Blog Archive
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2009
(236)
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October
(26)
- Sustainable Red Deer website
- Is a NZ survey a good template for Alberta high co...
- Paul Brandt article in Canadian Fly Fisher
- Lodgepole Mine near Fernie
- Surprise Fiesta Lake Is Now Ice Free
- Fish consumption warning
- A walk in the woods
- Midcurrent newsletter
- Guide Tipping
- Conundrum
- Guide licensing meeting
- Back to Beaver Lake
- Central Alberta Lake Update
- LETHBRIDGE COLLEGE STUDENT CHAPTER DUCKS UNLIMITED...
- NLTU Fundraising Dinner, Oct 17 '09
- Central Alberta Tying Club
- Prepping for a guided trip
- The way of a trout
- Unmatching the hatch
- Alberta Fisheries Round Table Canceled - confirmed...
- It could be worse!
- New SFoTF website
- Didymo Study
- Brassed Off by Dave Wiltshire
- Today's weather warnings
- New weather trend
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September
(24)
- Once in a Blue Moon DVD
- A change in fortune
- Interesting site & action
- New Zealand Mouse Year!
- Big and fat
- Doug Cressoman passes 9/25
- Latest This is Fly Magazine
- Hope over new skin cancer therapy
- Alberta Grizzly Population
- Things that eat hoppers
- A fine evening
- New edition of Catch Magazine
- Alberta Fire Bans
- Jack Gartside Update
- Filming
- Who's that fishing my river?
- Suspension of Alberta Fisheries Round Table Meetin...
- Canadian Fly Fisher Magazine at Fortress Lake Retr...
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October
(26)
Thursday, November 12, 2009
Of mice and men
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Orvis Catalog Cover Contest
http://orvis.com/fishphoto
How to hook fish on tiny flies
"Question: How can I better set the hook when fishing size 20 and smaller hooks? I have such a hard time getting small hooks into fish—even small fish, especially when swinging emergers. I get frustrated feeling the tug, only to set the hook and pull the fly right out of the fish's mouth.
Joshua B., Belgrade, MT
Answer: THIS IS a very common problem, and I threw the question out to some guide friends who regularly fish with tiny patterns.
Jackson Hole-based guide, tier, and author Scott Sanchez notes that Joshua is facing more than one problem:
“There sound like two issues: Small hooks and swinging flies. Swinging soft hackles and wet flies is deadly, especially on fish that are feeding on caddisflies. Unfortunately, you will always get some strikes without a hook up. I think fish are following the swing and hit the fly, pushing at the hook bend and not the point. The point is away from them, and the fly is moving the same direction as the fish.
On small hooks, the hook-up rates goes down exponentially with size. The solution is to use hooks with bigger gaps. A Dai-Riki 125 or TMC 2488 are big-gap emerger hooks, and you can tie a size 20 fly on a size 18 hook. Tie the flies sparse, so that the body doesn't block the hook gap. Beadheads can block the hook gap on small flies, as well. Use a bigger gap hook or a longer shank hook, to keep the hook point available.”
Brant Oswald—a Livingston, Montana, guide best known for his mastery of the Paradise Valley spring creeks—addressed Joshua’s question so fully that I won’t even try to paraphrase him. This is brilliant stuff:
“As I guide, I find that teaching people how to hook fish more effectively makes a big difference in the number of fish landed. Even experienced anglers who are well above average in overall skills have rarely thought much about this part of the game. Somehow, when clients measure up their success at the end of the day, they tend to forget the fish they missed or lost right after the hookup. I feel I have done the lion's share of my job when I put a client in position to get the fish to eat the fly, but I won't get credit for any help until the fish is in the net..."
Click below to read the rest of the article by Phil: http://www.midcurrent.com/flyfishing/tinyhooks.aspx
This is Fly
http://www.thisisfly.com/
Monday, November 2, 2009
Manitoba Rainbow
This fine rainbow is sent to us by a Fortress Lake guest and Manitoba fly fisher Andrew, who has been fishing the Parkland region's lakes extensively the past few years and watched many of the lakes develop astounding trout. This fine rainbow came out of a lake in its 4th season of growth.Thursday, October 29, 2009
Sustainable Red Deer website
Hi All,
The Sustainable Red Deer web site is up and running, providing a clearinghouse of information on sustainability groups and events in our community. Subscribe to the newsletter online and every couple weeks you will receive an email update on what's happening in Red Deer's sustainability community.
