SilverDoctor

I have a Lansky that I use for really dull knives, or if I want to change the angle, to keep up sharpness I normally use a Rapala Ceramic Sharpener from Can Tire. Has a rough and smooth ceramic side, really cheap and works great. the one on the left has the two sides. You can carry it in your vest or hunting coat easily.

Not prescription but I have been wearing Cocoon's for years. Comfortable, easy to slip on and off and you can wear your regular glasses.

Actually the heron on the bottom flutters nicely out of the way to the sides and the fly tracks straight.

In the end any staff can be a good staff, can't count the times in my youth I used a sturdy stick. Old ski poles can be quite serviceable. Don't forget you fishing buddy. Locking arm in arm or arms over shoulders can provide a steady 4 legged base with combined stability for safety. Gramps last outing was at a spry 101. Very unsteady but with the above arm over shoulder technique he crossed a small BC stream with confidence. and spent a day out fishing me. In addition be sure to use common sense, look for a good crossing, know when and where not to cross, cross angling downstream. Be conscious of your safe depth and water speed. I've been swept away a couple of times, (not counting quick dips), always when I put my better judgment or staff aside. Keep safe out there

I sat down and put together a how-to on posting pictures. Hope it makes sense. There are certainly other ways but thisis pretty much a standard till someone can come up with a simpler method. It works for all the forums I belong to. http://flyfishcalgary.com/board/index.php?showtopic=23281

It is a good model, there certainly are other options that have been listed by others and more than likely other models that are cheaper that are also quality, I bought mine during a clearance sale. Just look for a staff that you can put your weight on. Before the convenient collapsible staffs came out I used several ski poles cut down to the proper length (see Dons post). Don't let cost hinder safety.

Seems like it would work as it makes 2 flat surfaces to tie onto. I usually just grab em and tie em down. There are really 2 things to keep in mind, you are trying to comprss the fibers like an accordion and as you tie them in they will want to roll on the hook, a loose wrap or 2 and then an upward pull I found will keep it in place.

Fantastic pictures, love em, thanks for posting. You have a great eye for composition.

I'm sure a few can chime in on this one but it is exactly like tying on a slip wing (top wing) on a wet fly with a pinch hold, except that instead of holding the wing material on top of the hook, you hold the Mallard slips so they tent over the body of the fly slightly and make an upside down "V" then cinch it down with a loose wrap tightening upward. Ps, stay away from glue hoping it akes sense.

Should you want to include a picture in any of your posts, here are some directions for using Photobucket for your image hosting. I follow up with how to get them to show up in your posts on this (or any) forum. To post a picture, first create yourself an account (free) with Photobucket: photobucket.com I'll assume you have a cell phone, or digital camera you take your pictures with, and upload them to your computer to "My Pictures" on PC or Photos on Mac How to get your pictures into Photobucket Once your Photobucket account is created, you'll see a menu to the left of the screen titled ALBUMS. Underneath that there will be a link to "Create an album". Just decide on a name and click "save". Now, you can upload directly to the page you'll see in front of you once your account is created. But if you keep all your pictures on that first page, it gets unmanageable. So I suggest making sub-albums. When you've created an album it should automatically take you to that albums page after creation. In the center of the screen will be a huge button that says "Upload Images and Videos". This will bring up your PCs file folders. I think the default place for Photobucket to look is in "My Pictures", if it's not - then just travel to the folder that has the pictures you want to upload. You can upload one at a time or many (if you want to upload more than one, click the first picture then before you click another one hold the 'Ctrl' key down while you choose all the others). When your done release the Ctrl key and click on "Open" - Photobucket will automatically begin the upload process. You can also drag your photo into Once it's done it'll take you to another page where you can label/tag your pictures. I've never found this useful and it's time consuming, so I skip it. Just scroll to the bottom of the page and click "Save". Photobucket will then go back to the album you placed your pictures into the click to upload area. On a lot of computers teh save is automatic. Posting the picture from Photobucket to this Forum When you're ready to post a picture here, have the thread open and a reply box ready to go (you can also use the "Quick Reply" box). Type your text (or just post the picture if you have nothing to say then go back to your open album on Photobucket. When you scroll over each picture a 'drop down' menu will show up with 4 fields with different links you can use. Choose the share link for the picture you want to post, you can also click on the photo and the share links will show up on the right. Here's an example of what you're looking for. I circled the Image link to copy in red. If you click on the drop down share link Click in that field and it should highlight the entire text of that box. Right click and choose 'copy', then come back to your post here (or any other forum) and click on the image icon and when it opens hit paste, then OK. That's it! You won't see your image until you hit "OK". It'll just be the code of the image. It looks like a lot, but really it's not. I'm just wordy. Hope it helps a first time user.

