Harps

Or I could just have said... Suck it up, Princess... Guides have a great job doing what they love to do. It's a lifestyle choice over money, and if they don't like it they should just quit and leave the whinning to the people who don't have the time to fish because they don't have the skill to be guides and have to sit in an office (or on a rig) to make a living.

Geez... I'm not saying guides make tons of money, just that it is tied to the resource. I realize many guides think they do it for the sport and lifestyle... and I'm sure they realize they shouldn't be in it for money, but people generally put in as little effort possible to make the most money they can. If lifestyle wasn't an imporant part of it, everybody would have sold out all the good spots on the river and you would find guides taking clients everywhere (that couldn't happen, could it?)... Of course guides from BC are coming here because they have to for the $$, as they don't have rod days left in their own province. (BTW the income that was posted (not by me) is well over the poverty line. You must have missed my starting a fight thingy which should have indicated more sarcasm. I have no real clue what I guide makes, but I was curious.) I didn't want this to get into a guiding direction... but, well you can see above. My point was that guides are the perfect venue to teach anglers ethics and ettiquite on the river. (it was buried in there, but addresses the first post about ettiqute) Brian, I'm sure that sports with you learn a ton after a trip. I'm sure that with most guides the sports are better off. BUT there are many guides that just have a summer off and decide to accept money to take people to fishing holes. If guides have to pay taxes (same as everybody else) why not have those taxes go back to the fishery. I'm not saying charge guides a "royalty" to use the resource. I'm saying register the guides so we know haw many there are and where they operate, and ensure that they are qualified... just like Montana does (and there is no guide hardships down there... in fact Montana guides are operating in Alberta on at least 2 Rivers... as are BC guides on many rivers in the Crowsnest Pass). And, the only posts that go anywhere are hijacked posts.

Okay... all of the money made guiding is made on the basis of pursuing prey that is a public resource. Plus- $50-60k a year for only 100 days work is a lot of money to the majority of Canadians. I know guiding isn't a big money maker for Albertans, especially relative to our lifestyle and expectations with O&G money floating around. Point being that a guide assn or business taxes from guiding should go towards conservation and enforcement. That could happen if guides were recognized in the province. There are a lot of uneducated assholes abusing the resource, some of them guides; the rest of us assholes could benefit if anglers were being taught right.

Yes I am sure we need a guide association or better yet, a registration and licensing system. It better protects the casual angler spending $300+ on a day out; It better protects the resource, spreading guide pressure if required and educating about things like invasives (we have Dydimo to give and snails and crayfish to take); and It can provide education to new and tourist anglers fishing in the province. BC's fishery management structure will not be reproduced here, nor should it, but they are taking a step to protect fisheries and local anglers (like it or not). Montana has a good system that qualifies and regulates guides and days on some smaller waters. They also put some of that money back into fishing and hunting improvements... we give our money to ACA for... On the dam note... I've can't seem to find a site for One Less Dam. We could always use another tailwater fishery, right??

My last letter to the minister on this subject (pressure)... Sent in early 2008. Outside of sites like this, guides are in an excellent position to teach people proper ethics around fishing. Maybe we need a better system of regulating the "teachers"? Maybe everybody here should send a letter to the minister asking for their suggested solutions?

Really? Irrigation water for the few... :$*%&: http://www.calgaryherald.com/technology/Wa...2548/story.html Does anybody want a dam on the Oldman at the Gap... maybe not from this site, but apparently it would make a good location. The study here, completed in 2008, is an assessment tool of available sites to build dams in southern Alberta. http://environment.gov.ab.ca/info/library/7947.pdf Download it now, cause things disappear and become hard to find on gov't websites. I guess we gotta build the dams fast... Upper St. Mary has a Species at Risk (Eastslope sculpin), the whole Milk is home to SARA species (sculpin and western silvery minnow), and there are some (lake sturgeon) soon to be listed in the South Sask, Lower Oldman, and Lower Bow. Add westslope cutthroat and bull trout (which the province has already written off once) and there aren't any more rivers in southern Alberta to build dams on... except the Willow system and some other small tributary creeks. Do you want your taxpayer dollars to go to a billion dollar project that will provide you with potatoes? The anglers on this site need to make a bigger push to get organized! There seems to be enough passion here, at least when it comes to secret spots, but what happens when those spots are flooded under water? We need to speak up. A formal guide association would be a strong voice on rivers used for recreation... it's an income/economic benefit that isn't being captured by gov't assessments when they evaluate these things. Plus a formal guide association (and license) would be a way to teach ethics, and regulate guide days on some of the big and popular rivers (Montana has an excellent system for this). Our water is worth more when it is not in sprinklers! It's time we told the government that.

Where is that Clive? Windmills?

Hey Midgetwaiter, How did this turn out??

I won't be able to go.

You can get the WJ stuff at wholesale, and cheap too (relative to bass pro and online). I think Westwinds has it too? I lik ethe simms backpack and the WJ mag line chest packs.

