bowbonehead

Depends on the no# of days you put on in average per year. 100+days expect a year to two years before they need new felts or replacement , 10-20 days =5 to 10 years. I value comfort and weight and its hard to go wrong with the Simms Headwaters Streamtred or the Patagonia Riverwalker stickys. I go through a pair every year and a bit and also have Simms G3 Guides which I may never wear out but they weigh a ton so I usually find myself grabbing the lightweights unless I plan to extreme wade. Keep in mind felts are being phased out to the more enviro friendly stickys. Corkers are another brand which offer interchangable soles for more options I have not tried them but know guys who use them and like them. Take your waders with to try them on and good luck with your purchase.

Tie yourself up some olive Klinkhammers, they work on fish taking subsurface

Rod size is related mainly to the size of fish targeted,if its mostly small jacks(hammerhandles) and walleye you will be fine but match your flies to your 5wt ie clousers,deceivers,buggers etc.... in sizes 4.6.8. If you want to toss the big stuff ie double bunnies etc... you would be better off with a 7,8,9 wt rod. If you are targeting larger fish the 5wt will lack the backbone necessary to land the fish in a timely fashion and will put undue stress on the fish. Have fun!!

It's not unusual, that rod was used a lot as a boat rod for guides who tend to pull out a little extra line and wrap the line around the back of the reel and back up to the second or third guide with the hook. This helps to keep the leader straight and the fly line leader joint(nail knot ) out of the tip top. Great inexpensive rod by the way, I've still got a couple that just seem to just keep on going. I believe Gord at WestWinds still carries the line.

The great thing about a freestone river like the Bow is that its constantly changing with every winter freeze up ,spring breakup and runoff so its like a new river every year. Some years it just changes more than others!

If you are already in B.C. (Elk) why not hit the White and the St Marys also.

Prefer the nail lacquered up like a bead so it slides through the tip top easily and doesn't hang up but I'm an old fart and if it ain't broke why fix it. What ever works if keeps you fishin and not sittin on your butt!

Lost a trout off the end of my line the other day and the river replaced it on the very next cast!

Palometa and a nice one at that, a large feather goes in his hat!

Trout will have the final say but looks great from here - remember its how you fish it that really counts

Back Country definitely the way to go, too bad the avi conditions have been so bad the last couple of years.

As posted its always best to be prepared and ready because early risers will usually take on the first good drift. Early season caddis before runoff can be quite good if you happen to be in the right place at the right time. When you see those heavy BWOs in the spring and nothin going on up top its usually because they are gorging down belowwhere the pickens are easier

A picture says a thousand...........

I think it depends on the individual and how they treat their equipment. I know I have boat rods and reels that are for newbies and new clients until I see how well they treat the gear. If they pass the test I have no problem handing them the good stuff after all that's what the manufacturers want and why they offer Pro programs to get the new gear in the clients hands. With that in mind I wish I had a few spare RPL tips as I do not think the current replacements are the same vintage.

We also have scorpions in the southeast part of the province

I have a 4WT Z-axis balances very nicely with a Tibor spring creek or perhaps a Bauer M2SL or MXP2 its a killer Bow river dry set up and is a perfect creek rod except for the Bullies.

Hopefully this will encourage stiffer penalties rather than the slap on the wrist that tends to occur now!

Clousers,Zonkers,Deceivers - really anything bigger that will get down quick "Remember it's not always what you use but how you use it"

Closer to home....... before they killed Crawling Valley and restocked it with walleye there was the chance of new Alberta record Rainbows as fish in the teens were being caught regularly out of it, ugly looking rainbows with tiny heads and enormous bodies very similar to the MT. Lamson trout in California, I'm sure Uliwon Spent some time fishing them.

I used to fish Marvel back in the seventies out of a one man aircraft dingy( pre belly boat ) Huge cuts back then. Can you skin Grizzz

Fish farm escapeeeee from Diefenbaker

Rinse it at the end of each day of your trip strip out some line -bath tub is great if you have one. give it a good cleaning when you get home and lubricate it keep in mind all lubricants are not equal so follow your manufactures advice or you may void your warranty or bugger your reel. Clean your rod when your get home too as sand and salt have a nasty habit of magically reappearing. Have fun on your trip!

I think after the first dozen I'd be wondering about my tippet material and replacing it!

some reel foots just don't match up well with certain reel seats all you can do is alter the foot ie-file or grind the foot to fit or change the reel seat on the rod not really that difficult but a shame to do on a new rod, The other is to get a different reel. I had some early Hardy Marquis that didn't fit well with my RPL's a little filing was all that was needed to make them work until I replaced them with Loops.

How do you load it? Do I need a F.A.C.?