Weedy1

You don't NEED fins but you WANT them, don't you? Oh before I forget, you also need an anchor, rod holder, electric pump,depth finder, inflatable vest,extendable net, stripping apron, motor, a battery or two and some nice new slick sunglasses. Then a utility trailer to haul it all in so you don't have to blow it up. Only about another 2 grand or so and you'll be there. Just don't tell the better half........ if you have to, tell her you found it in an alley, kind of like coming home after school when you were a kid and trying to explain to your folks how you "found" something. CH---------CHING!!!!! Isn't fly fishing wonderful? Look at it this way, you could be in a bar drinking it all away! Congrats on the new ride by the way. Hope you have fun.

He didn't recover anything from what I have heard.

Here's a little help for anyone speaking with Rickr: Texas Lingo: a mess of - unit of mass dern near - almost et - as in "I et to much attha barberque, Myrtle" Plumb - totally goshdawg - exclaimation dawg - four legged animal found under the porch dawggonnit - exclaimation of frustration high tail it - go at a rapid speed hit the road - leave hollard - yaled didjya ever - have you ever Wanna - want to. Smackdab inda middlof - directly in the middle Shootfire - of course auda do - should do aughten to - ought not to a spell - come on over a visit a spell (a while) dadgumit - curse word of exasperation a fur piece - measure of distance Where 'bouts you from? - What is your hometown Howdja git here? - reason for ones relocation Mosey on down--walkin' in that direction. gotta skeedaddle lickety split--have to leave "right soon." A hoot and a holler - close Zackly - precisely. "I don't know zackly where in Texas darlin' Rhonda hails from." Zat-is that? "Zat yo dawg? He's the spittin' image of you!" Yo-possessive of you. "What's yo name, sweetheart." Continya-continue. "Let's continya "speakin' suthun." This shore is fun! Gimme-give me. "Gimme smore biscuits smothered in gravy." Ail-sick or ill. "Gimme smore ale so I can cure what's ailing me." Bad off-in real bad shape. "Jim Bob's in the hospital and boy is real bad off! He didn't even recognize his dawg!!!" Beholden--indebted to. "I'm right beholden to ya for loaning me that thar huntin' dawg." Cheer--furniture used for setting. "Pull yourself up that thar cheer and setchursef down for a spell." Shore 'nuff--sure enough. Drank--a drink. "Wanna drank somethin'?" Get by with--to get away with. "Bobbie Sue will never let you get by with that farfetched story." Figger--figure. "Peggy Sue's got a great figger!!!!" Jest--just. "Jest married." Skeeters and chiggers-damn bugs that annoy the "hale" out of a person. Nuf - Nuf said (enough) Earl - Hair Earl, Motor Earl (oil), Radio Earl (aerial). Eyetalian - my daughter is marrin' that Eyetalian (Italian) fellow. Didji - Didji know or didji hear (did you) Pony-ac - I'm going to buy me a brand new Pony-ac (Pontiac). Yeller - I going to buy me a brand new yeller (yellow) pony-ac. Auta (should)-"I auta go to work but ahm tared." Barn (born)-"I was barn in Texas." Ded (not alive)-"He ded." Suppah (supper)--Suppah comes after dinnah. Catchup--Pass the catchup so I can catch up with ya. Ain'tcha (aren't you)--Ain'tcha goin' to ask me to dance? fixin': A'm fixin to quit this silly stuff

Hope you get your items back Lornce. There seems to be quite an increase in theft in Edmonton as of late. I have known a few people that have had their vehicles broken into in downtown Edmonton and many others with thefts occuring elsewhere. For the most part they are trashing the inside looking for money or something easily sold. My next door neighbor actually found a thief sitting in his vehicle downtown. They got into it and ended up down in the river valley punching it out before the cops showed up. Luckily he had his cell phone with him.

