Vagabond

Congrats,which reel?

April fools.... Pretty funny stuff.

Just checked my old source in NB,it's listed as "temporarily unavailable"...odd,I've never seen that before,not there anyways? I've subbed black squirrel tail for bear quite often.The natural black tails I've collected personally when the opportunity arises (melanistic grey squirrels)aren't bad but the dyed tails are more shiny jet black.Squirrel tail is nice wing material really,tons of hairwing wets call for it,many patterns the only diff is bear or grey/red,dyed squirrel and give the fly another name.

Fwiw,don't get me wrong,I don't think for a second Ted Williams was all that,to the contrary,I can't stand the guy,and this Coleman clown sounds just like him. My apologies to Wulff,Ward,Kreh and Christ for mentioning Williams in the same sentence.

Is this Coleman guy for real?Seriously??Apparantly he is Lee Wulff/Ernest Hemingway/Ed Ward/Lefty Kreh,Ted Williams,and Jesus Christ himself all rolled into one?I can't tell for certain if this is a comedy show or if he really does think so highly of himself? Anyway,worth a listen for a laff?

$199/pp out of KC or Nordegg seems to be the going rate,I couldn't say if there's a group discount but AFAIK it's a flat rate/pp?

Fun forum fact:when you quote a post,the censorship asterisks dissappear and reveal the originally typed word,haha!!

I hear ya,right now about now I'd be happy just to see the mercury rise above zero again and fish the Bow.Guess I'm not as rugged as Bigdirty,lol?

Sorry can't offer help with foundation repairs,but as a related home improvement topic,check out this amazing new deck sealant!BBQ season is coming and if you enjoy spending time on your deck as I do,this is a must watch! http://youtu.be/7Bg586-wl38

X2 what BF said,the head looks great in the posted pic.I guess I misunderstood in the OP and thought the pic was of a store bought fly?If that's how your own heads are turning out,to echo bcube,your tying a streamer,not a floater,and it looks just fine from where I'm sitting,I wouldn't lose any sleep over it.

One possible explanation I haven't seen mentioned yet might be clear cutting in the headwaters and the resultant excessive siltation of streams with runoff from haul roads,skidder ruts,and the general inability of the watershed to release cool groundwater gradually. A fisheries biologist that I met once while fishing back east was taking water samples from a previously wonderful salmon/trout river told me that Atlantic salmon and brook trout are quite susceptible to a fatal gill infection from heavily silted water.I know rainbows can tolerate more silted water and fare better then Brookies in same.Just guessing,but I would assume that cutts and bulls having evolved in the pristine environs that they did might also be vulnerable to excessive silt?Rivers get "blown out" and run dirty far more frequently these days due to humans altering the landscape then they ever would have historically,which surely can't be good for our little finned friends?

Hmmm....ok,I stand corrected. Pretty cool vid on tying KGSD.....Google is your friend.

I haven't tied Dungeons or worked with dumbbell eyes combined with spun hair,but I've spun my fair share of deer hair for Muddlers,bombers,buckbugs etc.,so I'll share my method for tying nice full heads to the hook eye. Basically,when tying in the final lift of hair closest to the hook eye,I hold the butt end of the deer hair towards the hook bend,with the long untrimmed tips extending forward over the eye.Spin as per usual,and you end up with a sort of reverse muddler collar.Its then very easy to grasp those long tips,pull them back over the eye,pack that last lift tight against the previous lift.and get a few wraps of thread tight behind the eye,whip finish as usual,then trim to shape. So using that same method,I'm guessing maybe you are tying in the dumbbell too soon and having to mess with trying to spin hair in and around it? What I would suggest is using the method I described above with a bit of planning prior to tying in dumbbell. Tie your collar as usual,and 1 or 2(?)more lifts of hair,stopping short of where you want the dumbbell to sit.For the final lift prior to tying in the dumbbell,spin in the reverse collar as above,pulling the tips back and packing the hair,then held in place with a few wraps as if finishing a muddler.When you let go of those tips after wrapping thread on the shank to hold that lift back,the tips will flare forward again.Then tie your dumbbell in as tight to that lift as you can get it,then tie in another "normal" rear facing collar in front of the dumbbell?Im thinking that should fill things in pretty good?Then just fill whatever space remains behind the hook eye with another lift or two as required,again using the reverse collar method for the final lift.Trim to shape and hope for the best?? Again,I've never tied a dungeon,but if it were me,that's what I'd try? Let me know how it works out if you try it?

