scel

This is awesome advice. Thank you.

Wow, this became quite the discussion. Here is a funny. Take note though, Ze Frank equivocates 'gremlins' to 'men with hats and beards'. How many of you have beards/moustaches and travel the river with a hat on? I have encountered many ill-mannered dogs on the river too but most of my bad encounters have been as a cyclist (for over 15 years, I rode more than 150km/week). Every time I encounter a dog on the river (or on my bike), I just take off my hat/helmet and lift my sunglasses. It completely disarms 80% of the dogs, downgrades 15% dogs from aggressive/defensive to cautious (these dogs are likely loved but were probably not properly socialized), but 5% of dogs are just bad. So 1-in-20 dogs is a complete ass-hat. That means that I tend to encounter more dogs I like than people I like. So, I give them all the benefit of the doubt. Even though I have encountered bad dogs, I have not had a bad encounter. I worked directly with dogs for 15 years before owning one. Dogs are incredibly sensitive and they can feel your mood but cannot hear your thoughts. While there are no excuses for a poorly trained and soclialized dog, especially if the dog is off-leash, if your thoughts are 'will have to mace this ass-hat dog?', I would not be surprised if every dog encountered would be, at least, defensive.

It is really embarrassing and disappointing to read this.

I took the dog to the river today for an off-leash romp. As you can imagine, he was frickin' stoked. He scaled riprap like a pro. Trundled through the single track. The only bad thing that happened was chasing a cyclist. It was weird though, I know there was not a bike path for many kilometres. Anyway, we will have to work on this. I am the novice dog owner. My wife, however, has owned several dogs, including (and most recently) Australian Shepherds. We decided to get a dog because I mainly work from home and we have both had a few wildlife encounters that left us a little uncomfortable. I must admit, when I first got the puppy, I was thinking 'what the hell were we thinking?!' It did not know where to poop. Tried to chew everything. It was like a toddler except way more destructive. At least now, even though it is still a puppy, with the basics of house etiquette down, we are starting to have some fun.

All great advice. Thanks peeps!

I am a proud owner of a dog. My puppy is 12 weeks old. The dog is an F1 hybrid of a registered border collie and a registered australian cattle dog. He is super smart and very trainable. He has the basics down: sit, down, come. He responds well to a leash (important if we are living in a city). Ultimately, however, fishing is an off-leash activity. There have been a few times that I have been fishing and encountered poorly behaved dogs. Barking incessantly and aggressive behaviour are 2 personal peeves when I encounter a dog while fishing (a warning bark is totally OK). Here are a few questions: How old was your dog when you first took them fishing? What are some mandatory dog etiquette training you would consider mandatory in order to take a dog as a fishing buddy? Personally, I know I have to be confident the dog's prey drive will not kick in. He no longer chases cats or squirrels (although, i know he wants to). He tends to stick very closely to me unless there is a group of animals when herding instinct kicks in (it is funny watching him try to herd a murder of crows). Dogs are awesome. He sees me: stoked. He sees my wife: stoked. He gets some food: stoked. He plays with the cat: stoked. I cannot wait to take him fishing, but I do not want to ruin it for both of us.

Ezra Levant has a history of not using facts. http://news.nationalpost.com/news/canada/ezra-levant-loses-hate-speech-case-must-pay-80000-to-man-he-defamed-as-illiberal-islamic-fascist http://o.canada.com/news/ezra-levant-libel-suit-552865

I have a pair of G3s and 2 pairs of Freestones. Generally speaking, the Freestones were more comfortable and better to wear over longer periods, but the G3s are far more durable, and provide better support. The G3 durability meant they were harder to break in, probably took 30 km of hiking (10 or so outings) before they began to feel right.

Sunset is 9:09. You will still have 30 or so minutes of twilight to see.

This is an undeniably a severely unfortunate experience. I have worked in Department of Neurology/Neuroscience. The neurologists and facilities at Childrens/Foothills are world-class. Your son is in good hands.

x2 The double haul is a critical tool and it really allows the caster to generate the line speed to get the most out of your faster action rods. Once learned and practiced, you will use it all the time, even on your lighter rods. The Orvis videos on the double haul are excellent.

