SilverDoctor

Doc's #8 October caddis. I've tied this one to match to originals I've collected.

Sweet

My Orvis waders have an Outer shell that has acted as a bush guard , it's saved me from more than a few bush and barbed wire punctures. A good feature to look for in waders.

I remember a client in BC on the Thompson river. He came up from the US with a battered old fly rod that looked like it had spent time in the back of a pickup. I offered him my clint rod a high end Orvis. He declined, the decals on his rod where gone and some of the thread on the guides where it unwrapped was dabbed with nail polish to keep it in place. One of the eyes was replaced with a paper clip wound with sewing thread. Looked like a Walmart special. The man could cast the tightest loops and hit a dime when I told him where to cast. The fly rod was part of him. It wasn't the highest end or newest but he loved it and trained himself how to use it. It simply worked for him.

We only saw 2

Lots of places in BC to see spawning salmon, We saw the start of the run of Kokanee when we visited Kelowna.

Deformities do happen in trout because of injuries, birth defects and accidents/predation.

When I had my boat I used a power sprayer. Worked great.

the Loop AEG is a really nice rod, I love mine when I use it. So may rods, so little time.

Well just cracking my last two packs of 1,000 - #14 Eagle claws. The price of hooks was a touch cheaper in the old days. Glad I bought some sizes in volume but wish I had more. And made in North America too. talk about inflation.

Try in around size 8

At least they got one... how about they concentrate on the others now.

Here you go Frenchcreek Doc’s Western Bee Thread – red Hook - #16 Eagle Claw Tail – Ivory Yarn Body – Black/Yellow/Black UV Ice Dub Wing - Ivory Yarn Hackle – Olive grizzly Hackle

Doc's Western Bee

The alarm bells have been up since the early 90's on its encroach into Alberta. I think we have been too lax in pushing the cleaning of equipment and living on borrowed time. I know a lot of us have talked about cleaning your fishing items between bodies of water and streams. The big message has always been to wash off your waders, boots, nets to remove mud etc. with a high-pressure hose and let dry for a couple of days. Please, do this religiously even if you are fishing the same body of water. I know felt wader have been banned from some states but its a bit of a knee-jerk attitude, laces, cloth nets, gloves, waders and any porous material can transfer the disease. There have even been suggestions about using a mild bleach solution to disinfect boots (something I have done after fishing the US). rinse your gear with a 1:5 solution of ordinary household bleach and clean water. Rinse and air dry the equipment out of the sun. (The combination of sunlight and bleach can weaken fabric.) Budgets have been hammered for a decade now and there simply is not enough money to pay for real protection of our fish and wildlife resources or a lot of research and biologists checking streams. Us anglers need to step up our attitudes & take the time to thoroughly clean gear.

Very true we have been very complacent here for many years, it's just recently we have instituted boat inspections. Hope there is som education for wade fisherman as well in next years regs.

I've been reading about Whirling Disease since the 80's. Affects Trout and Salmon & often breaks out in Salmon farms and sometimes is imported with private hatchery stock. It's now found in at least 20 states, including West Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Ohio, Michigan and most western states. . The water-borne parasite (Myxobolus cerebralis) may not directly kill trout, but fish heavily infested can become deformed or exhibit the erratic tail-chasing behavior from which the disease gets its name. Eventually, heavily infected young fish may die. The parasite has been confirmed in 13 of Colorado's 15 major river drainages, including the Colorado, South Platte, Gunnison, Arkansas and Rio Grande rivers, as well as in a number of state hatcheries. Once the disease parasite is established in the wild, it can persist indefinitely, depending on environmental conditions. There are now massive river closures in Yellowstone see my post here.

Looked around nd found an address for you on line. PM'ed.

For the amount of revenue generated by Fly fishing we certainly need a few "real" launches for drift boats etc.

More tips Bronze Peacock herl is hard to find, an easy way to get bronze herl is just to spread it out in a window that has a lot of sunlight. Flip it to the opposite side each day and weeks later you will have a bunch of bronze herl, easy and a killer on most patterns straight up or mixed with the natural herl. Properly fix you hook in the vice. Wrongly fixed hooks may damage the vise jaws (break off or deform their tip under pressure). I've also seen a hook pop out of a vice and fly across the room. Be sure a good portion of the curve of the hook is in the vice. Keep all your under wraps perfectly uniform, any bumps or ridges will translate to the final body material. making it lumpy. If you forget you tackle pliers home when you tie flies you can use split shot to hold hackle tips out of the way as you tie. Bucktail and synthetic materials dull your scissors blades quickly making for a frustrating tying session. Ceramic sharpening sticks works great for honing your scissors. Years ago at a gardening centre,quickly I found a small set of sharpeners in different shapes. Diamon hones also work great but you must keep the angle the same when sharpening. I am sometimes a fumble bunny, keep a magnet by your tying area, I spilled a box of 1,000 #18 hooks on the rug once. Got them all back with a magnet. I use a magnet on my tying area about once a month around the bench and floor. I find hooks I wasn't aware I dropped. Keeps the wife and dog happy too.

Well sitting here with a broken toe and feeling sorry for myself so thought I would post some more tips. Trout, trees and bushes are safe from my flies. A small container with a thin edge is great for holding flies as you tie.

You must stop at every inspection point. You will be fined if they need to chase you down.