scel

Agreed. He is an amazing, down-to-earth writer. "Trout Streams of Alberta" is an awesome easy read, with troves of knowledge and experience. I do not think that it is in print any longer. I would lend you mine, but it is making its cycle through the friends right now. I think there are variants of the same book, "Western Trout Streams", or something of that ilk.

I cannot really comment on the lens quality of each of Maui Jim or Oakley prescriptions. I would actually like to see how my opinions compare to prescription sunglasses. I do, however, own 4 pairs of 'normal' polarized sunglasses. 2xOakley and 2xMaui Jim. The Maui Jim are slightly better (but only slightly) for low impact (like fly fishing), but I could NEVER imagine riding my mountain bike wearing them. The Maui frames just do not have the same ruggedness and stick-to-your-head-performance as the Oakleys. If I had to choose 1 pair out of the 4, I would choose the Oakleys---better performance over a wider variety of conditions.

What is your budget? Do you have famiy?

I went to Cuba. It was one of the best days of my life. I caught 8 fish over the 8 hours (7 bones and 1 small barracuda). I saw and could cast to no less than 100 fish. I caught the barracuda with my line just dragging in the water. at 12" he was not really the prize we were looking for. On the bow, I give myself a B to B+ in casting. I operate well out of my taper (I do not like using split shot). It is not graceful, but I can cast a size 20 with a 6wt rod and catch fish. On the flats, I was a D- to D caster. Very humbling. I spooked no less than 50 bonefish with crappy casting (a good sidearm cast will help cut the wind and not flash your rod around---I do not get much a chance to practice a side arm here). I full on missed 30 bonefish, because of crappy casting. It is so much harder casting to where you think the the fish will be than where you last saw it (like a trout). Fish on the flats are almost always moving. Predicting where you have to land the fly and then accommodating for an unrelenting 40km/h crosswind is easily the hardest casting that I have ever done. I removed my fly out of my clothes 3 times. Out of those casts, I had 20 'good' casts. I had about 15 hook-ups, but the guide insisted that a gentler strip-set was the way to set the hook. It was hard to keep the 'lift the rod' habit tamed. But man, when you genuinely hook into a bonefish, it is so awesome. Even the little guys (like 16") will scream out the line for 50-60m (usually twice). The big guys will easily run for a 100m. It was a long treacherous drive into the national park in the south east portion, but totally worth it. Apparently Bonefish are not as popular as the tarpon (which you can also catch in the river system). I think it is because you more or less *have* to use fly gear for the bones, but you can use spin gear for tarpon. And I saw an ocelot. Best day ever.

My dream trip was fly fishing for bonefish in some mangroves. I accomplished it this winter. Now I cannot stop dreaming about it. i caught fish, but it did make me feel like a complete newbie. Casting in the ocean wind really tests one's mettle. Also 8 hours in caribbean sun is a true test for a borderline albino like myself. Awesome time. I just dream about going back again, with winds less than 40km/h

I have caught fish on streamers. I have had good days, but mostly I spend the day telling myself 'apparently, I just need to be patient'. The only thing that I have found---when fishing rivers with streamers, 2x fluorocarbon leaders are 3times more reliable than 2x mono leaders. That is all that I can say with confidence. </scel waits patiently for more tips>

Your thanks is appreciated I do not know anything about the icefishing. The Bow River is a great fishery, but it is not an easy water to learn in a couple of days. Mostly nymphs and streamers are productive. I prefer a 6wt to fish the Bow. Early March, it is *possible* that you will find some dry action, and you will be casting size 20-22 midges, but it is like a 1in100 chance. Given the choices, I would bring the 8wt single. I like fishing my 4wt, but the warm weather in very typically accompanied by a 35+km/h wind. If you fish nymphs---you will probably be casting and indicator, a spit shot, and 2-3 nymphs. If you are casting streamers, you will be casting something with quite a bit of weight (to get down) or a sink tip with a lighter fly (still...a little heavy for the 4wt). San Juan worms (sz 16-14) and any assortment of nymphs size 16-20 catch fish. I find streamers hit-n-miss---this is not because they are not productive, but rather because I am not very good at fishing them. The only thing that I can say---darker colours seem to work better...um...most of the time. Be careful walking the banks.

I worked closely with iOS app developers for a couple of years---I really dislike iOS. iTunes could be one of the worst pieces of bloated software ever developed. I cannot understand how people put up with it. I recently bought a Nexus 5 directly from Google. It is one of the most amazing phones I have ever used. Technically, it is close to the iPhone 5s, Galaxy 4, and Moto X, except it is half the price. Admittedly, the Nexus 5 camera leaves a little to be desired. Buy the phone straight up, take it to whatever carrier you want. If you do not like the carrier, just go to a different one.

While they are both salmonids, whitefish prefer cooler and more oxygenated water than most trout.

My experience is the runs need to be at least 1m deep. (I think that is just over 3') The trouts are always the same: they want food and protection at the lowest energy expenditure. The super slow deep runs give good protection, but tend to have poor food transport. I find the deeper tailouts to be the most productive. At least, that is where the consolation prize of whitefish will hang out. Of course there are exceptions but I would say, in the summer, there tends to be 1 really productive run per 150m of river hiked. In the winter there is 1 good run per 250 m of river. There have been a few times that I have been surprised though.

