JMasson

Hijack.... Tako, second week of June (just after opening and run-off), Little Smoky River, Grizzly bridge. Tons of grayling (some hawgs too) and the odd bull. We'll catch a ton and have a blast. An old family friend lives in Fox Creek so wouldn't have to camp if we didn't want to. James

Tako, let's go catch some minnows sometime. I knew it wasn't a rainbow but I thought it was a coho smolt too.

Nice little tarpon, Clive. They are a blast to catch and hopefully I can hook in to one when I get down to Florida in May. It's been a couple years and I can't wait!! James

That's good old Gulf coast wading, right there!!! I'll fish the flats with you ANYDAY, my friend!!!! Oh and I wouldn't wimp out because of a storm. Great story!! James

No, not necessarily directed towards your comments, just some helpful hints and advice that I have learned by seeing other's mistakes. Green board is pretty good but you have to very careful when with the seams. The only solid way of keeping water off your boards, studs and floor and preventing mold from growing is to be very careful when setting, grouting and sealing your tiles. I recommend using a GOOD quality silicone seal for caulking around the edges and also for caulking the grout. Also, it never hurts to redo your caulking once a year or if you see it cracking. Like I said, Sundance, if it turns into a big job and you need some help just let me know. I've got all the tools and would be more than willing to help out. Let's hope that there's not some serious water damage and it doesn't turn into a big reno. James

Putting a vapour barrier directly against concrete can cause major water damage to your basement slab or your foundation walls. Concrete is a porous material that will absorb water and the only way to get the water out of concrete is to let it breath and dry naturally. Putting a vapour barrier over concrete stops it from breathing and drying causing mold and water damage. If the process goes on long enough it can do enough damage that it is a major job to fix it (lifting your house off its' foundation and cribbing/ pouring a new one or just bulldozing it right down). Drywall should never be put directly against concrete because it does absorb water and will ruin the boards (not to mention difficulties with fastening it to concrete). A wall should never be put directly against concrete for the same reason. You should never put a vapour barrier underneath a wall that will be touching concrete (always use All Weather Wood (A.W.W.)...the green stuff) as you have to nail through the vapour barrier to secure the wall, thus putting holes in your vapour barrier and rendering it useless. There should always be at least one inch of airspace between a wood stud and a foundation wall. The same goes for steel studs as they will rust. I have ripped many sets of frost walls out of houses because of water damage caused by improper use of a vapour barrier. Since I'm a carpenter and don't do tile setting I unfortunately can't help out too much with the tile questions. If it gets to be a big job with lots of ripping and renovating involved (hopefully not) let me know. I've been looking for an excuse to come down to Calgary anyways .

The bones in Florida don't compare to the bones in Belize. Other than Islamorada you won't find bonefishing nearly as good as Belize in Florida. Also, Islamorada is EXPENSIVE to fish, unless you have your own boat and know the waters very well. The guides in Islamorada make a killing off tourists. And yes, the Canadian dollar is worth waaaay more than the Belize dollar making it an ideal place to travel.

Pretty much any quick drying zip-off pant will do you just fine. I've spent many days fishing in the saltwater, both wading and from a boat, and I didn't wear Simms or Patagonia and I was just fine. Caught lots of fish and stayed cool and dry. The same goes for shirts, quick drying and breathable and you'll be set. A good hat and some REALLY good sunscreen. I don't know if you can find it up here but I used to get spf 75 when I fished in Florida. If you can find a good pair of wading shoes you'll be sitting pretty. Having said that most of my wading in Florida was done with an old pair of Nike sneakers and they worked just fine for me. If you're fishing from a boat a pair of sandals or the same old sneakers will be just fine. If you're fair skinned I would recommend picking up a pair of Glacier Sungloves to keep your hands from roasting. Have a good time....oh and I used to live in Belize, my dad's family is from there and he just got back from visiting so I'm EXTREMELY jealous right now. Wish I was going. There's always next year though. James

After reading Flytyers post I just want to make perfectly clear that my intent wasn't to start a circus. Since this is the NFR sub-forum I figured it would be appropriate to post some opinions and maybe even have some good conversation with (hopefully) educated individuals. If this thread starts to get out of control I hope it gets shut down. James

Socialism can work !!!!! I don't think anyone should use Karl Marx as a spiritual guide...I mean, afterall Communism (Marxism or however the original idea is twisted and perverted) was an intellectual movement and not a spiritual one. I guess it's three and a half years of studying at an extremely liberal university and listening to many different profs who were openly socialist that got me thinking this way. That and perhaps studying Moder Evolution Synthesis for all that time. I have no problem with those that choose to be religious (whatever religion you wish to follow), it's just not for me. James

I wanna know what the pewb looks like!!

