SilverDoctor

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.

Here you go Murray, Beautiful work. Won't have to bend over as far for those Cutties.

Anything porous can carry the parasite. Chota has an excellent overview of gear care. Wading boots pick up organisms in the water and can carry these organisms from one body of water to another, especially wading boots with felt soles. We suggest that you start by thoroughly rinsing your boots off and give the soles a going over with a stiff bristled brush. Then fill a bucket or tub with 2 gallons of warm water and add 8 oz of bleach. Soak the boots in the bleach solution for two minutes and then remove the boots and let stand for two minutes. Once the boots have stood for two minutes rinse the boots with warm water and let dry. Another way to kill any aquatic hitchhikers is by simply letting your wading boots dry out for three or more days. Remember that All Gear can pick up aquatic hitchhikers!

Also have an old wooden Peetz reel, built like a tank. They do still produce them along with a Trout sized one. Dad had a Longstone but it faded from sight. Still have a few Hardy Perfects, St Gerges and St. John's. Love that old gear.

Grain weight also has a lot to do with the individual rod. The same line on a 7 wt Meiser and G Loomis (and I've often cast the same line at Spey Claves on different rods) feels and casts a bit different. So therod action plays a lot into it also.

Only comment I can make as I haven't fished on only handled it in the store, is that I never met a Hardy that I didn't love. All of my Hardy's are older ones.