alhuger

Just general visibility assuming they continue construction through the spring and summer months.

I have to wonder how much debris this will wash down stream. As Silver Doctor indicated earlier there will be some downstream impact. I just hope it does not color up the water all the way throughout the city. It looks like they will be using pretty heavy equipment there. al

How long is that pattern when it's wet?

So I was lame this year and stuck to a single pattern for swinging. This is it: I tied it for practicing casting large flies (this thing is 6 inches long) on sinktips. As it turns out it works really well so I fished it all late summer and fall. I have better luck on it (on the swing) than the bow river bugger. This is the first one I tied and I tied it lazy (like tying in the amherst in clumps) but it worked well enough that this one is now on my tying bench with the 20 lb test I looped for it's stinger worn right through. It has no name really but I refer to it as the 'practice run' just because that's what it was tied for. al

That place looks fantastic, any idea if it's worth it?

Chinook Tuna Sockeye Steelhead Tarpon Permit In that order. I have caught chinook and sockeye before but never dime bright on the swung fly and that's my goal. al

If you think that was a personal attack you need to check your head, thoroughly. I would take the time to craft a reply but it would be lost on you. al

Greg, You seem hell bent on turning everything into a competition of sorts. If you read Marc's posts, or mine for that matter, they are pretty carefully premised as personal opinion. As for the International Fly Fishing Team Members, who cares? The absolute last thing fishing on the fly is for me is a competition of any sort. I fish allot with Marc so I'll speak for him there as well. In general when people do not adhere to your approach to angling (using the big stick for nearly everything) you start to proselytize the benefits of the long rods and question their approach. Zero benefit can be had from this as far as I can see. We are heavily into spey casting we just don't use it for all the same things as you. No one is right here - this is a subjective thing we do and thankfully so. As for the 'science of flyfishing' comment at the end. Dude, this is not a science not even close to a science. Conservation MIGHT be a science, biology certainly, hooking fish in the face with a hook - not so much. al

Good luck out there. I am very interested in hearing how that line holds up in warm salt water. al

I think the emphasis was on 'in my opinion' I do not speak for Marc but I am pretty sure it's a personal assessment. For myself I dislike throwing an indicator with a two handed rod. Can I do it? Sure. Do I enjoy it? No. I dislike indicators in general and I hope to, one day, get enough skill mustered to nymph sans corkie (and not only in one of the 'European' styles you note above). I find indies remove a critical part of the experience for me, first contact with the fish. As for using the two hander for everything, well for me at least it just does not always make sense. Having said that I tend to do it because I am lazy. I do not however use it for dry fly fishing as that just strikes me as a little stupid ((and I am not referring to skating or swinging dry flies). I also avoid using it on lakes for a whole series of reasons not the least of which is that a 13 foot rod in a boat can be a pain in the ass. al

Hmm, feels like this: I took that about 30 mins ago when I was out running the dogs.

Bah, they are only relevant because the current Tory leadership is so miserable. I mean, seriously, what kind of Conservative leadership cannot find itself capable of meaningfully closing the electoral gap left by the weakest leadership either the Liberals or NDP has ever fielded? You need to add another face there. al

I still roll cast the triple nymph rig often. My goal is to get the line out and fishing. I only spey cast the ugly rigs when I am trying to impress Marc. I still prefer a single hander for nymphing but I will do it with my double because I am terminally lazy and that way I can only take one rod with me when I am walking and wading. al

That's an accomplishment. I have not seen you cast in a long time do you roll cast less now?

My guess is that rather than leader stiffness being the issue I think Marc is tangling more often because of his choice of cast. Marc does not typically roll cast his line out but rather uses a circle, perry or a double to move line. This gives his rig more opportunity to wind tangle or tangle if his loop is really tight (given his leader size I am doubting it's turnover here). Almost everyone I watch nymph with a triple rig roll casts and that leaves the rig in the water for the maximum amount of time and decreases the odd of a tangle. The roll cast works fine but It also does not help much if your trying to learn actual (other) spey casts. Also as Marc notes he often tangles on the hookset where he yardarms it out of the water. I tangle pretty much the same way and for a few other reasons (regardless of rig): 1. I am left hand up (always) and I often drop my shoulder on the cast which tangles my whole cast. 2. I occasionally do not position my anchor close enough to me which blows my cast and causes a tangle. 3. I occasionally attempt to violate the 180 principle and cast in some other direction contrary to where my D loops is. 4. I move too fast. Violating the SFD principle. al

I hope you had your 15' 9/10 on Staufer. That made me spit out my coffee this morning, thanks. al

So this year for me was short on water time for me but that time I did get in was mostly with my two handed rods except where I was fishing in the salt or still water. My question all of you is, what water did you all use the big sticks on this year and which water gave you the most overall enjoyment (if you can distill down to simple terms like that). For me, the water was (in no real order): 1. Adams River 2. Seymour River 3. Beaver River 4. Pitt River 5. Harrison River 6. Squamish River 7. Bow River 8. Shuswap Lake For me I took the most away from the Bow because frankly it's where I learned the most this year. Admittedly I spent more time there than anywhere else. I also had the opportunity to fish the Bow allot with friends whereas most of the other water I mention was on my own (most of the time) or with a guide. The Bow though surrendered a few secrets to me this year and helped cement some good learning. It was the first year, for me, where I was more happy fishing in in AB over BC. I really love the Bow. If only it had bigger, meaner chrome! Oh well, you can't have it all. al

Amen to not buckling to custom or 'tradition', that way lies the short road to boredom. I fish a Deer Creek 5/6 12.6 footer with SA floating mono .20 shooting line and a 420 grain compact skagit (23 feet) with 10 feet of 1X leader to a swivel and then my flies from there. For swinging streamers (which I tend to do more of and catch less fish on..) my setup is similar but I sub 15 to 10 feet of various sinktips and match my leader to work with sink tip length. Oh, and I swear, I will not buy a Dec Hogan 4 wt! al

Thanks for the replies guys, I appreciate it.

All, I've been palmering allot of marabou lately and am getting frustrated by the poor quality of many of the plumes I am getting. It's like a 5 - 1 mix of good to bad even with blood quills. Can anyone suggest a brand of marabou which has a good ratio of thin stemmed plumes? al

I have to agree with you Clive, I am fully disgusted by all of them at this point. Keeping truck with separatists is miserable (and by the way, the Conservatives have flirted with this too..) and toying with public funding of democracy in order to gain a war chest advantage is outrageous.. I think we are governed by ill behaved children. I wish we had a reasonable set of alternatives. al

All, I am looking at a vacation to the Bahamas with my family early in the new year. With the dollar where it's at and the economy what it is the price is going to be a bit ugly. Given this is the case and that my fishing budget for next year is already blown I will not be able to afford any guiding out there. I am likely going to stay on Eleuthra and I will definitely be bringing my gear for bones. Anyone have any experience in the area who can share with me what I might be facing out there? I have fished on my own for bones in Mexico and done tolerably well but I am totally unfamiliar with the conditions in the Bahamas. Cheers, al

Thanks Max, that is super helpful.

So I bought some large tungsten heads for tying with this week and just got down to tying some stuff up with them today. I was shocked by how heavy these things are, I am dreading casting them. If these things hit my rod tip it's done like dinner. Any tips for casting heavy nasty stuff? I am using a skagit rig so I do not think getting the fly out will present too much of a challenge I am more concerned about getting it out without injuring my rod. al

Ditto, if the taxes were not so much more favorable I would switch my residency back. Not likely now though given our current economic climate.