I caught that alright. I have 4 trees in my backyard in need of disposal. You can have at them only on the understanding you disintegrate them and leave the surrounding homes intact. Four shots only, I know how you Americans can get a little carried away when you have a weapon in hand. I'll send you my GPS coordinates. I'm sure you, as most Americans, have some sort of small weapon lying around the house that can reach Edmonton from Calgary. As for losing fish I find it usually tends to get me more pumped up about catching another one. The times I get upset is when I have made an error either by mistake or on purpose while bringing one in. For example, I gave the largest fish I had on this year a little slack hoping it wouldn't wrap around my front anchor line. Well as soon as I did that the show was over. If it had just snapped me off due to shear power I wouldn't have been disappointed at all but when I do something I know I shoudn't be doing I guess I have to kick myself a bit for it.

Dry humour is always the funniest......

You failed the second part. (you're)

That was the first part of you're Canadian citizenship test.

Anyone catch this in the posting? Might have to try some flying fishing one day. Is it done from a helicopter or plane?

They also mentioned something about it taking an hour to tie. Who do they have tying these for that kind of price and labor, prisoners?

I don't believe your American. There is not an American out there smart enough to realize or admit what you said. You must be working for Putin. But then again you did miss the e in expressing....

Here's my standard answer. This is a collection of emails I received from a fellow in BC. I hope it helps.----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Yeah, I did a mountain of searching prior to dropping my hard earned cash down. I ended up with an Outcast Pac 9000 after all my efforts.(Pictured in the attachment - it's maiden voyage) Initially, I was really keen on the Scadden, but I actually ended up talking to one of the main guys down in Ogden Utah at their manufacturing facility. He ended up talking me out of the particular model I was interested in - turned out they had experienced a few minor problems with it, sales were really slow on it, so they were thinking seriously of discontinuing it. Now, I say "it" because do you think for the life of me I can recall exactly which one it was?!! I've gone back to their site to see if anything twigs my memory, and no luck. ( I want to say the delaware or something like that, but I'm not 100% certain about that,....sorry) The reason North Fork stuff appealed to me was simple - they were (at the time) the only guys putting out boats with a casting platform on a smaller boat. That and the fact that Dave Scadden was one of the initial designers for Outcast years back. The specs on their boats were as good as, or better than most every other manufacturer. Lifetime warranty on select models didn't hurt their cause any either. Having come a few years down the road, you can now find casting platforms as standard equipment on a lot of Outcasts (and others) products. Looking back over what I've learned both shopping for, as well as having used a pontoon now, if I had any advice to give it would be this: Don't buy cheap. If you're a "serious" fisherman, and intend on spending a lot of time in your craft, quality will more than reward you back. Purchase something made in North America - Warranty work for stuff made on this side of the Pacific is a piece of cake. If it was made in China, I wish you the best of luck getting service. A 5 year warranty is good, a 10 year warranty is great, and if you can find it...a lifetime warranty is stupendous. If it has a 1 year warranty, you might want to consider saving a few more $$$ and hold off for something in the 5 year warranty zone. Air chambers/cells/bladders - Vinyl=good, urethane=better. Seams - sewn=good, thermal welded=better. Frame material - powder coated steel=alright, stainless steel = better, aluminum = best. There's your 3 main areas of concern - frame, air cells, and if you have issues with either of those, the warranty. Really, there's nothing else to a boat. These are the 3 main points to compare when shopping for one. Period. The length, layout, style, extra components and color will simply be determined by where you fish, what you fish for, what you need, and what you like. It's too damn easy to get buried under all the options, sizes, and other useless ways to drain your bank account, when all you need to focus on are those first three things - Frame, Air Cells, Warranty. Done. So back to why I ended up in an Outcast when I had my heart set on something from North Fork........After speaking with the rep from North Fork, I realized that the model that I originally wanted probably wasn't going to be around for much longer and warranty might be an issue, perhaps I had better start looking at other options. At the time, he couldn't tell me what was going to be replacing it, nor was next years product listings available to me yet, so I was basically forced to look elsewhere as there wasn't anything else within the North Fork line that met my needs. Enter the Outcast line up......and the fact that there was a deal to be hard at the local shop on what was soon to be my new boat. It had everything I wanted / needed, except for the casting platform. A few weeks down the road, I was out on the water, awkwardly splashing around in my new toy...