Question:

I’m not the master chemist, but it seems to me that this would be difficult.  The stuff you use to keep your hands warm is something like cayenne pepper, and it works by stimulation the flow of blood.

Many of the hand warmers available today are actually little packets of iron filings, common salt, and activated charcoal (and perhaps some secret ingredient, "X") which work by an exothermic high speed oxidation of the iron.  In other words, they really do produce a significant amount of heat…..it isn’t merely a matter of fooling the nerves in your fingers or toes. As for something that reacts with water, magnesium powder would do that.

Not sure about this one.  I used to mess around with magnesium as a kid and never saw any kind of reaction to water (other than noting that even large quantities of snow will not extinguish the stuff once ignited!). Sodium, on the other hand, reacts spectacularly when it gets wet.  Do NOT try this one at home boys and girls! Wolfgang

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If you don

Question:

I have a fly rod and have used it about twice fishing for trout in stocked lochs. What I require is some information about coaching or lessons if any in fly fishing, there are a few techniques that I really would like to get the hang of. Any response would be much appreciated (I really mean that!). Before you buy.

Response:

It would help if you told us where you are (I’m assuming Scotland?). Getting a response from somebody local to you would help better then me telling you we give lessons every Spring in West Springfield, MA. –Stan

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have a fly rod and have used it about twice fishing for trout in stocked lochs. What I require is some information about coaching or lessons if any in fly fishing, there are a few techniques that I really would like to get the hang of. Any response would be much appreciated (I really mean that!). Before you buy.

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I do have some knowledge of loch fishing techniques.  If you don’t want to send me a ticket and put me up for two or three weeks, I suggest you take the winter off and study.  Then go to the Chatsworth Angling Fair at Chatsworth House, Derbyshire in March.  You will meet an incredible number of people who will be more than glad to teach you (for a fee and for free).  You can buy equipment and hang out in fly fishing’s largest candy store.  Wear your wellies as its in a sheep pasture.  You might also want to post to the uk usenet "rec — game" (help me out here folks, what is the name of the Uk fly fishing usenet?).          Cheers               Frank Reid – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – It would help if you told us where you are (I’m assuming Scotland?). Getting a response from somebody local to you would help better then me telling you we give lessons every Spring in West Springfield, MA. –Stan I have a fly rod and have used it about twice fishing for trout in stocked lochs. What I require is some information about coaching or lessons if any in fly fishing, there are a few techniques that I really would like to get the hang of. Any response would be much appreciated (I really mean that!). Before you buy.

Before you buy.

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I have a fly rod and have used it about twice fishing for trout in stocked lochs. What I require is some information about coaching or lessons if any in fly fishing, there are a few techniques that I really would like to get the hang of.

You could purchase or rent vidoes from a fly shop.  Those with Mel Krieger or Lefty Kreh are fairly good.  Some fly shops offer simple free lessons in their yard or parking lot.  Another good place to go is a local fly fishing club.  You make no mention of where you so it’s difficult to offer more precise advice. Mu

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I have a fly rod and have used it about twice fishing for trout in stocked lochs. What I require is some information about coaching or lessons if any in fly fishing, there are a few techniques that I really would like to get the hang of.

Hi Sounds like you are in Scotland. If you would care to buy a copy of the Trout and Salmon magazine you will find a number of instructors advertising in the classifieds. If you do not find one near you, contact the nearest and he or she will be able to put you in contact with the nearest registered APGAI, REFFIS or STANIC instructor to you. There are also a number of excellent instructional videos available, again see the Trout and Salmon mag. Pleas for help like this are more easily answered if you give a closer indication as to your whereabouts. Tight lines Chris

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Check out www.letsflyfish.com Ally

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I have a fly rod and have used it about twice fishing for trout in stocked lochs. What I require is some information about coaching or lessons if any in fly fishing, there are a few techniques that I really would like to get the hang of. Any response would be much appreciated (I really mean that!). Before you buy.

