toolman

Now that's funny....LOL...

I missed this post the first time I guess. As Cheeler mentioned, the TFO Deer Creek 12'6" 5/6wt. is a good rod for trout Speying. I use mine for all fishing methods including high sticking, indicator nymphing, streamers and even large dry flys such as a #10 Skid Bitch and swinging all down and across presentations. I also have the same DC series in the 13' 7/8 wt. which I have used on the Bow as well. It will cast a 90'-100' with ease and yet it is still sensitive enough to feel smaller 16" trout. There are many good videos to get you started and then you can hook up with some of the Spey guys here at FFC and get a few pointers on the water and/or sign up for the next instructional clinic in the spring. This season, I have hardly used my single handers (I have about a dozen collecting dust) and even used the DC 12'6" 5/6 when I fished the Crowsnest last weekend. It was great for high sticking and really helped controling the fly and line in the strong winds. I also own the TFO Pro series 12' 6" 6wt. which I absolutely love to fish with. I have it set up with a Scandinavian shooting head and it is a well balance fishing rig. I would recommend starting with the DC 12'6" 5/6wt. with an Airflow 6/7wt. Delta multi tip line. Get a 12 wt. reel that you can use for any larger rods/lines that you might consider buying in the future. Fish tales have Tiogas that work well and I personally really like the Pfleuger Trion 1912 or the President series 2012, available at Wholesale sports. Just ask if you have more q's.

Thanks Brett. It's been a great season for everyone at FFC.

Trespassing...what a joke these rail companys are. Then I guess it is better to just report any concerns to the Transportation Saftey Board, rather than deal with the other idiots. Then the TSB might be forced to investigate the complaint. Seems the rail industry makes their own rules to suit their shareholders interests, regardless of the impact to our environment or public saftey. http://toronto.ctv.ca/servlet/an/local/CTV...hub=TorontoHome http://www.tsb.gc.ca/en/stats/rail/2005/prelim_2005.pdf http://www.tsb.gc.ca/en/stats/rail/2007_jul/R07_2007_e.pdf

Facing downstream. River left, right hand on top. River right, left hand up.

Cool, thanks for sharing that Collin. I also use the Silver, Black and Red versions of the Kingreys Ice Nymphs. Don, thanks for the photo and wise advice. Great to see Staufer has prolific numbers of nymhs/larva this season. I would also add, that with winter approaching, Midge Larva/Pupa starts to become an important food source for trout on most Streams.

Looks like Dryfly is hawging all the best bones...ADC seems to have gotten the tailbone or something...lol. So, how was the fishing for you old buzzards today?

On Saturday, the #18-20 Ice nymphs I used, were producing equally as well as the small, unweighted SJW that Hawgstoppah was using. On Sunday, the #18-20 Pheasant tails were working very well, as was an unweighted #10 Red Devil worm, (untill I lost my last one). The #10 wire wrapped worm picked up a few trout, but the PT and Ice nymph ruled my line for the rest of the day. I think bhurt was using a #18 Black Copper John, that he modified to his taste, which worked great for him. We tend to stick with the worm when it is working, but most often there is a nymph/larva/pupa, that would work as effectively, but we are usually not changing flies often enough to hone in on it. We stick with what works and don't try other patterns/sizes that might bring in bigger and more trout. Also, try different worm patterns, in different sizes/colors/materials, when your usual size and type is not producing. You mention fishing with Bobloblaw and catching different sized trout with the worm rig vs his nymph only rig. Likely the two different rigs were bieng seem by the trout as two different presentations, concerning drift speed and depth. Wire wrapped SJW's, usually get the flies deeper (the secret to its success) but also influence the presentation of the other nymphs on your line. You can try using dropper loops for your smaller flys, when using a heavily weighted SJW, to allow them to drift more naturally. Some anglers tie the SJW on as a point fly, with one or two dropper nymphs tied above. I like to tie the heaviest fly in the middle (control/anchor fly, which regulates depth), with a 4"dropper tag above it and a point fly below it, when using a triple rig. Bieng the largest food choice on your line, the trout will most often still hit the worm if it is the right size/color/texture. Tippet size and type also influence the presentations to a great degree and this may account for some of the differences in your rig and BobLobLaws rig. During the warmer months which produce hatches, the trout will sometimes be very selective, feeding only on a few localized food choices and usually not as deep as wire wrapped worms tend to drift in the water colum. During the colder months, trout hug the bottom most days and a weighted worm gets the rig down to them and produces very well. There are still many nymphs/larva/pupa in the drift during the winter, but not as many as in the warmer months. The trout may be less selective when there is less food in the drift, but there still might be a particular fly that really works well on any given day during the winter months.

http://www.idylwilde.com/viewfly.php?searc...=55&end=63# They might still have them at Country Pleasures and also at Russells Sports.

