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You really don't need more than one for the Bow. A 4 or 5 wt two hander will handle anything around here. If you plan on fishing for steelhead or salmon, then it's a bit of a different story. Where are these meetings and is there beer involved?

It wouldn't just be an issue of office staff to run this registry, but also enforcement. We already know that the CO's are stretched to the limit just checking for regular angling licenses and responding to other calls, so how would their current numbers be expected to check guides as well? Even at $450 a license for guides I don't think that would give you enough money for salaries, administration costs, office space, computers, a database for the registry, and other various overhead costs.

Might as well shut down the fishing reports section of the board then. Instead of guys claiming to catch 30+ fish every day nobody would ever admit to catching anything.

Yup, I've bought all my Loop gear (three rods, a reel, and a bunch of lines) from Brian. He's great to deal with and really knows the product line inside and out. Whenever I've ordered from him it usually shows up at the Greyhound depot a couple days later. Give him a call at 1-888-822-3474 and I'm sure he'd be happy to help you out.

Every Canadian should read Vimy by Pierre Berton and D-Day Dodgers by Dan Dancocks. Remembering once a year is important, but learning the history behind it all is even better.

I'm down to two DH rods - Loop Goran 9126 and a Decho 5122 with Scandi and Skagit heads for both. At the same time though, I only have two SH rods with plans to pick up a Loop Opti Creek 2 wt in the spring (buying an Islander IR1 reel for it tomorrow). I may not have a ton of rods, but I mainly spey cast the single hand rods instead of overhead casting them. I do check out all the new gear and I've been thinking about a 7 wt DH rod to fill the gap between my 5 wt and 9 wt, but I honestly wouldn't get much use out of it in Calgary compared to the 5 wt. At this point I'd rather concentrate on getting better with the two excellent rods that I already own. I'll be picking up one of the Loop Whistler lines for the Goran and one of the Airflo Deltas for the Decho when they're available. I have the sickness as bad as anyone. Every night I wonder if I could skip work or leave early to go fishing instead. It doesn't help that I work with someone who has the sickness also. In fact, we had planned on skipping out early today to hit the water, but unfortunately work got in the way for both of us. Some days I'll even go out and just cast to get that euphoric feeling from a perfect cast that beats my personal best for distance. Funny how I can go out fishing and have a perfectly good time even if I don't catch a single fish that day.

Here's a good place to start: http://www.rioproducts.com/photos/file/Und...ines%202008.pdf

I'll second this. When I bought my first DH rods I went with the internet lemmings here and had a really tough time getting past a certain point in my casting. I've since gotten three rod/line combos from Brian and line suggestions for another rod that I didn't even buy from him and they all cast great. Tell him what you're fishing for, where, and your skill level and he'll give you some great recommendations. Come here to get a few ideas, but get serious advice from someone like Brian. Also, after taking a clinic from Brian and Frankie my casting improved exponentially.

You can fish stillwater with a spey rod. I tried it once and won't be doing it again, but then I think stillwater fly fishing is as much fun as watching paint dry. The main problem I found is that most spey casts rely on the current to wash your line downstream so that there isn't any slack before you begin the cast. There are ways around this, but it's just that much more effort. I suppose you could always overhead cast with it provided you have the back cast room.

The correct rod length and weight is mainly determined by where you're planning on fishing and for what, along with a certain amount of personal preference just like with a single-handed rod. The best thing to do is try a few different rod and line combinations to figure out what you prefer.

Tried something like that with one of my Rio sink tips, only I was using an albright knot instead of a nail knot. The mono cut through the coating and slid it off on a bad backcast I think. I've been going with loops made from 2-3 nail knots since. Using multiple nail knots that way might distribute the force so that cutting through isn't as much of an issue.

Different colours of heat shrink tubing would probably work as well.

Cash's version of Rusty Cage wasn't great, but he probably pulled off one of the greatest covers ever... And what about the covers that are so good most people think they're the originals? Click here if the movie does not play.

What's this "developing" you speak of? I thought you just plugged the camera into your computer to transfer the pictures then printed them with your ink jet printer. Am I missing something here?

The Scierras may currently be cheaper here than in Europe since I hear they're pulling out of North America. I imagine if that's the case retailers are desperate to get rid of them.