With most forums out there the procedure is the same. Use Photobucket or another sharing site, copy the url provided once you upload your phot to the photo site. Click the image icon and post past the url. If you are getting frozen browsers it's not the site. You should try to trace at a software problem on your machine. Been meaning to do a tutorial about doing it. Try to get it done this weekend. Hope this helps if not email me the photos and I will post them till you have it figured out. Lornce

We had a lot of fun last year showing kids and a few adults how to tie.

Beauties

Ron Scharmin It’s with a heavy heart that I announce the passing of Ron Scharmin, known to all here as Flytier. I fished and tied with him when he was able and he was a great guy. He selfishly served this forum as Administrator for many years giving of his time and knowledge to make this a better place and passed along his knowledge to many neophyte tiers. In recent years his mobility has kept him from his beloved Fly Fishing waters and eventually his vice. His passing diminishes us all. I’ve included a link to his Facebook page for any personal comments along with any you might make here https://www.facebook.com/rscharmin Lornce

Ukrainian Christmas is coming...

https://vimeo.com/150009161

I would not wade any water without a staff. As I get older I appreciate the staffs more and more. But even as a teen I used them, I deem them as important as waders and boots.. Ski poles are a poor choice as they are too light and usually too long. You would need to cut them down to be the proper size. I have a couple of different ones, they have served me not only as steady extra leg but camera tripod, depth finder, shelter (prop for space blanket), help in climbed up and down the bank, hiking, log balance, helped extract me out of leg holding muck, and warded away several overly aggressive dogs and one nasty coyotes. The only times I have taken a dunk is when I have not used one. Use your staff to check ahead for changes of depth or obstacles, like underwater branches or logs. For big waters I have a British made Sharpes Seaforth wading staff that is excellent for big Steelhead and Salmon faster water that is bottom weighted, its really nice on those big waters. I have a Simms wading staff that is about 4 years old now, it comes with a holster so when you are just walking stream side or hiking to your destination on easy ground it can be collapsed and put away quickly. I would especially recommend using one if you're fishing a river that you know will require crossing.I have owned other brands that where not as well made and collapsed on me at the wrong time. There are other well made models out there. The biggest benefit of a wading staff is that you always have that third leg. Two points are always firmly set for balance. You don’t move one foot till the other foot and the wading staff are firmly set. Wading poles are also great for testing the water level. It may be deeper than you think. Be safe out there

Actually another good one for a whole duck is to do it on the BBQ rotisserie. put a small pan or aluminum foil to catch dripping so they won't flair. Duck isn't easy to prepare, but it can be tasty, but like many dishes it's worth the effort (if you want fast food there are may options). Growing up duck along with big game and rabbit graced our table, it helped offset the family budget. I've also had smoked duck and deep fried duck.

This is how we have done it for years and is Mom's recipe, duck is fatty so it is a bit of a process for a yummy meal. Remove the excess fat and trim, poke the skin all over with a knife but don't pierce the meat or it will dry it out. Boil a pot of water and immerse the duck in boiling water for 10 minutes to render out some of the fat. Pull it out of the water and pat it dry with a cloth. We usually let the bird cool a bit. Make yourself a rub for the outside, we usually use salt, pepper and paprika and rub the duck inside and out with spices. Put the duck on a rack (to keep it from immersing in it's fat) in a roasting pan breast side up.We will often stuff it with stove top stuffing with a whole head or two of garlic & cut celery pieces. Preheat oven to 450. Put er in the oven for 15 minutes, lower the oven temperature to 350 degrees. After 45 minutes, remove duck from oven & remove any fat from the pan. Turn the duck over, put it back in the oven for 35 minutes. At the end of the 35 minutes, remove duck from oven, remove any fat that may have accumulated, and carefully turn duck back over so breast side faces up. Cook for another 15 minutes to 20 minutes (total cooking time should add up to about 22 minutes per pound). Careful not to overcook, use a meat thermometer, the temperature should be 175 degrees at the thickest part of the leg. Hope this helps, now back to making Cabbage rolls for Xmas.

This is how its done. Guiding in my view isn't just taking a client along for a ride.

BWO's by the doz.

Polar shrimp