toolman

Hey flyfishy, you been out zoomin' in the jet with mikey lately?

Wiktionary: "Duh" Disdainful indication that something is obvious

Actually...serious question about these stoneflies....are the females much larger than the males,as in almost twice as large? Reason being,I was at FCP mid afternoon the other day,and the grass/bushes held loads of these Sallys.I noticed a small "Sally" (sz14ish?) mounted on the back of a much larger (sz 8-10?) Sally in what I assume was some mating ritual? Anyhow....the smaller ones (males?)seem much more common...just wondering which, if either,is more significant from an angler's perspective? Great observations and you are correct. Males are typically smaller and more abundant in the early stages of the emergence cycle. The ratio of females will increase as the emergence continues. This is a common trait of most stonefly species and generally, most Mayfly and Caddis species as well. Post emergence, the female stoneflys are of more significance to angling as they will return too the water to lay their eggs and present a new opportunity for the trout to feed on them. That's if you can find a trout eating them. With Mayfly's (and some Caddis species), the males are also important to anglers, post emergence, as they will form spinner swarms along the shorelines, to attract females to mate with. Afterwards, most of the swarm will fall to the water and die, (spinner fall), making them available to trout. And thanks too BigFoamy and billie, for taking the time to post pics. Some anglers see great value in educating themselves about the food that our trout eat and how that knowledge can be applied to improve their fishing tactics and success. Of course others prefer to "dumb it down" to the lowest common denominator and beyond, sometimes to a point that the information becomes inaccurate and/or irrelevant.

Yes I agree. Notice all the fishing reports that say "things picked up right at dusk". Remember the fishing reports from 8-9 years ago when many of us were fishing at night. I have caught risers on dry's at 4;00 am. For many seasons back then, I would hit the river 4-5 nights a week, starting at 9:00pm and stay out until 3-4:00am observing/collecting bugs to take back to photograph and for species id. Especially Stonefly's, they were the most interesting to observe and study.

Looks like a Skwala stonefly (not a Golden Stonefly species). Their emergence/egg laying cycle typically starts around noon and runs until around 4:00. Your photo is dated May 10. Is that the day you took the picture?

Yes, likely Green Sally's. This particular species of the Alloperla genus, emerges on the stream bottom and then floats up too the surface and swims (wiggles) too the shoreline. There has been a prolific emergence this past week. The Golden stonefly species typically do not start emerging in very significant numbers until mid-late June. Salmon fly's, (Petronarcy dorsata) are a very minor species on the Bow and I only see maybe one or two each season. As SilverDoctor mentioned, fish are likely feeding subsurface, on nymphs and emerger's. Also, the trout tend to often feed at night, as there are many nocturnal emerger's on the Bow, including numerous species of Stonefly's, Caddis and Midges.

Spey fishing from a drift boat is easy (if you know how to cast). No different than casting from the shoreline. Very effective.

Actually neither. The March Brown nymph escapes its nymphal casing on the stream bottom and then gases trapped between its wings and body creates bouyancy, which enables it to float up too the surface. That is why there are no shucks on the water or shoreline during a March Brown emergence

It's time to start swinging Caddis emergers on fluro leaders folks. Leeches also good at this time of year.

Then this is the likely scenario as I have also observed Mayflys far from the river and roadways.

It probably hitched a ride with you from the river. Lately, whenever I return from the river my truck seems to have Skwala's, March Browns, Midges or BWO's living in it.

Rhithrogena morrisoni. There sure have been lots of them emerging on some stretches of the lower Bow this year. March Browns were a minor species on the Bow until 2012, when their populations exploded. Fishies love em'. The Duns start coming off typically in mid too late morning. The spinner falls start in the late afternoon and continue into the early evening. This years spinners falls have been terrific, which is not typical of March Browns as the spinner falls are usually brief. I've been having success with a #12 Adams (not a parachute) with dry floatant for the duns, but no floatant for the spinners as they sit lower on the water. Look for rising fish in the tail outs of pools with good riffle water at the head. That's where the trout will line up for a March Brown dinner.

