toolman

Thanks RabbiEE, another thought provoking article. I do not feel that flyfishing is inhumane at all. Fish do not feel pain in the same sense that other creatures such as mammals do and this has been examined and confirmed from a scientific perspective as well. The stress of bieng hooked and captured, causes acids to build up in the fish's body and if handled properly, most often the chemical stress is the only thing that they need to overcome, after bieng released. We should treat all of our wildlife with the utmost respect at all times of course, including the fish. I think much of our society has developed a "Disney Movie" perspective of our wild creatures, and our culture has lost touch with the natural world. As RabbiEE and Taco mentioned, flyfishing helps us reconnect with this real world and disconnect from the TV world. I spent many years in my youth on the trapline, hunting, fishing, wilderness trips with my horses, camping, paddling, collecting wild berries, nuts, insects, ect., as it was part of my education and heritage. I was taught what the real world was all about and that we should cherish, preserve and respect this world and all of its wonders. I try and teach my children these same values that my families ancestors have passed down to me through the generations, for over 400 years, since arriving in Acadia (Canada) in the early 1600's. I feel it is my responsibility as a parent, to do so. Even if my children are not intersested in flyfishing, they still join me out in the wilderness and are learning to respect, appreciate and conserve the magical world we live in and all of its inhabitants.

The new TFO Deer Creek 12' 6", 5-6wt Spey rod was $365 at Fish Tales. An Airflow Delta 6/7 line is around $90 and a 10wt. reel such as a Pfleuger start around $75 (and a decent reel, Glenbow just bought one) and about $130 for the Pfleuger Trion 9/10 reel. So getting started is not as expensive as many think.

Well of course I am a Spey deciple and own the same two models of rods that S.D. uses. Glenbow, the rod you casted last Sunday was the Deercreek series 5-6wt. The TFO 6wt. Pro series is more suited to Scando Underhand casting and I am picking up a new Airflow Scando Head for it this week and an Airflow Skaggit Head for my DC series. For the fisherman who are interested in Spey, I would suggest that you start learning the different Spey Casts on your single hander.

Were these fish actively feeding on small fry or rising occassionally to feed, or were they motionless and just lying there. If they are not active and there is little flow to get a drift, I would move on, as I have emptied my fly boxes learning the hard way.

I would agree, Terry has a lot of knowledge to share and a great guy to hang with on the water for a day.

Hopper/Dropper rigs were originally developed for fishing SLOW water, along the grassy banks where the hoppers live and get blown into the water on hot, windy afternoons of late summer. Having the Hopper pulled into the film a little, by a weighted wet fly hanging off of it, helped improve the presentation of the Hopper, as dead hoppers don't often float very high on the surface, but slightly in or below the film. The bonus was the dropper fly hanging down in the water column 20"-24", to entice the shy fish that would not risk taking anything off the surface. The slow water along the banks, with tall grass, was the ideal habitat to produce hoppers and slow moving water with a uniform speed from surface to bottom, allowed both flys to drift harmoniously without causing any problems with the swim of each fly. Todays Hopper/dropper combo's include Skid Bitches, Large Beetles, Stimulators etc., as the dry and even small leeches as the dropper. Leeches like slow bank water too, so do worms and cranefly larva, some species of emerging Caddis and Drakes...not to mention drowned adults of every species of mayfly, stonefly, ants, beetles and the list of possibilities goes on. Best check the water and see whats in the drift and where it is drifting in the water column. That's what and where you want your Hopper/Dropper to be, just like the natural insects drifting.

Yeah, he got me with that one too...grin.

Glad to hear that you are enjoying the new Spey rod, Pipestone. The tip compensator is used when fishing without the sinking tips, to keep a constant head weight to load the rod properly and stay in the rods casting window. When fishing the heavier sink tips, the compensator section is removed, so the head weight remains constant. The reason you are needing to pull some of the head back inside the rod tip when casting big streamers, is that the rod has surpassed it's maximum grain window and when you pull some line back in, it brings the load back down to what your rod is able to cast. My new Spey rod has a nice wide casting window of 350-550 grains. I use an Airflow Delta Spey line, that has a 450 gr. head, so that I can add up to another 100 grains of sink tips and streamers and still be within the casting window for this rod. I can also fish with less than the complete 55' head out of the rod tip, for close up stuff and still load the rod properly to have control on the cast. Let me know when you are in town next time and we will go swing a few flys for an hour or two. Greg

I'm very pleased that we now have a place to go and talk about everything Spey. Maybe other Spey casters could introduce themselves on this thread and tell us a bit about their Spey gear, preferences etc. I especailly would like to hear what type of flies folks have been swinging for Trout, that have been successfull.

Lonefisher, The type of line you use is probably more important than the size of the rod. A traditional long belly Spey line in any line wt., will turn over a short sink tip with a decent size streamer. However, if you want to turn over big weight such as sink tips and big flys, then a Skaggit line may be a better choice, as the head is only half as long as a traditional Spey line, but it is as heavy or even heavier. These short, large diameter lines will turn over the largest of fly's with sink tips and can be cast in big winds with relative ease. The rod design most effective for casting this type of line is not to long and a progressive action which loads the rod right down to the cork. I would recommend the new TFO DeerCreek series Spey rods. A very nice rod for the buck. My 12'6", 5-6wt. can cast 80'-85' with ease and is suitable for traditional Long belly lines or Skaggit heads. If you want to cast further, a bigger /rod line wt. such as the 13', 7-8wt. will add another rod length or so to the cast, allowing you to hit about 100', even in a big wind. The Deercreek series is available at Fish Tales fly shop in Calgary.

