An Entirely Synthetic Fish

“The last century has seen the rapid spread of the rainbow trout across the USA, and Anders Halverson’s award-winning book An Entirely Synthetic Fish does an excellent job of chronicling the rainbow trout’s manmade diaspora – along with the negative effects on native fish populations.

An Entirely Synthetic Fish is a worthwhile read.

Halverson is a thorough researcher and a fine storyteller, and his engaging book never lags or lapses into biologist “geekspeak.”

Instead, it’s an engrossing read – one that’s hard to put down, and just as hard to forget.
It deservedly won a National Outdoor Book Award, and is well worth any fly fishermen’s time.”

- Read complete review by Tom Chandler, Trout Underground, here

Available at your favourite Calgary fly shop.

Back Cast Fly Fishing Film Festival – New Beneficiary Named

I am excited to announce that the 4th Annual Back Cast Fly Fishing Film Festival (Feb 12, 2010) has chosen a new beneficiary for 2011.

This event will be an awareness raiser and fundraiser for Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing Canada. Net proceeds will be donated to PHWFFC.

As in past years, festival goers will be treated to several full length films (about 3 hours total) from some of the best fly fishing film producers on the planet.

Doors open @ 12:00 noon, Show @ 1:00 pm.
Doors open again @ 5:30 pm, Show @ 6:30 pm.

You’ll meet interesting people from the world of fly fishing and travel to exotic locations! Plan now to be there!!

Stay tuned for more information!

Please check out my new Facebook Page for Back Cast Fly Fishing Film Festival

Dirty ass nympher

A civilized debate about Steelheading techniques... Well, almost civilized...



Via: Red Truck Fly Fishing Co.

Prairies and Southern Rockies Area Joint Round Table

(click directly on poster for larger image)

Alberta Sustainable Resource Development, Fish and Wildlife Division will be holding a Prairies Area and Southern Rockies Area Joint Round Table for the Bow River Watershed area on Wednesday, December 15, 2010. The objective is to exchange information with you about fisheries management initiatives in this region. The meeting will cover a variety of topics including sportfishing opportunities, the status of fish populations and other program initiatives in the Bow River watershed and associated reservoirs.

Please accept this e-mail as an invitation for yourself or a designate to attend. It will be held in Calgary on December 15, 2010 at 6:00 p.m. in the Bass Pro Shops Conference Room. The address for the facility is:

Bass Pro Shops
#112, 261055 Cross Iron Blvd.
Rockyview, Alberta

For further information and to confirm attendance, please contact Jim Stelfox (403) 851-2205 or Jenny Earle (403) 851-2211 at the Cochrane Fish and Wildlife office.

Yours truly,

Jim
Jim Stelfox
Senior Fisheries Biologist, Southern Rockies Area
Fish and Wildlife Division, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development
Box 1420, Room 228, 2nd floor, Provincial Building
Cochrane, Alberta, Canada T4C 1B4
Tel 403/851-2205, Fax 403/932-2158
Jim.Stelfox@gov.ab.ca

NOTE: I've also attached a poster that provides some of the rationale for the regulation change that I'm proposing for Upper and Lower Kananaskis Lakes. This is one of the things that will be discussed at the round table meeting.

2010 Trout Unlimited Canada Fish Rescue

A great video segment detailing our annual Fish Rescue program created and provided to Trout Unlimited Canada by Sandra Young. For addtional information please visit our website at www.tucanada.org.

Good times at the Calgary Hook & Hackle Club

The Calgary Hook & Hackle Club put together a special event for members on the regular meeting night this week.

Everyone enjoyed pizza and “libations” before the show.





The main feature was a slide presentation set to music, using multiple projectors, by club member Brian Harasim.

Beautiful photos, presented in two, twenty minute, segments.

Thanks to the Club Executive and everyone else who made this a most enjoyable evening.

Dr. Patricia Gallaugher receives Haig-Brown award

The Totem Flyfishers, British Columbia's oldest and most respected fly fishing club, awarded Simon Fraser University's Dr. Patricia Gallaugher the 2010 Haig-Brown Conservation Award.

Dr. Gallaugher, a fish physiologist and conservationist, is the Director of Simon Fraser University's Centre for Coastal Studies and Continuing Studies in Science programs, and has organized SFU's successful Speaking for the Salmon Program since 1998.

In bestowing the award, the Totems noted the Speaking for the Salmon program has rightly earned Dr. Gallaugher wide acclaim as someone who can parlay the credibility of academia into a "don't miss" forum involving a diversity of users and decision makers around salmon management and conservation.

Totem Flyfishers

Speaking for the Salmon

Via: MidCurrent

Animated Knots

Check out Animated Knots for instructions on how to tie all kinds of knots. Also has an app for your phone!

LINK: Animated Knots

Wetlands for kids

Ducks Unlimited Canada has submitted an idea to the Pepsi Refresh Project to establish a wetland interpretive education site near Edmonton.

