headscan

If I could only use one rod to fish the Bow I'd go with a 9'6" 5 or 6 weight. The only reason I'd go 6 over 5 would be for chucking streamers easier. In spring/summer/fall I mainly use my two-hander with a skagit for tossing streamers and use a 4 weight single hander for dries or a 7 weight for heavy nymph rigs. And lethfisher, keep in mind that spey casting is not so much about distance as it is about efficiency. And you can just as easily spey cast a single hand rod with most lines. I love my two-handed rods, but I'd never give up my single handers either.

The way I interpret it is that the hunter/fisher does not pay the landowner for access. Instead the landowner gets paid by the program for allowing the hunter/fisher access to their land. In the case of the fisher, it would just be to cross their land to access the water that is still governed by the high water mark rule. My question is where the money to pay them will come from? Ultimately it will be us, either through our tax dollars or license fees would be my guess.

http://flyfishcalgary.com/board/index.php?showtopic=3276

A local take on the issue... http://www.bclocalnews.com/bc_north/terrac...s/38386774.html

Yup, cheeler nailed it. You need the full head of the shooting head outside of the rod tip to load the rod properly for your cast. If you don't want to shoot line and strip it back in, you should look at a mid-spey line or Windcutter or something similar. Just keep in mind that those lines are going to have a longer head than a skagit or scandi - possibly by as much as 20 feet. You have a couple options for fishing the water that is in closer - either move upstream and swing down through the spot where you want to fish or use a single-hander. Most of the year I carry both a single and double hand rod with me on the Bow so I can cover almost every situation.

There are probably a few things that factor into the price difference like design of the taper, how many they sell, etc. in addition to the extra foot of graphite and cork. You can always use a single-handed rod to spey cast with the right line. The single hand lines I have experience spey casting are the Loop Opti Stream, Loop Multi, and Airflo 40+ and they all work well. The 40+ is the recommended line for some switches and light two-handers (I use a 7wt on my Decho 4119 and Beulah 5/6 switch). If you're looking to get into spey casting, I'd start by either learning to spey cast a single hand rod with the right line if you don't want to spend a lot of money or get a proper two hander rather than a switch (this is mainly personal preference on my part because I'm not a big fan of switch rods). Are you primarily going to use it on the Bow? If so, I'd go down to Fish Tales and ask if they still have the Decho 4119 or 5122 demo rods and start by trying them out. They're medium action rods, so if you aren't crazy about them you can move to something with a faster or slower action depending on your preference. Either that or shoot me a pm and I'd be happy to let you try my 4119 or 5122 next time I head out.

One of the biggest things that stands out to me is the difference between perception and reality. "I still recall vividly an impassioned performance by the then most prominent guide on the Bulkley who told an MOE convened public gathering he had personally counted over 400 anglers on the Bulkley upstream from Telkwa the day after the “big rains” came. The instantaneous counts under identical circumstance during the creel survey period revealed the maximum number of anglers never exceeded (as best I recall) about 150." Kind of makes me think of all the threads here where guys are complaining about overcrowding on the Bow. It's also sad that even though they proved the reality was different from the perceptions that launched the AMP, they still went ahead with it. Agree 100%. Even though we aren't B.C. residents some of our tax dollars are being spent on steelhead.

Rick, you need to load that hat with a good heavy skagit line and it'll work wonders. Is it just me or does anyone else have visions of someone with one of those carrot stick rods being chased by a swarm of killer rabbits with huge sharp teeth and a vicious streak a mile wide? Maybe it's just me.

I think most people would attach their name to something even if they didn't believe in it if the proper incentive was there. Someone once said that everyone can be bought, it just depends on the price. Regardless, this is all academic until we get our hands on these rods to try them for ourselves.

You can also use a nymph as a dropper behind your streamer. That way you're covering two types of presentations at once. Like SilverDoc says, lots of different combos to be tried.

