jayanderson

I can't believe how many people posting do not have the courtesy to ask land owners for access to property! With all of the information that is really available (county maps, iHunter app) it is inexcusable not to make a phone call or knock on a door, shake a hand and state your business. As someone who has spent years hunting on private land and being farmed raised I find it hard to fathom how many people in this sport claim a right to trespass by way of a loophole that is meant to protect navigation/commerce (the movement of goods and services by way of water, example one logging company couldn't buy of a section of river to stop another company moving logs, or as applies to mining, fur trade etc.) People are spending thousands on gear/fuel and won't spend the money for a few maps and couldn't be troubled by a simple human interaction. This year I lost access due to some land changing ownership and I can totally sympathize with the land owner's reasoning, too many people trespassing without permission! I hadn't been out on the land in question for a couple years but heard rumour of it changing hands, checked the maps, went for a drive and knocked on his door. We had a good friendly talk for well over an hour, lots to BS about as I come from a family farm background, and he explained some of the trouble he's had with the going's on and the lack of courtesy/respect. He runs a third generation small mixed farm operation who worked oil and gas when times weren't that rosy for agriculture and put three kids through university. It took hard work and smarts to get his hand on that quarter, people didn't respect that. Show some respect out there!

With a lot of worry and concern being directed at the Bow river, here is some food for thought. It has been the focus of a few studies and some scientific research, the negative effects of birth control and other pharmaceuticals on the sexual development and reproductive health of fish and other aquatic life. Calgary has over doubled in population in the past 30 years? what has this done to the river in terms of the the amount of mentioned toxins in the watershed. I think the problems in the Bow drainage have moved well beyond angling pressure and poor fish handling. Fish the Bow and enjoy it while there is something left. Reducing angling pressure, season closures will do nothing for it.

There are many anglers out there, of all demographics, who simply believe they are entitled to catch fish by any legal means. Personally I've been lucky enough to have an accomplished fly fisherman and conservationist take me under his wing and inform me of some of the unwritten rules. No nymphing for cutthroats on the Eastslopes, dry flies only, same goes for the Raven, Stauffer, Prairie Creek etc. Targeting Browns in streams/creeks with streamers is in poor taste. My buddies and I fish the central creeks/streams for 6 weeks ish in the spring/early summer, catching a hand full of nice browns on dry flies, then we leave those waters alone for the rest of the year. I'm privileged in the fact that being a single man with expendable income and a work schedule that affords lots of time to fish and hunt I can pick and choose target species and bodies of water with the best potential but I'm not the norm. Educating the angling public is important for conservation but the fisheries management plan of this province has the drastically change to enhance opportunities.

I would think that the powers that be should be seriously considering enhancing/stocking the Bow. Why not have a hatchery built right in/on the river itself? this could be funded through conservation stamps, guide licensing/fees. The Bow isn't being fished to death and the c&r anglers are not the problem.

Thanks for this update Don!