toolman

I think the latest edition came out June 1st. Not only is it a Canadian Magazine, their head office is right here in Alberta, in Calgary.

DutchDryFly is correct. We often equate rod weight to the size of the fish we intend to catch, rather than the size of the fly we wish to present. A 12 wt will give you the line size required for very large and heavy rigs and longer casting distances will be possible when chucking the big hardware. Plus, you will be able to land 100lb.'ers with ease. Better yet, buy a 16' #12 wt. Spey Rod that can cast 180' with ease.

These video's have been raising feathers in the flyfishing community for some time now. I would like to see them make a video on proper fish landing and handling technique (which they might need to learn first), so that they can make a more positive contribution to their angling community with their videos. I'm sure these guys mean well and are just enjoying their fishing experience like the rest of us.

YES...We need to support our Canadian flyfishing magazines.

Everything is big in those lakes. Very nice. Makes it worth the drive. Thanks for sharing the adventure esleech. Keep em' coming.

Birchy, how do you stay married? Don't quit your day job, what ever you do! Stick to what you're good at, Fishin'...

Well last years contest was the real deal. Too bad nobody picked a winner...grin

I love those old BSA's. It looks in great shape.

The fisherman had tossed it in the freezer and it was frozen solid when he did the TV interview with CBC. It did not look very impressive, frozen like a giant fish stick.

Yep. Sea run and caught on baited hardware. I saw the interview a couple of months back on the tube.

Sad news. Both only 28 years old. A properly fitted PDF would have likely saved both of them.

Also, when you get the trout in control and in front of you close to shore, slowly sway the rod tip from side to side, while continuing the lifting pressure, to get the trout off balance and swimming in circles. Remember to keep the rod tip held high and don't sway the tip too quickly, as you want the trout to react first, then change angles to create an opposing reaction. The constant directional changes in side pressure and the lift forces bieng exerted, give you the upper hand. With big trout, you need to bring the fight to them, or they will have you beat in 30 secs. or less. Practise these methods with all of the trout you catch to sharpen your skills. Hope this has been helpfull Rick.

Thought I would add to the excellent advice already given. A successfull tactic I use when attempting to land large trout, is to get as high up on the bank as possible. Then I pressure the fish upwards, with the force bieng exerted on the trout through the top of the head. This keeps the hookset secure with a good contact angle, even if the trout gets downstream of me. The trout will react by opposing the force exerted and will try and swim down deeper in the water column, rather than running downstream or midstream, further away from me. Pressuring the trout from above and keeping them in the faster surface current, tires them quickly and keeps them closer to you. Bieng high above the trout also gives you a better opportunity to prevent the trout from wrapping, severing your line/leader/tippets or trailing hooks from becoming snagged on obstacles in the drift, or rocks that are protruding above the surface. It also prevents them from going to the bottom and doing all of the above. If the trout has taken off downstream, you need to follow them and stay with them, keeping the trout out in front of you or slightly upstream of your position. Applying lift pressure is a good a strategy to turn the trout around to get them facing back upstream, fighting the current and the fisherman.

This is true...BUT... I knew that big Broonie would be in that exact spot at precisely 9:42pm last night... and... If I had cast to him, we would likely be looking at his picture this morning...LOL! But, as usual, you still got the fish of the day with the beauty Rainbow.

I signed, thanks Harps.

Thanks again for giving up your valuable fishing time to do the responsible thing Castuserraticus. No one likes to wait around for an hour or two, untill F&W arrives, but it is sometimes necessary. Collect and enjoy your reward.

Also, I showed Hawgstoppah a secret little hole, not much bigger than a hot tub, with a 28" Brown swirling around in only 18" of water....but sadly, he could not fool him. What ya gonna do? I tried to be a good host, show the fellas all the good spots...What do I have to do next, put the hook in the Broonies mouth as well? That old Broonies gettin' smarter everytime I visit him...he's beating the best now. From now on, I think I'm going to call that Ole Broon... "HAWSTOPPAH"

Thanks Don, your input will be greatly appreciated. Now, a question for you while we have your ear... Could you explain the deep water indi rig you developed recently for stillwater fishing, that I saw on your site, which utilizes swivels etc. Very cool set up. If you could post the diagrams or a link, it would be helpfull. I thought this set up very innovative and can you tell us how it has been performing.

LOL....Fair question Don. A new title may be in order for this Section. I would also add, that the questions bieng asked are most often about things that new flyfishers are learning and bieng an expert is not always really necessary, to be able to respond informatively and correctly. It is obvious that folks want to help their fellow angler and contribute their knowledge and experience and for that I say thank you to all who have posted. Your input is what creates a close knit flyfishing community. That said, a panel of veterans flyfishers, maybe including Don, Clive and others, would be a great asset to our community as well. Would you be interested Don?

I think it would make a great story for the Featured Articles. You could tell us how you create these beautifull works of art. Interested?

I buy my tapered leaders and modify them to suit my requirements, by trimming the butt end, and/or the tapered end and then adding a short section of the required tippet, often using Fluro for the tippet end. A knotted leader is fine, if constructed properly. Also, making your own leaders allows you to customize the length, taper and the materials to your specific uses. The larger and heavier the flys are, the larger the diameter of the butt will need to be.

Monofilament and Flurocarbon are made of different materials. The Mono (Nylon) has more stretch and thus better shock absorbtion. The Fluro has a lower light refraction and a higher density, which makes it sink faster than the mono and is less visible to the fish, but it has lower stretch properties that make it easier to break. Leaders and tippets are two different things. The leader is the main component added to the end of your floating fly line, to which finer tippets are then attached if required. Mono or Fluro leaders are usually tapered with a large diameter, stiff butt, tapering to a finer end. The taper helps transfer the casting energy smoothly through the leader to the fly. Tippet is attached to the leader if required or when using multiple fly rigs, tippet joins the flys together. You can use two flys when fishing drys, but it takes practice to be able to present a two fly dry rig properly, while maintaining a drag free drift. I would recommend starting with a one fly dry rig for your first season. Some fisherman use a straight uniform diameter leader for nymphing, which results in poor turn over of the flys when casting, as the leader will hinge due to the disruption in the energy transfer. It usually results in a lot of knots and tangles in your rig if you try and cast any distance or if the leader length is more than about 5'. The only advantages are the thin diameter will help sink the rig faster and is less visibile. I always use tapered leaders for all of my flyfishing. Hope this is helpfull. Greg

I generally use 2x tippet for nymphing with large worms, stones etc. 3x for the #12-#16 nymphs and 4x for #18-#20. For Caddis drys, cripples etc. 4x Fluro. When I am fishing down and across on the swing, I use 2x-3x for most situations, as the grabs are pretty agressive. I like to use a mono leader for the stretch factor and tie fluro tippet on the end if needed, for clear water conditions. My spey rod is a little tricky using 4x tippet, but I do use 4x mono for the small nymphs.

Welcome flyangler. Looking forward to your photo's and storys. Big thanks to Pacreseltoro for the excellent job setting up the new board for us all to enjoy. Well done!

NOBODY knows Toolmans secret spots. I tell everyone I fish with that I have taken them to my favorite secret spot, as a diversionary tactic...seems to be working.