Thanks for the link/ info., nebc. I think I may head down there and fish the Columbia real soon. Maybe this weekend. Any river with 10lb-12lb Rainbows sounds like my kind of stream.

I fished a small stream over the past weekend with a #20 Flash Back Pheasant Tail, #18-20 Kingreys Copper Ice nymph and a #10 Red Devil worm, which produced exceptional results. Many of the insects in the rivers at this time of year are very small, so it is a good idea to keep the nymphs tiny. Good Luck and Good Fishing.

Al, What brand, line wt. is your sinking line? The total head length/weight is what you need to know. For example, if it has a 40' DC sinking head and weights 320 grains, then the tip weight would be 8 grains/foot.

Welcome Biffchan... Very nice...

8 and 1/2 acres of fishing paradise. Very nice little fishing hole you folks have there. Thanks for giving us a look.

Glad you enjoyed the report guys/gals and thanks for the kind words. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Mykiss, I will fly out and join you for some Steelhead fishing anytime. Just say when and where and I will hop a plane. Yeah, he's the little guy hanging at Trout Creek. There's a big Black bear across the river from there as well. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Flyangler, sorry we did not get a chance to meet up with you folks. It would have been a pleasure to hit the water for a day or two. Next time... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Speyghillie, thanks again for the rod carriers. Too bad you could'nt join us this time. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ricinus, thanks for all of the great info received in your pm last month. TM

Twins eh...Nice... Now that would scratch the big fish itch...

Day five... An early morning prayer to the Fish Gods... "Please don't let me get skunked again....Pleeeeease". ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We woke up early with a plan. We would do a hit and run at all of the different spots we had fished through the week. We had figured out from the grabs and hook ups that we had at each location, where to fish. First stop would be downstream of the bridge at Quick. Hawgstoppah headed down to the river and started working the water and I gave him the first half hour, while I attended to a few personal things. I then start working the water along a rip rap wall, but after a few casts, I get hung up on a rock. I wade too shore to get below the snag and free up the Blue Medusa fly when suddenly, a big Steelhead rises to the surface 15' away from me and only 10' away from where my fly had gotten snagged. I quietly moved back upstream about 75' and start working the water down to him again. Nothing...dam... I work further down the bank and swing a nice drift in off the faster water into the strike zone....Slam! My line rockets downstream and a streak of Chrome leaps from the water, once, twice, three times, four times...I drop the rod tip low and get the Steelie back down in the water. It reels back to me fairly easily and now I have it a few metres from the rod tip. I work the fish in tight to the bank for a couple of minutes and then it shows me its side and I land it. Touching Chrome for the first time...and it only took 4,000 casts... We finish our hour at Quick and head down to Ebenezer, where I drop Hawgstoppah off at the run while I head into town for more flies and Timmies. I return a half hour later to a smiling fisherman. Hawgstoppah has hooked a 20lb'er but he loses it. He's happy to have hooked and seen the Trophy and is ready to move on. At the next run, Beaver Creek, he gets one hit and I get blanked, so we move again, back down to Trout Creek. We start hitting the run and soon I hear my name called out. I look downriver to see a nice Steelie leaping and Hawgstoppahs rod bent deeply... Hawgstoppah's first Chrome...How sweet it is... It was now 4:00pm and our fishing adventure was quickly running out of daylight. We head back to Quick to try another shot at the big Buck that I had seen in the early AM. We get in the river and start working the hot spot, hoping for a Trophy to end our day. Hawgstoppah is upstream and out a bit further in the water, about 30' from the bank. No hits for the first five minutes and we continue to swing and step down the run. Hawgstoppah tells me he hears something in the woods along the shore and thinks it might be a bear and his Spidey senses are tingling, in a bad way. I have learned to trust his Spidey senses and instincts, but I brush it off as just a couple of birds or something and try to stay focused on finding the big Steelie that is holding somewhere in this run. A few minutes pass uneventfully and then Hawgstoppah tells me that he is hearing more noises in the brush along the shore and is worried that something is following us. I tell him another 5 minutes and we can move to our last stop before dark. He reluctantly agrees and I throw another cast/mend and start the swing. Suddenly Hawgstoppah yells, "Get Out of Here, Get the F#*@! Out of Here". He raises his hands in the air and makes a step toward the bank behind me..."COUGARRRRRR" he yells at me....Oh Sh*t!.....We have been stalked for the past half hour and the big Cat is staring Hawgstoppah in the eye, now less than 50' away from the both of us. I promptly launch an assault of flying rocks and commence with the yelling as well.....The Cougar turns and dissappears without a sound...somewhere....? Now we have to walk back too the car, in somewhat the same direction as the Cougar went... We make it to the car without further encounter or incident. We hit the run at Ebenezer one last time without any hook ups and headed back to the Fireweed Inn, well after dark. We meet our fishing buddies for the last time down at the Alpenhorn Pub, for dinner, beers and to bid our farewells. I slept well and had dreams of fighting Steelhead...and COUGARS! ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Luggage racks make great Spey rod racks too... Late night Steelheading at the Alpenhorn... We hit the trail back to Cowtown at 6:00am and enjoyed the scenery and wildlife through the Park. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- We had a great adventure and I can't wait to chase Chrome again. I slept well last night... and dreamed of fighting Steelhead. TM

