Harps

FOAM in Montana seems to do a good job. http://www.foam-montana.org/ The folks on the Mo can enjoy a day on the water or guide... The guide trips are on the books and numbers are on the boats so I'm sure if somebody had an issue the books could be looked at to get guiding times/income. It would be obvious if a guide floats everyday all summer but only records a couple trips. Plus guiding really is a small community and if an association was put together people would learn who is who pretty quick! There will be issues (look at the new proposed management plan on the Madison), but for the most part it seems that the system works great. It also allows river info to be disseminated out to the folks that are on the water. For rod day restrictions, look at the Big Hole and Beaverhead. There are days when guides aren't allowed to float with clients but they can do walk and wades. the guides I know down there use the time to float with their kids or friends. From a fisheries management perspective, I know a guide in S. Alberta who has whored out a ton of rivers and I have met American guides that have come up and fished where they were shown. Guys travelling from NZ mud snail and whirling disease rivers and guys leaving to Eastern USA with didymo filled boots. I know of some smaller waters that can be fished out pretty quick! And really from the Alberta public whats easier to do- register guides or impose fishing restrictions. Max has it right with random camping restrictions and opening more govt run campgrounds. Both would increase revenue to the AB Gov't and have a positive affect on the number of users in the system. Nobody will pay for fish habitat enhancements without an industry being forced or a higher value being placed on the fishery (maybe by having a guide association with income info?!?). Enforcement will not be increased without higher fisheries value. Fish and Habitat protection will not be increased (or even continued) without people standing up and saying they value a fishery and want it protected. I would suggest that you see less fisheries protection in the very near future because the fishery is seen as an impediment to development, rather than a valued resource itself. There will be no better time to speak up before it is gone.

Oh yeah... I'm all for a legit guide assn... more for regulated guiding! At least a guide assn could have a website with links to reputable guide outfits, plus the voice (associated with income and profit) would be much bigger than a two-bit fly fishing website...

Didn't read all of this yet... Alberta needs regulated guides. Period. See this thread for lots of talk on it: http://flyfishcalgary.com/board/index.php?...ulation+montana my opinion: From Montana Board of Outfitters There were some good ideas in this thread on licensing guides from last month Now I'll go back and read the comments...

I agree Don, $25 is cheap! But $25 for a BC resident to fish here is a slap in the face to Alberta taxpayers. That should go up at least to $50. Resident licences should go up, but I think penny pinching Albertan's won't accept more than a dollar or two increase, especially in these tough economic times. I really like the idea of a conservation licence (same price we pay now- C&R on flowing waters reduced catch on stocked waters) and a $10-20 extra if you want to keep fish (same regs as now). Plus maybe special stamps (ie Brook trout hunter, etc) for certain areas. And... small fee for seniors!

How many seniors pick up fishing regulation books if they don't need a licence? http://www.srd.alberta.ca/FishWildlife/Fis...parison2008.pdf Apparently Seniors in Alberta are poorer than those in most of Canada... I do like Manitoba's licence structure. And When you look at licence cost comparison we are close in residential licences, but there is room for some increases. The big thing is how obviously we undervalue fishery tourism from other provinces! I think that is the place where cost increases should go... How many non-Alberta Canadians fish in Alberta?? http://www.srd.alberta.ca/FishWildlife/Fis...rta-Feb2010.pdf Where else will the money come from???

Ouch BJ, somebody sleeping on the bench where you eat lunch? I don't recall any pro-occupy talk or even any anti-corporation blather. I asked some questions. It's your type of response that teaches folks that corporate O&G isn't accountable to anybody asking questions and doesn't give a rats ass about what Albertans think. vhawk12, I believe under Alberta legislation you can't stop a RoW from coming across your property. The best thing a landowner can do is get some improvements (new gates, better roads, etc) and to monitor the work and conditions of the sites. Part of the issue is your capitalist remark. The Federal and Provincial gov'ts subsidize the O&G industry. In a true capital market, there would be no subsidies. And on top of that, companies would have to start paying more for permitting (ie paying for the cost of a review under the Canadian Environmental Assessment Act as undertaken by a number of federal agencies). We live and work in a social democracy... not a pure free market. Like it or not the elected gov't weighs the options (often poorly) and makes a decision about costs of operation, subsidies, taxes, royalties, immigration, and how many socks you can buy. This is supposed to be judged to see a benefit to all Canadians and /or our society. The numbers I put up were found by a really quick internet search... they all came from CAPP and the oil company websites- nothing inflammatory. I couldn't find out a true statement of how much money was made. I really am curious about the profits and expenditures of O&G production and exploration. I don't work for O&G but deal with the companies on the ground and at higher planning levels. A recent article in a paper stated that 45% of money spent in locally owned stores stays in the local economy while only 11% of money spent in chain stores. Those numbers are much less than I figured and I think it would be an interesting comparison to see where the money goes from "local O&G operations. This thread has been great and full of info (except for some obvious trash), but I still don't know what is real or not. Don, great questions and I'm learning a lot!

