headscan

Found this link on Speypages: http://neilcreekchronicles.blogspot.com/20...-christmas.html I don't normally care too much about gear aesthetics as long as it works, but to me that is one fugly looking rod. Not a fan of the blank colour or the cork. Hopefully they cast a lot better than they look.

Bah, if he was a Deerfoot driver he would've also been talking on his cell phone, drinking coffee, reading the newspaper, shaving, smoking, and turning around to yell at the kids in the back seat while driving like that.

Ugh. Before filling it out I took the time to read through the executive summary for the first time. Completely ridiculous. I don't mind spending extra money, but have a problem being lumped in with the rest of the world. Makes it even worse (for me) that I'm a former resident.

Have one and love it. One suggestion though - charge an extra buck or so and include a clip so it's ready to attach to a vest/jacket. I keep forgetting to get one so I'm always having to pull it out of a pocket.

I think Whistler (Brian Niska) said if the weather is nice enough around the Fly Fishing Expo that he'd put on a clinic. Gordon will probably be back in the spring to put on a clinic as well. Can't go wrong either way.

Done.

I have to admit I haven't fished the DH rod much in the last few months. I have been speycasting the single-hand rod a lot, though. While I can "turbo spey" the SH rod to distances that aren't very fishable I've also been improvising double speys and snap t's so that I can effectively fish anywhere from 5 feet to 50 feet around me. One thing I did learn about the DH rod is that I prefer casting a Scandi head above all else. Skagit is a useful tool for fishing Big Uglies at depth, but I prefer the finesse of the Scandi. Or maybe it's just that the Scandi heads I have are more dialed in for my rods than the Skagit heads. Or my Skagit casting could just plain suck. Also, I've come to the conclusion that anything more than a 4, 5 or 6 wt DH rod is complete overkill on the Bow. Sure you can do it, but it just feels ridiculous to me. Yeah I know some people are going to disagree with this, but after fishing a 5 wt DH rod and 7 wt SH exclusively for the past few months my heavier DH rod will only come out for practice and when I head out west to fish for anadromous species.

So are they designed to handle mid/long belly lines or can they handle scandi/skagit as well?

Ah yes, Gord's Nautilus sermon is second only to one of his rants. I know it's worked on me four times now... It doesn't necessarily need to be a Bow river rod, just that one rod that you love to cast and feels like it was made just for you and you have it lined perfectly so that you don't feel it could be tweaked any better. Could be a $100 combo or a $1000 one. The strangest thing for me about the Opti Coast is that I didn't test it before I bought it. Called up Whistler and told Brian what I was looking for. He asked me a bunch of questions then suggested this rod and line.

Really nice looking chrome. Love how they make that 12'6" rod look so small... Good on ya Brian.

Over the last few weeks I realized that I've found my ideal rod/line/reel combination. I can cast it in almost any situation - in close, at distance, high winds, nymphing with an indicator, dry fly, streamer - and almost always hit my target and I can cast it for hours without tiring. It has the backbone to fight a big fish but is still fun for the smaller ones. I have other good rods that I use for certain situations, but none of them cast quite as well or are as much fun as this one. It took me quite a few different rods and lines to get to this point which got me wondering. Who else has gotten to this point? How long did it take you to find it? How many people are still searching for their ideal? Just thought it might be an interesting topic for a snowy Sunday... Oh, and if you're curious it's: Loop Opti Coast 9'6" 7wt rod Loop Opti Stream 7 wt line Nautilus 8 reel

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?

So you're posting a pic of a stonefly orgy? Isn't there some rule against posting pornographic pics on the forum? And from a moderator no less...

For beginning fly tying I found the Benchside Introduction to Fly Tying by Leeson and Schollmeyer was really helpful. The Henrik Mortensen dvds are really good, but the way he handles fish makes me cringe. You may also have an uncontrollable urge to buy a two-handed rod after watching his videos. Surprised nobody mentioned any of the McLennan books - Blue Ribbon Bow, Trout Streams of Alberta, and Fly Fishing Western Trout Streams. They all have good basic info on local entomology, reading water, rigging, and fly selection. I think Jim's books and Fishing the Forestry Trunk Road by Barry Mitchell are essential if you spend any time fishing in Alberta.

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.