Yours truly tying up a storm.

Tying up some Winged wets for the show. Nice to see interest from people in these old classic flies.

Tying on my Law vice, I was surprised how many people recognized the vice.

Good fishing buddie and friend Brad tying up a storm.

Some bunnies Brad tied.

Ron, our organizer, thanks for all your hard work and endless dedication.

Some great personalities to meet ad greet.

Pieroway Rods

Me and that great writer Jim McLennan, author of Blue Ribbon Bow, a fantastic read.

April Vokey manning her Fly Gal Booth. April is a fantastic guide and tier who can put you onto Seelhead with style.

Me and Bob Meiser of Meiser rods, rod builder extraordinaire. His double handed Spey Rods have  continue to set standards in beauty and performance. They are also my favorite rod to swing for Steelhead and large trout.

Richard Mason of  Bow River Adventures, a great guide with Bob meiser manning his booth. He understand the need of fly fishermen, Bamboo aficionados and Steelheaders. Give Richard a shout for a great fishing adventure. If  you’re in Alberta order a Meiser rod from him.

These are some of the incurable rods that Bob Meiser produces.

More show impressions

I put two capes in a package to same space

silks and hooks

beads and cdc

thread, thread thread

another box opened

quills and schlappen

upland , partridge and fur

goodies

all done

By the way here is an observation, I’ve always loved felt for good traction, with the advent of evasive species felt has been banned in many areas. I guess they have to target something but it’s a shame as safety is now a question. I have tried a number of “new and improved” rubber type soles from different makers. They are slippery. If you use felt be sure to either dry them out between trips and treat them with a good wash recommended for cleaning off the nasties. I use diluted Bleach. The really nice thing about Korkers is you can pop off the souls and easily clean them. Korkers also offer replaceable souls with cleats that I haven’t tried as yet.

On that stretch of water the very next day I was able to report to fish and game a poacher taking 13 trout on a set line. He was caught and charged but there are a great many more at work. Poaching is a business and can be a very lucrative one dominated purely by greed.

So no problem, just less focused reporting for me on forums and of course just the regular chats with friends I know that respect the resource. I now see more and more young angler’s posting exact places where they fish. They are proud and excited wanting to show their prowess. But remember not all people who read your forum posts are fly fishers with the well being of our natural resource in mind. There are those that will use your proud post to find good areas and milk them for their financial gain and our fisheries decline. A bit of care in fishing reports will go a long way and still get your message across.  I love reading others fishing reports but a bit of care goes a long way.

I am posting this as a cautionary note only, poaching is on the increase whereas the number of wardens is on the decline and those left are faced with massive tracts of land to patrol. Although it is only a very small number of people who damage the fisheries they can wipe out whole streams. We need to step up and report those who break the law and all become wardens of the waters in any way we can.

Rising from the Shadows from Hale Orviston on Vimeo.

I spotted him hunting just before dark along a submerged walking/bike path, at items he was in about 5″ of water. Funny thing was I watched a pair of fisherman walk right by him as he skulked to the edge of the pah. This was an opportunity I couldn’t turn down. Took 3 different stocks before I could get into position far enough above him for a presentation, as he kept swimming steadily along the path and he got above me several times as I cut in and out of the bush trying for a good position. Took the hook pretty as you please and tore off through the grass only to get tangled. A nice 19′ fish. I spooked a very much larger brown along the same path almost stepping on him. Funny where you find the fish.

What really attracted me was the plates of old fishing flies. Dries, wets streamers and Steelhead and Salmon. I still tie and fish many of these patterns today. I’ve just posted a few pages of Trout flies here to give you the general impression of the booklet. It also give insight into what was used at that time and how timeless the patterns are. Please enjoy

The entire wading experience is a rounded one for me, I’ve been on the water for over 50 years from the time that there was only rubber hip boots. Not really contusive for great walk wading or climbing banks, they where heavy hot and tiring. My early boots where leather and a good treatment of mink oil was all that was needed to keep them sound. But leather and water has never been friendly and the lifespan was not long. With the advent of modern gear, waterproof fabrics and artificial materials have made for some great and maintenance free products.

I’ve been checking out various boot makers for a while, My Simms boots did serve me well, but I was trying to balance my present needs on the water. Fishing Alberta waters present a variety of conditions. Often summer brings bottom growth that is slippery and footing can be very slick at times. Grassy banks can also be slick like Ice.  I have used spiked and studded souls for years, and they often have made a real difference for me (in addition to a wading staff). I don’t own a drift boat but I often drift with friends. One of the things is that studs and boats don’t go together great, so in my research the Korker  Chrome boots with changeable souls seemed like a great idea. So that was my decision, I picked up a pair last weekend. They came with two pair of interchangeable souls. The Kling-On Sticky Rubber Sole and felt souls. A bit odd as most companies have discontinued felt. Mind you with interchangeable soles it does make cleaning to guard against evasive species easier.

I have them out for a test run this weekend. They have excellent ankle support that are very comfortable. When buying the boots I was trying them on and was quite surprised that my normal shoe size was a great fit. Most times for me I have needed to go ones suze up to get a good fit. Great toe guards that protect your toes are a bonus. I think above all else, what I really love about these boots is the Boa speed lacing system. In laced type boots I was faced with laces that would loosen up at the worst of times. Lacing was a chore and you have to unlace and stretch the tongue to get you wader foot into the boot often taking a few tries. Again with taking them off at the end of the day, it’s a chore. I’ve usually dead tired and the thought of extra work getting boots off was not something I looked forward to. With the Korkers they pop open nicely to allow quick wide insertion of your foot. And it’s easy to tighten them up with the Bola system. This will be a boon in cold weather when fingers are numb and don’t cooperate. Getting them off was also a pleasant surprise. Really easy just hit the front button and pull the tongue, a joy to use.

Now my biggest decision is which souls to stud.

Enjoy the read.