This just in..... "Prentice resigns as NDP's Orange Wave sweeps Alberta".... Harper's next!

Cracks at the tip of a fly line are often caused by back casts hitting the rocks on the beach or bushes etc. Any cracks in the fly line will expose the core of the line, which will wick water causing the line to start to sink. I would suggest cutting the tip of the line back a foot or two if it has cracks and tying a new loop. Then seal with knot sense. Also, lines need to be kept clean to keep them floating high.

I'll admit it... I used your link...

I think you missed the point of this discussion, which is about people who used to participate here, including Humblefisherman, who often posted video's of his fishing adventures.

"Two Thumbs up" for more Humblefisherman vids. "Two Thumbs down" for the haters....

There was a guy who stopped posting here, that I would rate as one of the most knowledgeable and experienced anglers I have had the pleasure of fishing with.... "MissinTheBow". It's unfortunate that the site lost some of the expert contributors and the sense of "community" it once had. A consequence of too many big ego's and "haters" starting crap years ago and the site owners/admins, at the time, allowing it to happen.

I like to swing gartside leeches during run off, but with the low flows right now, (down to a dismal 43 c/m/s), they tend to hang up and break off to often. Good luck on the hunt for Chrome.

Lots of great advice from many anglers, some who I know to be experts. My personal advice/experience on rod action. is about matching a casters natural casting tempo to the natural tempo of the rod and the level of casting experience. Slow tempo casters = slower, deeper flexing rods and faster tempo casters (like myself), enjoy what many anglers would consider very fast rods such as the Hardy Zenith 9'6" 6wt. (beautiful rod in my opinion). How the rod is lined will have an influence on the rod tempo as well. Line a rod lightly and it will have a slightly faster tempo and if you over-line then you will have a slightly slower tempo. The type of line taper will also influence the "feel" of the rod. Using a given line weight/line length, there will be a noticeable difference when casting a WF, DT or Spey tapers on your rod. As Eagleflyfisher mentioned about casting faster rods, they can be considered somewhat unforgiving and may require more focus, better casting technique and time to get used to, but, I feel, that they offer several advantages such as, higher line speeds to bust the omnipresent wind on open waters like the Bow or on lakes. These stiffer rods also track very well, with less side deflection, leading to improved accuracy when shooting at tight targets at distance. As for presentation, I feel that the action of the rod has little effect on how softly you can land a fly. I can land a fly soft or hard with any rod. It is all in the casting technique and the leader set up. As for fast rods breaking off fish on finer tippets, I have landed many trout on my single hand and two hand spey rods using Frog Hair 5x fluro tippets, so don't see it as a consideration in respect to rod action choices. Consider that Atlantic Salmon anglers often land 30 lb'ers on 8lb. tippet using 15' 10 wt. Spey rods, so how you fight the fish and the leader/tippet set up can be critical to your landing success, but that should be a topic for another discussion.

At this time of year, (actually any time of year), I often swing articulated leeches in black and peacock leeches, typically on type 3 tips. As water temps continue to improve weekly and numerous hatches start to fire up, I like to swing Backswimmers, caddis emerger patterns. wet fly's, leeches etc.on tapered leaders ranging from 10' -15'. I think the presentation is always the most important part of the equation. The magic combination of the type of leader and/or sink tip, casting angle, swing speed, depth, action on the fly, stripping etc.

Happy Birthday buddy!

I've also used the orange jimmy legs, in early July, to target October Caddis larvae that migrate to the fast spill water for their final instar, with phenomenal sucess.

I think you're on the right track. Pursue your dreams. Here's what you need to do... Get out on the river fishing year round, at least 200 times a year for a few years and offer to row anyones boat spring/summer/fall. Failure will be your master instructor. The Bow will teach you many valuable lessons beyond mere fishing. And one more thing.... you need to be able to spell "nimphing" correctly.... It's on the "Guide Test".

I bet I could get a really long drift with a big ass triple nymph/worm rig hanging off one of these drone"s. Right down the main thalwag with about 10 split shot on a 15' leader.... Drone fly fishin'... it's the newest thing.