Harps

Come on Dean... we know that is a brood fish from Nick Sheran in Lethbridge. I hope the location is never announced, but it will come out I'm sure when the record is made official. I have a suspiction it was in one of my "secret rivers" (It starts with a B and rhymes with rOW).

Dave was great to deal with. It was quick to have them shipped (customs screwed us on the second set)- but I can't recall exactly how long (it was a few years ago). We've got the Skykomish Sunrises with the platform- great boats! River or Lake use?

This was his other article about using fins: http://www.flyfisherman.com/content/pontoon-boat-basics/

Are you using fins and oars? Dragging an anchor can be dangerous for you and can harm the substrate (hurts invertabretes resulting in lower river productivity if sever enough- like a 1000 boats dragging each season) Dave Scadden has some pontoon fishing articles online if you search for them. There was a good one in Flyfishermen magazine (I think) not to long ago. He also has this on his site: http://www.northforkoutdoors.com/Articles/...treamdraft.html

Hey Jigsaw, I hear that alot... "there are too many Bulls, we need to start wacking them". The "oldtimer" often say that as they are loading their limit of trout into a cooler. Part of the problem is they don't fight really great and they DO compete with anglers for rainbows. Plus most of the old guys weren't around when they first stocked all these waterbodies (horseback trout dumping) and they weren't there to see the massive harvests by folks early on. Look through the archives at the Glenbow museum (http://ww2.glenbow.org/search/archivesPhotosSearch.aspx) to see the sizes trout used to be and the numbers that they caught. I think the populations are still low and declining in some watersheds. With pressure from angling (on predator and prey) it will take some time to see a balance (it may never happen if there is a lot of harvest). Blaming bulls is like blaming suckers (there is a 80 year old study in Alberta's mountain lakes that shows that removing suckers harms trout populations!!). The suckers do take up biomass, but also contribute an important source of food for trout (brodcast eggs and tons of small young suckers). The bulls will take the slow and weak first and most often (suckers, minnows, young trout, injured, etc) leaving resources to be used in the ecosystem. Bull trout and sucker species are integral for these wild trout populations to have somewhat stable and healthy populations (a good ecosystem). The problem is the people (and generally always is). I fully support the reduced harvest and increased size limit (although a slot limit would be cool)!

Chinook Waters Fly Fishing Club will host it in Lethbridge!!

An appy lover!?! My sister-in-law rides her's (a Nez Pearce Appy) all through the forestry near Cochrane, but I'm not sure what creeks she encounters. I have yet to convince her to take up a fly rod, but I'm working on her daughter. Good luck

Access limited in Alberta!?!

I have seen a number of RV's that dump their waste water over the banks. I have seen spilled gas from refilling machinery at each site. I have seen rutted up trails in and out of each site that run mud to the creeks when it rains. I have seen litterally tons of garbage left behind. Kids flying down the roads on too big of quads with no helmuts. People tearing up wetlands for the fun of it (destroying long-toed salamander habitat) and wreaking the filtering capabilities of those wetlands. And the sound of generators running all night... I'm sure most people are responsible or ignorant of the damage they do, but that doesn't change tha fact that there are too many people using the area for a playground to not have rules.

Hey Fry, I'd say there is more impact from off-highway vehicles (as I've said before) than you think. Let’s see your letters. Yes logging does some damage to the ecosystem, but it is also one of the main contributors to the replenishing and rehabilitation to it also. Logging has been hit hard with large fines and even larger interest groups watching and making sure that they are learning to do things in a more constructive manner. (There are some logging issues) The O&G industry is working hard to turn their image around to the point where there are putting alot of cash and time into rehabilitation work to help fisheries. (There are some O&G issues) What pisses me off is when quadders wreak the banks at these spots because the trees haven't come all the way up yet, and cause tons of damage that cost taxpayers and the O&G company. Why don't the quadders have to pay?!? Quad owners that ruin the land and rut up our countryside will only learn by heavy fines and court time. There are over 30,000 visitors to the west castle ski hill in the summer, 80,000 skiiers in the winter (2008 numbers, Also .4 million people/nights of camping in Southern Alberta for that summer). There was an extremely high number of atvs counted (in the hundreds of thousands- a Castle crown or AWA count that I can’t find right now). In the Castle area there are over 1200km of trails!?! That’s in an area of only 1000 sq km! How many km of rivers and streams can be impacted by heavy trail use of those trails? With hundreds of thousands of users over a summer, how can anything be fixed? How can anything survive? Where can you go for quiet? Where does the wildlife get pushed to? When does stream side vegetation (filters sediment) get a chance to grow back to protect the trout and slow flood flows? We need regulation and enforcement!! No random camping and regulated trail use! Excerpt from one of my letters (which actually resulted in some action… although not because of my letter> media and MLA’s were involved): But, I guess… as I read on a different forum: “It's just Alberta boys... Take what you can while you can, if ya cant beat em join em.“

