headscan

Sounds about right. I have a 5/6 Beulah switch for the Bow with an 8 wt reel. You could even go with a 4/5 and a 7 wt reel. But honestly, if you just want to be able to fish where there isn't much back cast room, just spey cast your single-handed rod. I do that with my 9'6" 7 wt Loop Opti Coast and can spey cast it as far as I need to on the Bow and it's far better for overhead casting than a switch.

Yeah, I figured there hasn't been enough controversy on FFC lately I think the other question that kind of arises from this is how many people who find switch rods useful also own/use a full two-handed rod? Personally, I'd rather use my Decho 12'2" 5wt for fishing the Bow than a 10'6" 5/6. Sure it means that I'm limited to spey/scandi/skagit casts (hey, let's start a debate on the differences in casting styles next) and can't really overhead cast, but that's why I always carry a single-handed rod as well.

Murray, that's really cool to hear. A longer two-handed rod would probably be more awkward for your friend than a switch and possibly start to wear on his shoulders after a while as well so I can really see how it's useful for him. Do you know what kind of lines he's using on it? I'm going to try a slightly customized line on mine that a guide out in BC showed me. If it works well I'll let you know if he wants to test it out.

Fisknat makes nets with the rubber bags. Maybe you could try contacting them to see if they have replacement net bags for what they offer and get one the right size for yours.

The Clash Dead Kennedys Bad Religion DOA (the Vancouver punk band, not the hair band) The Donnas KMFDM Skinny Puppy Ministry NIN Combichrist Public Enemy Wu-Tang Clan Have the iPod hooked into the head unit with one of those iLink things so I can control it through the steering wheel controls.

I think what I've found is that since I figured out the "turbo spey" with a single-hander I haven't had any need for a switch rod. I can overhead cast the single-hand rod for more delicate stuff (or when I feel like it) and single-hand spey when there's no back cast room (or when I feel like it). No real need for a compromise rod as Brian puts it. Sorry Gordon, I got the pink golf clubs confused with the rod

Hasn't been much spey discussion lately (other than Speyghillie captured on film casting a girly rod) so I thought I'd throw this out there for a little debate... Are switch rods useful or a gimmick? If you find them useful, are you mainly overhead casting or spey casting them or do you truly "switch" between the two styles when fishing them? I have a 10'6" Beulah 5/6 switch and find I don't use it anywhere near as much as my single- and two-handed rods. The switch is fun to cast, but for utility I find I'd rather carry one single and one double with me when I fish. I also spey cast the switch (two-handed) around 99.9% of the time that I do use it since I find it a little too heavy for overhead casting.

Ah, ok that makes sense. I don't double overhand cast much because I find it's a little awkward for me, but that's just a personal preference thing. Long vs short rod has a lot to do with how much line you're able to lift off the water, overhead obstacles, and what's behind you. If you tend to wade deep, a longer rod is an advantage. There are some float tubers that use longer rods since they're waist deep. Try casting from the shore then waist deep with the same rod and the same amount of line on the water. You'll probably notice it's easier to pick the line up from shore. If you fish small creeks mainly from shore, then a shorter rod should work fine. Obviously if you're fishing somewhere with a low tree canopy, a longer rod might be a disadvantage since you might end up with your tip hitting the branches or tangling your line in them. If there are low obstacles behind you, like 3 foot tall weeds and grass, sometimes that bit of extra rod length is enough to keep your back cast over it. Fatigue plays a part with longer rods. Like I said, overhead casting my 10'6" 5/6 wt would be tiring to cast for long, but I don't notice any extra fatigue with my 9'6" 7 wt. I think the trick is to try a few different lengths and see where it is that you start to notice the extra rod weight. If you want to use longer rods without the fatigue, then it may be time to learn to single-hand or double-hand spey cast, but that's a subject for a different thread.

