cheeler

We only had access to the lakes in the mornings and early afternoons, so the river had to keep essentially the same schedule for logistics. The mornings averaged 127 fish per session while the afternoons had 155 per session (including lakes).

The final results are not on the website yet, but Tood Oishi took a few snaps of them: http://innovativeflyfisher.com/forum/index.php?topic=1016.msg9158#msg9158 The Comorants took the team trophy while there was a last session shakeup for the individuals! The host city for next year has not been announced but it typically alternates between the east and west. There was a lot of interest from the competitors and organizers in doing another national, commonwealth, or even world championship a few years down the road. Another big thank you to all the volunteers who braved the frosty mornings, boredom on slow days, and excitement during the competition!

I had a situation once where I didn't notice that a 4" trout had taken a 3" bugger on my 6 wt spey until after a couple of casts. He swam away fine but I don't think he appreciated being unintentionally used as live bait!

The anglers are split into groups so they are fishing against each other on the same session every time, with 2 lake and 3 river sessions. Each group has one person from each team. The fish score for each session is based on the fish length (mm length times 20 + 100 I believe); since there's 11 participants they are ranked 1 to 11 for each session based on the fish score. If any angler landed no fish, they all receive a rank of 11. The rank is then their placings number - the lower the better. So if one person outfished everyone and came first out of eleven competitors in all 5 sessions, their placings would be 5. If someone came in last for all 5 sessions their placings would be 55. For the teams the placings for each of the 5 competitors is added up.

Another news story about the women competing this week: http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Canada/Calgary/ID/2408864078/

Results after day 1 were posted this morning. Today's results will hopefully be posted tonight or tomorrow morning. http://www.flyfishingnationals.com/results.html The last session is tomorrow morning from 8:30 to 11:30 AM! A big thank you goes out to the volunteers who braved the cold, windy morning!

No but plenty of natural seating courtesy of mother nature. Unfortunately my request for cheerleaders was also denied! Grant Pollock from Global TV also did an on the water interview with Gary Hanke during a practice session; note that the number of teams is 11 and the session length is 3 hours, not 1.5: http://globalnews.ca/calgary/videos/?video-search=fly+fishing

For those looking to spectate: The competition sessions run for the next 3 days between 8:30 and 11:30 and again between 1:30 and 4:30 (except Friday, which is only a morning session). Two river sectors will run from the Bankside parking lot down past the 22X bridge; the easiest access is probably to park at the boat launch. The third river sector will be up in the Douglasdale/Mallard Point area. The easiest spot to park will be at the ball diamonds: Douglasdale Ball Diamonds: https://maps.google.ca/maps?hl=en&ll=50.937134,-113.995364&spn=0.002745,0.008256&t=h&z=18 http://www.flyfishingnationals.com/schedule-of-events.html

We still have opportunities for controllers due to injuries and dropouts!

Exact locations for the river beats will not be posted until Tuesday the 24th, in the evening; all I can say right now is that the general area is between the Calf Robe bridge and Policeman's Flats.

A few updates: We still have a need for volunteer controllers on Wednesday morning and afternoon and Thursday afternoon.Banquet tickets can also be purchased online - $60 gets you dinner, entertainment by Jim McLennan, and the live and silent auctions.More details on the conservation symposium are available on the website; we are asking people to register so we know how many we will have. http://www.flyfishingnationals.com/conservation-symposium.html

You can also wear sock liners that help wick away moisture without adding bulk.

http://511.alberta.ca/ab/en.html#l=36&x=-12694813&y=6435816&z=3 The section north of 532 and 532 itself is still closed so the best access is still through Maycroft. You'll end up near the Gap, Dutch, and Racehorse creeks, though.

No matter which section we were on the vast majority of fish rescued with TU and SRD right after the floods were suckers and whitefish. The populations have always been there but as fly fisherman we typically spend our time trying to fish the trout water; the flood mixed everything up. Trout also eat the eggs of the suckers.

Nice!

A joint effort between Fly Fishing Canada and the Calgary Fly Fishing Championship Chapter of Trout Unlimited Canada, the championships are strictly a catch-and-release event to provide a focal point that brings fly fishers together from throughout Canada and the world. They not only exchange technical information about their sport, but also address problems concerning conservation, water quality, habitat loss, and other environmental issues. In addition to providing the competitors with a world-class fly fishing experience, our event will showcase our “Blue Ribbon Waters”, engage youth in a week-long series of activities focused on learning to fly fish and conserve fish habitat, and raise money to restore an important side channel on the Bow River. The fishing portions of the event are being held on the Bow River and two community lakes. The Carriage House Inn will be the venue for the Conservation Symposium on the 23rd and Banquet/Auction on the 27th. Websites: http://www.flyfishingnationals.com/ (main website) and http://www.flyfishingcanada.net/ (registration and rules) Participants We currently some room left for participants but registration will be closing at the end of August. You can register a team of 5 or sign up as an individual and be assigned to a team. Further information and the rules and rule modifications are available on both websites - be sure to review them and ask questions before signing up. Volunteers We currently require a number of controllers (about 75 total slots to fill) during the Bow River portion of the competition. Morning and afternoon time slots are available and this is a great way to learn a few new tricks and tips. Visit http://www.flyfishingnationals.com/volunteer.html for more information. Spectators The fishing portions event will be open to spectators - more information will be posted once a schedule is set. On Monday September 23 a Conservation Symposium will be held that addresses water quality issues in Alberta. On Friday September 27 a buffet dinner, awards ceremony, entertainment by Jim McLennan, and live and silent auctions will be held to raise funds for Fly Fishing Canada and Trout Unlimited; tickets are only $60. Questions can be submitted via our website (http://www.flyfishingnationals.com/contact.html) or posted here. Additional information will be added as it becomes available. Thank you!

Another great set, thanks for posting!

Dave @ Fishtales uses them, give him a call.

I love my Panasonic TS3 - I believe the latest is the TS5, which has good reviews. Olympus had a new one out that comes with a larger sensor that should be better in lower light situations. DPReview.com says they're doing six reviews right now, the latest Olympus is here: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/olympus-tg2

Some shots of the Highwood confluence. Definitely some fish on the Highwood side near the farm buildings - the Pelicans looked like they were having a nice buffet. Ground was shaking from the boulders being tossed down.

Happy Birthday!

Happy birthday!

Troutfitters used to be by McMahon stadium. A northwest location would definitely be nice; I love Fishtales but many times the thought of dealing with Deerfoot traffic deters me.

As always, great pics!

Definitely practice with the rod you'll be using. A 13' wt is a good place to start but also try shorter lengths to see how they feel as well. If you're going to be doing alot of casting without the need for distance the lighter weight and shorter length can reduce fatigue a bit. Fishtales does have skagit head kits available for dialing in the weight that feels best to you once you have a rod. As mentioned, get lessons once you have the rod to get rid of any kinks in your casting before they become habits.