Swinging techniques are used to "Swim" the fly. There are many presentations possible with this method, using a wide variety of aquatic insect and bait fish immitations. Sometimes flys are simple attractor patterns that may not necessarily represent anything swimming in the river and the strikes are a matter of territory and survival, through the elimination of a threat. Many fly patterns are effective at different times and matching the hatch and the behavior/feeding patterns of the fish, will ultimately lead to more success, as is the case with all flyfishing techniques. Combining swinging tactics, strategies and techniques, with Speycasting methods, is an awesome way to flyfish. Once you feel an explosive grab and run type of strike on the swing, you will love this type of fishing for life.

Hi Gordon, Look forward to your return to Calgary. Drop me a pm. with the arrival times and I'll meet you at the hangar. If anyone is interested in attending Gordons Spey School, I would advise signing up asap, while there is the opportunity to enroll. Gordie is a master of the "Single Spey" and Alexander Grant switch cast techniques and also a professional ghillie(Guide), on the River Spey, in Scotland.

Here are the "Alberta Angling Ethic" guidelines, from the Alberta Guide to Sportfishing Regulations 2007 ...go to, "Management Messages" and then "Alberta Angling Ethic" http://www.albertaoutdoorsmen.ca/fishingregs/index.html

Tom W. is an awesome guy and a lot of fun to fish with. I had the pleasure of his company for a day on the Bow and it was a great experience. The guy knows his fishies, that's for sure.

LOL...exactly! Today, after casting his new rig, I let Glen try my new TFO Deercreek rod...You know what he was thinking after his first cast...I NEED one of these rods too! A real fine Spey caster here in Calgary that I enjoy watching is DanJ, who is a member here at FFC...smokin' Spey caster and FFF certified single hander instructor as well. CDone, I look forward to meeting you and getting out on the Bow together when you are settled in. Greg

All I can say is, you guys are a first class act, Canadian and are in no way part of the problem. Thanks for posting as this topic needs to be discussed to help influence and shape the perspectives of our fishing community. We certainly need more folks like you out there on our rivers. See you on the water...

Thanks zuggbugg...A good hour of watching some beautifull casting. Love the Speygirl vids. She is so gracefull waving her magic wand...awesome and inspiring vids. We had a great afternoon working on the swing, Glenbow. You had it working for you on your first day. Congrats and welcome to the magical casting world of Spey... I'm lovin' it.

Well it sucks that a lot of fisherman are not gentleman anglers and it's the same situation no matter where you are fishing on this planet. Just like city traffic, most folks are decent, a few don't get it and that's the way she goes. What I would suggest is planning on doing a bit of hiking, as the solitude you are looking for is about a 30-40 minute walk from where you are parked. Good Luck and Good Fishing on your next adventure!

Great post Dryfly...excellent advice/info. and illustration. Hawgstoppahs tip about staying out of the water, is critical for success at night. I often let my flys swing right to the bank and hang for a couple of seconds on the dangle. You can sometimes get savage strikes if you give it a short couple of strips before recasting. After the cast, 45 degrees down and across, throw an upstream mend to get the leader running straight in line with the current. Hold the rod tip low and pointing directly at the flys on a tight line. Follow them through the swing, untill they stop downstream below you along the bank and on the dangle.

That's awesome Hawgstoppah. Great report. I just noticed the flyvest your daughter is wearing...LOL.

A Cougar was sighted at Canada Olympic Park, on Wednesday evening.

I read their announcement yesterday and had a good chuckle. Apparently after a few days of failed attempts to capture, (live trap) the cougar, (very difficult to do in a highly urbanized environment, with an oversized herd of fat, lazy deer around), Park managers called in an "expert" to consult them on the situation. Said "expert", then got his dogs out of the pick up and tree'd the cat in a couple of hours. LOL! The cougar was then tranquilized and loaded into a truck for relocation. The End...or is it? Thing is, the cougar was a female and would have left her scent trail behind her wherever she has been, that can last weeks....There will likely be a male arriving shortly, if it is not already there! The "expert" has probably explained this possibility to officials and the Park Office has advised caution, saying it is unclear if there are other cougars in the park. There were a lot of reported sightings since last Thursday and this leads me to believe that people might be seeing more than one cougar, as they are a stealthy ambush predator, that is rarely seen in most circumstances. So heads up folks no matter where you are fishing on the Bow river. Big Thanks to the staff at the Fish Creek Park Office for dealing with this promptly and professionally. I'm sure they were worried about everyones saftey down there. These folks do a great job of running the Park.

I have to agree, that is a spectacular photo. But there are many great photos and I thank everyone for sharing them with us. I hope we see many more and don't forget the big ones too. I love big fish pictures and want to see them all.

LOL...Sexy!

Interesting tips from John Wilson, learned at the 2006 WFFC in Portugal and a great discussion that follows. http://outdoorsbest.zeroforum.com/zeropost...w&id=519707