(this is sure different than the old belly boat! ) As it turns out, Outcast now produces several boats with casting platforms. Not mine mind you, but that's not going to stop me from making my own!!! Each company has its own unique features in some way shape or form - they have to in order to stay competitive, right? Looking back, to me it seems like Mr. Dave Scadden and North Fork Outdoors are on the leading edge of actually producing new ideas. Everyone else has followed in his footsteps with regards to the casting platforms. The folks at Outcast are doing their damnedest to make their products affordable while at the same time, pack as many little extras onto the boat as possible. Watching the pricing in catalogues and features available over the past few years, prices are slowly dropping, while accessories are borderline mind boggling at this point. I'm not trying to sell you on North Fork or Outcast....there's other outfits out there as well, it's just when I started poking around, I kept coming back to these two as a result of quality, available warranties, accessories, as well as general recommendations. However, do go and look at other manufacturers outside of these two to see what else is available to you. As far as how do I like what I ended up with? I love it! I spent a lot of time in my old belly boat, and the pontoon is worlds away from a belly boat. I'm still adjusting set up / layout of various accessories on it, but I'm really happy I've got what I've got. I'm not upset or disappointed about not having been able to get the North Fork one I originally wanted. I never see many Scadden boats out on the water, but I also have never heard anything bad about them, I think they're just bigger in the states than they are up here. So, Have I thoroughly confused you, or has any of this helped? If you have any other questions, drop me a line any time - I'll do my best to help you out. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Some food for thought - the Panther at Cabelas is the same thing as the Cougar,...just a "special edition" released to Cabelas only for whatever reason.(marketing I suspect) The only difference between the Panther and Cougar are: Available colors, Length,(as you mentioned already), Load capacity,(Cougar= 375lbs, Panther= 400 lbs), and the frame...the Panther is a 7 piece, while the Cougar is a 10 piece...both are aluminum. Pricing through Troutwater Supplies (TWS) for the Cougar is still cheaper than Cabelas is listing the Panther at. If the idea of a casting platform appeals to you, check out the new 2006 Outcast Pac series - they make casting decks for the Pac 1000, 1100HD, as well as the 1200. Granted those are the larger sized boats at 10, 11, and 12 feet respectively, but my thinking is this: if you look at the catalogue, you'll get a basic idea just from the pictures of the casting platforms I just mentioned,(they're in the back of the book with all the other accessories), and they look pretty simple to manufacture oneself.....or at the very least do what I plan to do, and take the frame measurements and those pictures into a local fabricator, and have them do one up. Realistically, I don't foresee my custom version costing any more than one of the pre-fabbed Outcast ones. Page 9 in the new catalogue shows a guy standing on a deck on a 1100HD which has a bit of a unique frame to it, but even with a standard 2 chambered pontoon,...it looks stable enough to me. Ideally, I'd like to get some photographs of one, or even see one first hand just so I'm certain I'm re-creating it properly......don't want to puncture the bladders thanks anyways! Be aware that at the beginning of each year, Outcast makes available to a few select retailers a list of demo boats, and "flawed" boats. By flawed, I'm talking about perhaps a slight variance in the color of the two air cells.....the batch was just starting, and the tint was "off" just a wee bit or something. My fishing' buddy bought a "flawed" Pac 800 or 900 through TWS here in Kelowna and saved some good $$$. Unfortunately, these things go like you wouldn't believe. No sooner does Nick get the list in his hand, and he's on the phone only to find half of the stuff is already gone. So far as the "flaw" with my buddy’s boat goes........if someone hadn't have said something, you'd never have known,. so it can certainly be subtle. There's a new entry level quad style boat by Outcast called the "Discovery Oncilla". I sat in it at TWS, and personally wasn't impressed. Seems too short, not to mention un-stable front to back, but to each their own I guess. It's just not something I would consider putting on the list of options, but look at it so you know what it is. Staying with shorter boats, the Discovery 8 has an aluminum frame, which is something new for 2006. That might be worth considering, but it only has a 5 year warranty, as the air cells are vinyl as opposed to urethane. Outcasts was also my second pick to North Fork Outdoors, but have a look at others as well to get a feel for price and quality comparison sake. http://waterskeeter.com/ has 3 single person boats that have casting platforms. http://www.waterotter.net/BOATS.HTM doesn't have casting platforms, but most folks don't even know they exist, never mind the lack of bladders....they just have one giant air cell, no bladder inside it! http://www.bucksbags.com/cm_cat.asp?id=16 offers the ability to purchase an add on casting deck to boats over 9 feet in length http://www.outcastboats.com/outcastboats/index.htm ........like you haven't seen this already, but in the off chance you haven't, here it is. http://www.northforkoutdoors.com/index.html takes you to North Fork Outdoors (Again, you probably already have this one.) http://www.northforkoutdoors.com/index.html offer pretty basic entry level stuff. http://www.outdoorsportz.com/PDPBOOOO1002.html shows that if you look hard enough, the Delaware West is still available if you wanted it. So yeah, Outcast still gets my vote seeing as NFO only has the 11 foot model, which seems more like a yacht than a pontoon for stillwater lakes. If you're ever going to be in this neck of the woods and want to give mine a whirl, drop me a line and I'll take you out to some local productive waters if you like, so you can see what the Pac 9000 is like. ( oh-,....and catch a few fish while we're at it!) