Bigtoad

It's a compromise.... still family friendly and you can keep one for the pan if you'd like, but still potential for big fish. I think there is a mentality outside of the flyfishing realm that don't like C&R and feel like it's a bunch of snobby elitist old men in million dollar waders trying to make catching big fish easier. I don't agree with this but have had extensive discussions with those that do. What I am suggesting would hopefully appease some of these people, allow a family friendly place to fish, and still allow us elitist, snobby fishermen to still have an opportunity to catch a big fish. Would I prefer C&R? Yup. But I also realize there are those out there that don't, and the last thing I want is for those people to start writing to Ken Bodden for Beaver to be turned back to keeping 5 and using bait because Quality Fisheries obviously didn't work there. So I'm open to compromise, if it means I still have the opportunity to catch big fish... which clearly, currently at Beaver, we don't. Cheers.

I fully agree and would be fine if they went totally C&R, but I'm not convinced they will with Fiesta just down the road and possibly local pressure to keep some fish. However, I believe that a retention of 1 under 45cm (or 40 or 50cm) would also meet the goals of a quality fishery and be a good compromise as well. Manitoba Parkland is doing this model with exceptional success and I think we should too. It's proven to work. The balancing act that would have to occur is making sure you stock enough small fish that would survive to be 45cm without saturating the lake with so many fish that there is too much competition to get fish bigger than 45cm. Get it right and it would be golden. I would still support, but do not entirely agree with the idea of keeping 1 over 50cm (or 40, or 45cm). With the pressure that Beaver gets, I can't see a fish making it very long after it reaches the "magical" mark. You'd end up with a lot of fish right under the length, but very few over it. I'm guessing if they go this route, we will still have similar results to what we have now, except possibly with a larger average size, but with less than 5% of fish over 50cm. Cheers.

Email sent to Ken. Cheers.

I'm not surprised. I'm all for the regs to change on Beaver and have written Ken before with my concerns on the overall size of fish on Beaver and how they seem to be far short of where they wanted them to be. First let me say, that any regulation change on Beaver whether it be one over 50cm or one under 50cm or total C & R would be a step in the right direction. That being said, I'm not convinced that allowing one over 50cm is the solution. I think we would get an overall increase in fish size, but you would also find similar results in test netting that you do now; which is no fish over 50cm because they would get bonked as soon as they reached that size. Isn't that what is already happening there with keeping one over and one under? Personally, I'd like to see an approach that has actually been proven to work, like what the Manitoba Parkland is doing, with allowing one fish under a certain size. One fish under 50cm (or 40cm) would still allow a more "family friendly" fishing experience, while still allowing fish to reach a large size. I think it would be a good compromise instead of just making it a total C&R which I imagine would piss off a few of the locals and starts to stink a bit like elitist fly fishermen with their bobbers.... I mean strike indicators, wanting to grow big fish. One under 18" seems to have worked really well in Manitoba, and think it is worth considering for Beaver, if we are discussing changing the regs anyway. My $0.02, and the email I send to Ken will suggest the same, unless of course someone can convince me otherwise? Cheers.

Isn't the native cutthroat push happening mostly in the parks? If so, shouldn't it be parks $ that pays for it? They have their own regs and licenses so those dollars should be coming from within, no? And I'm all for a variety of trout species (rainbow or otherwise) in Alberta, but first, SRD has to get their head's pulled out of their asses, and allow some sunshine to get down their so they can grow a set of balls and change the regs on some Alberta put and take lakes. I think any lake worthy of aeration should also be worthy of C&R or one over or under 18". Until they get that right, it would just be money down the tube to stock different varieties of trout. I mean, who cares if girrard rainbows grow better in a lake when non of them will see life past 14". Cheers.

Mine too... With all this talk of walleye in the Red Deer, I thought I'd throw this guy up that I caught last week below the dam on a streamer while trying to catch a brown. It was the second one of the night, but quite a bit larger than the first. Both fought like little girls... I guess that's why I like catching browns in the RD more than anything else. If it was a brown that size, it would have taken me well into my backing and that would have been after I chased it downstream a few hundred yards. Still a nice surprise though. Any tug on the rod is a welcome one And you can't tell me after looking at this that it doesn't slicker up it's fair share of mini-browns. Ever wonder why you don't catch small browns in the RD? I'm sure the goldeye do a number on the fry as well. Never have been able to figure out why they close the RD for so long in the spring and then keep it open all fall... seems counter-intuitive to me but what do I know. Cheers.

