TimD

Brother, Do you really think Lloyd would have published what he actually fished with? I am risking ghostly visits just showing what I did. Regards, Tim

Don, I use a size 12 2x short, some type of black micro chenille, a gold wire rib and some black hen hackle. The bottom fly is called a herl same fly but just has a peacock herl body (works about the same too). Regards, Tim stauffer_special.bmp

Not to take anything away from Mike Lawson, but I really liked Gary Borger. He is quite creatively logical in his approach to fly fishing problems. Lots of people just throw gear (money) at a fly fishing situation in order to solve it - Gary breaks things down into smaller malleable bits that can be applied in different situations. The last time I fished with someone that was creative in the same way was with Barry White on the Bow River. Kinda feel bad that I could only make one day. Thanks to everyone for putting on the show. Cheers, Tim

Hello, We are taking the aerators out at 11 AM this Sunday. Our Quad person is injured and won't be able to help. Is there anyone out there with a quad and a trailer (or just a quad) that can help, it will just take a couple of hours? Please send me a note if you can. Thanks Tim, PS - free smokies and bevies for all volunteers.

Hello, I can't make it Saturday but would like to go Sunday. Is there anyone out there that would like to go Saturday but not Sunday? We could split the cost. Regards, Tim

I hope it is before May 1, 2008. Regards, Tim

Hello, We put the aerators in Muir today, thanks to everyone that helped. If you go out there between now and next Tuesday, please avoid fishing near them - there are lots of anchor ropes and cords to get caught up in. The plan is for them to be turned on the last day of angling - October 31. Regards, Tim

Greg and Lance, I like the flowers too, but time of year and temperature are pretty good predictors as well. It only takes a few years of fishing out here to get used to the seasonal changes and the blooming of certain flowers show a seasonal coincidence more than any type of causation. I don't think that the nymphs that hatch into salmonflies look out and see crocus in bloom then decide to become adults. Besides it may be that particular crocus is a little ahead of the game. According to Vic Bergman: http://flyfisherman.com/westerncanada/vbcr...est/index2.html One of the most anticipated insect hatches of the season is Pteronarcys californica or salmonflies. These large stoneflies generally emerge on the river in mid- to late May through early June. Their emergence frequently coincides with runoff, meaning water clarity can be an issue. If visibility is poor, dry-fly fishing is futile. However, if the water is reasonably clear, say a couple of feet or more, dry flies such as Stimulators, Terranastys, and Improved Sofa Pillows catch fish. Even when dry-fly conditions are ideal, nymphs fished along the stream bottom usually outproduce drys. Fish a nymph such as a Brook's Montana, Kaufmann Stone, or Crowsnest Stone as close to the stream bottom as possible, using split-shot if necessary, and a strike indicator to detect hits. Cheers, Tim

I would suggest taking the book out of the library, it is a very quick read. I read it years ago and think that although it is interesting that certain bugs hatch at about the same time that certain flowers bloom the best way to tell which insect is active is to just observe what it happening when you get to the water. The book does have some gorgeous pictures but I can't see how knowing that the prairie rose is blooming in Edmonton tells me what fly to use on Stauffer. Regards, Tim

Hey thanks, Nobody takes on one of these projects to get an award, but it is nice when it happens mostly because it helps raise the profile of FESA in getting more projects off the ground. It also will help bring the concept of delayed-harvest into broader discussion. A bit thanks to everyone who has helped with Muir so far, nothing would have happened without your help. Did I get a chance to mention that we are looking at another project SW of Edmonton and we will need some volunteers to help with the casting platform at Muir this spring. Cheers, Tim

Probably less now, I just have a number of fond memories of last year. Especially working the cattails in low light with a lil damsel emerger. Dey was a number of hungry trouts and almos' all answered the roll call - thankfully. Cheers, Tim

Richard, All we had last year was a plan to do something. We a non-functional model back in 03 or 04 but decided on a floating variety. The cost for the floating model will be around $20,000. It will be around 30' out and 80' long, we plan to use it mostly for fly-casting classes and then general fishing\casting when there are no classes. Regards, Tim

Just a little update on the Muir Lake fund-raiser that we had on November 18th, but before I get to that I would like to explain that the Muir Lake project has spawned (no pun intended) FESA (Fisheries Enhancement Society of Alberta) and the society's goals are to maintain and manage Muir Lake, help create another lake in the Edmonton Area and help any group in Alberta that would like to set up a similar delayed-harvest fishery. The November 18th event was attended by about 120 people and raised almost $4500. This money will go to operating the Aerators at Muir Lake, improving the site with a new casting platform by the summer of 2007 and helping to bring another delayed-harvest trout fishery to the Edmonton area (asap). I would like to thank everyone for their support and welcome any one out there who would like to get involved in our next project. Please feel cordially invited to help put the barricades up around the aerators at Muir on December 9th. We will meet at noon, it will take an hour or so to put them up and we will provide a barbecue after. Tim Doskoch President FESA

Hello, I just wanted to get a chance to thank the 120 people who came to the event last Saturday and the people who donated all those items for the silent auction. Special thanks go to Brian Bleackley and his crew for organizing the whole thing. Looks like we will be able to pay for the aerator electricity at Muir plus a couple of other projects for another year. Best regards, Tim Doskoch President FESA

Hello, I have been using Mustad R48's to replace a number of my dry fly patterns but find the wire a little to heavy for certain sizes/imitations. Has anyone used TMC 921's? I am a little worried about the light wire - I hate it when hooks straighten out on me. TIA Tim

Hello, I found a rod an reel while fishing Muir yesterday. Send me a note with a description and I will arrange to drop it off with you. Regards, Tim

Don, I have to congratulate you on the success of Ironside. Way to go!