Can somebody tell me if I'm reading this right? http://www.capp.ca/library/statistics/hand...px#wkGDLnNxs3E1 Looking at CAPPs data: In Alberta O&G spent +$37,000 million in 2010, $3,500 in royalties, $5,800 in exploration, $15,600 in development and $12,100 in operations. ($10,000 Million increase from 2009 with only $300 mil increase in royalties paid?!?) Sales= $74,623,072,000,000 in 2010 a $10,000,000,000,000 increase in sales from 2009) Same data... that's $176,000 million paid in royalties to Alberta over 60 years ($702,000 mil spent total). In the same time over $1,200,000,000 million was the value of the producers sales. That's: $1,211,122,012,000,000 Revenue from 1947 to 2010 for $702,877,800,000 Spent (only $176,249,300,000 in Royalties). Oilsands spent $34,216,000,000 total with $3,747,000,000 in Royalties... Made???? Shell only made a $7.2 BILLION profit in the last quarter, (only 2x last year) and BP only made $4.9 BILLION, and Exxon only $10.F'n3 BILLION (not Alberta but whole companies). Where does the money go? This line is offensive to any Alberta landowner that has been trying to make a profit despite having O&G companies demand the right to put pipelines under every quarter section, and having to be evacuated due to sour gas leaks, and having now explosive well water, and etc, etc. Seems the standard original conservative values of Rights don't apply when a corporation wants to take them... right to property, right to clean water... and now they are discussing bringing a sales tax to Alberta?!? How is that fair when we still subsidize O&G? This makes my head spin...

I picked up the 12ft Yamame last spring and used it a couple times over the year. I had higher expectations, but each time I used it I found myself at a spot, wishing I could shoot line or wishing it was shorter. I often had issues with the rod and leader being too long for the task and had issues dapping in any breeze. I still have it and used it recently, it is fun and fish on it are great, but I think a light and short flyrod and reel is still a better tool for small streams (the tenkara rod excels in pocket water). My first experience with it: http://www.sexyloops.com/2011.shtml?0607

Thanks guys! The secret to growing fast is eating feedlot beef!!

Talk to Dave Jensen on this forum or on his blog. He picked up Lyme Disease in Washington State this spring. http://flyfishalberta.blogspot.com/search/.../lyme%20disease Gotta get treated fast and hard to minimize impact! Info: http://www.canlyme.com/

Beaver ponds aren't considered Lakes and ponds, they inherit the regs of the flowing water that flows in or out of them. If the river flooded the pond or if the pond is formed from a tributary to a river or creek... stream regs apply! http://www.albertaregulations.ca/fishingre...neral-regs.html If you were in ES1: Likely, any bait use was poaching. Call it in.

I wonder why they're e-fishing?

Priceless!!!!!

TP has it all in his post! Great Answer, and the picture reminds me of Prudoe Bay (and everywhere in that godforsaken (beloved) dark and white landscape!) Too bad Columbia bought Baffin boots... they haven't had the same quality.

Check out this write up (complicated site navigation, but great info) http://www.rubicon-trail.com/4WD101/4x4.html

... I stand corrected on one point. Taco kills brookies.