Rick, you know that line really shines when you single hand Spey cast it... I watched a certain Bow river ninja shoot almost an entire Opti Stream line with a singe switch cast.

Nope, they probably upgraded the graphite and tapers. Companies discontinue rods and introduce new and similar rods because that's how they get ink in the fly fishing mags. Nobody wants to review a rod that's already been on the market for a couple years. The Sage FLi and Flight is a good recent example of this. I think to an extent in the case of Loop they changed their naming scheme because some people found the colour names confusing. I think Loop discontinued their Zpey line because of low sales. Zpey probably retained the rights to their handle design and Loop kept the blank design. The redesign of the handle was likely done in the hopes of better sales this time around. The major hurdle for Zpey is that fly fishing is full of tradition and traditionalists (look at all the guys who still fish bamboo and fiberglass). Radical changes are usually met with fear, uncertainty, and doubt.

Henrik left Scierra for Zpey something like 6 months ago. I think for the most part these guys just go to the company that'll pay them the most and don't necessarily fish the gear from that company if there aren't any cameras around. Rumour has it Lefty Kreh still fishes Sage rods and not TFO... I noted the interchangeable handles, but honestly to me that says they don't have enough confidence in the Zpey handles so they feel they need to offer the traditional handle as well. Not saying this is the case, but that's just the impression it gives me. I'll still give one a try if the opportunity ever presents itself.

I'll guarantee the best man got laid after that.

Rubber tape sounds interesting since I'm guessing it wouldn't add weight. Where do you find it? Home Depot, Rona, etc.?

I just want someone to tell me how to pronounce it properly. Is it like spey only with a 'z' instead of the 's' or "zee-spey" or just "the rod with the funny looking handle"? I'll just wait until you go visit Bob's house at the next Spey gathering and cast it then.

Well, the rod is a Loop but the reel is a Nautilus. Just for kicks I tried a Loop Opti reel from another rod on this one and it fit perfectly. Funny thing is, my Nautilus reels fit without any problems on my other Loop rods and this one has the same style of reel seat. Maybe the notches in the locking rings are slightly bigger or something. Badger, it is a two-hander but a new one (bought at the show). And the Nautilus reel is just a bit over a year old.

Story on the show in today's Herald. http://www.calgaryherald.com/Entertainment...5773/story.html

Anyone have a better solution for a loose fitting reel than wrapping some electrical tape around the feet of the reel?

Every knot is a potential point of failure, but I've found that my leader to fly knot almost always gives first. If you're tying up your leaders at home, then take the time to get it right and if a knot doesn't look good or didn't feel right when you tightened it, clip it and start over.

Rick, I agree the Skeena AMP is b.s. and is not about conservation. In fact it was never about the fish so much as the "angling experience" for some locals and a few guides with their own interests in mind. The BCSS is a different group and the letter writing campaign is unrelated to the AMP, which is why I supported this campaign and sent negative feedback about the AMP. It's unfortunate that for some reason people posting to this thread are equating the two. Remember that there are steelhead in other systems than the Skeena. The response form period for the Skeena AMP ended Nov. 30th, but you can still sign the petition against it here: http://www.opposeskeenaamp.com/

To the best of my knowledge the AMP was not crafted by the BCSS. Whistler and uliwon probably have much more knowledge about this than I do since they are or have been associated with the BCSS. I think the AMP was put forth by the MOE based on input from local residents and some guides. http://flyfishcalgary.com/board/index.php?showtopic=6625 http://flyfishcalgary.com/board/index.php?showtopic=6401 http://speypages.com/speyclave/showthread.php?t=30954

So Scierra plans to re-enter the North American market?

If you make your own, you can make it to your own preferences in terms of length as well as the taper. So if you want something to turn over heavier flies you could use a heavier butt section and so on. Plus, if you're on the water and you have your tippet spools you can build a new leader from scratch in a pinch.

Gord, forgot to ask if you know the URL for that magazine? I tried a search but came away empty handed other than sites advertising subscriptions to it.