jgib01

Nice! For us Lethbians, tis hard not to love the short hop out there. I've had some success with a little larger class of fish this year... don't know if that's because there are more around, or if I'm actually just getting a bit more proficient. Most surprising for me has been lots of hybrids and many that looked to me to be pretty heavy on the cutty and very light on the bow side of the gene pool as well.

If there was ever a shadow of doubt before watching this... Unfortunately, my ignorance led us to buy a lot of Atlantic salmon in the past, but it has been several years since it has touched our table. Many consumers haven't taken the time to watch a documentary of this length, or simply don't care one way or the other. Hopefully the proverbial tides are shifting on this, albeit too slowly.

I'm in that club too. During the last couple of years I have won the "vision lottery" with both encroaching slight presbyopia and myopia. I have regular bifocals with clip-on sunglasses that work pretty well, but I am constantly losing the clip-ons. Last weekend (when I couldn't find my clip-ons yet again) I experimented with wearing contacts for distance, and cheapo sunglasses with a bi-focal lens for close up stuff (Fish Eyes from Bass Pro, I think). This actually worked pretty well until it started to get low-light, and then found I was fumbling to put the sunglasses back on to tie on flies. I have some flip down Hat Eyes, but haven't used them much yet as they don't fit well on the fedora style (aka, ear-protecting) hats I usually wear; they are better suited to flat brim ball caps. Seems there is no perfect solution for me, though you might have an easier time given that you don't need correction for distance. Maybe a regular bi-focal that others have recommended vs a progressive?

Yes, I recall seeing some Pfleuger stuff in there a couple of weeks ago as well. On another note, pretty disappointed so far with their selection of fly reels/spools. There is stuff that has been sitting in the Lethbridge store for 5+ years at full retail prices, that I would love to see hit the 40% off cabinet in Pincher.

I keep thinking pmd and green drakes should be present, but so far my timing has been off on that. The last couple of times out on the Crow for me, it has been very challenging hatch-matching. I've seen little in the way of visible topwater insects. Some guarded success with small nymphs and tiny dries, and a few weeks ago on a very low-vis day I managed a few great takes on streamers (first time I have ever really tried exclusively fished streamers on the Crow). We have continued to get some good rains in the South (Sunday was an awesome thunder storm out there!), so water clarity may vary considerably from day to day, and even hour to hour. I'd say come prepared to try lots of different things in the course of a day of fishing.

The S Sask holds primarily pike, goldeye, the occasional walleye, and even less occasional sturgeon (though that would be a hoot catching a sturgeon on a fly rod!). There are some stocked lakes within a reasonable distance of there that will get you to some trout, and one QSF in that area.

I wonder how they would feel about you fishing out of the Davy Crockett canoes?

We really like Chinook Lake... Water is a little cold for my liking for swimming, but our kids never seemed to mind. There is a small swimming area that always kept our little ones entertained for hours. Our favourite camping spot when our kids were pre-school age was Kikomun Creek.

I have a 6# Access, and like it. If I had a good excuse to get a 5'er, the Recon would definitely be in the running, as it seems to be quite an improvement from everything I've read. There is a bit of a sticker shock these days when looking at anything Orvis because of our dollar; but the same applies to any other US made/marketed stuff, and to a certain extent other brands priced on the USD for the North American market. If you are wanting to stay closer to the lower end of your budget, keep Redington in mind too. I was pleasantly surprised by how much I like my son's Path, and our experience has been that their warranty service is awesome. That said, nothing beats the warranty experience of walking into TFO Calgary and leaving a few minutes later with a repaired rod in hand.

I thought the golden rule was that you could show someone a spot, but never tell them. Pretty subjective in terms of what one person might find "general" information versus what others would consider hotspotting. It certainly seems to me that fly fishers in general tend to lean more easily to the latter. I know I've taken some heat for even mentioning the name of a river on here, which I think is a little overzealous, but in some ways understandable. I still consider myself a newcomer to this game, and have greatly appreciated the times when I have been given some general information to get me going in the right direction these past couple of years.

Flow seemed maybe a little higher on the Upper Oldman Friday morning. That's just anecdotal, and the charts will tell a better/more accurate story. I didn't think to stop to get some water temps, as I was on a short timeline and was just excited to be out there (such a rookie move!). There certainly were some dramatic weather things happening over the weekend. We were camped at Chain Lakes (wow, that reservoir is low!) and got drenched several times, but nothing sustained. This morning's long-term forecast for us in Lethbridge looks as though it will perhaps not greatly exacerbate things, but won't solve them either. Highs in the low to mid-20's are decent for this time of year... could be far worse.

Sorry if I'm reading between the lines incorrectly here... I've read bits and pieces of the use of piscicides in US National Parks. Was this attempted in Clear Water? Google search revealed very little about the use of piscicides in Parks Canada or really anywhere in Canada for that matter.

