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I caught a couple 10-15 cm ones in the Belly just downstream of the 49th Parallel. Area locals also confirmed to me that there is or was a population of Arctic Grayling much closer to the Belly headwaters on the Montana side. I remember reading somewhere that Barry Mitchell and Don Andersen caught one in a irrigation diversion on the Canadian side of the Belly which is what sent me on my quest to catch a native southern Alberta grayling. I have no idea of their current status as all this was 20-25 yrs ago.

Holy firecrackers Debbie Downers, The actual Influenza FLU killed over 51,000 people last year around the world. Was there a panic? Turn off that stupid device, go walk the routes, stare at those awesome Springtime holes, remember why you clean your wading boots and gear and stuff.... Shake someone's hand, open a door and forget the media. -M.

I appreciate that the government has recently shown far greater interest in the Bow river trout population. The river has been ignored for a long time because it just seemed to look after itself and we were blessed with awesome fishing for decades. I understand the complexity of the problem and the difficulty of narrowing down a short list of the most powerful factors putting pressure on the trout population. I just wanted to clarify that I have trouble going along with the suggestion the angling is THE MAJOR contributor to the population decline. For me, I have a feeling that it has more to do with the environment/water quality/habitat/disease than the number of hooks in the water. In the short term, it would seem prudent to try and do something in an area we can actually control.....angling. It would make sense that any help we can offer to the river would be wise. I guess time will tell if the trout populations will bounce back. I have seen significant fluctuations in the condition factors of the trout in the past, both rising and falling, since the 1970's. There have been years that produced huge fish even while the nutrient input from the sewage plants was decreasing with technological advancements. There are so many pieces to this puzzle. On a positive note, the rainbows that I have seen caught in the last month look to be in much better condition than they have been in the last 2 years. There are a few more fish breaking 20" and they are much heavier. Hopefully something good is going on

4 years ago after the snowmagedon winter in Calgary, the city of Calgary built a snow dump located near 32 Ave and deerfoot trail next to the white dome tent at the golf course, the city sends loaders and trucks out to remove snow from neighborhoods and hauls it to the snow dump to be piled up until spring when it can melt, the snow is not the only thing loaded on those trucks, all of the salt that the city lays down is collected and dumped with the snow, when the snow melts in the spring,the melt water containing all of that salt (and oil and whatever else was in the snow) flows from the snow dump directly into Nose Creek that then flows into the Bow river near the science center, last year the banks below Nose Creek on the Bow river had snow and ice free banks weeks before the banks of the Bow above Nose Creek. I have not seen this metioned but I think there is some correlation to the declining fish numbers since the snow dump went into use. Next spring have a look at the water flowing out of Nose Creek during the melt...it smells like the ocean. This mountain of snow salt and oil lasts long into the summer, usually August, the remains of what's left are there right now sitting on the asphalt if anyone wants to see the disgusting mess, I can't imagine this not having a serious negative impact on the health of Nose Creek and the Bow river.