What is your name? Who is funding the study?

Thanks for the advice. Given 'finding a guy to do it for cheap' is not really a reasonable option for me, it sounds like I should budget about $5000. Right? What do you mean? I cannot find anything.

I am a first time home-owner. My house was built in 1977 and still has the original furnace. The home inspector warned me about the furnace, so I knew what I was getting into. I know that a service/overhaul will extend the life of it for a couple more years, but I see the upper lifetime is about 25 years for a furnace. The pilot light has been going out. The motor squeaks. The Given how furnaces are drastically more efficient now, it actually makes sense to replace it sooner than later. While gas is presently cheap, electricity is becoming much more expensive. I am a strong believer in buying some things outright, like phones, electronics etc. I do not like payments. A furnace, however, is something that I can justify a monthly payment. Does anyone have any advice on this?

Check out the Bow River Reports sub-forum. All my failures are gloriously documented there.

I have good manners and a pleasant demeanor---I guess that I will just have to put them to good use. Thanks for the advice.

I know that an angler is legally permitted to travel up and down a river within the high water mark. There are a couple of spots on Google Maps that have rural roads approaching with a few hundred metres of a river. I would hazard that it is private land between the road and the river. In the event that one would like to traverse a landowner's property, what is the best way to get permission? Approaching a random house seems kind of creepy. I must admit, I look pretty harmless, but still... Any advice?

I will admit it---I am a technology whore. I use Linux (main deskop and media servers), Windows (gaming and laptop), OS X (laptop), Android (phone and tablet) and iOS (iPods). I hate iOS---I lasted one day before returning my iPhone. The last iOS update actually brought most of the Android functionality to the device (finally received multi-tasking...yay). The worst part of iOS is that you have to use iTunes to make your phone useful. I cannot believe that people willingly commit to using such second rate software. iTunes runs OK on OS X, but it is the worst resource pig on Windows; it does not run on Linux. iOS seems snappy, but it is because of the way iOS threads the visualization. iOS has way more apps, but, more often than not, you will have to pay for them. If you plan on getting a phone on Telus contract, I would go with the Galaxy S4. If you are on Rogers, I would go with the Motorola Moto X. If you really want the next best thing, wait for 3 weeks for the Nexus 5 (but you will have to buy this phone outright). Ideologically, Apples walled garden is a detriment to technological advancement. All they have done in the last 3 years is iterate, not innovate. Android is open source and works flawlessly with all my hardware and is not program dependent for functionality (gah...iTunes).

That. Was. Awesome. Has anyone ever fished the Minipi?

I was having the exact same problem.

I often hear people calling a rod weight 'overkill'. I understand that using a light rod for big fish is potentially harmful to the fish. Are there any harmful effects using a heavy rod on a small fish?

By 'exploit', I mean 'use for the powers of awesome'.

The books are awesome. Anything by Jim McLennan is both incredibly entertaining and informative. "Trout Streams of Alberta", which is now unfortunately out of print, gave me all the information for fishing the trout streams. I have made a few adjustments based on my style, but whenever I take someone new fishing, I teach the same thing McLennan taught me. I have a feeling, Onlyfly, that you are a competent fly fisher (probably better than me). "Blue Ribbon Bow" is a wealth of knowledge that the intermediate and advanced fly fisherman can really exploit.

First post and you are right in the game!

I had a couple hard days, but I have also had a couple of stellar days. Size 14 is the largest size hook to use. Even then, you will have much better luck with size 16 and 18. Copper johns seem to ape the mayfly nymph best. There are lots of BWO and trico, but they are small---both the dries and the nymphs have to reflect this. Make sure to let your nymphs swing up at the end of the drift. I have been catching about 20% of my fish on the swing.

I am certainly not the pro like some of these people, but I am a scientist. I have put in my time on the Bow. I took a fly fishing course. One of the things that was explicitly taught for the area---if you are not catching fish, try a smaller hook. I will use a size 8-10 stonefly or size 8-12 San Juan worm as the top hook in a 2 fly indicator rig, but I otherwise only use size 14 or smaller, usually a size 16 or 18 (in summer, 80% size 16, in winter 80% size 18). I have had a couple of stellar days on the Bow with size 16/18 dries. Copper johns are an good-all around dropper. At least for the Bow, flexibility is important. In the summer, I will almost always use 2 different techniques (nymphs and dries, or streamers and dries). If you are going out on your own, I would expect to be skunked the first 3 times out on the Bow. Summer afternoons are the worst time to fish the Bow---full indicator rigs and sink tip streamers. Drizzly, calm, cloudy September days almost always produce on all techniques. Warm, calm fall evenings will produce on teeny dries. Like everybody has said though, the Bow is not an easy river to fish. There are definitely large sections of river that do not hold fish. For a mid-level skilled person like myself, you can increase the probability by covering more river. I would say that you can catch 8 fish per 5km hiked. Again, something that was taught to me for the Bow, you have to break it down into smaller rivers. Imagine that the Bow is 3 different rivers at the same time. One of the things that the floods have given us is undercut banks. There are a lot of fish tight, tight to the banks. Good luck. It is a very rewarding river when it pays off.