Vagabond

Check local pawn shops,starting with the one closest to home...crackhead thieves don't have much use for fly gear,and kids don't have wheels to move stolen goods very far. ....also if you need chest waders,I have 2 spare sets,one for free,the other very cheap.

X2 what RD said....much prefer tips vs. splitshot,but often as not I'll trail a wet or two behind a conehead bugger on a floating line,or swing 3 soft hackle wets with the biggest/heaviest fly in descending order of size,ie; a #10-12 bead head,trailed by a 14-16,trailed by an 18.

Thermacell works well if you are stationary,although I must admit I haven't really tried mine in the wind or walk/wading. .....but I can say it is very effective against black flies in a spring black bear tree stand,and keeps skeeters out of my truck cab w/open windows at night in the sleeper. I generally use either Muskol or DW Off for fishing.....30% DEET,and avoid getting it on the palms/fly line. Screen mesh Bug jackets are great,only downside I've found is it reduces effectiveness of polarized glasses if you are sight fishing.....that and it's a wee bit difficult to smoke and drink thru a screen,haha.

Good luck JB,I've been deer hunting 412 pretty hard last 2 seasons (15-20days/year?) and stumble into moose quite often in the area that I haunt....probly 1 moose/day on average....pretty decent odds considering I'm not even hunting them,so I'd be stoked for calling during the rut,should be a great hunt.Haven't seen any real monsters but a couple decent 50ish bulls....but again,not calling or moose hunting so.....??

Cool for sure,and sharp eye!!

I was thinking more like a nice rug.

Sofa King we Todd did.

1)Airflo Super-Dri Distance Pro 2)Airflo Super-Dri Mend 3)Airflo Ridge Clear floating 4)Airflo Ridge Clear Intermediate(1.5ips) 5)Airflo Sixth Sense Sinking(5ips) Go with the Flo.

Desperation,hmmmmm??? 12 hrs on the river yesterday,caught a small sunburn and a big buzz. Swung Streamers,zuddlers,BRBs,with soft hackle wet trailers,more SHWs 2 &3 at a time,sparkle emergers....ended the evening with caddis dries. A few risers throughout the day,a few more in the eve, big brown drakes from 10;00am thru mid day,small black stones,a few caddis.Had ONE bloody tug ALL Day on a zuddlers/soft hackle combo...grrrrrrrr. :mad: Pretty sure the river lowered a few inches by day's end,a bit better clarity also. So that's my excuse,poor vis,fish can't eat flies that they can't see. Change of tactics today,gonna dig out lucky hat,buy a pink shirt at Value Village and giver'!! Maybe throw some more money at them also,as if thousands of $$ worth of gear,flies and unpaid leave from work isn't enough.....sigghhhhh .....almost desperate enough to dangle nymphs under a bobber..... :puke: ......almost...

Wow,helluva nice fish!!

A good buddy of mine was mauled a bit and roughed up by a black....luckily he escaped virtually without a scratch,and a healthy respect for the power of even a small bear.Suffice to say that I don't care how big you are,or how tough you think you are,a 200lb bear is 5x tougher and stronger.

Latka....oh,ok then,that explains the gibberish.I figgered it was either some sort of language barrier or somebody hitn the meth pipe too hard before posting?

Do you drive an old white pickup by chance?

Nice tie,kind of a mini-truder variation,looks fishy.

Lol...not quite 15'....but the sled trail network in that area is excellent from Dec-Apr.

Kinda like a smoke alarm....Better to have it and not need it,then to need it and not have it.

Haha,to each their own I spose?You can't stand it....personally speaking,the sound of a screaming Hardy with a leaping Atlantic on a hellbent run is "THE" soundtrack of flyfishing!....music to my ears.

While that may be true,there really isn't a reel on that list that piques my interest,with the possible exception being the Islander?And that's only because 1)The LX 3.8 was on my wish list for a long time,and 2) It's CDN.Even so,I'd take a Marquis Salmon#1 over any one of them......drag is way overated. re:bcube's comments....I'd say case design is in fact a legit category,and tend to agree with their findings in that I really like the practicality of my Abel's case...the wrap around reel seat design is very handy. Fun to fish....of course a reel must be fun to fish,why else are we out there if not for fun?It's not like anybody on this forum is starving and fishing for food.

I like both Marlin and Chiappa,the latter packs more conveniently for fishing.

Sighhhh....10 more years,that'd be damn tempting?Some excellent "real" fishing opportunities right there as well.

Jest sayn....other provinces are FAR worse off. Not saying it's right,and I agree that F&W and habitat and outdoors heritage in general should be much higher on the priority list Canada-wide....jest sayn,could be worse.

I spose that's a matter of perspective?Try living in a "have not" province,and you might gain an appreciation for the angling (and hunting)opps AB has to offer.

Always the optimist,I try to look at the positive side of things. -10-20lbs of carp hung in a burlap sack makes for a fantastic stinkbait to get your bear bait started and active. -black bears prey on elk and moose calves -harvesting a single black bear saves untold numbers(?) of elk and moose calves,and provides a lifetime supply of bear hair for tying salmon and steelhead patterns. ...that's all I've got??

Temp foreign worker to row while you fish.

Coincidentally,I was just watching a Marquis#7 in nice condition that went on eBay yesterday for $173 CDN,which is probably getting to the upper end of the price spectrum....more then I wanted to pay anyways,but fair enough if one really wanted that reel? I'm far from being any kind of authority,but I do have 3 St.John Mk2s.I can tell you the SJ was introduced in 1923,and the Mk2 is post WWII.That said,not all Mk2 check SJs are inscribed with MK2 for some reason?Then,there's a few quite rare specimens inscribed MKII vs. MK2.Earlier models will have a ribbed brass foot,later models like the two I have from 70's-early 80's(?) have aluminum feet.Then the old relic SJ I have has a steel foot.The older (pre-war?) SJ and maybe(?) some MK2's can have a 3 screw spool latch vs. the 2 screw.Also older reels have the foot riveted on vs. screwed. The Marquis was introduced in late 60's,68 or 69 I beleive?The earliest Marquis will have a ribbed brass foot.Then some time in early 70's,Hardy produced these same reels for Scientific Anglers,and they were marketed as the SA System 5,6,7 etc.,and my best guess is they have the aluminum foot since around then??Not sure when Hardy DCd the Marquis line,but just a few years ago they re-introduced the salmon sizes to meet the demand and request of the Marquis faithful fans,ie,the Marquis Salmon #1,2,and 3.The new Salmons have a slightly improved spool design,but oddly enough,Hardy hasn't badged them as Mk2??The new spools will still fit in the older frames. As for value,depends on condition and really just whatever somebody is willing to pay for it?I often see Marquis trout sizes going for anywhere from $100-$150....$173 yesterday?The Salmons seem to fetch a bit more,and you can now buy a brand new improved for $325 and up starting with the #1. With the SJs,again,depends on cond,vintage etc,but for a reasonably good useable reel with some "character" scratches and such,$175-225 seems about average.Very rare or mint cond models can fetch $300+ Hopefully Dutchie will chime in,rumor has it he knows a little bit about old Hardys,lol.