I bought a bird feeder. What a lovely bird feeder it was. I filled it lovingly with seed. Within a Week we had hundreds of birds Taking advantage of the Continuous flow of free and Easily accessible food. But then the birds started Building nests in the boards Of the patio, above the table, And next to the barbecue. Then came the poop. It was Everywhere: on the patio tile, The chairs, the table .. Everywhere! Then some of the birds Turned mean. They would Dive bomb me and try to Peck me even though I had Fed them out of my own Pocket. And others birds were Boisterous and loud. They Sat on the feeder and Squawked and screamed at All hours of the day and night And demanded that I fill it When it got low on food. After a while, I couldn't even Sit on my own back porch Anymore. So I took down the Bird feeder and in three days The birds were gone. I cleaned Up their mess and took down The many nests they had built All over the patio. Soon, the back yard was like It used to be .... Quiet, serene.... And no one demanding their Rights to a free meal. Now let's see..... Our government gives out Free food, subsidized housing, Free medical care and free Education, and allows anyone Born here to be an automatic Citizen. Then the illegals came by the Tens of thousands. Suddenly Our taxes went up to pay for Free services; small apartments Are housing 5 families; you Have to wait 6 hours to be seen By an emergency room doctor; Your child's second grade class is Behind other schools because Over half the class doesn't speak English. Corn Flakes now come in a Bilingual box; I have to 'press one ' to hear my bank Talk to me in English, and People waving flags other Than our flag are Squawking and screaming In the streets, demanding More rights and free liberties. Just my opinion, but maybe it's time for the government To take down the bird feeder. If you agree, pass it on; if not, Continue cleaning up the poop.

WOW!! That ^^ is amazing!! ....even $6K is a bargain,the American plans I've seen iirc are more like $15K all in?

Hawg,if you have smartphone,try using photobucket app,it's easy and works well for posting pics I've found,I do 90% of my browsing on iphone.

I think I'd be more concerned over your commute time to work,wherever that might be?The Bow is quite easily accessible from most of the SW/SE within 10-15min or less for evening excursions.As mentioned,there's lotsa nice communities in the SE bordering FCP that are walking distance to river or a short drive,if you can combine that with <1/2hr commute to work.....??Many of those communities also have private stocked lakes as well for residents only.

If money was no object....Kola Penninsula,Russia for MONSTER Atlantics.....well into 5 figures $$ for that trip....sigggghhhh Getting back to reality...maybe a week each exploring NFLD's northern penn and eastern Lab? And/or...entire month of Sept on Skeena system,starting with exploring the hidden,off the beaten track little known gems on the coast,and working my way back uphill for the grande finale,skating dries on Bulkley. Reality check #4....I'm gonna have to be quite satisfied (and fortunate)to make 2 trips to Skeena this year,spring and fall,with the better part of 2weeks in July on Miramichi in between. I like salmon....ALOT.....some might think I have a problem?

90min doc on the history of Hardy(plus annoying interruptions from movie trailer ad every 5 mins!) A must watch for Hardy fans/time well wasted if you can get past the interruptions. http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/lost_world_of_mr_hardy

Here's some step by step articles on a few different weave techniques,I did the bitch creek years ago but haven't really attempted any since. http://www.flyanglersonline.com Sorry,can't seem to paste direct link for some reason? Scroll down menu bar screen left,select "Fly Tying" tab,then "Advanced Tying" to see weave how to's.

I suppose so? Bring some samples to show them,can't hurt to ask. That said,I think you might find it a tough way to earn a buck with many shops sourcing their flies from offshore,you just can't compete with those prices or even earn minimum wage,unless maybe you have a specialty,ie;you tie premium quality steelhead,tarpon,Atlantic flies or wutever....but then in the CGY market the demand for such flies is limited. In a nutshell,offshore sweatshops have pretty much killed the North American tying industry,you just can't compete with $0.25 flies,most anglers want more flies for less $$ and aren't willing to pay what your time is worth.

Ask?

....or a Brown Fairy. (It's an Atlantic fly,I swear!!)

"Alberta's Trout Highway/Fishing the Forestry Trunk Road" by Barry Mitchell...it's available in most local fly shops.This controversial book no doubt raised the hackles of many when it was published and often regarded as a tell-all/where to go guide that would be the ruination of the eastern slopes fisheries?Personally,I don't see it as all that damning,although I'm sure if I was a lifelong resident I wouldn't have been happy to see my favorite streams exposed.....but as a relatively new Albertan myself,it's been a great resource for finding and exploring new waters,and it would literally take decades to actually visit and get familiar with the hundreds of streams feeding the 1/2 dozen major east slope drainages from the southern border up to Grande Prairie.Going on my 4th year in AB now,I've barely scratched the surface. As for curing the itch of Spring Fever,skinny water fishing is pretty much limited to the Bow and Crowsnest until mid-June when the rest of the streams open to angling,after that the choices are almost unlimited.

Muddlers hooked me a ton'a specks also....and EHC,various mayfly dries,buckbugs.....truth is,there aint much that greedy lil Brookies won't eat,they are opportunistic feeders,often schooled up and competing for morsels...hence the frequent doubles with the 2 bugger rig....in my limited experience of 4 decades Brookie fishn,it's relatively rare that they become selective,they are far more delicious then they are sophisticated.....but all that said,when there's no discernable hatch going,visible rises, or any time I'm exploring new waters or prospecting familiar old haunts,99% of the time I'll have a black bugger tied on.