DonAndersen

Folks, For those that didn't pay attention like me, SRD's Vance Buchwald is proposing a closure of main stem tributaries to the Red Deer October 15>May 14. There goes Stauffer, South Raven Fallen Timber, Little Red and on and on, Obviously a well thought out proposal. Express your outrage!!! to Vance.Buchwald@gov.ab.ca If you wish to read and respond to the whole questionnaire, give me a shout donandersen[dot]bamboorods.ca and I'll send you a copy of the PDF. PS: for all those Calgary guys who generally don't give a crap - browns/whitefish are spawning in the Bow and Crow drainages. Are those places next? Don

Dave, Remember your audience - keep words to single syllables if possible. But I'm thinking that signs are really not effective. There are 4 signs @ Beaver Lake telling you what you can or can't do. About 50% of all angling effort was illegal several weeks ago. And it's blatant. Watched 3 your guys bait fish for hours along the south shore. No one cared. I didn't phone - cell won't work. Frankly, society likes illegal activity otherwise they'd fix it or to put it another way - Is Morton still in the running?

Guys, I've had the sad experience of following an eltrofishing boat. The fishing went from great to lousy and stayed that way for several days. Find somewhere else to fish. Don

Anti-static bags are for those that are wired. You, like me, aren't ever plugged in let alone wired. Don

Speyghillie, What part of Alberta you getting eels in? Always wanted to catch and eat some of them. And how big are the trout each otter takes? regards, Don

Smitty, One thing that would be really neat some day is add up all the impacts on trout. Those impacts that can be mitigated and those that can't. Should we get all excited about poaching, logging, bad land use practices, roads, disease and not be concerned about predators. Hardly. I see predation as just one more impact and in this case a new one that is presently not regulated or controlled. Should it be - well if I was a trout - I'd probably vote for some type of control. Frankly, I'll go with the trout on this one. And with that, I'm packing to disappear into cutthroat country. catch ya' Don

Harps, There is no question that otters will impact trout streams. To what extent, I haven't a clue and frankly neither do any of the people posting on this site or for that matter our biologists. How can you measure their impact? What is for sure is that it does occur. There is no question that Otters are increasing their range. Depending on your view point this can bee seen as a good or bad thing. What is beyond question is that it is happening and it is impacting trout streams. What should be done about it will be left to folks who decide these things. What we can do however is to provide the folks who decide these things with the required information to make the choices. Sticking out heads in the sand and saying Hallelujah another Predator Species has arrived just doesn't cut it. As far as old school thinking. Gotta confess you are partly right there. I'm getting sick and tired of watching ravens kill the song birds. Raven without question have increased their range at the expense of other critters who are now raven *hit. And I'm really old school when it comes to human predation. But my wife tells me that I can't solve the worlds problems by shooting them although the next little small misunderstood critter that paints my fence, breaks my windows or kicks the crap outta my truck, I'd like to hang his hide over my back fence. Hawg.... As Otters are not native to the landscapes they are using now, they must by seen as invasive species. See definition below. The first definition, the most used, applies to non-indigenous species, or "non-native", plants or animals that adversely affect the habitats and bioregions they invade economically, environmentally, and/or ecologically. They disrupt by dominating a region, wilderness areas, particular habitats, and/or wildland-urban interface land from loss of natural controls (i.e.: predators or herbivores). Now the real question is: Do we inform the biologist who need the info to make intellect choices to manage any species or just push words back and forth. regards, Don

Folks, Otters are a fur bearer and are taken as such in Northern Alberta. There seemed to be a big hole in their range. I've sen them in Yellowstone and Grand Prairie area. This makes the hole in their range about 500 miles long. They are filling the hole. Otters are just one more impact in our fisheries that is not managed @ this point in Central and Southern Alberta. I don't worry too much about stocked pond lakes. What does concern me are species that are having troubles. Bull Trout in a number of places have their spawning ares protected through regulation as is the case with species like the Swan Lake lake trout. Don't think Otters can read. They will utilize concentrated food resources till the food resources are depleted. Such is the life of a predator. Now for discussions sake say that we have about 200 Otters in Central Alberta and they eat 3 lbs/day each. So what does that mean. Lets say that the average fish weighs <3/4 lb. so each otter eats about 4 fish/day or 600 for the bunch of them. To put that in perspective, that's about 8 miles of Prairie Creek/day EVERY DAY!!! And we could argue forever how many Otters there are. One trapper, I've been told, removed his beaver traps after catching a bunch of otters. This occurred in a marginal trout stream. This suggests that there is a pile of Otters out there. That is the reason I'm concerned. regards, Don

