SilverDoctor

They will not police themselves. The organized OHV group will but only with their members and on their trails. That leaves the bulk of riders who don't belong to any group and do their own thing. Some are careful but most take great joy in running streams and making bogs into mud holes. They want the status quo but refuse to use constraint or follow the rules. Most have no idea about the laws that are in place to protect sensitive areas. The hobby is to dig up as much as you can and wetlands, bogs, and creeks are the targets. Being involved with Trout Unlimited to try to undo damage to headwaters planting willows and other recovery work I've seen first hand the damage and the need to try to save delicate areas. Areas we planted where run over even though signs wherein place. Bridges have been placed over creeks with large boulders in place to encourage people from crossing without damaging banks. They removed the boulders and run through the creeks leaving the bridges unused. Plus we still have people washing off their units at the end of the day in rivers. Some of the areas look like a war zone. This is the kind of stupidity that finally gets the government to step in. I was discouraged but now see a light at the end of the tunnel with government action. Not that I want the government to step in but it's got to that point.

Tie always tie, use a long piece and ancher it on two points, tie in clumps. Very slinky

Use a piece of bead chain (like a pull chain for a light) tie as a trailer and add craft fur.

Done with large comment sections

Here's one, for years I used empty butter containers to hold flies as I tied them hooking them on the edge. They tended to pop off easily. For the last few years this drying tree has worked really well. Just some foam strips hot glued to a wood frame. I usually tie up a bunch then grab the base and glue up the heads. It also sticks above all the materials that accumulate on my table. Its double sided so I can get about 500 flies on it.

Yep sure is, I try to tie for Local waters. You are dead on for the waters.

Skittering Caddis

Very kind of you to say.

Yes, but I find using tweezers easier.

Thanks Murray, but I hate knotting legs. and I'm too cheap to buy em. There is another one Called the Mudder Daddy, I'll fish one out of my tying box and post it later.

Here are a couple of Guide spacings. The Flexcoat one is quite nice. It just depends if you are redoing an old cane rod to match the original specs or runn new guide spacing. Most of the older rods will benefit from new spacing which adds more guides. Some of the older rods had very small guides to accommodate the thinner diameter of Silk lines and also are better with larger guides. Perhaps Don our cane master will chime in. Hook and Hackle Flexcoat Have fun and post pictures.

Although I do fish some more recent Hardy's, I actually love the older Hardy's that where hand made in Alnwick. Some like the Perfect and St. George where made like a fine swiss watch.

I've gotten to know a number of trout on intimate streams that have come to net several times. But keeping them wet is the key.

Fished with Barry a few times, always quick to laugh and share flies and knowledge.

You can see my ugly face in the Pro Staff area. http://www.togenenterprises.com/home.html Most Shops will also do mail orders. Support Canadian Shops.

Makes me wish I had a drift boat.

Not to mention a number of mayfly and Caddis.

Always enjoyed that one.

What is even more depressing is when you see the damage & destruction done in some of those areas. A couple of quotes: "Just to give you an example," said Fitch, "there was a time when our watersheds were less impacted and even though it rained, streams ran clear - now, every time it rains, they turn muddy, and we now take it as normal that when it rains, they turn muddy - it is not normal - this is a shifting benchmark." "Experts in the field, tell us that the Castle watershed, for example, provides about two-thirds of your cup of drinking water in Lethbridge." Fitch noted that there have been several groups in the Oldman Watershed that have been busy trying to restore stream banks by planting willows along the stream banks, to get the vegetative root mass back, to thwart erosion. "However, in virtually every case that I have seen, off-highway vehicle operators have driven over and destroyed all, or part, of that planting effort." The destruction doesn't end there. Bridges have been built over streams and rivers, to keep OHV riders from crossing directly through the water. However, during the group's presentation, it was shown that the bridges were frequently unused, as OHV riders would tear through the streams within feet of function bridges. When boulders were placed in the path to keep OHVers out of the river, they would go to great lengths to remove the boulders from the path - again, right beside a bridge. Fitch also explains that each one of the OHV roads or trails is bare soil waiting for some invasive plant species to become established and those invasive species complete with native plants and reduce biodiversity.

Don Meredith Outdoors Two Fish, One Fish, No fish-Alberta's Fish Crisis This is a nice overview of our Alberta Fisheries over the years by Lorne Fitch a Biologist that has doe a good job on this document. Well worth reading.

You can buy those replacement net bags in a few places, I picked up one at the Fishing Hole.