Otters will eat in places that are packed with fish... they will target easy food first (suckers/ forage fish), then they will take trout they can get if it is worth the energy... then they will move on. The streams will be fine. Like Freestone said, it is part of the natural system. We don't kill rainbows and cutthroat and brookies and browns because they eat other trout. Kill the suckers, kill the cormorants, kill the pelicans, kill the ospreys, kill the beavers, kill the coyotes, kill the gophers, kill the wolves, kill the bears, kill the otters... we SUCK at managing nature! Oldschool management does not work, we are the problem, not them... How many human culls have you been on? The bigger issues are habitat issues and overuse and harvest. It is all about balance and we don't have the knowledge or budgets to even start to think that we can manage these systems. They won't wipe out all the trout, the same way they haven't wiped out the trout in all those other great fishing places and in all those trouty places of the past. We should be proud that we have stream systems in a good enough condition to support otters again!

And otters eat baby beavers...

Yeah, biggest recorded was just over 100lbs.

Hey guys, Some of you may know that the Alberta and Federal gov'ts are looking at increased protection for sturgeon (and habitat). Let me be clear... You will still be able to fish for sturgeon! To help, especially with the angling side (angling is fine for sturgeon as long as they are caught, handled, and released properly), it would be great to get info from folks catching them. If you don't mind, it would be great to get lengths, weight (if you take them) and locations of sturgeon caught. You don't have to send it to me if you're not comfortable with it, but if you send me a PM, I can flip you the contact info of the folks in charge of the sturgeon side of things. If you get a sturgeon with a tag, please, please get the number and report it!!! The good thing for you guys is that you'll get to talk to the sturgeon researchers who have caught hundreds of sturgeon already this year and might be able to provide pointers. Plus you'll be helping to protect Canada's oldest fish so that future generations will have a chance to fish for it too!

Why don't some of you Bow River fishers get together and write up a 10 or so point list of etiquette that you can post at boat launches (or even ask SRD to put on signs). You could do some for Boat Launches and some for Wading Accesses, targeting each type of angler. If you create signs, put the FFC logo on it, and put them up it would be a good service for the river and might alleviate some of the issues. I think we could even put some down here... I'd chip in on behalf of the Chinook Waters Fly Fishing Club for a few signs for the Crow. It would be nice if SRD would create signs though... As a start to the list try the Montana guide association website: http://www.foam-montana.org/etiquette.htm they have a list that Montana Guides are supposed to follow: Floating anglers should yield to bank and wade fishermen. Wade fishermen should yield to boats when there is only one navigable channel. Drift anglers should never pass another boat to cut in on water being fished. Avoid wading in spawning areas. Pick up trash, even if it's not yours. Motorboats: no wakes please Keep access points and ramps open by launching boats quickly. Conserve the resource. Know the fishing regulations. Do not trespass on private land. Stay below the high water mark. Don't let your actions affect someone else's fishing pleasure. Treat everyone as you would like to be treated, but understand that they may not share your sense of ethics. The gov't of Montana also has this: http://fwp.mt.gov/recreation/ethics/riverRecreation.html Clive even wrote a good bit about it here: http://flyanglersonline.com/features/canada/can23.php **It's another reason that fishing guides should be regulated in Alberta...

No fishing within 25m of the base of waterfalls... Below Lundbreck and Castle Falls included. Hmmmm (And its a crime to waste burbot meat!!)

Since when are Rex Murphy and Lorne Gunter (incoming president of Civitas - a society for conservative and libertarian academics, think-tankers, lobbyists and journalists) experts on scientific process let alone climate change? And average temps in Calgary... Above average 1 month, dead on for 2, below for 10... doesn't mean much in 100 years of data... or 1000, or 10,000. May 0.4 below average, Apr 2.5 below, Mar 4.3 below, Feb 3.5 below, Jan Right on Avg, Dec 0.8 below, Nov 1.6 below, Oct 2.4 above, Sep 1.5 below, Aug 0.4 below, July- right on average. In June with 13 days of data we are 1.7 days under the avg. Plus... you increase arctic ice melting, push cold water down towards the tropics, change pacific+continental+arctic air masses and everything inland is F'd. More precip, more cloud, more storms. Or not... the earth is a pretty complex system with a few billion too many pollutn' folks screwing it up. We should be doing everything we can to minimize our footprints. This gives me a headache...

mtbkr, Any action on this?

Any environmental spills or complaints in Alberta (work around rivers that you think are questionable, spills, anything) should get called into the 24 hr hotline: 1-800-222-6514