You can not keep wild fish (alive in a tank) in Alberta without a permit. Permits are really for research and education only.

Montana shipping address: http://www.montanashipping.com/montana_shipping_003.htm I hate UPS. Same thing happened to me as what happened to Jack. They shipped a camera to me (used+should be no durties). UPS charged a $100 brokerage and handling fee over the 50 to ship it. They charged my wife at the door (although it required only my signature) plus they refused to release it without pay... and there is no UPS locations to pick something up, you have to call after a missed delivery to get a location change and if it doesn't work out in a few tries they send it back. Go with USPS or get it shipped to Montana.

A illegally installed dam on a creek that used to have cutthroats... and natural reproduction in the pond (attached stream) making it a dam on a public fishery... :$*%&: And he is arrogant. ***************** Dryflies links are excellent places to stay. I like Lundbreck. You could also stay in any of the provincial camp sites north or south of the pass (Racehorse, Dutch, Lost, Chinook). They have some services and its quieter than random camping. If you can, also check out the Goat Mountain Get-Away (http://www.members.shaw.ca/goatmtn/) I haven't stayed there in awhiile, but they used to have great prices and in an excellent location. It gets booked fast though!

Hey Lance, There is great advice here! Try holding the fish upside down underwater. Don't squeeze and use slow movements like Max said. Holding it upside downin the water seems to stop it from struggling and gives you a chance to get your camera ready. Once the fish has calmed down under water, you can slowly release it (sometimes) and it will stay there for a little bit of time. I know some guys will leave a fish in the water in a net while they put their camera on a rock and take a picture with the timer. They minimize the time the fish is out of the water and only try it once so minimize handling (if you absoutely need a picture). Takes some practice, but you get a hero shot out of it. I think you're better off attempting an underwater picture and getting the fish swimming away. If the fish is full of energy and you aren't doing anything to hold it, you are doing great! Harps

Thanks for the info! I'd recommend that anybody who signs the petition also calls their MLA and councillor and leaves a message with their concerns. Anglers need to start using their voice.

Pete Whether somebody cares more or not is not the issue. The issue is that people come here and see something as 'x'. When it was 'y' up until a couple of years before they came. They are happy with 'x' because it is all they know. They may want to improve it or maybe not. The rest of us that were here before, lament on the lost 'y'. Even when 'x' improves to a better state, we will still miss 'y' because it is lost from our childhood. I have very fond memories of fishing the waters under the dam... but I find that I am forgeting what they looked like, and instead only can recall the good times of my dad and uncles helping me down the bank. No fault of "new" Albertan, but they will never have a chance to experience that. Hopefully there are efforts made by "new" Albertans to preserve (and improve in a generic way) what we have. BTW, My Mom's family has been here for 120 years.

Completely ignoring most of this thread.... Frypan, you asked where the water goes. There are 2 types of drains on city streets... 1. one that goes to the sewer and evetually to the waste water treatment plant. 2. the other is a storm drain (most common). The water in these may run to a storm water management pond (new areas) or more likely it will go through a pipe straight to the river. A few storm water drains will have sediment traps or hydrocarbon "vortexes" to filter out some pollutants. Soaps well: http://www.lenntech.com/aquatic/detergents.htm and there are issues with the oils and greases from cars and the salts too.