List Your Organization
We invite all the organizations that have been involved in Green Deer to spread the word about your activities on Sustainable Red Deer. If you belong to a government agency, business, school or community organization that is involved in sustainability initiatives in Red Deer and district, please add your organization's contact information here. Your submission will go to the site administrators for approval and appear shortly after.
List Your Event
Are you planning a community presentation, speaker, or meeting on a sustainability topic? List your event on the community sustainability calendar. Simply send an email to info@sustainablereddeer.com with your event name, subject, location, date, time and any other details re: who should attend. We will get your event posted and remind people about local events in our newsletter.
Spread the Word
We will be doing a media release and publicizing the new site in a few weeks but in the meantime, please feel free to encourage your friends and colleagues to contribute information to sustainablereddeer.com. Thanks for your interest!
Is a NZ survey a good template for Alberta high country rivers?
On a local Alberta note, high elevation lakes like Michele Lakes, given back country rivers such as the Ram or upper Oldman, or reaches of the more popular Crowsnest River could really use a representative survey for future management action. Of course, we have to determine what it is we wish certain waters (or even water types) to be in Alberta, be it reduced pressure/use, limited angler use, limited random camping, limited ohv use, etc. It is always said the intangible is knowing how many users are out there, what the impact is, what people really feel. Perhaps this survey from NZ is a good framework for us to use.
View the Rough R Backcountry Survey now.
(It is a word doc to download and has no virus and is stored on our server)
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
Paul Brandt article in Canadian Fly Fisher

Monday, October 26, 2009
Lodgepole Mine near Fernie
http://www.nrmsc.usgs.gov/files/norock/publications/Muhlfeld_FlyFishDec2009.pdf
The article was the foundation of a very recent Fly Fisherman magazine where they also discussed tests performed on Michel Creek where high concentrations the selenium were detected and the impact on insect and fish populations. Sounds pretty ugly for the Wigwam Drainage, Flathead River drainage and maybe some impact on the Elk.
Just an fyi.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Surprise Fiesta Lake Is Now Ice Free

As we started to set up for the day we realized that I left the anchors in the garage. Good one Bob. It was completely my fault. Of course the wind was blowing so what to do? Well I emptied the liner from one of my Sorel boots and filled it with rocks. A spare rope tied on to the sealed boot and presto, instant anchor. Well the fishing was ok. We did manage to get 14 to hand. Many rainbows in the 17 inch range. It was darn cold again today. We put foot mats on the bottom of the pram to keep our feet from becoming bergs. 
Fish consumption warning
The interesting side note to the following, taken from the CTV website, is that there is fish consumption advisory for walleye on the RDR, which is c&r to begin with.
The province has issued a public health advisory recommending that people limit their consumption of some fish caught in Alberta waters.
The province said test results found high enough levels of mercury in certain fish to prompt the warning.
"While levels of methylmercury identified do not pose an immediate health threat, limiting consumption is the best way to reduce any long-term health risks," said Dr. André Corriveau, Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health. "I recommend people who eat fish frequently from these bodies of water either avoid or limit their weekly consumption."
It's now being suggested that pregnant women, women of child-bearing age and children do not eat the following:
- Walleye from the Pine Coulee
- Northern pike from Twin Valley Reservoirs in southern Alberta
- Walleye from the Red Deer River at the mouth of the Blindman River
- Walleye, sauger and goldeye from the South Saskatchewan River at the Bindloss Ferry and Medicine Hat
The province said mercury found in fish in Alberta waters likely originate from natural sources.
Once in a lake, mercury is converted to methylmercury by bacteria or chemical reactions. Fish absorb methylmercury from water as it passes through their gills, or from the prey they eat.
Fish like walleye and northern pike accumulate more methylmercury as they are known to consume smaller fish.
For more information on mercury advisories visit: www.albertaregulations.ca
A walk in the woods
It was a great day as I was able to sneak up behind these two fish and get within about 6 feet of them without ever being detected. These two were about 22 and 24" each.
Anyway, it's just a moment in time, with poor quality video, but neat if you like fishy moments.
Apologies for the poor video quality, as the lcd screen on our Sony HD camera crapped out and we took it in for repair 4 weeks ago and it is supposed to be back 2 weeks ago - you know how that goes.
Cheers
Brown Trout wade fishing from Dave Jensen on Vimeo.