Ok. I can live with that. Cheers.

I never said make a law Pipes, wear whatever you'd like out hunting. But I'm not going out hunting in rifle season without one and I'm not going with anyone that doesn't. He was shot at twice... TWICE! You really think he was wearing orange? Really? Come on. And orange does help. Push bush sometime with a few guys and you can spot the orange from hundreds of yards away. The same can't be said about camo can it? I mean, that's why companies spend huge $$$ on researching their camo right; so it won't be seen. I'm not calling anyone stupid, but I am waiting for a reason... any good reason, why people wouldn't. All you've given me so far is freedom of choice (which I respect) but is not a good reason not to. It's seems like common sense to me, so if wearing orange isn't common sense, then someone please enlighten me on what I'm missing. Please.... anyone? Thank you Captain obvious. I know I made the mistake, I've said that already. Haven't made it again. Despite that one lapse in judgement, I am a very cautious hunter. But as I've already said, I shared the story publicly, knowing I would get flamed (thanks again Pipes) because it was a learning experience for me. It scared the sh*t out of me because it was surprisingly easy to mistake something in the bush. It's one of the reasons I wear orange. Now I made a mistake of putting a scope on someone that looked like a moose stepping out of the bush. How many mistakes are other hunters, who are not very cautious, going to make? If you want to bet your life that a hunter isn't going to mistake you for something else or shoot in your direction because they don't see you, then I guess that is your right. I can't stop you. But I really wish you would reconsider. And I guess I could say the same for the guy who has lots to say about a topic but can't come up with any solid reasoning; Ontario might be the perfect place. Just give me a good reason not to wear orange Pipes. Just one good reason. Cause I can give you lots of reasons, and lots of anecdotal stories from other people who have had close calls while hunting, that support wearing orange, but I don't see anything from your side of the argument defending why it's a good reason. Cheers.

Hey, I agree, it was a mistake, and one that I haven't repeated. I'll take responsibility for looking through the scope, but where is his responsibility in walking around an area with lots of hunters, dressed in a gillie suit, without any orange? And I don't care if it is or isn't the law, it's about responsibility. You said it was irresponsible of me to not use my binos (and I agree and am getting flamed accordingly, thank you) but to me, not wearing orange is equally irresponsible. Nice logic... I guess we should just do whatever the hell we feel like then heh, cause "if it's your time it's your time." Hey, let's drive 180kms down highway 2 without our seatbelts, after downing a few beer, cause it doesn't matter, "if it's your time, it's your time." Glad you've come into the discussion with such an open mind... I agree with you, this is what all hunters should do all of the time. And LittleMoodz, if you were the only hunter in Alberta, I wouldn't wear orange because you seem like a very responsible (albeit, closed minded ) guy who I am quite certain would identify the target first without shooting. However, you're not the only hunter in Alberta and all hunters are not as responsible as you. So a little insurance helps. I just don't get what the big deal is? Why are you soooo adamant about not wearing orange? Are you allergic to it? Does it not match your Realtree © camo boots? Do the deer mock you when they see you? Or is it your hunting buddies that give you the hard time... maybe call you hurtful names? Did you have a bad experience with orange when you were growing up? What's the big deal? Tell me ONE freaking legitimate reason not to wear orange and maybe I'll get it, but so far I'm really having a hard time understanding the reasoning. Cheers.

As Junior says better than I would have, and with more grace, I'm talking about wearing orange while hunting during rifle season. If I'm out fishing the North Ram in October where it is pretty wide open and I'm not sneaking around in the bush; fine, I wouldn't wear orange. However, as soon I am hunting by the North Ram in October and I'm moving slowly, trying to not be seen, wearing camoflage, I would at least throw an orange toque on. At least. I don't wear orange during archery season either, because I don't think archery hunters are as reckless as some gun hunters and arrows don't fly as far as bullets. But come Novemer, if I'm hunting, I put on some orange. Obviously not a subscriber to the Edmonton Sun then heh? Don't read a lot? There's a thread on the OA forum about getting shot at accidentally while hunting. There are a LOT of stories on there about personal experiences where people were either a) shot directly at, being thought an animal or b ) shot indirectly at while someone was shooting at something else. And I'm not saying the woods are filled with morons toting guns ready to shoot at the first thing they see. But all it takes is one. One trigger-happy moron in the woods with his scope on me, thinking I'm a deer sneaking along, and that's all it would take. Put some orange on, and that moron in the woods would be much less likely to shoot me, mistaking me as something I'm not. Cheers.

