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This past Sunday, “Free Family Fishing Weekend” I got Greg snuck out of his house again for a few hours to try our hand once more at Sturgeon fishing. So far our track record (for those keeping score on the actual “fish side” of things) has not been great this year.

As you might recall, in past down at our fishing hole we call “StingRay Flats” we have caught Sturgeon, Actual Corvette Stingrays, Bleech Bottles, and I once commented on my own blog here about dead hookers. I also said that if I ever caught a tire I would quit fly-fishing altogether and take up golf. Well, the inevitable happened yesterday.Both Greg and myself got a double header on a couple of  “snake skins” from the N.S.R. Yeah, wrong kind of Rubber! Still, it is enough to make you want to take up golf!

Here are some other non-highlights from the trip, we spared you some gore.

Speaking of condoms, now that we know we can pretty much catching anything that swims, or floats in the river, did you know that condoms make great fly tying material? Yes, fly tyers will use just about any kind of material imaginable. Here are a few that you’ll want to try tying at your bench this Fall. I suggest you use clean ones, preferably, not used – but if you are into recycling we won’t tell if you don’t.

This just smacks of holding a fly swap for next year, don’t you think? Because, we set trends here at FiftyNorth.. we don’t follow them.

CONDOM FLY-PATTERNS:

• Durex Condom Pike Streamer

• “Valdi” Condom Worm

Actually Jack Dennis himself first showed us the “Valdi” pattern about 3 years ago when he was up in Edmonton.

Finally, for my own self-gratification, or perhaps just to try it out in the field sometime when we run of “Dry Ice” next time.

• How to start a fire with a condom.

Tags: GSPIN

Seeing as Greg has been too busy “hatching” and we have not gotten all of our footage together yet I took the liberty of putting together a few scenes from “The Klave That Never Was”. Yeah, there were some real gem moments captured, including “Podcasts” and “Confessional” videos.

More to come later on that, I am sure. 

P.S. – Even though there was a fire ban, we found many interesting ways to amuse ourselves with dry ice.

Tags: Dolberg Lake, DolbergPi

One of the things I told (nay.. nay… warned) my buddy about with his kids growing up was having a “Bleach Moment”. That would be of course referring to the day you find your child gets past the cabinet safety locks under the kitchen sink, and you walk around the corner in that split second just as they are about to down a 4L bottle of Chlorox. (Sadly, a true story in my case.. and yes every Dad has that “Bleach Moment”).

Today, while out fishing for Sturgeon, I had a “Bleach Moment” of a different sort. My heart was pounding like it does in that moment, thinking I had a big fish on.. and then. Like I said, the strangest shit always seems to happen to us whenever we go out fishing. This is why we carry video cameras.

Yeah, I actually managed to get Greg “snuck” out of the house today for a couple of hours. So, catching that sole piece of garbage was priceless indeed.

You can find more photos here from the day.

Tags: RBPIN

As you can well surmise yourself (after reading Greg’s previous article), uhm yeah, him and I have not gotten out to do a whole lot of fishing yet this year. He is too busy making future generations of fly-fishers, or “making hatches of Scratches” as I like to kid him.

Nice segue eh? So, speaking of kids!

I got a little antsy tonight and needed to get out fishing. I asked my youngest daughter Laura if she would like to join me and to my surprise she did. I don’t force them to come, I invite them. Fishing should be a fun experience for kids, it’s what ensures we have future generations that will take care of our natural resources long after you and I are gone.

Anyways, I didn’t expect we’d get much time on the water tonight, especially with a nasty thunderstorm rolling in from the West. However, tail-lights away from the City is where I needed to be today. So we headed out to my favorite local pond at Cardiff, I strung up the rods and we wandered over to the water. Uhm, where is the water she asked? Good question indeed!

You see, this “pond” is located on the property of the Cardiff Golf Course, and is stocked annually by Alberta SRD. However, the golf course also uses said pond to water the golf course. Do you see a problem with that? I sure do!

Taking needed habitat away from the fish, uhm.. yeah water.. I wondered have they reduced the stocking rates in proportion? A quick check of  the past stocking reports here for this water body seem to indicate that they are putting in the same number of fish (15,000). Incredibly, the sizes are actually increasing. So, what’s up with that?

As the carrying capacity of water body is diminished during these Alberta “drought” spells, should the stocking figures not reflect this too!? Lower numbers of fish, or smaller sizes? Anyone from SRD care to comment on that? I know I plan to take it up with Trout Unlimited the next chance I get.

2008

CARDIFF PARK POND (24-55-25-W4) May 12,500, Type: 2N, 16 CM.
CARDIFF PARK POND (24-55-25-W4)  May 2,500, Type: 2N, 17 CM.

2009

CARDIFF PARK POND (24-55-25-W4)  May 15,100, Type: 2N, 17 CM.

2010

CARDIFF PARK POND (24-55-25-W4)  May 15,000, Type: 2N, 18 CM.