Controlled burns in West Castle All to protect residences at a ski hill that shouldn't have been built. Timing update SRD begins burning the West Castle this weekend. ***** Oh... and the latest finding shows that Pine Beetles REDUCE the fire risk

Thanks for the reminder!! Brook trout should be on Redds right now (getting started), so watch out in those small streams (except Taco who will drag his feet through them). Bulls are also on redds now (or just about done). Here are a couple of older picts (sorry, no time to dig for betters) Bulls: Brookies: Browns: Rainbows: CutBows:

Anybody at this last rally against the logging? http://www.630ched.com/Channels/LocalNews/...aspx?ID=1283889

Love this post... I missed this forum! Freestone, send me a PM and we can discuss the problem you saw last fall. Not enough people complain to the gov't (at all levels) and the lack of issues(?!?) and general atmosphere has resulted in a cut of enforcement in Alberta. People should have been asking about every small issue, wondering if things were going to be fixed, following up with each complaint, and commending folks that try to do right. The actions of the government reflect the overall majority of folks in the country (unfortunately the majority are oblivious, don't care, or prefer cash over enviro). Now it's too little too late.

Rick, Sundance, and I pretty much agreeing in the same thread!?! Wow Mike, folks become muzzled as soon as they start working for the gov't.

Two or three pelicans and 30 fishermen in tubes, and how many on the shore?? Do we need a float tube hunting permit too.... Clive, there are hundreds of reasons for a year of low catch rates, from weather to food availablility, to habitat changes, and fishing pressure. Pelicans might be one factor on a river, but by and large they are going to target easy fish (schools of fish that they can round up and scoop). I don't think the pelicans are an issue to trout populations on any of our rivers (and I say that with all the confidence I can in my position). Plus we all know, gov't employees lose the ability to effectively fish (or determine real fish populations) as soon as they call themselves managers, especially those from SRD.

I like the natives... Actually I think I was just having a bad day and had to yell.... I'm off to England this week so that should fix the nerves!!

People cause the issue with fisheries... not cormorants. They are not a danger to our fisheries and only a danger to fish farms 'cause that is a situation with tons of fish piled in a small tank with no cover. They kill much less riparian vegetation than people do to build big usless houses with a view (in the floodplain). They don't clean out lakes (less than the bait fishermen and rec anglers harvest). THey were here first and part of a balanced ecosystem. From an earlier rant of mine: We have screwed the ecosystem and continue to screw it with bandaid mis-management. For some reason folks still think it's easier to manage fish and wildlife rather than the people using the resources. Less harvest, less riparian and instream destruction, less chemical impacts, etc will go alot further than oiling the eggs in a hundred cormorant nests while letting people cut the neighbouring trees down and harvest the fish that the cormorants never got. I know some folks on here will disagree... so bring it!

I didn't see any lights around Lethbridge from 11:30 to 1AM. I'll try again tonight... its supposed to be better.

The dark line on the forecast page indicates where the lights can be seen above the horizon... they should see them all the way into Great Falls on wed and thurs. You should see them in Calgary, but you may have to get into a dark area though. Everybody in the green area highlighted area should see them almost straight up! In August, 2001 they were visible (even looking south) from Beaver Mines. Straight above there was a dark patch and the lights seemed to come (or go to) that spot. Red, blue and green, it was really creepy, but made for great photos!

I hate trebles. But... Everything I've read indicates that trebles aren't worse for trout (Mortality only). typically trebles are bigger and harder to eat, and often taken less deep. They can however, cause more damage just for the fact that they have more hooks. Worse: Baited and barbed/barbless then barbed (not baited) single and treble then barbles single/treble. In terms of leaving hooks in: Hooks swallowed completely can not be removed by an angler without killing the fish. In some studies hooks have caused injuries in the stomach and/or associated bacterial infections (mostly pike, musky, etc). Some studies have shown fish dying long (+50 days) after the release, but they survive the immediate release (Most C&R mortalities are within 24 hours). Hooks taken that deep were all baited. Oddly enough, one significant study showed most delayed mortalities from eye and tongue hookings (24-72 hrs) and low esophegus delayed mortalities. Maybe those fish would have dies much later, or maybe they would have survived? Heavy bleeding often indicates a mortality. Flies stuck in gills and esophagus... it is still recommended that an angler cut the line and leave the hook in. The hooks (especially small ones) do disolve/disinegrate/weaken/get shed. The chances of survival are better if you leave it, as opposed to digging it out and causing additional injury. (See this study and this study for examples of line cutting reducing mortality) Hooks in eyes... do cause mortality (over 50% in some cutthroat studies)!! Of course, barbless are better here. Now I've typed so much that I don't even recal what the original question was... something about trebles right?

There is a cool northern lights forecast page from Alaska here: http://www.gedds.alaska.edu/auroraforecast/ Activity is suposed to peak on Wednesday and Thursday nights (visible low in the sky from dark areas near Calgary). It was cool to see how acurate it was while living in Alaska.

Thanks Mike! No rush or real importance (I'm out of Canada till September anyways).

Hey Smitty, Did you ever come up with a summary of the issue? I've had a number of people complain to me about guides down south here (I think cause other areas were blown out). There were also a ton of BC plated vehicles with groups fishing near by...