toolman

I will be hosting another Spey gathering in the very near future. Pm sent in regards to private instruction.

Good idea...that way you will taste bad and the bear might spit you out instead of eating you...you could always poop your pants too, just to be on the safe side...Thanks for the bear tip, Taco...

ok...600lbs...I had to make it sound big n' dangerous...but I'd still shoot em'

Since everyone's interested in looking at this situation from an ethical and moral viewpoint... Consider this scenario... What if you were there when the bear attacked the victim and you have a loaded gun capable of killing the bear... Do you... a. You walk away, first explaining to the dying man your ethical view on the situation... or... b. You take aim and pull the trigger...possibly saving the mans life? Personally, I'd fire 5-6 rounds before I even checked to see if it was still moving...then a couple more at close range just to be sure it was'nt...If you were the intended target of the bears attack...you would thank me. I'm a pretty good shot too... In all seriousness, this is'nt Winnie the Pooh we are talking about here, this is a 1,000 lb. aggressive, ambush predator, which just killed a person and now posed a very high risk to the public's saftey. F&W officers do our dirty work, everyday...thankfully they man up to the difficult tasks and take care of business for us...They sure get a lot of flak for it.

Killing the bear was not an act of revenge, but in the interest of public saftey. This attack was predatory, not defensive. SRD did the right thing. Now they are setting live traps to try and capture/relocate the cubs. Very responsible actions in my opinion.

And if the CO's did not shoot the bear and it attacked another person a few days later, everyone would blame the CO's, for not doing anything...Lose/Lose situation for the bears and the CO's...

Thanks guys...Weedy dug deep for that "deer in the headlights" photo...That is the meanest SOB Broonie I have ever encountered and I could not believe that I had finally landed him (at 2:00am)... Max and I, and a few other buddies, had been chasing that big Brown for months...We had all gotten a hook into him a time or two, but we just could not land him and that was the only time I ever did... Today, I headed out mid-afternoon, to catch my birthday fish. I had spotted a big Rainbow leap out of the water, about a week ago, on the other side of the river and I decided to head over there to try and catch him. Well, it took an hour, but I managed to hook into him and we had a nice dance for a few minutes. Then, he bolted from the shoreline as I am digging for my camera and snapped off, leaving me photoless...The tippet had chaffed on the rocks during the fight and had broken... So, I decide to have a seat on the shoreline to tie on another B.H. Peacock Waterboatman and let him sit a spell and see if I could get my fly back... Then, suddenly this dog bolts down the bank and runs right too me and over my gear... I look up on the high bank behind me and see an oldtimer standing there... - "This is not an off leash dog area, sir", I say to him politely... - "It's not my dog", he replies... I then see a middle aged lady standing nearby and I repeat to her ... - "This is not an off leash dog area..." - "F@ck you", she quickly replies, as she gives me the finger...then calls her dog, turns and walks away... - "Have a nice day" I reply... Her dog then dashes back too the bank, trampling over my $2,000 spey rods/reels, knocking them both to the ground, gets tangled in the line and spooks...I grab my rod as it starts to trail after the fleeing dog and the line suddenly goes tight....The dog starts yelping and scrambles up over the bank... out of sight... The lady comes back, yelling at me... -"Did you hit my dog?...Did you hit my dog?" - "No", I replied, "He took off when you called him and he knocked over my rods and got caught up in my line..." - "I think he might have a hook stuck in him" the oldtimer tells her, as she walks away... I look at the old guy and say, " I think you may be right"...10 seconds later, the lady runs back and says to me... - "Do you have any pliers..my dog has a hook stuck in him...can you help me get it out?".... - "I'll consider it if you say PLEASE", I reply with a big grin.... - "Pleeeeease"...she whines/begs... I smile..."Certainly", and I grab my hemos.... I walk up too the top of the bank and the lady is holding her dog. She points to the fly...I grin...I got him in the ASS! LOL... #8 Wire Wrapped SJW...right cheek...and It's buried deep...LOL! Now, there's no way that I could touch that hook, as the dog started growling/snapping at me whenever I tried to reach in with the hemo's...At this point, he has probably sensed my suppressed laughter and is not impressed...poor pup... I tell her how to get the hook out when she gets the dog home and settled down a bit..."he'll be fine"...I assure her, and off she goes with her dog... that now has a big red worm in his butt...or as Dryfly would say...BAW... Ahhh...Urban angling...never a dull moment...LOL. And that's my birthday fishing story for this year... Greg

Congrats Dave!

Great info Maximum and thanks for posting...Myself, I'm very nervous about the Canadian/US housing market, as this is where I earn my bread and butter. We've seen our forestry industry crash and burn as a result of the US housing woes, which has cost me in the past year. Also a couple of large local housing component mfg's., who were exporting to the US, have went down as well, Weyerhausers joist plant, in Claresholm (one of my clients) and more recently Jager Building systems joist plant in Calgary. Fact is, the US is the largest market for Canadian exports and that market is drying up. So, I don't see a rosy picture on the horizon. I for one, am trying to get rid of any/all debts asap. Lean and mean is gonna be my survival strategy. Save yer pennies and get out of debt is my advice...and go flyfishing at least 4-5 times a week. ps. Anyone remember what happened back in the mid 80's...CRASH!