OH Crap - they are already here. Folks, In the 56 years I've fished all over western Alberta I never saw an otter till 3 years ago. Now the count is 17. So for 53 years, the graph registers "0" - in 3 years it goes to 17. And I've seeing them in a whole lot of places. Both streams and lakes. What does it mean. Well, Otters like to eat - fish mostly - trout, whitefish, suckers et al. But by in large whatever they can catch. Well, I've seen otters four different occasions on Ironside Pond reflecting, I would guess, their fondness for trout. How many do they eat depends on their size and whether or not they are feeding young. One estimate is 5 lbs./otter/day. Am I the only one seeing them - hardly. One nice thing about living in the area is I know people who are in the bush a lot. They are also seeing them. A friend saw a group of 5 cross the Pr. Creek road, others have been seen from east of Spruceview to Buck Lake. I've been told of Otters on the Carbondale and well as some tribs to the Elk in BC. Frankly, they are everywhere and they are spreading. What’s the concern? Well, for some folks not much but there are hot spots of concern in the Rocky area where some species of trout exist and are barely holding on. The Swan Lake lake trout is an example followed by bull trout spawning areas located in CutOff Creek or Falls creek. The concentration of bull trout or lake trout in the spawning areas makes the population vulnerable. As far as the fishermen, the over-wintering pools for cutthroat are really @ risk as well as brown trout spawning areas in both Pr. Creek and Stauffer Creek. What is to be done? Well, I contacted SRD both fisheries and wildlife folks. The Fisheries folks told me that monitoring was a low priority as neither staffing or resources was available although if such became available streams would be done before lakes. The Wildlife Biologist told me that they need a management plan for the otters in our area. She went along to say “It would be completely irresponsible management to proceed with possible changes to harvest regimes & management strategies without first establishing otter population trend, potential impacts on fish populations (if any) etc.” But, and this is where it gets weird. Trappers in Alberta and elsewhere have taken Otters for about 200 years without a management plan. None when the Hudson Bay Company ran the trapping, none where the Federal Govt ran trapping and none for Alberta’s Provincial Govt who have been able to increase the population of Otters w/o a plan. In fact, in Alberta, there are no management plans for any furbearer. Good thing or bad – I haven’t a clue. Looks like the Beavers and Otters are doing OK So the question: Is a management plan really necessary? Facing the fact of decreased staffing and resources within SRD and the fact that Otters seem to be doing quite well w/o a plan one is left to wonder why a plan is needed. For a article on the issue written by the Wildlife Biologist, see: http://www.srd.alberta.ca/FishWildlife/ ... un2010.pdf And what can you do? The Biologist needs to know about Otters. She’s not in the field like you and I. Lets tell her. She asks for sightings, location and pictures and send to Anne Hubbs or Chiara Feder at 403-845-8230 Anne Hubbs <Anne.Hubbs@gov.ab.ca> Thank folks - we need to have something done about the infestation. regards, Don

cgyguy, Try Automarine 4718 1 Street Southwest Calgary, AB T2G 0A2 (403) 287-2121 These guys fix inflatables. Got mine fixed there. Good guys. They do carry some valve parts. Got replacements there for mine. Don

adams, Two thoughts: 1] Kick like crazy kinda reminds me of a guy years ago who couldn't figure out how to use fins. He attempted to walk in them rather than just moving the toe up and down. Think of it as a wave. Wading boots make it tough whereas stocking foot waders and dive fins are easy and a whole lot more efficient. 2] Scotty systems used to sell a pontoon/float tube anchor system. Got a similar system for Scadden Escape - works great. See: http://www.northforkoutdoors.com/2011catalog/page16.html top left side of page. regards, Don

Xplorer, If you live in southern AB, there is no point in spending 4 weeks in the area. You can do that any time. It's close. I'd suggest a trout tour through Golden BC>Montana>Idaho>Wyoming>Montana>home. Those places are stuff of longer trips. Mind you, dogs need petted and wive kissed so a trip of that length should be shared. Rent a small trailer or better yet a motor home - invite your wife and have fun. regards, Don

