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Bow River Water Management Policy always comes up as a complaint. But TransAlta has made substantial changes to how they ramp-up and ramp-down water flows out of Ghost Reservoir this year. Without exception, all spikes in flow this year are a result of rainfall in or around Calgary. This is totally outside of AEP or TransAlta control. And remember TransAlta has no control over the water discharge mandated by irrigation districts. Regulation Change - Well overdue. The Rainbow Trout Population has declined by more than 50% from 2003 -2013, and continues to where it may be only 20% of the 2003 population. If the decline continues the Bow River fishery will drop below its ability to sustain itself. Self restraint is needed - fish once a week rather than 3-4 times a week. Cut out dredging the riverbed with a string of SJW's. And take your cell phone an chuck it in the back of the car. No one cares about the "trophy" fish of 12 to 14" long you caught. If not, expect to see very restrictive regulation change. Guided Angler v Non-Guided Angler v Shore Angler: The 2018 survey showed an equal split of anglers between the three groups. The question that has not been answered is catch rates for each group. If the guides are doing their job, more fish should be caught by guided anglers. But the angler who owns his own boat could well catch just as many fish, but more often selects a less aggressive stance to fish-catch numbers. There is also an increasing number of shore anglers who fish throughout the year, possibly catching more fish annually than either guided or non-guided boat anglers. Therefore take you pick as to who to blame, but be aware the recapture rates for the Bow River are getting high. 3 - 5 times a year, if not more. Mortality rates increase every time a fish is caught that adds to the annual mortality rate. Fishery Management Options - Although more than 20 potential threats to the Bow River fishery have been identified, very few can be managed within the current scope of AEP operations. Regulation change, seasonal restrictions and catch limits are all possible. But anglers need to take a more responsible approach to just what a day's angling looks like. Do we need to catch 20 fish each time we got out?

Fiddling with angling pressure is the easiest thing for the government to attack...so of course that is what they will go after. It will be interesting to see what restrictions the government will come up with (seasonal closures, gear restrictions, maybe even booking a time like they have done in BC). Fish Biol Paul C mention the "economic value" of the Bow. That means the guiding industry. What about the intrinsic value of the fishery for the thousands of folks who don't need/want to hire a guide? The fish are a public resource, not just a resource used to create profit by a small segment of society. Joe public will need to make their voice heard as a STAKEHOLDER so that you can still fish as the guide boats go by. Public access/opportunity should trump guiding opportunity for rod days if we eventually get to that scenario.