JMasson

Why would they need to import items from the states? Home Depot doesn't...Bass Pro won't need to, either. It will be a seperate division of the same corporation. They will be able to import stuff directly into Canada, just like Wal Mart and Home Depot.

Probably not a terrible idea.

Nice sail! Never caught one that big. Awesome fish.

Fished Rocky Mountain House today. I had one fish on for a couple seconds then...jump...and it was gone. Fished for about 4 hours and packed it in. Lost my net so if anyone from the area finds one downstream of the HWY 22 bridge crossing the Clearwater, please, let me know. James

Saw them at Wholesale in Edmonton for 99.95 or something like that. Don't think it was a sale because I've noticed them like that for a while now. That might be a new stock to match the American pricing...I don't know. Either way, they're a solid reel that will take loads of abuse and keep kicking. I'm hoping to abuse mine today... \James

G. Loomis Venture series gets my vote for a reel under $100. Solid reels, I own two and both have many hours and many fish on them.

Orvis redesigned the Clearwater (they're now a blue blank, if memory serves me) series. I have a 5 wt in the Classic series (deep red/ claret colour blank) and I love it. I matched it with Rio Gold line and performs really well. I've had no problems casting into my backing if I need to. James

Sure, I'll send you a message. I may be in Calgary again this weekend but I'll let you know. James

Although I didn't attend the gathering I was fishing the Bow on Sunday and happened across Colin, Courtney and his wife. Was nice to meet you all and hope you had better luck than I did and I hope that jetboat didn't come back! Courtney, just watching you cast for a few minutes showed me what I was doing wrong (10 and 2) and was able to somewhat correct it further upstream. I will look like a sloppy amateur for some years to come but hopefully I'll get better each time. Thanks for the chat gents, was good to put some faces to names! James

I was just looking at those same boots the other day. Those are what I'll buy when my current boots wear out. Was talking to a couple buddies in the states that say they're bombproof. Looks and sounds like an awesome boot. James

Those are the areas that I fish most often as well. I tend to like my 4 weights more than anything else. I wouldn't go any heavier than a 5 wt. You may want to get two rods anyways. A 4/5 wt. and a 7/8 wt. There are bulls in the nordegg area and there is also some decent sized jacks around edmonton. You could target both with a 7/8. Most of the cutts, bows and browns you'll run into around Nordegg to Hinton should be easily caught on a 4 wt. If you want to fish sometime, let me know. There's lots of well known water around Nordegg and also some relatively un-fished streams. I don't have secrets but I know some places where not a lot of people go. James

Well, after seeing the Doc's boxes I know that mine don't come anywhere near measuring up. Yes, I've got fly box envy. I've been slacking off this winter....working weekends all winter really sucks. James

I've never targeted them but I could imagine they would be in the river. Afterall, Smoke Lake is pretty close by. I've only ever caught grayling and bulls out of the Little Smoky. I mostly fish it around Fox Creek because of the family friend that I like to pop in and see when I'm up there. I would like to head further up this year so if you know of some spots I don't (and you get that job in the Park) then we should definitely go. James

He sure does do math good......end sarcasm. 45 mitres are one of the easiest joints to cut (as long as the corner was square to begin with), especially if you're not coping the joint (nothing to do with pipe dope).

I never said that anything about fishing at the bridges. Grizzly bridge is where I park and start to walk. June is awesome. Just coming out of the wintering holes and starting to move around. They're hungry and will pretty much take any well presented fly you throw at them.

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