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Question:

Would like to get some email conversation going with someone about fishing NC coast for False Albacore and/ or Blue’s. rgill — How very simple life would be if only there were two of me A restless me to drift and roam a quiet me to stay at home.                    from "The Double Life" by Don Blanding

Response:

Have you seen my website yet?  check out http://www.flyfish-nc.com/albiechapter.html   and   http://www.flyfish-nc.com/oct99.html My site has more info on flyfishing for fat alberts than anywhere you will find.

Would like to get some email conversation going with someone about fishing NC coast for False Albacore and/ or Blue’s. rgill — How very simple life would be if only there were two of me A restless me to drift and roam a quiet me to stay at home.                    from "The Double Life" by Don Blanding — Flyfish NC                                                   Capt Gordon Churchill http://www.flyfish-nc.com                                                                  

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Question:

Would anybody know any good places to go fly fishing in the western half of Maine.  If you could e-mail me any place at all it would be really appreciated.  Thanks…

 Hi Mark.  Bingham area is in Northwestern Maine.  We have many small remote ponds, terrific rivers including the Kennebec and the Dead Rivers, and Wyman Lake.  Check out www.pinegrovelodge.com!  Good luck fishing!

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Hi Mike Hit the Rangeley Lakes Region. In fact give Ray Miller a shout at region and he’ll set you straight. One of his favorite streamers is a Blue Smelt casting streamer. He had me tie him a couple dozen last summer. http://www.kynd.com/~ronmcq/index.html – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Would anybody know any good places to go fly fishing in the western half of Maine.  If you could e-mail me any place at all it would be really appreciated.  Thanks…

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Would anybody know any good places to go fly fishing in the western half of Maine.  If you could e-mail me any place at all it would be really appreciated.  Thanks…

Response:

Mark, There is some terrific fly fishing in western Maine. My top picks in priority order are: 1. Rapid River 2. Big Magalloway river above lake Parmachene 3. Kennebago River 4. Rangeley River 5. Cupsuptic river Toss in a tripto Quimby pond and you have a great trip. tight lines, Gerry – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Would anybody know any good places to go fly fishing in the western half of Maine.  If you could e-mail me any place at all it would be really appreciated.  Thanks…

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Question:

I vote we change the name of ROFF to Alt. M. Skeeter seems much more appropriate lately. Willi

Response:

I vote we change the name of ROFF to Alt. M. Skeeter seems much more appropriate lately. Willi

Over in the comp.* newsgroups, they have something called "advocacy" groups.  The idea is that all of the "Mac sux, PC Rulz!" and "Bill Gates is the Great Satan" threads should be limited to comp.*.advocacy, leaving the technical newsgroups for discussion of technical issues.  If you don’t like having the "M. Skeeter" threads in ROFF, you might consider forming ROFF.advocacy. Having said that, let me make it clear that I am not taking aim at Tim W. In my opinion, his posts are as relevant as those from the spokespersons for the flyfishing industry, any of the posts on the morality of C&R, debates about whether real flyfishers use indicators, condemnations of shuffling, condemnations of fishing for spawning salmon, or the thread on jet skis.  You just need to decide where you want this stuff to appear. If you want any of it in ROFF, then you should be prepared for all of it. — Frank

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Question:

Anybody know of a good spot(s) for flyfishing near Dead Mans’s Flats in Alberta?  I will be going there in August this year. Thanks for your help. Greg

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You can have the whole of the upper Bow river to fish in from Dead Mans Flats as well ..head up to the Limestone quarry on the way to Banff about 30 minutes from Dead Mans……Browns are there to be had as well as rainbows.. take a lunch and enjoy the scenery along the way!!!!! – Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Anybody know of a good spot(s) for flyfishing near Dead Mans’s Flats in Alberta?  I will be going there in August this year. Thanks for your help. Greg

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Question:

