JMasson

You haven't offended me...it takes more than some silly posts on an obscure fly-fishing forum to offend me.

Oh, trust me, I know what metal these days is all about. I've been a metalhead since I was about 12 or so. I was listening to Shadows Fall and Killswitch Engage while tying today... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oRWR6JwpIkU...feature=related

Every now and then I find myself listening to them on the radio and I'm shocked after about a minute that I actually know the words to a lot of their songs and that I have been singing along the whole time. Kind of sad when I think about it....I wasn't but a small child when they were making music. It's amazing to think how metal has changed over the years...I wouldn't even call Twisted Sister "metal", maybe hair metal or something like that.

Very well said, PlayDoh. I couldn't have said it better. He'll probably never go and that is a shame because Mexico really is a nice country to visit. There were 3 out of 100,000 Canadians killed in Mexico this year....there were 27 (please, correct me if I'm wrong) out of approximately 1 million Canadians murdered in the greater Edmonton area this year. You could be killed as you walk out your door tomorrow morning but the odds are slim-to-none and you'll probably have a great day (hopefully you will anyways). I wouldn't let the slight chance of being killed in Mexico keep me from going.

"JMasson...in your own opinion would you say the police in Mexico are just as good as Calgary or Edmonton's police? If you say yes then you would most likely be the minority based upon news reports etc. which is your perogative." The media exaggerates global warming but they don't exaggerate how corrupt Mexican police are? Must be true! It sounds to me that you think every cop in Mexico is corrupt. There are good cops and bad cops everywhere. I have run into corrupt cops before and cops that abuse their power...they were not in Mexico. Have I been there....yes, a few times. The people are friendly, they're not out to hurt or steal from you. The vast majority of them are very poor and the vast majority of them are also some of the kindest people I have ever met. I speak enough spanish to survive in a spanish country, so that may have helped. You'll have no problem getting by only speaking english if you go to a resort, trust me. I have felt safer walking down the streets in Belize City at night than I have walking around in downtown Edmonton at night. I realize we're not talking about Belize here but since that is where my family is from, I figured I'd throw it in. Also, you're not getting facts here, you'e getting opinions....BIIIG difference.

Don't feed the troll.....

Having lived in a third world country and being that the vast majority of my family is from the third world I would have to say that if you have not been, then you have no idea what it is like. The Mexico you're thinking of is border town Mexico...most people don't vacation there. You can get into just as much trouble in the wrong areas of Edmonton as you can in any city in the world...not just the "third world". You shouldn't be worried...they're making money off of you and they will take care of you as a tourist.

HIJACK........... H2O, I lived in Florida for 10 years...going back in January with the 8wt and hopefully I'll get a few reds and maybe a baby tarpon or two. Just had to say that I sure do miss those little brookies. The Carolinas and Rabun county, Georgia have some amazing trout fishing and some amazing brookie fishing as well. I sure do miss it!!!! James

Do 3.5 million people really fish in Alberta? No and yet some of the rivers can still get crowded. Even a small amount of people that have no manners or respect can make it seem like there are a lot more people than there actually are. The rivers that get a lot of people that fish them are the rivers that are well known. You can fish anywhere without a crowd if you time it right (off season) or know of places that don't get a lot of pressure. If you're willing to pay for it you can fish on private property. There are a lot of people that travel to Montana, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado, etc...because the rivers are well publicised and touristed. All I was saying, is that in my experience, the rivers that I have fished have seemed crowded to me. Maybe that's cause I'm used to fishing with almost no one around or maybe it's because of that rude minority. Sorry for stating my perception and opinion. James

It could possibly be the time of year I went. Mostly I fished Montana in the summer but I've also fished it in spring and yes, youre right, there definitely wasn't as many people there in the spring. There are also sections of most of the rivers in Montana that remain open year round...so don't rule out some late fall and early winter fishing. The Gallatin is a very nice river and the Yellowstone and its' tribs are also nice. But again, inside Yellowstone NP itself, is very touristy and can see good crowds. The scenery is very much like southern Alberta....beautiful!!! I guess I have a somewhat biased opinion. I cut my teeth on trout fishing in North Georgia, South and North Carolina. Specifically fishing for native brookies (as seen in my avatar) and you have to go above 2,000 ft. to get to them....you don't see many people up there so I was spoiled and got used to it. James

Overcrowded!!! Most of the rivers are very touristy. I didn't enjoy Montana, Colorado or Wyoming (Jackson Hole...I'd shoot myself in the foot before I tried to fish there again) fishing that much. The off season's a little better, as far as crowds are concerned. I didn't find the fishing to be that different from southern Alberta. The main stems of the rivers may be a little bigger but that's about it. The fish...cutts, cuttbows, browns, bows, whitefish...no bulls. There's some nice grayling lakes up really high in the mountains too. There are a lot of "guides" in Montana, Wyoming and Colorado as well. They tend to think they own the water and its only there for their use and that of their clients. If you're looking for world class fishing, go to Idaho...just stay off of Henry's Fork (crowds like you wouldn't believe). James

She lived and taught in a muslim country....an extremely conservative muslim country. If she didn't know that some people would have a problem with naming a teddy "Mohammed" then she must be blissfully ignorant to their laws and even more than laws...their religion. There are no portraits of Mohammed for a reason...it is against their holy law (and it says so in the Quran) to draw pictures of Mohammed. When Mohammed conquered Mecca he destroyed all the idols (little statues of the pagan gods) in the Kaaba because he considered it to be idol-worship. You cannot convince me that she didn't know this. Naming a teddy bear "Mohammed" may seem innocent to us but to a devout muslim it is little more than laughing at and mocking their religion and their way of life. Yes, I am sorry that she went to jail over this but I cannot get angry with the government of Sudan for punishing her. It's their country and their laws. That's just my 2 cents, James

Well, I sure hope everyone's invited. I've never met anyone from this board (that I know of) or fished with anyone from the board but I've already cast my votes and plan on attending wherever and whenever it is. I can schedule any day and time off...it's nice being self-employed. James

Does anyone know of a shop that sells the William and Joseph waders? I like what I'm reading about them and would like to have a closer look for myself. I know I can order them from Cabelas but I'd rather try them on before I buy them. Thanks, James

I've had my Simms L2 Gore-Tex waders for 3 years now and was very pleased with them. Ive only had to repair them once and that was after I was attacked by a pack of dogs on Prarie Creek this September. I was extremely pleased with them. They had probably 300-350+ days on the water with no leaks. Before that I had used Patagonia and Orvis and was pleased with both brands. I'll be in the market for a new pair of waders this new year as well and I'm debating over Orvis Tailwater XT or Cloudveil 8x. James