I recently switched to a 9'6" 7 wt as a nymphing and light streamer rod. The best thing about some extra length and backbone is that if you're throwing 2 or 3 nymphs and an indicator in the wind it has the balls to pick the rig up and get it where you want. The line you use for it is going to make a big difference too. I use a Loop Opti Stream line on it, which has a shorter head to muscle through the wind and turn over more weight. I mainly single hand spey cast though, so I don't know how much of a difference that makes. The short head, thin running line and extra rod length make mending super easy like Max says too. Max, do you use the 11'2" for overhead casting much? I have a 10'6" switch rod and find that an hour of overhead casting it just wears my shoulder out.

If prizes are handed out is there a possibility it would fall under derbies/tournaments in the regs? If that were the case I think there'd be an extra $25 charge per person.

I'm confused. Where's the bottom handle on that rod and why is it so short? And why does it look like the loop is above the rod tip?

I too have seen the light and always catch millions of fish with only one fly. I find the trick is to spray it with some WD40 first to reduce hook squeak.

I buy my flies locally at West Winds, Fish Tales, and Troutfitters. All are good, but West Winds has quite a few hand-tied custom flies that are really nice and you won't find elsewhere. I've also heard really good things about Icky Flyworks (one of the site sponsors) but don't have any personal experience with them.

Gordon, make sure you let us know well in advance for the spring clinic. That way we can prepare in advance for the accompanying blizzard

Saturday evening as I was leaving the Southland dog park area I noticed a spin fisherman fishing from the middle of the pedestrian bridge. I was about to go over and say something to him about it, but then realized that I didn't know if there's anything in the regs about it. I took a quick look at the online regs when I got home but didn't see anything about fishing from bridges being illegal. Anyone know? My main concern is that the fish would have to be hauled up a long distance, then either thrown from the bridge or spend a long time out of water if it was released. That's fine if the fish is being kept and within the size restrictions, but a death sentence otherwise.

Wait, let me check. Yup I am, although now everyone else in the office is looking at me funny. Rick, what are these "books" you speak of? Can you find them on the internets? I looked on the google for them and got something about amazons and facebooks. Anyways, I'm finished feeding this troll.

Yup, I seem to also recall seeing an old (circa 16th or 17th century) drawing of a monk fly fishing with something like a dozen flies on one line. If you want to get really traditional, the Treatyse of Fishing with an Angle describes using rods made of ash, hazel, and willow and lines made of horse hair and no reels. Haven't run across anyone fishing that way around here lately...

If I'm nymphing I start with three and if they're only going after the one fly then I switch to only that one fly. Dries - one fly (except for hopper-dropper). Streamers - one fly. That's nice. Not all of us can make it out during a hatch so we use streamers and nymphs as well. Just because you choose to limit yourself to a single dry fly there's no need to belittle those of us who don't. I agree that it's exciting to see the take on a dry, but it's also great to feel a savage take on the dangle or first strip of a streamer. To each his own.

Oh, well here you go then... http://nymag.com/daily/fashion/2008/06/cha...m_the_fl_1.html

http://www.cyriak.co.uk/lhc/lhc-webcams.html

Sage released their two shorter bass rods specifically to meet tournament regs. http://www.sageflyfish.com/dyn_prodlist.php?k=83540

Heh, now people are going to be asking how to resize their pictures

You need to upload the image to a site like Photobucket first. Copy the address of the image on the Photobucket website then when you're creating a post here click the button that looks like a landscape to the left of the smiley button. Paste the address of the image in the box that pops up, click ok and you're done.

http://www.srd.gov.ab.ca/lands/usingpublic...boundaries.aspx I think the key statement is "It is the responsibility of a landowner to know where their property boundaries are." Since river banks are subject to change because of erosion I don't think you can have a precise definition of where the property boundary is. As a rule of thumb if there are fences or no trespassing signs up, I stay as close to the water as I can to reduce the risk of a confrontation.

Ok, I completely retract what I said about the Rio AFS head. I gave it another try today and it works incredibly well. Since I don't have a skagit head for this rod yet I used it to throw some big streamers. It was a little tougher than using a skagit, but still got the job done.