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I don't know that the decline of hunters and fishers is due to PETA so much as other shifts in society. Why sit in the woods for hours on end waiting for a deer/moose/whatever when you can shoot plenty of things in a few minutes in a video game? Meat from the grocery store is also pretty cheap and widely available so there's less focus on subsistence. Most people want beef, chicken, and pork because that's all they've ever tasted and have no real interest in wild game. Pretty much the same can be said of salmon, tuna, and so on from the grocery store as opposed to a brookie from a mountain stream. Rick, I agree with you to an extent about parallels between PETA and C&R fishing, but I think the real differentiator is motive. I'm purely a C&R guy because I don't care much for the taste of fish other than fish and chips and some sushi. My motive is to let them live so someone else can catch them and in the case of bigger fish it's so that they can contribute back in to the gene pool. Purely selfish from a fisherman's standpoint.

I'll split gas. Wanna trade some of your catnip patterns for my ball of yarn fly?

Does mixing catnip in with your dubbing count as bait when you target sea kittens?

Oh christ. "Like their surface-dwelling cousins, the land kittens, sea kittens enjoy being petted. Their lack of arms makes it difficult for them to pet back, but they often gently rub against each other as a sign of affection." Heh, I wanna see someone sue PETA after their kid tries to pet a pike, 'cuda, shark, etc.

Try Tailblazers. There's one in the NW at Nose Hill Dr. and Arbour Lake Way, but I think they have a few others in the city. Careful switching over to raw if you've been feeding your dog other food up till now because it can make him sick. If you ask at the store they can tell you how to switch properly. I don't do BARF with my dog, but I only buy his dry food and bison chews from Tailblazers because it's the healthiest stuff. It's a little more expensive, but you don't have to worry about stuff like melamine. I think the raw stuff at Tailblazers mostly comes from local farms, too.

Haha, ok. Thought they were part of some ultra top secret ninja grip enhancement technique or something.

Brian, is that a rubber band around the bottom grip?

One "kit" that's useful is the one Fish Tales sells for their intro to tying course. Has some of the materials you need to get you started and they're good quality and useful for flies that are commonly used around here. You'll still have to buy a vise and tools in addition to that, though.

I'd avoid felt soles on snow. The snow will stick to the felt and make your boots heavy and slippery. On the plus side you'll be a couple inches taller. Go with some sort of rubber or studded sole if you can.

Another vote for wearing the breathables all year. Take the money you would've spent on neos and invest in some light, mid, and heavyweight base and mid layers. By getting different weights you can layer them together or wear them alone depending on the temp. Stick to wool, polypro (Lifa, Capilene, etc.), and silk since they're breathable. If you go with base layers that aren't breathable you are at increased risk for hypothermia from moisture staying against your skin and cooling you down. For socks, seriously consider Patagonia Mountaineering socks. They're a little pricey, but they're the warmest and most comfortable socks I've ever owned. Like Max said, don't forget to keep your core and head warm. I think if your core temp drops a certain amount your body reacts by reducing blood flow to your extremities as protection against hypothermia.

I think you can find the seminar listings in Broken Tippet magazine. You should be able to find it at fly shops that sell Fly Fusion.

Hmm, that gear looks very familiar... Glad you're enjoying it Andy.

For the Bow I really liked the 12'2" Decho 5 with a Rio AFS head and 10 foot polyleader balanced out with a Nautilus 10 reel. The 11'9" Decho 4 feels nice too, but I only got out with it once and I think it'll be even better with one of the new Airflo Scandi Compacts than with the 7 wt 40+ I have on it now. Using a Nautilus 8 to balance the Decho 4.

Sure you have...

Some of the company reps are there as well with samples of the new gear for 2009. I seem to recall seeing all the new Simms gear at the show last year (though not for sale).

What are your fly fishing resolutions for 2009? For me: - Fish a wider variety of water. I love the Bow, but I spent far too much time on it compared to some of the other great streams we have in Alberta and BC. - Catch anadromous fish. - Work on my Skagit casting to help with the previous point. - Work on my dry fly presentation. - Not buy any rods or reels.

Played with the Decho 4 for a few hours today so I thought I'd post a mini review. The rod is a lightweight cannon. It feels like it has a little more flex than the Decho 5 but definitely stiffer than my old Beulah 11'6" 5/6. Casting three flies and an indy didn't require much effort and even a smaller rainbow managed to bend the rod over. If anyone is looking for a trout spey rod (not an 8 wt spey rod meant for anadromous fish like steelhead and salmon) this is definitely worth a look. I think Fish Tales even has a couple of Decho demo rods including the 4 and 5.

In all fairness Max was at home until he called Al and we told him the bite was on where we were. Didn't realize someone could drive across the city that fast...

Supposed to be nice but windy. Gusts up to 70 kph so if you're fishing be careful not to give yourself (or your fishing buddies) any new piercings of the fur and feather variety.

I took a look at the Enrico Puglisi stuff the other day. It seems interesting, but all the colours I saw were more suited to saltwater so I didn't pick any up. Tried an intruder-style fly with DNA and I'm pretty happy with how it turned out.

The Longest Silence is a great book. I'd put McGuane up there with Haig-Brown as far as high quality fishing authors. Got a 2wt 8'2" Loop Opti Creek rod and a friend tied me some great looking intruders. Now I can't wait for spring to get the rod out on Stauffer and the intruders into the lips of some west coast steel.

Updated forecast says +6 now. After the last couple weeks I'm guessing FC is going to be almost as busy as a summer day...

I'm using a 420 grain compact skagit on the 5 weight but just an Airflo 40+ 7 wt line on the 4. There are a couple new grain weights coming out but I haven't seen them on the shelves yet. The new 360 grain should work well on the 4 weight and the 390 might work better on the 5 weight than the 420. Really looking forward to the new Airflo Compact Scandi lines for these rods as well. They're supposed to start at 270 grains and go up to 540 in 30 grain increments. Since Tim Rajeff had a hand in designing both the Decho rods and the Airflo lines they should match up well together.

If the forecast for Saturday holds I'll know how it fishes then...

My highlight was just to be able to get on the water with good friends. Also managed to improve on various things just through practice - spey casting, fly tying, catching bigger fish with increasing consistency. Took a trip out west to fish surrounded by gorgeous scenery as well. Unfortunately, I didn't manage to get out to some places I had hoped to but now they just go on the list for next year. The ugly for me was having some jackass hit my car while I was on my way to fish. My car wasn't drivable afterwards (the car that hit me was totaled) but my friends came by the scene so we transferred all my gear to another vehicle and still fished.