alhuger

I'll put in for a couple if you need.

Cool, thanks Brent. I am surprised that 8 IPS is not catching up on the bottom, good to know.

Hey Gordon, that sounds pretty cool. I would love to try that on the lakes I fish. Especially on the midge and sedge hatches. Looking forward to seeing it. BTW - Are you bringing VAC RACs?

The rod will either be my 5/6 TF DC or my Sage Z-Axis 7wt. Either way I will be using a Delta AF 6/7 line. For the streamers I'll likely use the new Beulah and the Elixir line if I have them by then.

Cool, thanks Max. You have any problem with turnover w/ the swivel? I am thinking on using intermediate sink on the streamers, sound right?

All, If the weather cooperates (big if there..) I am headed out to fish the last two days of next week. I plan to nymph mostly, are there any special considerations particular to doing this with the two hander? Any lessons learned or suggested configurations would be appreciated. I am also bringing out a new rod for testing it and I plan to be throwing streamers with sink tips although from reading the fishing reports that does not seem to be really productive right now. -al

As for fishing: 1. Fish for springs and coho in the summer in northern BC. 2. Fish square, brigade and white lake this year. 3. Figure out lake fishing with my new two hander. 4. Fish the seymour again and this time not get stuck in quicksand. 5. Learn how to actually consistently catch on the bow. There is more (there always is) but this are the big one with 1 and 5 being my most important ones. -al

If you end up fishing for them in the kootneys let me know, I have some good patterns for gerards.

My first fish on the spey. My Dad, at 79, fighting a 32 spring in the salt. A fall river full of gravid salmon with a storm coming in overhead. My first spring this year. What a fantastic salmon they are. My first bone fish, I never thought I would encounter a pound for pound better fighter than sockeye salmon, I was wrong. These things are crazy. One of the few fish I have ever caught on the bow river. You guys keep me in awe. One of these days, I will square it away! -al

Wow, that's a beauty! I attempted to upload some pics but the board is insisting on images at 100K and none of my images are that small. -al

I got to watch my daughter open presents which is maye the most satisfying thing I have ever experienced at Xmas. I also ended up with a Hardy GEM MK II and a Hardy mid belly (67 ft) spey line with a clear sink tip. I am wired for sound right now just itching to get out and try it. And last but not (at all) least I was given a nice looking book titled "Fumbling with the fly rod" by Ian Collin James (sp), I am looking forward to digging into it after I finish the Haig-Brown I am reading now. I hope everyone is having a wonderful Xmas. Cheers, al

I echo that. My best fishing memories are about my friends and family, not the fish. -al

Thanks guys, that gives me allot to work with and thanks to the people who contacted me off-line. Losing it all sucked but what bothered me most was losing a collection of flies my grandfather fished with. It could have been allot worse so I am lucky in that regard. Oh well, in any event thanks again guys. -al

All, I recently was reminded why you should always be vigilant with locking your doors in the inner city. I was working in the back yard recently and I left the garage door open out front. Not a terribly clever decision. While I was out back someone wandered into my garage and helped themselves to some of my fishing gear. They walked out with two Bauer M4 and M5 reels along with a big box full of my flesh, egg and dry flies. It's pretty miserable to be stolen from but it's even worse for them to steal your fishing gear! In any event I now need to replace my dry flies as I will never have enough time to tie that many before the season starts up again. Can anyone suggest a good online retailer with affordable but quality dry flies? Thanks, al

Ditto, Merry Christmas Gordon and a Happy New Year to you as well. -al

So, this is a totally subjective response as I have nothing empirical here to base my opinion on. For me, a good rod, a really good rod, is one which I find easy to cast with my style and which I have a history with. I have a 7wt sage which I have fished all over the world and in a pinch I will fish it in conditions which it is frankly not suited for (fish are too big, wind is too strong, etc. etc) because to me it's an ideal companion to fish with. This rod and I have history together. I know I catch fish on it and that it delivers for me time and time again. I am loyal to this rod, sometimes foolishly so. I suppose I should add that it weathers the rigors of big fish and miserable treatment from a clumsy owner but I guess I kind of expect this from rods I pay good money for. For me it's all about comfort and confidence. In pure mechanical terms I cleave to fast action rods because I am a lazy caster, I also like Sage because I find their rods are pretty forgiving to my amateur cast. That's my two cents. -al

I picked up two float tubes from them last year via an online buy. They are fantastic, I am a big fan. The price was far better than I could get in BC (or AB for that matter) and they are good quality. -al

Gordon, What would someone be fishing for at that time of year? -al

Rick, You are a gentleman, after I get my daughter to sleep I will sign up and read it. cheers, al

Thanks Gordon, I appreciate you looking for me. I tend to get gear happy, I think to compensate for less time than I would like on the water frankly. That and I get mesmerized by shiny things. What can I say? As for the tropics, I am still mulling over a shooting head like an outbound tropical simply because I will likely get good use out of it and I need a salt line for my 8 wt. I still have a few months to mull it over though so I am not committed to anything yet. I plan on fishing the salt this coming year in northern BC for salmon again and I am planning on using the two hander and spey casting for exactly the reasons you mentioned. The offer on beer still stands of course, as for the tickets - Scotland to YYC? -al

Fantastic, thanks Rick.

Should I have any concern that the Scandi head might turn too soft to cast in the warm water? I suppose if a guy in Belize is doing it then I should be able to pull it off. Of course I am pulling this assumption out of thin air. I will be fishing in the bahamas (and staying on the windward side of the island, less flats more coves and rocks & reef) and in Playa Del Carmen (so on the flats and reef fishing). I keep getting told that a two hander is a poor idea on the flats for a whole series of reasons. I am still going to bring it and try to get something working, life is short and I am having fun learning the two hander.

I am afraid to ask what 'pot licking is'...... It sounds, well, a bit dirty. -al

I made the same assumption after reading their site last night. It looks like a rig designed for surf casting. As for trying it out, I'll unlikely be able to hit any water with it for a while and I'm not accomplished enough in understanding the rods themselves to be able to flex it and make any intelligent assumptions. I think I may wait. -al

Gordon, Outstanding, I will PM you.