rhuseby

Thanks for posting the video. I've been tying these and clousers for a trip to the island in September, and this will speed up the process.

I haven't seen any news in 4 days but if random fires have been banned it may be a fire ban due to the hot weather and dry conditions.

It does my home-grown Alberta redneck heart good to see there are folks just like us out there!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I agree with Missing about how to get onto the reel. However, my philosophy is that if a fish doesn't make me get on the reel, I don't. If he takes all of the loose line and starts pulling off the reel, I'll fight him from the reel. Other wise I'll strip him in, release him, and then my line still ready to go. No pulling line off and getting reorganized to cast again. Even on the Bow only about 1/3 of the fish I hook get to the reel. I've seen the technique used by guys who I know are very experienced fishermen, so I think it's which ever system you use.

The only times I've gone wader diving, it was relatively shallow water so I wasn't washed away. However I had to crawl out of the creek cause the waders were so heavy I couldn't stand up. However after I got everything dumped out and wrung out, first cast in the pool I'd just wrecked gave me a 10" brownie. It probably figured that anything making that much disturbance had to be a cow and not fishing.

You don't want any dog taking on a beaver. I've talked to a vet who had to patch up one that did (he was telling me as he was yanking quills out our dog for about the 20th time). The poor dog looked like it had been attacked with a skill saw. Them teeth are serious. But at least the beavers don't seem to cause a lot of trouble for us fishing folk.

Mucky sections are usually when the river is slow and dropping silt, so you probably won't need a staff there.

That explains why my boomerang didn't come back. I threw a stick.

Make that Toronna on the Bow.

My girlfriend lives in Chilliwack and we've gone for walks along the Fraser and the Vedder during salmon and steelhead runs. What a zoo. Just like the photo, except for up to a mile of it on the Fraser. And she wonders why I say that there isn't any real fishing there. Only problem is that I'm likely to move out there when I retire, since she likes to garden. I'd best enjoy Alberta while I can.

There actually over 200 off-leash areas in the city, and while most of them aren't on a the river, they are available. The only thing that cheese's me is the rudeness. Like I said earlier, I know I'm going to get visited by the pups and I'm cool with that part. Let's face it, you can only catch fish in the water.

I have used the TU pocket logs that they distributed for a while and now make up my own. By carrying it with you, you can fill it out as you go. I record date, location, time of day and hours fishing, species and size distribution, unusual water conditions, hatches, and successful flies. Other notes can be made as you see fit. Some of the info, mainly the species stuff, has been passed on to Fish and Wildlife biologists looking for data on waterbodies they don't survey regularly. Hatch dates are always useful in future trip planning, as are fly patterns. Best of all is just reading the thing when the weather is -40 and you can only dream about going out. A diary is just a great thing and I wish I would have started keeping on a long time ago.

Nothing scarier than almost losing your kid. I'm really glad everything turned out well. My daughter is starting to fish with me and it's hard to always remember that she can't wade a lot of places I can. One thing to remember is that if you want to cross in a dubious place, use the linked arms technique, with the strongest person on the upstream side. They break the current and provide an anchorage for the weaker one.

Is there any place here in Calgary where a guy could pick some up to try?

That really blows. I've only written off one vehicle (engine fire when the dealership forgot to tighten the fuel line to the carb) and the insurance company was pretty fast at telling me what the payout was. I think that when it's clearly not your fault, they are usually pretty fast in paying.

YES!!!!!!!! That first one on the dry is the greatest. Well done.

When I'm in the off-leash area I know that dogs are just part of the equation and you have to tolerate them running ahead and coming to visit. What's burns my butt is when the owner is throwing stuff over your shoulder and saying that this is their dog's favorite spot to play. I feel like backcasting right at them and going"Oh that's my favorite place to backcast". I've been restrained so far but.......

Dogs and cats together are crazy enough. Just add a parrot that laughs like Boris Karloff and stalks the other creatures from beneath furniture to the mix. Unfortunately all of those maniacs have died and I've gotten divorced, but holy crap it was funny to watch most of the time.

Artistic merit 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 0.0, 6.0 from the russian judge, 0.0 Anyone producing video like that needs to flogged to death with a 3 wt and 6x tippet.

Mostly likely hook damage alright. To this point (everyone cross your fingers) whirling disease hasn't surfaced in Alberta. If you head down to the states, really clean your gear off well on your return. If you're wealthier than me, maybe a pair of waders just for use down there wouldn't be a bad idea.

Mostly I run into the stick or ball trhowers but every once in a while someone shows up like your guy. I was working a nice 21" brown at Southland a couple of years ago and saw a lady and her dog coming up. I thought "Oh great, here goes the risers". She calls up the dog, which responds right away and she comes up close enough to caht. I hook and land the brown and then she says she works for Mustad, distributing hooks in western Canada. So it just reinforced my using Mustad.

Only one self snagging so far, right below the nose with a 14 nymph. The best reason to fish barbless. I have to wear specs anyway, but now that the hair is gone, I've worries that the ricochets off of the head are going start sticking. Oh the pain.

Sad but true guys, you've got to remember the reason the dam was built. Irrigation, and it's that season to grow Taber corn. Personally, I'd sooner have the wild rivrs and less corn but we got outshouted by the farmers on that one.

An interesting note for you guys. In all my years of fishing, I've been checked by Fish and Wildlife officers once. On the other hand I've been checked by Park Rangers (now called Conservation Officers) at least half a dozen times. Places like K Lakes and Fish Creek that's very likely who's doing the checking. What that says, I'm not sure.

Just taking a quick side trip on the eyes pointing down thing. I made special note of the eyes of a lot of the fish I released yesterday. They were all brought in fast (4X leader) and were still lively to hand. All darted away immediately and needed no reivival. The eyes were about 50/50 down and centered. Could someone direct me to any scientific research on the eyes as an indicator of stress level.. I haven't found any but that doesn't mean anything.