Hi, I just wanted to relate a good experience I’ve recently had with Orvis. I bought my first Orvis rod back in 1982 and built about a dozen rods from Orvis blanks for myself and others during the 80’s and early 90’s. Back in the early 80’s, when graphite was just beginning to emerge as the dominant rod blank material, Orvis basically had a stronghold on the market and concepts like lifetime guarantees on flyrods were pretty much unheard of. But today, there is fierce competition for the flyfishing tackle dollar and most vendors offer lifetime guarantees on both pre-built rods *and* blanks. Since Orvis does not offer guarantees on blanks, however, most of the rods I’ve built lately have been from other vendors’ components. So, when my Orvis PM-10 8wt rod snapped during a cast a couple of months ago, I basically said to myself: "Well, it looks like I’m going have to buy a new 8wt blank – and it’s *not* going to be an Orvis!" Instead of just giving up, however, I had the San Francisco Orvis shop send the rod back to the factory in Manchester, VT for "evaluation" (which I assumed meant they would soon be sending me a bill for repairs) and in the meantime I started making plans to buy a GLoomis IMX blank at a good sale price to replace it. But, to my suprise, the people in Manchester came through and replaced the blank free of charge after evaluating the blank as being defective – which seemed only reasonable, since the rod had snapped in a segment which was not related to any of my rodbuilding work. So, just when I had all but written Orvis off as being out of step with companies like GLoomis, Redington, Sage, etc. they came through for me in a big way even though there was no formal guarantee requiring them to do so. Anyway, I don’t intend this as an unfettered endorsement of Orvis over other vendors (I’ll certainly continue to buy my blanks from a wide cross section of vendors). But, I just felt I should give a little credit where credit was due. Regards, Fred

Response:

 IMX blank at a good sale price to replace it. But, to my suprise, the people in Manchester came through and replaced the blank free of charge after evaluating the blank as being defective – which seemed only reasonable, since the rod had snapped in a segment which was not related to any of my rodbuilding work. So, just when I had all but written Orvis off as being out of step with companies like GLoomis, Redington, Sage, etc. they came through for me in a big way even though there was no formal guarantee requiring them to do so.

Hi Fred, I know some of the people on this group are not happy with Orvis but I’ve always found them to be a good company to do business with.  Maybe in the future I’ll change my mind but nothing has happened yet to encourage that. – Tight Lines Al Beatty BT’s Fly Fishing Products Bozeman, MT (97 catalog) http://www.flyshop.com/Expo/Specialty/BTsPdcts/index.html

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I ordered a pair of hippers from Orvis.  I was not happy with the fabric (I wanted canvas not nylon/rubber).   I returned them immediately to Orvis for a full refund.   A month later I received a notice of recall for the hippers.  There was a defect in the waders which caused them to rub on your leg.  Included in the letter was a prepaid mailing label.  I had already mailed mine back so the label did not help me. BUT, the letter also mentioned that a $125.00 gift certificate (for my time and effort) would be issued as soon as the waders were returned.  I immediatly called Orvis with my explaination and I received the gift certificate a few days later. Now thats CUSTOMER SERVICE. David Clemmons

Response:

- Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – I ordered a pair of hippers from Orvis.  I was not happy with the fabric (I wanted canvas not nylon/rubber).   I returned them immediately to Orvis for a full refund. A month later I received a notice of recall for the hippers.  There was a defect in the waders which caused them to rub on your leg.  Included in the letter was a prepaid mailing label.  I had already mailed mine back so the label did not help me. BUT, the letter also mentioned that a $125.00 gift certificate (for my time and effort) would be issued as soon as the waders were returned.  I immediatly called Orvis with my explaination and I received the gift certificate a few days later. Now thats CUSTOMER SERVICE. David Clemmons

I’ve also had great luck with them regarding returns. I’m sure this note will be followed by endless sob stories, but last year I had a long thorn streamside tear my waders. I took them back, and although they were more than 12 months old, they were replaced at no cost to me. Dittos! Keith in Waterford, VA

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I also recently had an incredibly great experience with Orvis Customer Service.  While in Yellowstone in mid-September, one of my fishing partners broke the butt section of my little HLS 4 wt One-Ouncer.  I knew I had a 25-year guarantee, but I wondered what Orvis would do since they no longer make that rod.  I’ve tried their other one ounce rods and I don’t like them nearly as much as that old model. I returned the rod to the shop in Montana where I purchased it.  Since I carry my rods in a travel case while on the road, I didn’t have the case or sleeve. Low-and behold, 8 days after I dropped the rod off with the dealer, I got a big FedEx overnight package from Orvis.  It was a brand-new One Ouncer, complete with new case, and sleeve.  I was hoping I’d get a new butt section, but to get a whole new setup, and in such a short period of time was very impressive.  Needless to say, I’m extremely happy with their customer service. Bruce Jones

