headscan

Just how badly worn are the soles? http://www.simmsfishing.com/site/streamtread.html (resoling resources close to the bottom of the page) $44 for replacement soles plus whatever labour charge, or buy a pack of hardbite cleats for around $50.

Don't put too much faith in the Yellowstone Anglers ratings. Trout Underground sums up some of the things in their criteria to keep in mind. Always try before you buy. http://troutunderground.com/2011/01/26/is-...ses-the-target/

A saltwater line is usually made for a higher temperature range than a freshwater line. A trout line would wilt in Cuba so I'd guess the saltwater line might be a bit stiff in cold water. Probably wouldn't hurt it any though.

You could always try adding hardbite studs or cleats to them. I bought a pair of the G4 guide boots when they first came out (2 years ago?) and had them disintegrate this year on the Skeena long before the soles wore out. Probably had somewhere around 150-200 days on them. I replaced them with another pair of the same boots.

Same here, but in the absence of regulations requiring this as a customer you can ask a potential guide if they have these things and not hire one who doesn't. In my mind up to date first aid and liability insurance should be bare minimums. A standard first aid and CPR course is only around $100-150 and I believe only needs to be updated every 2 years. The offroad group I'm part of has at least 4 people on every trail run who have wilderness and remote first aid/CPR training plus Find Me Spots.

It isn't a very expensive reel (maybe $100-150) but it's a damn good one. I have a Marquis that sees fairly regular use on the Bow and has also been used on rainbows in Alaska. I don't have any attachment to any of my reels other than my Hardys.

Ziploc bag.

Rick, I somewhat agree with you if we're talking about high stick, Czech, or general indicator nymphing, but not for dry flies. A good cast allows you to put the fly exactly where you want it with a good presentation the second it touches the water through reach casts, stack mends, etc. so that it's fishing longer. Also, having a good cast and different casting techniques at your disposal allows you to cast to fish that you might not be able to otherwise because of distance, obstacles, wind, and so on.

I'd go with a casting coach instead of walk and wade simply because you'll be focusing 100% on casting technique rather than catching fish. I've taken one of Jim's courses and he's great to learn from. Fish Tales, Country Pleasures, and South Bow probably also run casting clinics/lessons that I don't think you could go wrong with.

Better hope this fashion trend doesn't take off... http://www.moldychum.com/home-old/2011/5/5...on-contest.html

Where do you plan on fishing it and for what? That would probably be a good rod for chinooks. Take a look at this for some line recommendations as a starting point: http://www.rioproducts.com/photos/file/201...line%20recs.pdf Before you go out and buy a line you can always go down to Fish Tales and borrow one of their kits to try casting a few different lines on it to see which one you prefer rather than have someone else tell you what they prefer.

TFG? That F***ing Guy? As in "TFG is fishing my spot again!"

Darrin, it's almost like you aren't a FNG any more. Maybe just FG?

No, it's just made me bitter that now I'm back in the office staring out the window at snow instead of on a Skeena trib swinging flies.

What's a blackberry? Is that an app that runs on iOS or Android?

This. Icebreaker merino wool is fantastic and not as expensive as most others.

Will any egg yarn do? Pretty sure you can find different brands of egg yarn in the fly tying section of most shops.

I've always found the marabou blood quills work best for palmering.

The way this game is going you probably should've headed out Let us know how the new setup works when you have a chance to hit some casts with it.

My understanding is that they're meant for skagit heads. No reason you can't give em a try on something else to see if they work for you. Might be tricky on a scandi since you'd be going from a thinner, tapered tip on the scandi to a thicker skagit "cheater". But hey, give it a shot anyhow and let us know how it works.

There really needs to be a sarcasm emoticon. You know someone is probably furiously typing a reply right now asking how you can be so naive to think something like that...

Opening day vs the Twins yesterday.

A green butt skunk variant.

I think most everyone who lives in the NW would use a shop up here and those in the south wouldn't (why would they when they already have four to choose from?). When Troutfitters was by the stadium I used to stop in there on the way home from work all the time to pick up a couple things I needed especially if I was going to do some tying that night. Now I have to hope I grab everything I need when I'm in the south or that $2 pack of dubbing becomes $10 with the gas. Of course if it was a shop full of douchebags then I'd have no problem driving to the south for a spool of thread or pack of dubbing.

Yup, straight mono for nymphing and streamers. 10lb Maxima or Fluoroclear are pretty good. Tapered leaders for all my dry fly fishing. For tapered leaders I figure since one lasts me most of a season I'll get the Rio ones and spend the extra buck or so. It's one of those things where you get what you pay for. Also, I buy them from the local shops because I know how quickly they go through them. That way I know they haven't been sitting up on the wall in direct sunlight for the past two years.