This thread was past hijacked before I posted now there's no hope at all. Pacres is talking about sasquatch playing hockey....what's next?

Is there such a thing as too much hockey?

Where can I send some money to? Beattie Homes is building in Edmonton as well...maybe their office would have some info. for me? James

Ahhh, would those be fresh grapefruit or the 3 week old, store bought variety? I'd pay good money for some fresh grapefruit....I miss Florida.....sometimes. James

I don't believe in "heaven" as you're referring to it. I do admit that it's scary to me too. Not the prospect of dying...that is the one certainty that no one on this planet can escape. "Killing infidels"? I would've thought that from my original post you would've ruled that one out. How many people throughout history have been killed because they believed in the "wrong" God (or gods, spirits, deities, listened to the "wrong" man preach about God, etc...)? So, I guess to answer your question, I'm not sure how people get into "heaven". An even better answer would be that I'm not sure what happens to you after you die. James

I have the "Escape" pack and I really do like it. It carries all the gear I need and has room to spare. I also have their older style that looks like the Confluence and I've been thinking about picking up either one of their fanny packs (Catalyst) or possibly their Satchel. I think their gear is excellent and very well made. James

I'm sure I'll irritate some of the people on here when I say that organized religion is the biggest sham in history. I mean "Christians aren't perfect, just forgiven"? What's that all about!? So you can commit all seven of the deadly sins and then go to church and confess your sins to Jesus and you'll go to heaven!?! Give me a break. I just don't buy into it at all. I was baptised as a Catholic and haven't practiced in about 15 years. I apologize in advance if anyone took offense to the above. "Religion is the opiate of the people."- Karl Marx James

The Orvis Zero-Gravity series are beautiful rods! I've cast the 5 and 4 wt. models and would love to own one.....maybe in the future. Anyways, they're awesome and I'm sure the Helios is a great rod, as well! Put some kind of sweet bling on it for a reel. James

Next week!

I gotta say, Brent, they look better than mine. I think mine will still catch some fish though....hopefully. Edmonton needs a decent fly shop...wholesale and fishin' hole are sucking it up. I can't find nice long hackles. James

I'm using a slightly different pattern than you are. They look good man!

Its definitely not going to be pretty. It's a scary thing for a young guy like me to think about. I own a small business...I'm a carpenter. Started doing carpentry when I was in university as a part-time thing over the summers cause it paid well. I finally realized that I could make more money as a full time carpenter or framing (especially framing) than I could with my degree, so I left university. What's the only reason I can get paid as well as I do? O&G. Now that I've been out of university for a couple years I'm doing everything I can to pay my student loans off faster so I can go back to university before O&G goes bust....it's a vicious cycle haha. There are a lot of people that are dependent on O&G and if it goes bust you're going to see a lot tradesmen without jobs. Some people may think that's a big deal but not everybody is debt free. Most of the people I hear talk about how good it would be if O&G goes bust have no idea what it's like to not be able to pay your bills or your mortgage or feed your kids. I don't know what I would do if I was out of a job right now, I don't know how I would pay my bills. It's that simple for me. I absolutely love the environment. I've donated time and money to many conservation organizations in the past and will continue to do so. But I also need to pay my bills and feed myself and right now O&G is helping to pay the bills. James

Yeah, that's a pretty good strike. Too bad the fish didn't jump so you could actually see how big it was. Yeah, an 8wt is a little light and would probably end up in more pieces than the manufacturer originally intended. Although, I knew a guy in Florida that would go after tarpon with an 8wt. Crazy if you ask me but this guy was GOOD and never broke a rod...at least that I saw. I wouldn't go out after big tarpon with less than a 10wt.

Baby tarpon are fun to catch...all the jumping and action with only 1/4 of the battle and a much higher chance of actually landing one. EDIT: This is what I'm talking about! James