PMDun

"They're back!" Just saw that they had some in stock.

I use a Basspro drift sock and Lindy harness while lake fishing. It works well but they aren't cheap. You can also make a drift sock with a medium Ikea bag($0.75) and some plastic Outbound tap & snap grommets ($5.99 for 10 at CT). Drill or use an old soldering iron to make five holes at the bottom of the bag. I put a hole in the four corners and one in the center. The holes have to be slightly bigger than the interior diameter of the grommet. Snap in the grommets. Cut off a 3" piece of pool noodle and run your rope through it. Use a rope swivel to prevent the rope from twisting. Once you're done fishing, you can use the drift sock(s) to carry your wet waders and boots.

Amazon Canada was selling the Intex Mariner 4 back in April for as low as $280. Several weeks ago, they marked them back up to $360, right in time for the peak summer season.

Looks like the Okuma SLV 5/6 is no longer available from Walmart Canada ( online). It was a good deal while it lasted.

ghus32, I noticed that they had some available online again today. Around 4:00pm, it said.."In stock"...and ten minutes after, it said.."Out of stock". A few minutes ago, they posted "Only a few available online". Pretty sure this goes on all day long. Talk about throwing a dog a bone and then settin'the hook, eh? Somewhere in that mega warehouse of theirs, someone must be saying..."Hey! I found a few more!" There you go...once again it's saying "In Stock". Hard to believe that this Okuma SLV 5/6 costs nearly the same as eight San Juan worms! Great alternative to buying extra spools.

I just ordered myself a few extra Okuma SLV 5/6 fly reels on clearance online at Walmart Canada for $20. Had to try a few times to get through. Eventhough it says "Out of Stock" at times, I recommend to keep checking on a daily basis. I found that every other day, they will put out more into their inventory. I never had an issue with any of my Okuma 5/6, 7/8 or 8/9 SLV fly reels in the past several years. Tough to find a better deal.

Industrial paint and plastics..X 2

It happened again? Several weeks ago, we drifted by and noticed that all of the windows were smashed. The light coloured drapes were blowing in the wind.

Just picked up a spare manual Seyvlor pump, an emergency Tear-Aid patch kit (patch), an Intex motor mount, a Scotty fly rod holder and a 2 wheel folding truck cart to haul the fully inflated boat from the parking lot to the launch at Fish Creek park.

On my walk last night, I spotted dozens of rocky mountain whitefish trapped in a shallow pool in Fish Creek park. This shallow pool was a result of people throughout the years, creating rock dams across the creek. With a good rain or run-off these fish will escape. Haven't seen one rainbow making it's way up to spawn this year. Usually I see hundreds of them.

WaderGal, Thanks for the clarification. You couldn't of explained it any better. Eventhough there's a very slim chance we'd ever be questioned by a landowner, it's good to know that we are good to go as long as we stay below the high water mark. Don't mind sharing the site with a few cows. We've been asking ourselves the same question since we started our overnight float trips decades ago. Makes for some good campfire talk. Prior to the devastating floods, we had no problems finding camping spots on the islands. Nowadays, Google Earth view offers great views from way above but when we set foot on the ground, we soon find out that most of these islands are littered with boulders, ruts, bumps and holes. Next time we do a day float, we'll keep looking for those good high & dry campsites with even ground and mark them on our gps. Tough to find when we've got to pitch several tents.

Uberfly, Nickel plated eye bolts for the oars locks. Now, you got me going. I'll have to look into that! We still have our old Intex Seahawk 500 that we bought back in the early 90's. This is one reason why I purchased my new Mariner 4. Our Seahawk 500 is still in great shape and hasn't sprung a leak yet. We still see plenty of Seahawk 500 floating the Bow every year. Intex built the Mariner 4 (M4) with heavy duty 30 gauge material. The inflatable keel and rigid floor keeps this boat good and tight. The air chambers are good and solid. I can sit on them and they don't sag down. I'm no split shot either...weighing at 235lbs. Unlike the Seahawk 500, the M4 bow & stern are tipped upwards which should create less drag. I was looking at ways to incorporate a anchor/pulley system and rigging it to the motor mount (not included). Then, I found this guy on YouTube that uses a retractable 45lbs dog leash, karabiner to hold his mushroom anchor. All he does is secure the leash handle ( with the karabiner) to one of the molded rubber O ring fittings that are used to fasten the motor mount to the boat. When he needs to drop the anchor, he simply pushes the button on the retractable dog leash and it releases the anchor. When it hits the bottom, he locks the button in place. I gotta try this. Now, I wouldn't advise anyone to do this while drifting in the current but rather in slower moving waters where it's safe to do so. For my rower's seat, I plan to drill four holes into the lid of my old Coleman 48quart cooler and bolt a seat swivel ( $12 ) and a cheap folding boat seat ($20). I can then use the cooler/seat for a shore lunch as well. Sounds like an episode of Red Green! The rigid floor is pretty good but I plan to use three layers of 3' X5' corrugated plastic sheets (old election signs would work) with duct tape raped around the edges and then rap pipe insulation on top of the duct tape. I've done this to my Seahawk and it's never came apart. I just flop it into the boat floor and take it out. Fully waterproof/water resistant. Haven't figured out a way to use the current rod holders and modify them to hold my fly rods ( PVC piping?). Looking forwards to floating the Bow with our new boat as much as we did with our old Seahawk 500.

I've always wanted a Intex Mariner 4 inflatable boat. First read about these boats on Rubberboats in the US. Would of bought one when our loonie was above par but they wouldn't ship to Canada. I wanted something that I would fit in the trunk of my subcompact car and stow away in the crawl space of our condo. After reading many reviews and seeing the following these inflatable boats have, I decided it was the boat that fit my budget. Amazon Canada decided to drop their prices significantly, so I bought one. It said that it would take 1 to 2 months to deliver. I was stunned when I got an email from Amazon a few days ago saying that it was arriving on Tuesday by UPS. Took only a few weeks. I inflated it in our living room last night and it looks great! My wife was very understanding. I reassured her that I'd put it away in a week as I wanted to see if there were any leaks. All I need to do now is to buy a few extra oar lacks from Intex ( $4) and a spare patch for my emergency kit. If anyone out there has a Intex Mariner 4, I'd like to hear your stories.

Several of us are planning to do our annual overnight fly fishing float trip on the Lower Bow later on this summer. Come late afternoon, we pitch our tents, have an early supper in hopes of catching the perfect evening caddis hatch. Sometimes it happens, sometimes it don't. Don't matter, we always have a great time...rain or shine. We leave no trace and pack our garbage out every trip. My question to this forum is "Does anyone know if the islands along the Lower Bow are actually owned or can actually anyone pitch a tent on them?" We have noticed more landowners letting their cattle graze on these islands now that some of the side channels are bone dry. Waiting for you replies.