Hawgstoppah and I got out too the Bulkley River chasing Steelhead with the two handers, for the past 5 days. The weather was very co-operative with light winds and moderate temperatures/rain through the week. We left Calgary last Saturday, at 1:00AM, after I finished up with my work. We drove all night, arriving in Smithers, BC, early Sunday afternoon. After checking in at the FireWeed Motor Inn, we headed too the only fly shop in town that was open on Sunday, McBikes & Sport. We paid our pound of gold and got the neccessary 8 day non-resident fishing license, Steelhead stamps and Classified Waters permits for each day of fishing. We had heard that the other local rivers on the Skeena Drainage were blown out and the Bulkley looked like our best shot at touching Chrome. Many other anglers were staying in Smithers for the same reason and there was a lot of traffic on the river for the first few days. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day one on the water was spent searching for accessable fishing spots in the AM and then back into town to check out Oscars Sports, the other fly shop in Smithers, to pick up a few popular Spey flies, spend a little cash and maybe get a few pointers and fishing locations. We were warmly welcomed by Micheal Brackenhofer and assisted with good information and answers to our questions, which were many, as this was our first attempt at Steelheading, for both Hawgstoppah and myself. The afternoon did not produce any grabs and we were a little disappointed, but remained hopefull for the next days prospects. I slept well and had dreams of fighting Steelhead... ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Bulkley River at Ebenezer... Casting my new TFO Deer Creek 13' 8wt and Pfleuger President 12wt. LA Reel with Airflow Delta Multi tip line. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day two we hit Trout Creek and start searching the water for a player, hoping for a glimpse of Chrome. A tug, a grab, a short hook up, hell even a Steelhead too shore was all possible this AM and we were feeling good. I was once told that Steelhead can be a fish of a thousand casts, I believe that to be true... Just when I was getting a little bored, around cast # 1,400, a motorized boat comes downriver along the opposite shore with a few fisherman. I wave and they wave back...then they all stand up and start pointing at me. I look around to see if they are pointing at a riser or something, but see nothing out of the ordinary. The boat motors out of sight and I tune back into the natural sounds and sights of the river I am standing in. I make another Cast/Mend and watch the line swing. I glance around me again, thinking about the fisherman pointing at me and wondered what was up with that? I look over my shoulder... BEAAAARRRRRRR! This young bear comes out of the brush behind me...I'm thinking " Where's Momma Bear?" I yell to Hawgstoppah who is a couple hundred meters downstream, "BEAR". He looks up and says "Did you say Bear"? "Bear" I replied and pointed at the Bruin behind me... "I'm heading to the car..." Hawgstoppah replies... "Did he just say he was heading to the car?" I asked myself....WTF? "Get up here" I yell in reply and the bear moves a little closer and starts slowly following me downstream. I pick up my Creel and continue to walk downriver and the young bear, apparently abandoned by its mother, turns back up river, walks to the shoreline to grab a dead Salmon, then returns to the brush to eat it. Day two and still no Chrome...Not a tap, tug, pull, grab or hook up... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Steelhead Daydreams set in... Back at the Fireweed Inn, we meet other Fisherman from around the world, who, like us, are here to land a Trophy. They were also having a tough time finding the fish, but a few nice Steelies were landed that day, including a 20lb. 39" Hen. We were given a few tips and locations to try and were hopefull that tommorow would bring us a fish to hand. I slept well and had dreams of fighting Steelhead....and BEARS. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Hawgstoppah's Chromestoppahs... An Eagle soars.... Casting at sunset... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day three and Hawgstoppah is in a bad mood and not impressed with the lack of Steelhead in the river. I try and remain optimistic and assure him that today, we touch Chrome for sure. We hit the water and Hawgstoppah gets a few tugs and then hooks a nice fish... things are starting to look up. Ten seconds into the fight, the Steelie slips off the Blue Trailer Trash fly that has fooled him... Hawgstoppah's Spey rod crashes to the rocks on the beach. (Actually, it was one of my spey rods). Now we're both not happy... We try a few locations and return to the Trout Creek stretch again in the evening and I get a Steelhead on the line, immediately. I yell to Hawgstoppah downstream a couple hundred metres and he heads up too me. I bring the nice Hen close to shore and wait it out till Hawgstoppah gets up to me before landing it. A few yards from shore, the Steelie makes a last second roll and slips off... Close enough...my first Steelie...a nice 5-6 pound hen with a bright red stripe. I blamed the whole "losing the fish" thing on Hawgstoppah, as he had put his toe in the water to get ready to tail it for me, which I said spoked my fish, so it was all his fault, not mine...I felt better. After another 5 minutes of swinging I hook another Steelhead and call back down to Hawgstoppah again, but the fish slips off after our 30 second dance... We had finally started getting some action and had almost landed three Steelhead. It was a good day... I slept well and had dreams of fighting Steelhead...and Eagles soaring. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Spey rod racks were the Cats meow and made it easy to fish many different runs through the day, without having to break the big rods downs each time, but more about Cats later... The trail above Telkwa Bridge... Hawgstoppah used a TFO 12'6" 6-7wt. Pro series Spey rod with a Pfleuger Trion 12wt. reel and Airflow Scandi Shooting Head. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Day four and Hawgstoppah is in a confident mood and ready to kick some Chrome ass. I like his improved optimism and we decide to get on the water early and only come off when it is pitch dark. I land a fiesty 20" Bull Trout at Trout Creek, the first run of the day and it was nice to feel a fish tug the line so early in the morning. Shortly afterwards, Hawgstoppah hooks a Trophy that does a high speed run down river, leaping over and over, but it finally shakes the hook. He is happy to have had the ride and our day goes well in the AM. In the PM, we decide to do a bit of exploring and set out on the Telkwa High rd., to see if we can access or hike down too any remote areas of the river in the Bulkley Canyon, that the local guides might be hiding in. We saw a beautifull Gray Wolf standing in a small field near the road. We surveyed the river from high up on the mountain side and found a promising spot, a few miles upstream of the Moricetown Canyon, that had a road leading down to a house. We headed down and offered to pay the land owner, Alex, $20 bucks to park and fish. We enjoyed a pleasant, relaxed, sunny and warm afternoon, on our own exclusive little piece of water. We never even got a tap from a fish, but we had a great time and were really enjoying our holiday adventure. I slept well and had dreams of fighting Steelhead...and Wolves. Continued....