Goals

•Provide a wetland interpretive site in the Edmonton capital region.
•Provide a field trip destination for DUC's youth education program.
•Showcase the benefits that wetland conservation provides to society.
•Link wetland conservation with sustainable land development.

You can help DUC win $100,000 for their idea by voting for it!

Vote early and vote often!

Link: Wetlands for Kids

Salt Water Flats 101 with David

David Blair of Fish Tales Fly Shop (Calgary) covered all the basics, and then some, at his seminar last Sunday afternoon.

Rods, reels, lines, leaders, flies, clothing, foot ware, recommended reading – it was all there.

At the request of one seminar participant, he even got into a few knots, in particular one handy variation that he picked up from a Cuban guide.

He finished up with a bit of information and some photos from a couple of trips he completed in November – one to Cuba and another to Christmas Island.

That boy sure does get around!

“A Simple Solution”

A compelling documentary that focuses on the urgent need for protecting and increasing Alberta's wilderness areas.

Required December Reading

Catch Magazine



The current issues of This is Fly and Catch Magazine have been live since early November.


This Is Fly

Alaska’s Choice: Salmon or Gold

At my Back Cast Fly Fishing Film Festival in Calgary last year, I featured "Red Gold", an award winning film from Felt Soul Media.

That documentary focused on the competing interests that exist in the Bristol Bay area of Alaska.

This month National Geographic takes a look at this controversy. They have also included a very good photo gallery.

Via: Buster Wants to Fish

Harvie Passage is on time and under budget

This week, Howard Heffler provided a history, as well as an update, on the Harvie Passage (Calgary Bow River Weir Project). It was Howard who proposed the current project some ten years ago. He, along with Tony Palmer (Undercurrents Paddling Store) and the Bow Waters Canoe Club, spearheaded the initial fund raising and design studies. And Howard has kept a close eye on it ever since.


Howard Heffler

The instream construction work will be completed by April 2011. However, the area may not be available to the general public until the spring of 2012.



The issue of parking was also discussed. Despite the fact that parking facilities were included in the original drawings, that topic is still very much up in the air for a number of reasons.


Looking downstream

The bottom photo is an arial view of the project in mid November, just before the snow arrived in Calgary.


Looking upstream

(Click on any photo for larger image)

Fly Fusion

I really enjoyed the lead article in the current issue of Fly Fusion Magazine – “The Meaning of Water”. Understanding water, especially from the fish’s point of view, is the glue that pulls it all together for the fly fisher.

The cover shot of the mag was very cool. My teenage grandson had to take a second look. He initially thought it was a photo of a soldier! The story that went with it – “Snow Day” – showed the determination of a fly fisher who was driven to succeed, regardless. The commentary reminded me of some of my experienced fly fishing clients, who describe “hunting” for trout.

I always enjoy Jim McLennan’s Watermark article. In this case, “Fair Weather Angling” actually complements the “Snow Day” story.

Fly Fusion is available at your favourite Calgary fly shop.

Have you read any of the articles? Let me know your thoughts. Just click on “Comments”.

Double Down, we hardly knew ye…

For a short while, we thought that Spolumbo’s in Calgary might be challenged by the KFC Double Down sandwich as the shore lunch of choice by discerning Bow River fly fishing drift boaters.

Alas, the window of opportunity has come and gone.

However, don’t despair. There’s talk on the net that this is just a marketing ploy to make this wonderful sandwich even more desirable. We all tend to want what we can’t have. So stay tuned. The Double Down might be returning to a Calgary KFC near you!

It seems like so long ago...

Here - Faceless - Fly Fishing from faceless fly fishing on Vimeo.

LINK (Via Fly Fish Calgary Forum)

Local Heroes 2010

As part of Fall Splash tradition the Trout Unlimited Canada-Bow River Chapter recognized the efforts of those who have made significant contributions to the work of the chapter and to the ongoing conservation efforts in the Bow River basin.

Tim Hamilton was this year's recipient of the Bob Paget Memorial Conservation Award.

The Bow River Habitat Award went to the City of Calgary's Wastewater Treatment and the Tom Wagler Volunteer Award went to John and Joyce Cozens.

The "Fall Splash" took place in Calgary on Nov 17 2010.

Read More Here

More Photos Here

Go Riders!

http://www.saskriders.com/

Book Sale at Calgary Hook & Hackle Club

The Calgary Hook & Hackle Club maintains a great library of books and videos for its members.

Their catalogue includes everything from historical books right up to the latest books and videos on fly tying and fly fishing.

At the regular club meeting a few days ago, the club offered up for sale some of their older books. The twist was that payment was by flies, not money. All flies went into the “fly bank”, which are donated to various good causes throughout the year.

After the brief formal meeting, members commenced fly tying. The fly tying school also had a class underway with Instructor Dennis Killips.

Photos:

top: club members looking over book offerings

bottom: Instructor Dennis Killips (centre) with students

http://www.hookandhackleclub.org/