Love the Fishpond Nomad El Jefe, stuffs into the back of my belt for wading and makes a good boat net. The Kootenay Guide would also be a great choice.
Please keep you eyes peeled for a Outlaw Tomcat. Our member "Dutchie" was ripped off from the Okotoks area. Help find the boat and charge these thieves. The boat is a livelihood.
This is what it looks like
http://outlaweagle.com/outlaw_marine.html
Just thread bodies for me, even dropped tinsel in favor of sparkle thread. Fishing BC lakes last year I ended up with red base with black thread rib and did OK.
Compact heads are nice because they need less stripping to bring in with the shorter head length. Gives you more fishing time and I find them easier to cast.
I was in Iron Bow today picking up material I had on order. They just got a big shipment in. If you're in this neck of the woods pop in. Lots of goodies.
I will miss Barry, I worked with him on a couple of projects and was fortunate to share some time on the water with him. Condolences to the family and we'll miss you Barry.
Any rod that I can cast with deadly accuracy to add another to the hundreds of flies festooning the stream-side trees. 9 foot rods are nice for tangling fly line in my equipment and hat, 6 foot rods for catching streamers in my ear.
It may sound silly but one of my most important tools isn't my fly rod, is a pair of folding scissors that I use to clip my existing flies stream side to have a closer profile to the naturals.