Anyways, the day ended with me landing one fish, and missing several other strikes before we had to “run away” from the thunderstorm. I’ll definitely be back to take her out there and teach her some more. Oh yeah, the RBE still does the trick out here.

Note: The white pump house is on the other side that “Driiiiiiinnks these poor fishes milkshakes up! Drinks it all up!”

More photos here from our trip today

It’s been 7 years since I took up angling. Unlike most I took to the sport as an adult, with little history to build upon. I was reintroduced by a fellow employee at a software company and was hooked immediately.

A season passsed, chucking and ducking spin gear on my local waters, and though I never saw a fish – I was persistent. My eyes were wide open, and the fish were secondary to the escape. I suppose this is why most people fish anyway.

Later in that year I was introduced to fly fishing. Having seen it from my couch, and in movies I had built a mysticism about it – believing it to be a sport of old men in earthy felt hats and plaid shirts. I wasn’t farther from the truth – as I watched Dick pushing a loop into the air and dropping a tiny dry fly on a lake only to see the rainbow rise and sip it from the surface. At that moment I realized everything I knew amounted to nothing.

I bought some fly-gear, taught myself to cast and joined a fly-tying club. Angling ephemera joined angling entomology, and the leather, wicker, silk and felt faded as I met dozens of fly-fishers who broke that mental mold. I was becoming one of them.

One of the most important things I gained from that exposure was an acquaintance who would become a close friend – my brother from another mother. Today we run FiftyNorth together as we take our experiences in fly-fishing and dive into the world of hunting, learning as we go.

The modern world of hunting and angling is a difficult one. With consistent pressure from animal rights, left wing politics, right wing government and a lack of funding for our resources.

We clamber yearly to our favourite fishing haunts only to find depleted waters, ailing fisheries and regulations blunders. As hunters we must navigate the politics of hunting, just to be met with the bleeding heart public who doesn’t understand, nor wishes to do so. The gauntlet is deep, but we forge forward.

We do so because the places we spend our cherished free time are both beautiful, abundant, and fragile.

While our favourite waters and prairie hunting areas may still be natural and remote, they are under attack. Ignorance, politics, and pressure are daily influences, and we as anglers and hunters must hold the line against threats to these places. Unchecked development, abuse, lack of enforcement and wildlife management are all the responsibility of the active educated sportsmen for whom these special places are sacred.

The next time you see an angler or hunter – ask them how they’ve given back to their province – to the lands that sustain their pastimes and passions… If they can’t give you an answer, we’d like to spend some time with them.

The times are changin’ again. Long drawn traditions, like hunting and fishing are more accessible now than they have ever been. Internet forums, sites, interest groups and twitter lists provide infinitely more educational content than has ever been available to the hunter or angler.

Again this year, hunters in Alberta can complete their entire Draw process online through www.AlbertaRelm.com

We’ll document the process to show you just how easy it is, and over the next few weeks I’ll be sharing some of the sites and education options available for new hunters online.

Hope you visit!

Empire Validation: EAVB_CXGVFYYESR

Some things have changed out at Dolberg Lake, and sadly others have not.

The one thing I noticed, it was sure a lot quieter this year when half the Internet was not invited to come along with us. Natch! Which is really why it was not broadcast this year, but intimated we might be going there. Also, because there was a Fire Ban on in that area it was especially quiet.

Another thing that changed this year, is that there was spotty cell phone coverage in the area, which is both a blessing and a curse. It allowed us to get in touch with the spouses, but by the same token, they could get a hold of us. Never a good situation.

Again, though as always there are still a few bad apples to come out and spoil everybody’s fun. Namely, that of the Poachers! That never seems to change out there, especially whenever the stocking truck comes to make an appearance. They are like ambulance chasers in that regard.

I actually have video of an unnamed ethnic group hauling out a white Glad garbage bag full of live fish out of the water and caught them dumping them into their vehicle. Fish & Wildlife (Report A Poacher) was, of course, called out to the scene a number of times for this and other incidents witnessed. From folks fishing with multiple rods, and catching and keeping numbers of fish well over the bag limits.

So, did Fish & Wildlife ever come out? Uhm, no, of course they didn’t. They are stretched so thin as we always hear. It’s just a put and take fishery so who cares? So really, what is the point of reporting offenses if they are never followed up on then?

Also, did the County of Barrhead bother to send someone out either when several other campers reported that a sole “family group” (I say that term loosely – that they were descended from apes would be a closer description), had a fire out there, nay a huge bonfire late into the night.  So that the next day when they went fishing all day long, and later actually packed-up and left (Thank God!) that fire was still left unattended for others to put out. Not cool, but again not unexpected out here.

We went fishing, and we caught fish, and for the most part we enjoyed the silence and the dark skies that a fire free zone offers you.

You can check out some pictures we took here, of the trip and also here. Perhaps later on we’ll post some more video and podcast materials.

Yes, we’ll be back. Yes, we’ll continue to phone again.. but will it ever do any good?

Tags: Dolberg Lake