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Maneuverability using fins is just fine. I use my oars maybe 10% of the time. With a pontoon, your body is only in the water to mid way up your shins - depending on how long your legs are, you may only get your ankles wet! You can kick forever because there's next to nothing for drag in the water to slow you down....no more lower body hanging into the water acting like a submerged anchor creating noticeable drag. If you had a standard belly boat prior to the Fish Cat 4, you would have noticed a difference in the reduction of drag just by taking that step up.........imagine what it's going to be like getting the remaining body parts up and out of the water! (Ankles don't tend to create a whole lot of drag and resistance) Spending an entire day on the water using just your fins won't be an issue. The oars are for getting from "A" to "B" faster, or for use on rivers. You'll go faster and use less effort in a pontoon with fins, compared to a belly boat or even the Fish Cat 4 using fins - the lack of drag is what makes all the difference....there's such little resistance. You'll know what I'm talking about once you experience it for yourself. With regards to the casting platform being fixed in place, I'm sure they have made an allowance to do just that - secure it so it can't slip off or something. However, who says it absolutely must be secured at all times?? For stillwater applications, I don't think an un-secured plate will be a problem. However, if I were to be shooting down rapids on a river, then yeah, I think I'd want to strap that sucker down as tight as I could get it, and in which case, I figure I won't be using fins against white water anyways. When I first looked at the set up Scadden had come up with, the pictures I found showed that as you rolled the lean bar backwards to the rear of the boat, it simultaneously slid the casting platform backwards beneath the seat - the two were connected to work together. Outcast offers no leaning bar that I can see, so you need only worry about dealing with one moving part - the plate. This is the Scadden plate: http://www.northforkoutdoors.com/Images/standing-plat! formalt.jpg It kinda' gives you an idea as to how they connect it to the frame. Lets forget about the fact that this particular plate is made to slide back and forth, and concentrate on how it stays put on the frame......basically, there's some inverted "u" shaped brackets on either side that drop down over the side rails of the pontoon frame, right? Gravity takes care of the rest. If the plate was made long enough,(I'm talking front to back, not side to side), it could be designed and made to fit snugly between the rails of the seat support, and the portion of frame that leads upwards to the oar support area.......you now have a plate held in place and prevented from moving forwards and backwards by two already existing frame components. Drop it in place, stand and fish. Pull it out,(spin around and secure it to your rear cargo deck), drop legs into water, kick, find new spot to fish, drop plate back into position. Done. Granted Scaddens moving plate is a superior idea..! ..no having to pull the plate every time you wanted to kick around. Configuring a similar set up for the Outcast is just going to involve a bit more thought and time, but I think it can be done. Maybe once I get my wheel dealt with, I'll move on to mimicking the sliding platform. 10 feet for length isn't as bad as you would think - the Pac 9000 I have is that length despite the fact all their books and literature state that it's a 9 foot craft. It ends up measuring 9 foot 8 inches or something ridiculous like that, so to simplify, I think they just call it a 9 foot. I'm happy with what I've got....but it's going to depend on your personal applications as to what you'll need. If you plan on doing long river trips and you'll need to take more gear, then you're going to want a longer boat, as the bigger they are, the more weight they carry. having said that, shorter isn't always better - I recall watching a guy out on a small lake we visited one day, and he was a guy with a good sized frame on him, big boned shall we say, and he was in a 7 foot pontoon boat. Those poor air cells were damn near 50% submerged!! The guy needed a larger boat in order to support the weight...the 7 footer just wasn't cutting it. So, depending on your personal body weight, and ! intended applications so far as type(s) of waters you want to fish, you do need to pay attention to weight or load capacities on whatever you're considering purchasing. As far as the craft being cumbersome - no, it's not. You need to be aware that it is certainly bigger than a Fish Cat 4, but that's obvious, right? There are adjustments to be made once you get one - you're now in something longer, and wider, and higher,( and better, and a lot more fun too, and you stay warmer and drier to boot!!!) It took me about 5 or 6 trips before I was accustomed to my new boat and the way it handled. Arranging accessories is another whole ball of wax to be dealt with on an on going basis.

