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I would need to see the "three different quantitative models " to decide on the seriousness of the problem. My first thought is perhaps the spawning grounds in the Highwood River might be under pressure. Have the rainbow spawning grounds been looked at in this study? There are a lot of factors involved and how do weight each stressors in your quantitative model? The thing that worries me is they say don't know from their model/data what caused the population decline but are quick to suggest an easy "fix" of limiting fishing? Perhaps there are more serious factors in decline that need addressing as well.

I feel that the study is somewhat myopic. However, I also feel that the old data was wildly optimistic. 4,200 Trout per Mile ?? Bullshit.. It used to be advertised on Country Pleasures Brochures, Pre Dating Internet.. Wonder where that Data came from.. I feel that our Bow is going Downhill, FAST.. I believe Whirling Disease has been here for over a Decade. I believe that Trans Alta is Hugely responsible.. Spin the Dams Up For Profit,, I have never scene the Bow at 52 CMS IN September until this year.To Hell with any environmental Considerations. I feel That Fishing pressure is A Main Factor.. I have never witnessed the pressure of 2018.. As far as The Guiding question...Might be a good time to cap the number of Rod/Boat Days and totally Shut Off BC and Montana Guides.. I have Fished the Bow in the 60s.70s.80s,90s.2000s and the 2010s.. I know that Single Hook, Barbless and Seasonal Closures would Help, Immensely.. Very Complicated Issue and no EASY Answers...

I don't fish the Bow much, and thus there are others on this Forum who know it way better than I, but from following the threads here post-2013 flood, it seems to me that there has been much mention of relatively fat, healthy browns in the Bow, and more long, skinny rainbows. I read somewhere years ago that browns are more tolerant of higher water temperatures and pollutants/contaminants in the water than rainbows. Has there been any long-term tracking of these variables, alongside the flow rate monitoring? The article on the aforementioned study pretty quickly goes to angling pressure as a contributing factor. While no doubt this is a contributor, it would be nice to see acknowledgement of other changes in the river as well. For example, the monstrous Enmax Shepard combined cycle power plant came on line a few years ago, and uses treated wastewater from the Bonnybrook treatment plant as its cooling water supply (water that would otherwise be discharged into the river). And then there's my personal favorite, TransAlta's ongoing screwing with river flows to maximize upstream hydro profitability in Alberta's volatile power pool (wait until their PPA's expire in the 2020-2021 time frame, and then we'll REALLY see screwing around with the flows)...and on and on it goes. One more (perhaps) obscure one: I saw an article a while back that talked about the impact of forest fire smoke on emergent insects. Can't have been a good couple of past summers on that front...