ReelLife

$200 #16 Please Thank you

$300 #23

#16 $150

$100 #16

Well done Brian. Clever adaptation and sage advice too! Reminds me of our time fishing together. Hope you recover soon-there are too few real ninjas.

Go to Presentations & Workshops on http://www.flyfishingevents.com/. Click on schedule and then at the top of the left column highlight presentations instead of workshops. I liked it when the whole schedule was added as an insert into Fly Fusion Magazine and you could look at the day and time and see each event that was happening like a workshop or tying presentation or casting pond etc. This format would be good on the Fly Fishing Events website and then it would be just a matter of printing it off. I like to map out my weekend ahead of time and this would make it much easier.

The Fishin' Hole. Right now they have their big sale at the Mayfield Trade Centre (16615-109 Ave) Friday, March 28, 12-9pm, Saturday, March 29, 10am-6pm, Sunday, March 30, 10am-5pm. They have three stores: North Edmonton 12719 97 Street, West Edmonton 1035, 8882 170 Street (West Edmonton Mall), and South Edmonton 9078 51 Avenue. Also The Fishing Center 12922-82 street. None of these shops are just dedicated to Fly Fishing like in Calgary.

I noticed that on the Speypages website Courtney says all Beulah switch rods balance much better with a well machined 9/10 weight reel. He uses XS Snowbee or Hardy Swift TE 975or even likes Loop Evotec. I am wondering whether any of the Snowbee cassett reel systems would work? In other words what reel would be recommended for the 5/6 rod and what reel for the 7/8 rod?

Yes I am thinking the 5/6 for most of my lake fishing and the 6/7 for the 40"+ Pike . Need Weedy1 to post a picture he took of a pike caught by Doc (Mike Monteith) at Wabamun Lake a couple of weeks ago.

Are you using the same line for overhead casting and spey casting or changing between two different lines as shown below? Switch rod 7/8wt line suggestions: Single hand/ Overhead casting 240-270 grains Traditional line tapers: ~S.A. GPX 9wt ~Rio Grand 9wt Specialty line Tapers: ~Rio Outbound 8wt ~Teeny longshot 8,9wt ~SA steelhead taper 10wt ~Beulah River extra 10,11wt Spey casting-370-390 grains over 29-31 ft. ~Beulah Elixir 380 (Designed Specifically for our Switch 7/8) ~Rio windcutter 7/8/9 omit tip 2, Skagit 350 Cross-over casting ~Airflo 40plus 8wt

Where do you guys draw the line between using a switch rod versus moving to a proper 2-handed rod in your fishing? I am thinking of maybe using a switch rod for my chironomid fishing from a boat (use up to 3 flies up to 5 feet apart on a 20' leader and an indicator). I thought this set-up might be easier to cast than with my 9' 5 wt or 6 wt single-handed rod. A switch rod at 10' 6" is also not too long for handling in a small boat. Note the line I am currently using is a floating WF 5wt or 6 wt. The fish being caught are in the 15"-22" range (the odd one could be bigger). So what size switch if appropriate? Further to this, how about a switch rod for pike fishing in a lake (boating or wading)? What size would one need that would be equivalent to an 8 or 9wt single-handed rod and what line for throwing big streamers? Maybe in this application I should be just looking at the regular two-handed rod? I am a newbie to the whole spey casting scene and so am doing the Loop spey casting clinic in May. I just got myself two books: Spey Casting by Simon Gawesworth and Two-Handed Fly Casting by Al Buhr. Neither book talks specifically about switch rods. I wish I could see Courtney when he comes to Calgary and talk to Gordon when he comes, but will be in England. Currently, I do not own any two-handed rods. I was hoping to get into spey casting for both river and lake fishing.

Great to see you guys really into your kids. I stayed home with mine right from the beginning (last 19 years) and let me say time passes by so quickly. Now I have just entered my 40's and and they are completing Grade12, and first year university. Enjoy!