No way guys...Big Fish Forever....

It is a good idea to use a knot lubricant for Flurocarbon. I have a bottle of George Gehrkes "Knot Perfect" that ties a beautifull "Tight" knot, which is critical for Flurocarbon. No slipping.

DryFly, Frog Hair 30m Fluro tippet costs...ready for this...$17.95. Frog Hair Mono 30m...$10.95

Music to my ears. Brian and I are heading up next Friday. I'm glad we postponed our trip a couple of weeks. Thanks Doc.

I use a 4 wrap surgeons knot to connect tippet materials, Fluro to Mono, Fluro/Fluro, or Mono/Mono. I have been using Frog Hair tippet in both FluroCarbon and Monofilament. Simply the best that I have used and I have tried just about every brand. If there is a large diameter difference between the tippet sizes, then I would use a loop to loop connection, especailly for dissimillar materials. I tie the 4 wrap surgeons knot for dropper tags as well. As Chidders mentioned, having the stretch and shock absorbtion of a mono leader section will protect finer Fluro/mono tippets from breaking. You can still use a section of straight or tapered Fluro leader, with Fluro tippets attatched, but it is a good idea to tie a 10'-20' piece of level 20lb. Mono, as a shock absorber/running line, between the fly line and Fluro leader/tippet, connected via loop to loop method, with prefection loops. For Surface fishing, I use Mono leaders/tppets, sometimes with short fluro tippets and I use FluroCarbon or DC sinking polyleaders leaders with Fluro/mono tippets added, for sub surface methods. (Nymphs & Streamers) Mono floats and FluroCarbon sinks.

I have an 8wt. Medalist that is at least 20 years old that I used on my spey rod for 6 months, before I picked up a couple of 12wt. Trions. Landed a ton of trout on it and my brother landed a lot of Atlantics on it before he gave it to me a few years ago.

Very nice reels. President http://www.pfluegerfishing.com/products/products.php?p=28 Trion http://www.pfluegerfishing.com/products/products.php?p=29 Summit http://www.pfluegerfishing.com/products/products.php?p=30