Last fall I was heading north into Calgary, and as I cross the bridge, buddy in his shiny new Tundra pulls out onto the Deerfoot from the meridian "parking area", then proceeds to cut across both lanes over into the right parking lane where he accelerates and then pulls back out onto the road. There were several vehicles (5 or 6 of us if I remember correctly) "locking them up" in the vicinity cause of this brilliant move. Amazing no one panicked and didn't either swerve into or rear-end someone else. I'm always quite cautious as I approach that area, and find for the most part that the users are very respectful... only takes one though to mess things up.

Lornce, what sizes do you typically tie those in? I may give it a shot tonight tying a couple just in case the entomo-gods are smiling on me this weekend. I am looking forward to the first time I actually hit a full blown salmon fly hatch. The stuff of legends... or the very least some good drinkin' stories.

Kickstarter has become far more than just a revenue/investment generation tool. It really is a powerful social media tool in and of itself, and a pretty brilliant way to market a new product. Got us talking about it here

Another thought... with your current education and background, you likely could step into the adult education realm pretty easily. Not sure if you've considered that vs. primary/secondary education. Aren't college freshies these days essentially just high school students with a license to legally consume alcohol?

Short but relevant story on CBC... Though I'm guessing the CBC isn't the typical media source of choice for those who may be prone to said activity 😉 http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/atv-enforcement-rules-fines-off-road-vehicles-alberta-1.3591047

I'll second that! Though it's not like I have a whole bunch of other rods of that ilk kicking around to compare with. I have a gently used Orvis TL 5# as a backup rod (OK, but not fabulous), and have tried my son's Redington 8' 4# Path (for the $'s it is a very decent rod!).

Very cool. I suck at blood knots.

I thought this was going to be a thread about subwoofers, or maybe Meghan Trainor (my kids hate my dad-jokes these days) I've never fished for bass before, of any variety, on the fly or otherwise. Definitely on my list. My son had the privilege when he was about 9 y.o. of landing a striped bass (different kettle, I know) in Nova Scotia, but I never fished them myself the couple of years we lived out there. We have seen the freshwater variety in BC several times when camping, but I've never taken the step of actually buying that BC license. I just have to find the time one year to buy it, and then make sure I make it worth my while by getting out there at least a few times. I love tossing poppers to pike, so imagine fishing top water for bass would be a hoot.

This has been in the works for months. Not sure it is a done deal yet... last I heard they were in the works with financing to make the bid.

If you can talk your better half into Crowsnest Pass or Pincher, I'd be inclined to go that route. Much closer there to better fishing than Fort Macleod. From what I understand, it has been tried a couple of times to make that stretch of river downstream of Piikani into a sustainable brown trout fishery, without any success. I can't imagine moving my spouse from TO to small town Alberta and her being happy. We did Lethbridge to Amherst, NS a few years ago (momma weren't happy, and there weren't nobody happy... we moved back 2 years later). Housing will be cheaper in smaller towns that in Lethbridge, but even Lethbridge will pale in comparison to Ontario prices. A few years back there was a little speculative jump in CNP property with rumors of a major resort being built there, but I think that fantasy has run it's course and prices are back down to earth.

Our only shop in Lethbridge, Wholesale, has recently undergone some changes too. They have been poor for fly selection for some time now, but still quite good for fly tying stuff and accessories. They used to have a separate display case for fly fishing reels/vices, but have downsized and now have all their fly stuff next to other cabinets of fishing supplies. Seems like they have downsized all their fly stuff slightly, but for the most part looks more like they have moved and reorganized the fly fishing section to a place that is more easy to serve by one person manning both the regular fishing and fly fishing sections. That all said, I don't mind Cabela's, or Bass Pro, as I enjoy looking at lots of outdoor stuff. Don't expect I'll ever buy much there in terms of rods/reels (I have one cheapo rod from Cabelas USA, one from Bass Pro, one reel from Wholesale, and one reel from the Fishin Hole... others bought either at fly shops or privately). Generally, I like spreading my somewhat limited cash around. I was just in a fly shop in San Diego last week, and think this was the first time ever that I have entered said type of establishment and left without buying a thing... not because it wasn't a cool little store... if ever in San Diego check out Strouds. Maybe I've just finally got enough stuff

Currier also ties an overhand in the tag around the main line after he does the surgeons. It makes the tag stick straight out, and I wonder if it might also reduce the breaks you are speaking of. That all makes sense. That said, I've wasted money on things a lot more foolish since I wandered into this addiction. Broke out my abacus and took off my socks, and even if you were using fluoroflex plus tippet, that would still be less than $2 per leader

P-line and Seaguar are also good stuff. I found this really intersting... Jeff Currier talked at the Lethbridge conclave about how he ties his double streamer rigs. Uses 0x fluoro for streamers, and ties two 4-5' pieces together, leaving a tag/dropper in the middle (12" or so iirc) where he ties his heavier fly, and ties his smaller fly on the bottom. I asked him after his presentation, and he said that for nymphs he has them closer together, but does the same thing in principle with the heavier one on the dropper and lighter one on the bottom (and I'm guessing just uses lighter fluoro too, but forgot to ask him what he uses). Says they are less prone to tangling this way, and cast better. Looking forward to experimenting with this.