It is fishing pretty good, about the same as last year but the average fish is a little bigger. As an added benefit, I am using last year's patterns as well so the fish are on pretty much the same food. This week seemed better than last because fish are recovering from the spawn and I think fishing will continue to improve as more of the fish recover. I also think they will start packing on the weight as the caddis, chironomids and damsels get going. And with the recent rains, the water level has come up a bit (8 cm) which won't hurt anything. It is amazing how easy they are to catch when you find the right presentation and invisible they are when you don't. Cheers, Tim

Richard, Tell us how it went, I am going on Monday. Cheers, Tim

Hello, We are taking out the aerators at Muir this Saturday (April 8) at 10 am. We have some volunteers, plus a quad and 2 boats already committed. However we could always use a few more people. If you can show up to help and maybe bring a cordless drill to take apart the posts - it will be much appreaciated. It will take about 2 hours to do everything and then we will have lunch supplied by FESA (smokies and pop). Thanks in Advance Tim

Dave, I don’t think it is about wet, dry, or a little off the top. The term “hatch” is symbolic of those great ‘super’ hatches where all trout focus on one insect species where the biggest trout in the creek come out of their shorts to whack any reasonable imitation. In that sense it is more of a marketing term than a fishing one. One doesn’t need a hatch to catch a lot of fish on the surface – especially when the water is lowish and fairly clear. Just like the collection of aquatics in water; there is usually some combination of terrestrials, caddis or the odd adult mayfly floating on the surface that fish will take. Trout are cold-blooded and respond to temperature more than food availability and I have seen fairly strong hatches get unmolested by trout in water that is too cold. Quite frankly I have been alarmed at the number of people fishing nymphs when the trout are taking just about anything you present to them on the surface. When I ask people why they aren’t fishing dry they tell me that there isn’t a hatch on so you can’t catch them on the surface. It only takes a few minutes to help them see the light. Sometimes I really think that fly anglers make fishing seem complex when it really isn’t. It is almost like there is an industry of fly fishing obstupefaction.

I wish the 3rd week of August would last all year. I have had great fishing at the North Ram, Livingston, Oldman, Crow, Bow - you name it. There are often hoppers around and one can fish a hopper-dropper to find all kinds of fish. Even though the hatches are sparse that time of year, the water is lower, clearer and warmer so there can be some great afternoons. The fish seem to look for any sort of flimsy reason to take flies on the surface and I just love accomodating them by prospecting on those foothills streams. A few years back we were in the Livingston canyon and the fish turned on once the water warmed up. The trout didn't seem to be that persnickety, taking on Elk Hairs, Coachmen, Hoppers, Trudes, Adams, the CCF - even some of those foamies with rubber legs. Two or three hours of that and then back to the trailer for dinner, bevvies and a refocus for some evening fishing on the Crow. On those particularly hot days, I would hit the Crow before 7am and fish the behavioural drift. Some times in August as soon as the light hits the water, the bugs get active and the fish follow suit. I had the whole river to myself - well I had to share it with frisky trouts. It is nice to lose count of fish before 9 - real nice. Ooops I forgot to mention how the backswimmer fishing starts to turn on in late August at the potholes and some of the great midging and, and, and. Tis a great time of year. Cheers, Tim

Dave, I am glad to hear that you figured out how to catch those fish on the olives, the last time I heard you respond to it you seemed pretty frustrated. On the issue of hatches, we need to have a clear definition. I describe it as the "en masse" emergence of the adult form of aquatic insects mostly of the families of stoneflies, mayflies, caddis and chronomids. If I go to Stauffer for a day and see maybe 30 or 40 BWO's come off, I would say that a few BWO's came off while I was fishing Stauffer. If I go and see them popping off all day I would say there was a good hatch of BWO's. If one defines a few bugs popping off the water as a hatch, then we could say that there are hatches on some of the puddles on the roads out here. Regards, Tim

I will have to admit that I was a little worried in February. I remember walking through a field and seeing cracks in the ground. It is nice wearing sandals in February but being a trout guy, I always pay attention to ground moisture. I also know that Star, Spring and Muir had all experienced a drop in water levels last year. Sure I know that Red Deer south did get a ton of rain last spring, but it largely missed the Edmonton region. The city center airport recorded 64% of normal precip while the international recorded about 10% below normal levels. The snow we had a few weeks ago hardly had any moisture in it when compared to todays gift from the gods. So when looking at the big picture we do need some more of the white stuff. And as you are cussing out the shovelling exersize there is a silver lining. Todays snow goes a long way for helping the lakes around here and with all that shovelling you can have an extra (or two) slice of pie. Cheers, Tim

Yep Al, Something that came up 80 years ago is new enough for me and I wouldn't be surprised that the other items have been working well for years and years - because they do work. I would not be surprised if CDC has been used in Europe for a couple of hundred years. I was mostly trying to say that out of the mountains of stuff that gets billed as the latest and greatest only the very few of them stand the test of time. Anyways, for us Albertans, we never really heard much about beads and CDC until McLennan's articles in the fishing guide. I can't remember when the bead one came out - I think around 94 and the CDC came out a few years later. It is fun to tie complex patterns but they aren't necessarily the best fish catchers. Cheers, Tim