headscan

Fish Tales also carries William Joseph gear if you want to support the local shops.

Neither. Get a backpack and a shirt with a couple of big chest pockets. Leave the pack on the shore where you stop to fish and keep a fly box, tippet spool, and nippers in the shirt pockets. Vests and chest packs are just too hot to wear all the time in warm weather. If I didn't need a way to carry my lunch, water bottle, and rain jacket I don't know if I'd even bother with the back pack any more either.

Try sending a pm to CDone. He does a lot of that sort of work.

Could be that the hard drive cable has come loose so now the BIOS is trying to boot from a network drive.

Nah, the second job interferes with the time to play with all your toys. Just start selling your other stuff to pay for it - golf clubs, tv, stereo, house, etc.

Get out with someone else from the board or hire a guide like Max to help you with this. Also learn a little about trout behaviour and some entomology to figure out which fly to use when, the proper presentation, and where the fish are likely to be. I know you don't want books, but there's a good dvd from Scientific Anglers on reading water as well. Not quite as good as a sinking line, but you could try sinking polyleaders or just getting a length of T-8 or something. I think Troutfitters will build a sink tip kit for you if you ask (and pay of course). I usually only use sinking lines for fishing streamers, though. Floating line and some weighted nymphs or split shot is all you need to nymph around here. Once you figure out how to read water properly you'll know where to place it. Also remember to mend your line as necessary after the cast. Again, get out with someone from the board willing to teach you to nymph, or hire a guide who's willing to give you some pointers.

If they're sitting in a spot for a long time the blame doesn't necessarily go to the guide. Any time I've been out with a guide they've asked me if I want to keep fishing a spot or move on. I find most of the guides on the Bow (at least that I've run into) to be pretty decent. Just last weekend a drift boat came around a blind corner to find me fishing. As soon as the guide saw me he asked his clients to put their lines on the other side of the boat, apologized to me, then did his best to go through with minimal disturbance to the run.

I use a pair of Oakley Half Jackets. The lenses pop out easily so I have a pair of grey ones I use for bright days and yellow ones for low light. The other good thing is that if you scratch up the lenses you can just replace them instead of buying a whole new pair. They're >$200 a pair though and replacement lenses are $100, so if you lose sunglasses or scratch them often this isn't the way to go. Oakley also has a fishing-specific line of sunglasses/lenses, but I haven't seen them in any stores around town.

Fisknat makes some larger nets with rubber bags. If you're looking for something really big you could check into a cradle, but those aren't as easy to carry. You might be better off tailing the fish if they're that big.

Picked up my skagit compact today. Tried to get some of the SA shooting line but nobody in the city seems to carry it, though I could special order it or order online. Being the patient sort I picked up the Airflo Ridge shooting line instead For the Beulah I think I'm going to play around with a 7/8/9 Windcutter Versitip on it. If I use just the belly with a tip it might work. The Airflo Compact Skagit I was casting on it before was 420 grains, so it should be ok.

I had the same problem with my Sharkskin line fresh out of the box. I was told that it sounded like a warranty issue and to contact SA about getting a replacement. My old GPX line never had that problem, so it probably isn't a line dressing thing.

More expensive than the other lines mentioned, but I think the SA GPX lines are the best all around overhead casting lines out there. Spend the extra money and you won't regret it. Another thing to consider is that your line might not be the problem so much as your rod, or more specifically the rod's action. When you say the other rod "felt much smoother casting" than yours, was it the same rod with a different line or a completely different outfit? If it was a different rod, then maybe the one you have doesn't have an action that suits your casting style but the one you borrowed does. No point in spending money on a new line if the rod is actually where the problem lies...

I was casting a couple of these heads on my Loop Goran 9126 and a Beulah 11'6 6/7 yesterday. On the Goran I was able to cast the 510 grain head as easily as my 600 grain Rio Skagit only with slightly more finesse. I had been considering selling my Beulah 6/7, but instead I'm going to replace the Elixir line with one of these and keep it. Toolman, how are you finding the Ridge running lines? I got to play with the new SA monocore shooting lines and was really impressed by them.

Gotta be your biggest catch yet. Did you get a really good hook set?

It's mostly just the taper of the single hand line I don't like. I find the head length is too long for my purposes, and if I want to cast long distances I'll use my two-hander or switch rod to accomplish that with less effort. I think there'll be a market for the Sharkskin running lines. People who want something that shoots better than a regular line but don't want the tangles associated with certain mono running lines in cold water. I also find mono to be hard on my fingers when stripping it in, but I'm not sure if Sharkskin will be better or worse.

The Bow can be a tough river to learn on in the best of conditions. When I started out I was ready to pack it in because it seemed I could never catch a fish there. Then I started fishing the Highwood and other smaller streams and was catching fish more consistently each time out. Hone your skills on smaller rivers, then bring those skills to the Bow. If you can, take Samuraifly and Harps suggestion to check out the Sexyloops lesson.

Just a heads up if you haven't already heard - word is that SA will be releasing Sharkskin running lines. Not a big fan of the taper on the single hand lines, but the running lines could be interesting. Might be time to buy a stripping glove...

I own last year's version of the G3s and they can be converted as well. I wear them rolled down 90% of the time and only have them up if it's cold, raining, or if I'm wading through some deeper areas. They work great and are fairly cool since they're made of Gore-Tex (only Simms, Patagonia, and Cloudveil are currently licensed to use Gore-Tex). +1

Maybe the RCMP could try a crackdown on the Highwood around Nature's Hideaway. Was in the area last Saturday and it was pretty out of control. One group had a separate smaller raft just for their beer.

Watch your back cast - I mean actually look back at your line during your back cast. You're possibly starting your forward cast too soon resulting in tailing loops, which often cause tangles. You can try nymphing without an indicator as well. Swinging nymphs can be pretty effective and some people don't use indicators at all. You might miss some fish while you learn to feel the hits, but once you get the hang of it you'll just know when to set the hook. There's also nothing wrong with casting a single nymph until your cast gets better. Get the hang of casting the one nymph, then add an indicator, then add a second and third fly or something like that. Every thing you have on your leader - flies, shot, indicator - adds complexity to the equation, so start simple and work your way up.

I agree. Since I started using a four wrap surgeon's knot for my mono to fluoro connections I've never had the fluoro cut through the mono.

You're so close to the confluence down there that it's a lot like fishing a smaller version of the Bow. Fewer cutts and more rainbows and browns than the upper Highwood. I had luck on a black BH Prince down there last weekend. GRHE, SJW, and most of the standard nymphs that work on the Bow right now will work there as well. My fish last weekend were all caught on the swing - no indicator. I've also had more luck on emergers than regular dries in that area if you see any risers in the evening.

http://www.bored.com http://www.boingboing.net

Maybe they're using sinking scandi lines or shooting heads? The Loop Opti Adapted shooting heads come in a few different sink rates http://www.looptackle.com/website1/1.0.1.0/392/1/index.php

Read this thread then decide if you want to wet wade the Bow