SilverDoctor

Never in the over 50 years of fly fishing have I bought a piece of equipment because it had a good warranty. I scratch my head when I hear this as it it quite a new kind of thing for me. I have always bought equipment, rods reels etc because I thought they where the best, or suited my needs. Never because I could possible break it. My dad always said buy quality and you buy it once buy junk and you keep buying into it. for what it's worth...

Love my Simms pants, used them last season (thanks Max). tough and light. Even tangled with some buried barbed wire and they came out shining.

Wash them in soap and water really well rinse and air or use a hair dryer, They may be all right unless they've been wet for a long time and are starting to rot. It's not the feathers but the skin cape that may be damaged more quickly although the feather stems may also degrade. If the skin has gone bad but the feathers look OK, just pluck the feathers.

Southbow does repairs

Have a great one Birchie

You just need to show up for this one, don't need to regester. It's free and should be a heck of an event.

Yep black copper john is the ticket.

Taper em and weld em make sure there is lots of overlap. I use a heat gun with a tinfoil funnel shaped around the front of the gun to direct the heat at a spot. Works great, more precise than a flame. Cooked a line with a candle flame, mind you the wife keeps telling methat the Glenfiddich Single Malt had something to do with it.

Actually all I was really after was, "sorry" about what my dog did. I'll move on.

There are a lot of joys in fishing that have nothing to do with catching Trout. Congratulations for finding one of them.

Sounds like a plan, have some new lines I want to try. Need to pass you back over that Meiser Switch. One hell of a rod.

Have had a few different upland dogs and never had a problem. Well popped over to the neighbor knocked on the door and politely gave him the receipt. He promptly ripped it up and slammed the door. Oh well such is life, you have to take the good with the bad, and everyone operates on several levels. Won't put it against my insurance, too small an amount. Just have to save up again.

It does happen every winter around this time of year as the amount food becomes less. The birds are usually packed together so often succumb to a variety of problems including disease. Late in the winter some run out of their fat supplies and eat things that are not right for them.

Love my w80, wonder what the w90 goes for.

Well I've been looking for a long time for a couple of good specific capes. Took me a while to save for just the ones I wanted, not an easy task. Don't have a lot of spare $ these days but I like to buy good quality. It makes a difference in tying. Found 3 wonderful examples of what I needed. I fear I drove the online supplier crazy asking for a few pictures. But the man was a prince and complied. So after payment and a bit of waiting the package arrived. Placed it still wrapped on my tying desk in anticipation of opening and admiring my prizes. My mind was already turning over joyous tying time that would result in with these beauty feathers. As is my habit I would most likely pluck the pelts and sort the feathers. My thoughts where that I needed to slip out to the store for some zip lock bags. The doorbell rang and there stood my new neighbor. He came over with his red setter to say hi. Now I have to admit a small bit of nagging pulled at my old brain. Kind of like you feel something in life is not right. I've been dogless for a couple of years now so it was nice to talk to a pooch. We sat having coffee in the kitchen and time passed, when the dog strolled in with contentment on his face. Unforgettably it was not the only thing on his face. it was festooned with blue eared pheasant feathers. The dog had destroyed and mostly ate a full new and untouched Blue eared pheasant cape that I received, along with 2 wood duck capes. I didn't even have a chance to open the package. My heart fell. It was devastating. Neighbor said he would buy me replacements till he found out just how much they where worth. He left hurriedly and hasn't met my eye since. I fear it will be some time before I can save again for replacements. Allin all it was a rather expensive coffee. After sifting through what was left I gleaned about a dozen usable feathers in total. Needless to say I now run a dog free zone.

Removing protein probably not a lot, putting it in shock from handling too long or damaging delicate tissue - a death sentence. Imagine something the size of a garden hose but stiffer used on ones delicate throat. Sure would put me of my grub for a while...

The very best way to choose a rod of any kind is to try it against other brands. There are a lot of good manufacturers out there. It does break down to personal choice and "feel". Everyone has their favorites. Others push a certain brand if they are somehow attached to it as brand advocates. There is nothing like picking up the rod and casting to make that judgment call.

Balance in life is the key, whatever your personal balance is. In the end an addiction is an addiction, and can be damaging, and a bum is a bum.

I usually hit my with the power washer, splash of bleach solution then sun dry. Have two pairs of boots that I cycle if one pair is not dry.

Nice write, good read. Well done I enjoyed it.

Haven't heard anything about it yet this season although I believe it is way overdue.

I normally keep away from it as my own judgment call. Quite evasive and puts the trout through more stress than I personally like to do. It also puts them down for a while without feeding. I worked in a hatchery in my younger days and we pumped to check digestion. Through my own observations all the trout we handled like this stopped feeding for at least 24 hours. If done improperly it could induce shock an death. I know it's touted by some as a good way to check on feeding patterns. I depend on observation of insect life and trout to judge feeding patterns which I find for valuable. You should make your own judgments on this.

Bike spokes are a great Idea. I think that would be perfect.

Much lighter rod, the quality in production and castingis is quite evident the rods are vastly different in quality. You can feel the rod from tip to butt. I love to hit the gatherings when I can. Richard Mason of Bow River Adventures is bringing Bob Meiser with an assortment of rods the first weekend of May, Saturday May 1, 11:00 am for a free gathering if you can make it. Good place to try some sticks.

I fished a TFO Deer Creek 5 wt for a few years, nice rod. Have been lucky enough to try most brands out there. The loop opti was impressive along with a few other brands. But I am absolutely in love with My Meiser Highlander 12.5 - 4wt. Wonderful stick with a great range, nymph rigs, swinging streamers and wet flies, and delicate for skid bitches and large dries. The rod handles equally well both Skagit and Scandi shooting heads with a range of 350 to 500. I do tend to enjoy overhead styles the most. Saving for another one.