I only have one year of pike fishing under my belt, but I went gang-busters and fished a wide variety of pike waters. If you fish just Alberta stillwater, you can get away with a floating line, but if you are fishing anywhere on the Canadian Shield where depths can wildly vary, a sinking line is invaluable. I would go with an intermediate line with 2-5 cm/s sink rate with 1.5m of leader/bite tippet and a moderately weighted fly. If anyone has any idea why this set up is not reasonable, I would really like to know. I am always looking to improve my pike rig.

Thanks. I know that I do not take great pictures. What would help? I am happy to take new pictures. How would you determine line weight for the rod?

None. There is only one marking engraved on brass on the butt-end of the grip section. The best I can deduce is "Feather Wright'

stupid imgur. it is usually pretty good.

My best friend's grandfather passed away this past spring. A mystery tube of fishing rods appeared at his home last week. The PVC tube was filled with bamboo fishing rods, including this fly rod. http://imgur.com/gallery/dkUcM/new Would someone be able to help me figure out what this rod is? Who made it? a possible line weight? Many Thanks EDIT: it is a 3piece 9' rod. A safe estimate places the rod at 40+ years old

It sounds like you are justified. Vets are inherently expensive. My cat has a bad goopy eye. Today cost me $155 for the assessment and medicine. $150-$200 for a single problem seems to be average. While vets (and human doctors, for that matter) are all very smart and all meet minimum standards, 50% are necessarily below average. It is hard to find a good one.

Out of curiousity, what do you feel 'a lot' is? Landing Animal Clinic in Glenmore Landing is my recommendation. Any of the vets are fine. They have 3 main vets. 2 of the 3 vets also work as specialists at the CARE Animal Hospital.

I have these sunglasses. I also have a pair of Amber polarized Oakleys. If I were to choose a single set of sunglasses, I would go with the Amber Oakleys. The MJ green lenses performs well in lower light conditions, but does not have the contrast of the amber in bright conditions. They are worth the money if you like having choices.

Other than 'persevere', the best piece of advice that I learned from this sub-forum is to watch the rise forms. Is it splashy? Are you seeing a snout? Are you just seeing a dorsal fin but no snout? These are indicators of where the fish is feeding in the water column. Google/Youtube 'rise forms' to get a much better explanation than I can give. I find Bow River trout surprisingly finicky. A drag-free drift of your fly is critical if the fish are taking small mayflies, midges, or emergers. Adult caddis and stoneflies will skate across the surface, so you can be a little sloppier when fishing these patterns. Are you getting refusals---that tell-tale boil just below your fly as it drifts? This is frustrating, but it also means that you are on the right track. It has been mentioned already, but decreasing your tippet diameter may be helpful. There are certainly exceptions, but decreasing fly size is usually a more prudent first approach than increasing it. With caddis, in particular, it is also a good idea to have a number of different sizes and colours. I have had a number of experiences, where the trout would take a tan or black body caddis, but totally refuse the olive (and vice-versa). Good luck.

My best friend's dad has retired and is moving to Kelowna. He is from Vancouver Island and he fly-fished a great deal before getting married. He asked my advice for a recommended set up for the area for mostly still water fishing. I did some research, and a 5wt or 6wt setup would probably cover most of the fishing in the area. I have no experience in the area. Can FFC please lend some advice?

I am still a little perplexed on the rationale to call an election in the first place. I still have not received/read a good explanation. Given that both Edmonton and Calgary have voted for young, left-leaning mayors, calling an election after raising taxes, but without raising corporate taxes, seems like political seppuku.

It casts really well, but it only lasted a season before it cracked and would no longer float.

I am trying to determine if it would be better to purchase a pontoon boat or a Watermaster for floating the Bow. I have not seen anyone use a Watermaster yet. They are also much more expensive than a pontoon. However, the interwebs resoundingly say the Waterwaster is the best fly fishing watercraft. Once again, FFC. Do you have any insight?

Hank is awesome. I also have a deep hipster respect for his weirdy-beardy sidekick. I hope Reese is OK.