Folks, Bob Clay of the Kispiox Valley was originally from Calgary and is now and has been for some time living in Steelhead Heaven. Some of you may know people mentioned in the video. http://vimeo.com/19982291 He's a great guy. Have meet him a number of times @ the Cane builders get-together in Merritt, BC. Meet his son as well when I fished the Dean some years ago. regards, Don

Junior, I am aware of the 20/20 club. No idea who or what runs it. Do recall years ago fishing the Crow when it was good. Did use Mustad 94840 in sizes 20>26 for the BWO's and Trico's. Found that the tiny Mustads would open up. Started to use Partridge Capt. Hamiliton L3A's in 20>26's. They are stronger but a lot more brittle. Flattening the barb was a tough one. Often the hook broke. Tried the Tiemco's and Diaiichi hooks. They opened up even faster than the Mustads. regards, Don

Hi, Head to Amazon.com and order Gary Lafontaine's Book Fishing Mountai9n Lakes. The book is full of tips on what to use + a great discussion of why goats are the best pack animal. http://www.amazon.com/Fishing-Mountain-Lak...1820&sr=1-5

Dryfly, Wished I was kidding but you best check with some of the towns along cowshit lane. Their water is - - -well - - - crap! Don

Dxh, Mustad are good hooks. By far cheaper than the Japanese stuff and just as good if not better. I started tying with Mustad 50+ years ago, tried the others and now am back to Mustad. A R50 #14 is a light wire dry fly hook and should be capable of landing fish to 8 lbs. or better with some care. The hook may have only been lodged into the point rather than the bend allowing the mechanical advantage to bend the hook readily or like some have said, occasionally a bad hook gets shipped. Is a R 50 #14 appropriate for "worms". That kinda depends on the size of the worm tie. I've used size #16 when tying worms using rubber bands. regards, Don

lethfisher, You do realize that a lot of things are mixed with the rain. In southern Alberta be aware of insecticides/ag chemicals and industrial fallout. Nasty stuff. Don

Taco, Nope don't need 50 fly rods - gotta do an inventory again. Things might be getting outta hand there too! Only stock one kind of dry line - Cortland 444 peach. That brand has been around about as long as I have. Get 3 years outta it. And Rick - tried chasing the newest and greatest in 1970's realized that the rod manufactures were just as confused as I. Gave it up. Sold one of the original Sages and still got a 1975 Fenwick graphite. First year they were brought out. But that all begs the questions: How come so much crap out there and do we really need it. Made an offer to a friend. Kinda like Alcohol's Anonymous. In this case, every time your go to buy some idiot junk. you call your sponsor and he talks you out of it. The money saved could be used for gasoline!!! catch ya' Don

Folks, Count 'em. I did. Cabellas stocks 88 types of fly lines. 88 for God sakes. And that doesn't include all that are manufactured. I know about choice but this is just plain ridiculous. And there are experts out there that can quote chapter and verse which on is best. God, a fly line that I use a lot lasts about 3 years * 88 means I get exposed to them all about 264 years from now providing of course that the number stops @ 88. And just think, in 264+ years, I can quote chapter and verse. Damn, but getting old is looking better and better. Don

Guys, I'd suspect that Grey and Black Squirrels are not regulated @ all. I checked the Alberta Trapping Regs. and found the only squirrel mentioned is Alberta's native Red Squirrel. See: http://www.albertaregulations.ca/trappingr...htm#fur-seasons Like most invasive species, Greys and Blacks are pushing out the natives. Don

fishinglivin, It's all the Bud cans laying the bush. A huge shortage of aluminum. Don

flyfishingnate, As I said, denier is too light. Need stiffer yarn for bigger flies. For fishing emergers and tiny chironomids, it works fine. Don

Fly.. My thanks but I got 4 bags on the west coast for the tiny indicators. Only used a foot or so of the yards and yards I've got. Don And guys, if you wish to build your own yarn indicators I use macrame cord. Unfortunately it is no longer a craft and Micheals or others don't stock it. There is a source http://www.macramesuperstore.com/. A 50 yard skein will last years. I use the cord for indicators + other yarn flies like the CFF and Bowel Movement. There is an article on my site http://bamboorods.ca/indicators.html that details the process. The CFF uses white and BM uses - you guessed didn't ya - brown

flyfishingnate, GloBug yarn denier is quite fine and works well for tiny yarn balls inserted into tippet knots. Tried it on large yarn indicator types and found that it wouldn't float well. Don