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Question:

Question # 2 – What is a

Question:

Yesterday, my buddy and I went out to a stretch of the Winnipeg River, east of Winnipeg, Manitoba. We head to our best spring pike spot. An expansive weed flat in a shallow, north bay. We chuck some spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. Lots of followers! HUGE followers! No bites except for a couple 12-inchers. Try some sluggos – nothing. Try some Rapala-type minnows – nothing.  ’Well, I guess they aren’t hungry’ my buddy says…..We’re packing up, and I spot an old spoon in the bottom of my tackle box. Now, I always thought spoons were kinda…, what…., old fashioned? Low-tech? What the heck, it’s worth a try. I toss it….BANG – 5 pounder. Nice. Try again. BANG – 8 pounder. NICE. My buddy loads up a weedless spoon – BANG – 6 pounder. We drifted across the flat for 2 hours, caught over 20 fish. One was my new personal best, 13 pounds, 37inches long…. caught on a ‘five of diamonds’ spoon. Now, compared to some of the fly-in spots, these aren’t big fish. But considering that these were caught 5 minutes from a public boat launch, we couldn’t have been happier. Lesson learned – pike like spoons. Thanks,guys,,,,just had to share my good fortune. Brian ps – all the fish were caught on Fusion – I love Fusion. SOLID hooksets, especially when your barbs are pinched.

Response:

– Hide quoted text — Show quoted text – Yesterday, my buddy and I went out to a stretch of the Winnipeg River, east of Winnipeg, Manitoba. We head to our best spring pike spot. An expansive weed flat in a shallow, north bay. We chuck some spinnerbaits and buzzbaits. Lots of followers! HUGE followers! No bites except for a couple 12-inchers. Try some sluggos – nothing. Try some Rapala-type minnows – nothing.  ’Well, I guess they aren’t hungry’ my buddy says…..We’re packing up, and I spot an old spoon in the bottom of my tackle box. Now, I always thought spoons were kinda…, what…., old fashioned? Low-tech? What the heck, it’s worth a try. I toss it….BANG – 5 pounder. Nice. Try again. BANG – 8 pounder. NICE. My buddy loads up a weedless spoon – BANG – 6 pounder. We drifted across the flat for 2 hours, caught over 20 fish. One was my new personal best, 13 pounds, 37inches long…. caught on a ‘five of diamonds’ spoon. Now, compared to some of the fly-in spots, these aren’t big fish. But considering that these were caught 5 minutes from a public boat launch, we couldn’t have been happier. Lesson learned – pike like spoons. Thanks,guys,,,,just had to share my good fortune. Brian ps – all the fish were caught on Fusion – I love Fusion. SOLID hooksets, especially when your barbs are pinched.

I live in Oregon, U.S.A. and fish at Flin-Flon, Manitoba every year and find that my best baits for northerns are spoons and #5 Mepps spinners. We catch numerous pike in the 20-25 pound class with them.  Not every cast, however.  It is still work. I have also found that fishing the Mepps vertically can be productive at times.  Just open the bail and let it drop 50-75 feet to the bottom.  Then give it a "reef" and start cranking.  You might be surprised.  On my first 4 "drops" I landed 3 lake trout.  Sometimes they hit.  Sometimes they don’t!  

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Question:

I am in the process of opening a new fly shop and would like to know of some fly wholesalers.  Please E-mail me with any info.  Shop owners, your help would be greatly appreciated.  THANKS

Response:

I am in the process of opening a new fly shop and would like to know of some fly wholesalers.  Please E-mail me with any info.  Shop owners, your help would be greatly appreciated.  THANKS

Hi Dan Bailey’s is a good source of wholesale flies. Call 800-356-4052. Good Luck. Tight Lines Al Beatty BT’s Fly Fishing Products Bozeman, MT (96 catalog)

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