Well I'll be in England for a couple of weeks starting early April. Maybe the reels will be available for me to see at that time. At the end of April I might be going to the Island and so could swing by your shop.

OK: looks like I am in for two reels .

Islandguy says:In an earlier post I mentioned that Snowbee has in 2008 brought out a cassett reel that is the big brother to the award winning XSD780 cassett reel system. This reel has been long awaited for from the Spey World in that it not only has a great drag system,salt water friendly but has 4 extra spools and more if you need them...and retails for less that $200...and more importantly,has plenty of capacity for any line you wish to use. Do you have a link to this reel. I went to the Snowbee site and could not find it. Is there a particular spey rod weight that this reel can be matched.

Ok let me ask you what types of spey lines can you put on it? I am getting confused because let's say I have a 7wt spey rod. Would I use this reel? In addition, am I to understand that for an eight weight single hand rod being used for bulls and pike I need a different reel? Do many different weight spey rods potentially use the same large arbor reels but just have different amounts of backing? Or am I to conclude that I must only use a reel specialized for spey rods with no ability to cross over to the single hand? Please look at my original post and tell me is there a reel that can be used for the two applications I have mentioned. Thank you.

Is it the model 2090 you have for your Spey rod? What type of Spey lines are you able to put on it?

Yes, headscan I get your point. Quite a variation. Hopefully somebody has some knowledge of this reel.

Please refer to specs on bottom of ross link

This may be one of the reasons Spey rods are becoming more popular.

I am taking the Loop Spey Clinic with Brian in May and as of yet do not own a Spey Rod. I thought I would try some of Brian's set-ups before deciding (even though he did recommend to me for my fishing purpose to consider a Loop Multi 7120). I am currently in need of an 8 weight single hand rod for pike fishing in lakes and rivers and so thought about getting a reel that could be used for both the spey rod and the single hand 8 weight. I am considering the Ross CLA 4 http://www.rossreels.com/products/cla/cla.cfm to use for both applications. What do you think of this choice and are there any other comparable reels that I should maybe consider. Note: the Ross reel retails for $230.00 and spare spools for $120.00. Thank you. Tim

As Greg says, "there are still items available to be bid on."

Specail Item 26. TECUMSEH MOUNTAIN FISHING HOLIDAY... Sept-Oct. This 3 day guided fishing package includes, 3 nights accomodations for 2 guests, at the "Tecumseh Mountain Guest Ranch", in Blairmore, AB, compliments of owner/flyfisherman, Kai Eckhardt. http://mountainguestranch.com/ Explore the many wonderfull fishing opportunites the area has to offer, for 3 adventure filled days, with your Host, veteran Guide, Brian Peace. Relax and enjoy the comfortable and fully furnished, Log Cabin accomodations, at the end of a long days fishing, in a beautifull mountain setting. A fishing Holiday to treasure for a lifetime. Winning bidder will be responsible for their own transportation too/from the Ranch. Food and beverages not included. -Starting bid: $1,200 Anyone interested in going 50/50 with me on this great package. These cabins are described as being large enough for two couples so I am sure two tired fishermen could be easily accommodated. When you consider what it would cost you for an experienced guide for three days and accommodation on top of it I think $600.00 each would be great value. In addition, these cabins have full cooking facilities and so if you brought your own grub, the cost of one's meals would be economical. Fall is a wonderful time in the mountains. If you can't afford the cost now, I will pay TUC now and you can pay me your share when we do the trip in the fall. I live in Edmonton and so could even pick you up anywhere between Edmonton and Blairmore and would cover all gas including the three days of travelling between fishing spots. How could you resist such an offer !

Your wife is going to kill you? I am currently in discussions with my wife on bidding on the Package trip (not going well). She does not fly fish and my sister has offered us her home she just built located between Blairmore and Coleman. I think I might be pushing my luck!

You can go with me Angus. If interested let us make the bid $200.00.