I don't think the pic I posted was a dog unless it escaped from someone out in the bush, or wandered for 50+ km. The picture was taken north of Nordegg on Chungo road close to the Blackstone. It could have been someone's poor puppy dog but I doubt it. I snapped the pic because I was more interested in what was inside the skull at the time then the carcass itself. Have a look, some pretty cool creepy crawlers inside there. Is that gross enough for you Lynn?

http://www.williamsonlakecampground.com/

Well since we’re on such an enlightening topic I thought I would throw this one out there. I don’t have the answer but have always wondered what it was.

Moose

Horse?

Hopefully he owned a jetboat.

Clive, I was taking a closer look at the pic and noticed what looks like something attached to the inside of the right pelvic fin. Old hook? Air bubble? Any idea what it is?

Guys, here’s a friendly reminder for the future. Don't lie down on the ground if you can't find shelter in a storm. Crouch low to the ground but avoid touching it. When lightning strikes it will disperse outwards and if you’re lying on the ground it may go through you. (Although if you’re that close the shockwave is probably going to blow you a mile away anyways. )

Yah I hear ya. It's tough to tie when looking through a microscope! The scuds can be even smaller.

Darren, I tied a variation of the Shuttlecock and tried it at Muir - one hit in a 1/2 hr or so. I'm trying to determine what the fish at Muir have been hitting on the surface for the last week or so. There only seems to be sporadic damsel nymphs and a few midges here and there so what they are keying in on has been tough to determine. I noticed an abundance of snails on the surface yesterday but doubt that is what their hitting. The fish are surfacing quite high and showing their entire lengths. They are also getting airborne sometimes but I don't think this is necessarily related to what they a surface feeding on. Anyone have a guess as to what they may be taking? I’m thinking the emerger stage of the midge but whether the midge is ascending still or breaking out I don’t know. I’ll give a few more recipes a try including yours Clive. Could they also be so picky at times to only take a midge as it is emerging as opposed to the pupae stage a foot or two under the water?

Sounds like the best solution, I'll give it a shot. Thanks again, I'll let you know how it goes.

I remember about 30 yrs ago when everyone in Alberta was getting pissed off about the horses in and around the trunk road campgrounds. Then the government bent over backwards to keep the riders happy by building facilties at the campgrounds so they could tie up, feed and water their horses. I can see it happening all over again only with the OHV's. Hey, you have to keep them voters happy.........

Thanks Darren I'll give it a try. How much of the CDC will typically be above the water on the Shuttlecock Buzzer? I'm looking for a surface pattern with little to no evidence of anything floating the fly.