Hi Rob, I own the Decho 12'2" 5wt and love it. The three lines I've used are an 8 wt Airflo 40+, Rio AFS 4/5, and Airflo 420 grain Compact Skagit. The AFS head with a 10' polyleader or 15' mono leader is my favourite line on it so far. The Compact Skagit works nicely as well with a 10' sink tip, though don't expect to be able to cast very large streamers with it. There isn't anything wrong with the 40+ on it, but the AFS is just so much nicer. As far as choosing between the Decho 4 and 5, I never tried the 4wt so I don't have any opinion on it. I chose the 5 wt because I thought it would handle skagit lines and some bigger streamers better, plus 12-13 foot rods seem to be my preference. I've caught trout between 12 and 20 inches on the 5 weight and they were all a lot of fun to fight. It never once felt like I could just yank them to shore. I talked to Wetduck earlier today and he said that he loved casting the 4 wt Decho. I believe he also owns the DC 5/6 so he might be able to give you a comparison between the two rods. One thing to keep in mind is that you may have trouble finding a Scandi head light enough for the 4 wt. I don't think Vision, Rio, SA or Loop make Scandi lines that light, so you may be stuck with a 7 wt Airflo 40+ or waiting for the new Delta Squeeze(?) line for it though I think that's more of a mid-belly line.

Pics of redds in this thread from last year for anyone unsure of what to look out for.

That made me laugh out loud. Any chance you'll have the Loop Whistler lines at the expo?

I haven't overhead cast my single-handed rods in a couple of months now - all single-handed spey casting for me. I can pick up a three nymph rig with an indicator and get it where I want with hardly ever a tangle. (Now that I've said that I'm going to end up tangling my line every other cast on Saturday.) I don't think it's necessarily better than overhead casting a single-hand rod, it's just way easier on my wrist which is showing signs of carpal tunnel. Unfortunately you guys just missed one of Gordon's sessions, and yes he is one hell of a nice guy even though he uses pink golf clubs. I think Brian Niska also said that if the weather is nice enough when he's out here for the fly fishing expo that he might put on a clinic. If you can get a lesson from either Gord or Brian it'll be worth your while. Oh, and that other single-hand spey video was posted by me once before when I was learning and I was promptly informed it was crap. Check this one out instead...

I think the most amazing part about that post is that there was a disagreement about the fish being rocked yet it remained incredibly civil on both sides (at least as of the last time I checked). Personally, I would've preferred if he hadn't posted the second pic. Just my opinion.

I learned: - that I have a serious addiction that causes me to spend obscene amounts of money and there aren't any 12 step programs for it. - I prefer to carry both a single and double hand rod with me - I can single-hand spey cast much better than I overhead cast - there are times that I prefer to fish alone and others that I prefer to fish with friends - it isn't all about size/numbers of fish, but they sure make a good day of fishing even better - I'd rather spend a few bucks more on quality gear that will last a lifetime than less expensive gear that needs to be replaced every year or two - the one thing you leave in the trunk because you don't think you'll need it that day turns out to be the one thing you needed the most (rain coat, toque, extra rod, bug spray, etc.) - some people simply don't understand that low-holing is rude - it's easier to stop fishing for a couple of minutes when someone throws their dog's ball into your water than to remove a hook from an angry dog - even highly pressured spots still produce good fish (there's a reason some of those spots see so much pressure) - Bow river trout in high traffic areas are not nearly as easily spooked as most people seem to think, which I learned after nearly stepping on a couple at FC and SDP - the forum feature that lets you block certain users' posts is really handy - the forum also lets you make some really good new friends who are just as obsessed as you are

I find even with the 9wt I can do a snake roll with a dink on the hook. They just help your anchor placement.

My gear is better than your gear because I spent more money on it than you did. If you spent more than I did, then you're an idiot for spending that much on gear that's complete overkill for the Bow. I fish a 15' 9wt spey rod on Stauffer with a size 22 fly soaked in shrimp oil, an indicator, and split shot from a jetboat. I fight a 12" fish for at least half an hour, especially if I hooked it off a redd at the mouth of the Highwood in the spring, then I gill it so that I can lay it on the rocks for a picture. Oh, and if you don't fish only a single dry fly then not only are you not a real fly fisher but you must also beat puppies and kittens. Does that cover most of the big ones?

That web poll would be equivalent to the popular vote. The Cons (oops, did I accidentally leave out part of their party name?) only received about 37% of the popular vote in the last election. There are also a lot of other factors that could effect a poll like that. For instance, I just voted on it twice...

I agree 100%. For me it's also a case of preferring to have something I don't really need rather than not having something when I need it. I know I can easily take any of my Nautilus reels to Cuba or wherever and they will stand up to the salt plus the drag will reign in a bonefish, tarpon, etc.