Awesome report. The RAP system works with help from folks like you. Good Job!

Incredible series of macro's Clive...Wild and wonderfull...Thanks! ps. BTW...When we hittin' the Bow?

Happy birthday Chris...sounds like you had a great day.

This is a really great video and one of my favorites.

40+lbs.

I had a Chiwahwah one time...He was the smartest dog in the world... I even tried to teach him how to play poker, but he sucked at it...He kept wagging his tail every time he had a good hand...

I agree Rick...Just need to get a tough skin and sometimes throw a few bitch slaps back at the loudmouths when they deserve it...Plus, it looks like SJW's gonna be bootin' a few arses from now on...Right on Davey boy...we got yer back!

Here's how it's done Weedy1...by a real flyfisherman...skilled in all tactics and methods... Including swinging stoneflys for Trophy Whitie's...with a fruit loop spey rod... ps. Photo's borrowed from SilverDoctor...

Personally, I think MissinTheBow made the mistake of coming on here and asking for input. His intentions were good, but that has only led to a bunch of fustration and crap for him, including nasty pm's, personal attacks etc. When I did the Streamwatch Auction, I got some great advice from Dryfly and Adc about my proposal... They basically told me to do it the way I wanted to and not to listen to any bs from anyone. I followed their wise advice and the auction results were beyond anyones best expectations. Sure, I got a few posts/pm's bitchin', criticizing me about how I was going about it, but I stayed true to MY plan and don't regret it for a minute. So, my advice to MissinTheBow is, to do this event the way that HE wants to...Whatever his plan is, it will have my 100% support. I've already volunteered to help in any way I can, to make the event as successfull as possible... There will be many who will particpate, volunteer and have a great time, regardless if there is a competitive side to it or not, with money raised, donated to a cause most believe to be very important...There will also be others who will bitch, criticize, attack and contribute nothing...as usual...I say... screw em'...

This is a rod discussion in which I gave my opinion/input... Others, including you, gave theirs, without any negative comments from me... Good luck with the new rod purchase, Birchy...

I like rod lengths of 11'6" too 12' for nymphing the Bow, or any water 12' wide or wider ... I can two hand overhead cast all day with little fatigue...Something I could not do with my 10' 6wt. single hander, which wrecked my casting elbow and convinced me to pick up a two hander, a few years ago. It took almost a year for the elbow to heal and almost two years to get most of the mobility back. Now, with my trout speys, casting is effortless/painless, in any conditions, tight against the banks, in the wind, with big tips and flys, long distances etc...I even use it for dry flys ... And Birchy, if you plan on catching many fish on the Bow this winter, you had better be prepared to sometimes have to make 80'+ casts or be ready to wade up to your armpits. They tend to hold way the hell out in the deep winter holes, mid-river, a lot of the time...

I think SilveDoctor just volunteered to do a couple...grin...Max has committed for a few and I'll probably think of something to write about as well...I'll be contacting a few folks to see what we can come up with.

If it's not about the fish, then cut your fly off and enjoy...We do it all the time at our Spey gatherings...No fly, just for the pure joy of casting on the river, hanging out and shooting the breeze with other flyfishers...etc. That's what real flyfisherman do sometimes...other times we're out tossing triple nymph rigs to the other side of the river...just for the hell of it. Call us bait fisherman if it makes you feel better (superior).

We used to have a few veteran flyfisherman on the site, who would occassionally write Flyfishing Articles for members to enjoy. I think we should try and get that going again so that people who enjoy writing about their experiences, can share tactics, methods, photo's, trips etc., through short articles and feature stories. I know that some folks are reluctant to post on the regular threads, so maybe we could ask them to contribute in this way. To eliminate their fear of things turning sideways, (as they often do), posting comments on their thread would not be allowed. Just their stories, photo's, tactics etc., for everyone to enjoy and learn. If they were ok with allowing comments, then it would be great to have dialogue, allowing members to ask questions, share their similar experiences. etc. Your thoughts...

I stand by my statement that you are full of crap (yourself)...and if you only know how to fish with one fly, it is you who is missing out on the complete experience of bieng a real flyfisherman...skilled in all tactics and methods...once again... like me...and SilverDoctor, MTB, Max, Hawgstoppah...and hundreds of other members...real flyfisherman... To think that other flyfishers don't feel the same challenge, anticipation, satisfaction from their fishing experience, as you do, really shows how clueless you are... http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/clueless

Well bcrules, we can warp the perspective any way we choose, but the majority of folks on this thread do not care how anyone fishes, they just won't listen to anyone dissin' others for their choices...plain and simple. As for the other threads that are in the gutter, it's because the good folks on this site have had enough of the asshats who make crap and contribute nothing to this community. Good on them for finding their voice and taking a stand. The sad part is, up until recently, the loudmouth disrespectfull punks stayed and the good folks who were making positive contributions were leaving because of it...As for myself, I won't be silenced....