fry, I'm the last to support O&G, but if you read my post... In the South. There are lots of other issues across Alberta and the world, but we're a little focused here. -Left for the Gov't to remove... there's the CO's budget for the next 2 weeks. -Ignored the sign about the sensitive wetland -The creek was re-directed down an atv trail, blowing out a very used fishery for much of last july. Bridges were ignored. Most of these are taken when species of trout have eggs in the gravel. Nothing about a ban, but we need regulations. An angler has to pay for a licence, even if it's just catch and release fishing. Why don't quaders have to pay for this effin' mess?!? The problem is there are no real rules and no enforcement of what we have. If you do go out, remember this: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/calgary/story/201...river-fine.html A video was key in charging a man for driving up the river near Rocky. Bring a video camera and take as much video as you can... flood the ministers office with it on Tuesday.

frypan, I think currently (ignoring decades of industrial use), Recreational users have the largest impact on fisheries in the greenzone south of Kananaskis. Most current industrial (O&G and Log) follow fairly strict regulations when working around water. There are impacts, without a doubt, but I'd hazard a guess and say that folks that are keeping their "limit" every time they go up there harm trout more. And it is OHV trails along roads and old roads now only used by backcountry rec users that contributy tons of sediment that cover redds and smother food sources. It is New OHV trails that are causing creeks to jump their banks and causing rutting in the wetlands and on the rough fescue grass areas. Beleive it or not, dust is an issue as you can see driving along the road. The ditches are covered in fine dirt as is the road side vegetation. With the amount of traffic, I'd bet it is like a little hazy cloud covered ecosystem. Of course, old industry in the area has left big impacts, primarily with poor road construction. Just my opinion (and it only applies to the south).

Carefully (and have flowers ready to explain that it was a joke). Asking nicely doesn't work... If you leave them on the floor they eventually get washed or trashed. Maybe buttoned ones get washed if they are on the floor and unbuttoned, trashed?!?

I like the close up.

Take a picture now, with a time stamp. Go back in 2 weeks take a picture again, go back again. Then send it to various ministers and the media, indicating that public crown land use is not fair due to the inability and unwillingness of SRD to enforce policy/legislation. Doesn't hurt to include locations on amap so the media can go there and indicate number of RV's and when they were seen... licence plates help also.

But Fraser Riverkeepers and the Sunshine Coast Salmonid Enhancement Society are good picks too.... although they keep the money local. TU might bring the money to Alberta. As an aside, I'm glad to see Fly Fusion pick up TU Currents! It's a better fit than the last couple of mags.

Follow the Lethbridge fly fishing club site (Chinook Waters Fly Fishing Club - http://www.cwffc.ca) and you should see some good bug and hatch info up soon. For bug books: Mayflies (great one with lots of Alberta info) http://www.amazon.ca/Mayflies-Anglers-Stud...146&sr=1-12 Caddisflies http://www.amazon.ca/Caddisflies-Gary-LaFo...210&sr=1-14 Nymphs VII (includes stones, caddis and some mayflies) http://www.amazon.ca/Nymphs-Stoneflies-Cad...mp;sr=1-3-spell Fish Food http://www.amazon.ca/Fish-Food-Ralph-Cutte...4298&sr=1-2 Also check out Ralph Cutter's videos, they are great! And a great one for Alberta, from Bob Scammell: The Phenological Fly http://www.amazon.ca/phenological-fly-meet...4372&sr=1-1 I have an extra copy of this book that I might be willing to sell. It's a small book, but hard to find for less than $100 on the internet. Handbook of Hatches: http://www.amazon.ca/Handbook-Hatches-2nd-...3833&sr=8-6 Websites: www.westfly.com www.troutnut.com And an excellent resourse is Taxon's site (he's on the board): http://www.flyfishingentomology.com/index.html

Water going through Ross creek and supporting ecological function isn't wasted water. Not everything has to go into a dam. And besides that, Cavan is a put and take fishery, small fished stocked to go to peoples freezers. While it is important that there are such fisheries in the province, why should Ross Creek suffer for it, and what gives it (the dam) the right to take water for a man made fishery over the environment, drinking water users, and priority irrigators (what registrations and licences are downstream on Gros Ventre that would be affected or on Ross, not everybody could be supplied by switching to Ross Creek and how much would that cost individual water users)? Doesn't seem like a well thought out or at least explained benefit, with the exception to a few folks downstream of Cavan and some anglers. Current licences and registrations (with priorities) can be viewed here: http://ssrb.environment.alberta.ca/ Could you elaborate on the issue and explain where the pros and cons are, plus explain how this wouldn't affect people with prior rights?