy...sk

As indicated bought mine last year at Army Navy(top floor SW corner)...queen size 6 inch was around $110? and 4 inch $75?....round numbers as usual, It seems we spend the first third of our lives learning everything we need to know to survive , the middle third living hard and trying to instill what we know in the younguns, and then the last third when we really need the know how, we can't remember what we knew and hope the hell we taught the kids well so they know how to take of us before it is their turn in the barrel...oh well plenty of time to be dull when you're dead...as you were...sk

At least add a no over/back rule like basketball...but I like Terry's plan...alas while I can see the river from my office can't get on it today. But at least our company condones limited soccer viewing via live streaming. Just imagine should Canada ever qualify again, let a alone score a GOALLLLLLLLLLLLLL!

I don't watching it once every 48 months....As Coach Mike Ditka is quoted as saying "If God wanted us to play soccer he wouldn't have given us arms."

I just utilized the montana shipping outlet for the first time last week and it was great. Ordered $180 worth of golf equiment, was quoted $100 all in to get it to Calgary. Instead, for $6 usps it to Montana Shipping outlet in Eureka, $3 holding fee there ( leave it there for as long as you need). Then a Calgary buddy with a cabin at Libby picked it up for me on his way thru last week. He got a bottle for his trouble, almost asked him to get it at duty free as well...lol....sk

Rick, my brother and a few friends have had similar work done on their knees. If I remember correctly the Doctor's name was Penner(sp), and after consult appointment in Calgary the surgery was performed in Didsbury and in another case Banff. Total time line was less than a year...hope this helps....sk

Electricity and water= positive pain DON CHERRY of 'Hockey Night' in Canada , was asked on a local live radio talk show, just what he thought about the allegations of torture of suspected terrorists. His reply prompted his ejection from the studio, but to thunderous applause from the audience. HIS STATEMENT: "If hooking up one rag-head terrorist prisoner's testicles to a car battery to get the truth out of the lying little camel-shagger will save just one Canadian life, then I have only three things to say: 1. Red is positive. 2. Black is negative. 3. Make sure his nuts are wet!"

made it downtown without much hassle, but just cancelled my first tee time of the year at Glen Eagles tomorrow, don't want to waste a day off so now thinking of checking out some of the streams north of Cochrane but depending on when this storm dies that may be foolish as well...sk

Bella Coola B.C.....salmon, steelhead, skiing...had a chance to purchase 15 acres with a small house on the river 15 years ago for 25K...passed...and now here I sit in a DT Cowtown office tower watching the river flow....sigh

$135 on number 31 please Rick...cheap to skate with a couple of hall of famers...

As an aside on the license issues, I was checked this past Februrary while out ice fishing. I handed the chatty CO my license, he looked at it and said it was fine if I was fishing last year. I had mistakenly grabbed the wrong license out of my vest on the way out the door. He said no problem, whipped out his cellphone, called the gov. helpdesk and asked them to run my win number which he got off the expired license. They replied back that I had indeed purchased a valid 2009/2010 license. He then wrote a notation on the old license that it was good for that day only and went on his merry way. That kind of customer service goes a long way with me....now to remember to destroy the old licenses. And I am liking the idea of multiple copies...

Watching that vid is the best way to spend a Monday morning coffee break...thanks Liam awesome pics, great soundtrack...some day some day...sk

And just to show my maturity level check out this classic http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0060921/

Thought I would quickly share a couple of my fishing experiences from the last few months...seems pretty weird but then weird things seem to happen to me from time to time.. In mid-january I went to a small pothole pond looking to ice fish for some rainbows. Another gentlemen arrived at the same time, after introducing myself I found out his name was Mikhail and he was from Russia, been in Calgary for 2 years. We fished together that day and got out a couple of more times together and he is now interested in learning to fly fish. Fast forward to this past Sunday morning. I arrived at one of my go to inner city holes around 9 am only to find another angler riggin up right there. After a quick wave hello I proceeded downstreams a ways and got in the river. After limited succes, I was warming on the side with my thermos when the other fisherman waved me over. He then offered to kindly share the run. It was at that time that I inquired about his accent and yes he was from Russia, his name was Sergei and he had been in Calgary 4 years. We fished together for the next few hours, mostly whitefish for me but he caught and slowly landed one of the largested Bow River Browns I have seen, easily 24" or better. We were both nymphing, with me trying to master the highsticking method. Not sure why the Russians are targetting me but both new friends were gentlemen and very interesting to talk with in regards to our sport and their home country. Now if I can just parlay these relationships into a Kamchatka trip.... Nice to meet you comrades....sk

Never needed a key or seen a gate at the public Policeman's boat launch. Have a good look at the landing when dropping your vehicle. It is a little hidden from the river view and you don't want to miss it. I usually look for the three steel fence posts right at the landing entrance when floating in my 'toon...enjoy, should be nice lengthy float....sk