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Like the song says "You don't know what you've got till it's gone". Certainly there have been a variety of factors for the crash of trout. Back in the early 80's when I settled my family here. The bug life was profuse. Big hatches of a large variety of mayflies would often coat the water. You had to keep your mouth closed or risk ingestion of an unexpected meal. Now large stone-flies like the Skwala's Drakes and Salmon flies are short seldom seen hatches. Not sure if the conditions/water quality have changed so much as to deplete not only these but other bug-life. Lots of studies about trout number but very few on habitat, food sources and minnow populations.

Here is the link to last nights (Nov/03/21), Bow River Fisheries Education Webinar.

Dry fly fishing is no fun and never works though

Good point, is it possible that low water, warm water, stream degradation due to the flood and poaching on the Highwood is impacting the natural recruitment of rainbow trout for the Bow River? A trial stocking program to restore the numbers could be a good option to offset these potential issues with the Bow's major spawning tributary. Not to mention stream/spawning enhancements for the Highwood would help the Bow, no?

I have never understood the ‘ban motorized boats’. Yes I have a jet, and yes I exercise a lot of courtesy around other boats and shore anglers. To say that I ‘speed’ to the best holes is a ridiculous statement- I use the boat to access the river and prefer not to do all day floats - I go out, fish for a few hours and take off. If anything I am spreading angler pressure around. I also think it is an absurd argument to say the wake I produce does any additional damage to a river that fluctuates tens or hundreds of cms on a daily, weeks or monthly basis depending of precipitation or dam outflow. I also cannot understand the argument that a motorized boat disturbs fish any more or less than the daily armada of drift boats. I originally bought a jet as I did not enjoy floating down in a mass of 20-30 other boats like a dragnet. Motorized boats cannot access 1/2 of the ‘local’ water and no one on here can say there is a marked improvement in that section- it is just aimless finger pointing at a target they chose to dislike. yes we have an ever increasing angler pressure problem and I do support giving the river and its residents a break. An increase in out of province fees that go towards conservation initiatives is one I can get behind, as would be section and seasonal closures.