Well, if you asked ( I believe this was two years ago): A 55-year-old hunter was killed by his shooting partner about 4:15 p.m. Sunday while walking through a heavily wooded area about 13 km northwest of Bentley. A group of four males had been hunting deer in different locations on the rural property about 160 km north of Calgary when the fatal shot was fired, said Sylvan Lake RCMP. One of the hunters believed he saw a deer about 300 metres down a cut line and took a shot with a .308 calibre rifle. He waited one minute, saw more movement and fired a second shot. At this time he heard a very strange noise and knew something was wrong, racing to the site to find his hunting partner suffering from a gunshot wound to the abdomen. The 57-year-old shooter from Lacombe performed CPR and first aid following instructions from a 911 dispatcher. Paramedics also attempted resuscitation but pronounced the Bentley man dead at the scene. Charges are pending. Now, you think this would happen if the guy was wearing orange? Don't think so. You take your life into your own hands every time you walk into the bush during gun season and don't wear it. I agree, that's what binos are for, especially when you can't identify what the object is. However, I was extremely certain this was a moose so used my scope. The idiot is lucky it was me sitting there scoping him instead of some other idiot shooting him! My point being, wear orange because you don't know what other hunters might do. Why leave a question in someone's mind who is holding a gun, whether you're an animal or not? It's irresponsible not to, not just for your own safety, but to be respectful to other hunters who would like to know where other hunters are at so they don't accidentally shoot in their direction or mistake them for an animal and put a scope on them, like I did. There are soooooooo many reasons to wear orange and no good ones not to, so why wouldn't people? Cheers.

My guess is that Alberta doesn't make people wear orange as a way to indirectly "thin out" the hunters who make poor decisions. I've met too many "hunters" who shoot first and let God sort out the rest to ever walk around in hunting season without orange. Had a guy walk out onto a cutline in a Gillie (sp?) suit several years ago and he looked JUST like a moose until he began to walk across the line. I even scoped him because I was sure it was a moose and not a person. Had it been someone else sitting there instead of me... well? I was pissed that I had been put in that situation by another hunter. All it would have taken was an orange toque. I use binos when I'm not sure but again, hey looked just like a moose! It's irresponsible not to wear it IMO. I want other hunters to be able to see me and I them. Why wouldn't you? Trying to compensate for something by showing how "tough" you are? I don't get it... Cheers.

Need a bit of advice.... I'm looking into purchasing a transom trolling motor for my 14' aluminum V-hull boat. It's quite heavy with a treated plywood floor and some storage compartments. My dad and I tried to lift it off the trailer when we first got it and could barely budge it. Have approximately $400+ to spend on it. I've been looking into the Minn Kota Traxxis 55lbs thrust motor with the digital maximizer (what a stupid name) but several of the reviews I've seen on it say that the composite mounting system sucks. I like the other features of the Traxxis but the mounting system issues have me a bit worried. I also don't know enough about other manufacturers to know what other options there might be. Also, is 55lbs thrust overkill?? or will I be happy I went with it over 45lbs on a windy day. I'll be using it mostly on smaller bodies of water where it's electric only or puttzing around the lillies after the 20hp has whipped the surface of the lake to a froth. Oh, and lastly, is the digital maximizer worth it because the ones without it are quite a lot less $. Could use that extra $ to buy quite a lot of beer. Cheers.

Last year, I had a big brown on the Red Deer break me off when fishing an adams on thin tippet. About an hour later, caught the same fish on a chernobyl and retrieved my adams. Cheers.

Saw a family (3-5) of otters on Prairie a few years ago on "The Miracle Mile". One of the bastards dove into the pool I was fishing and promptly pulled out a 14" brown and began chomping his head off across the river from me. Obviously, he wasn't aware, or chose to ignore, fishermen's etiquette! The otter wasn't much bigger than a muskrat. I'd hate to see what a big one could catch and eat. Interestingly enough, there was a brown still rising in that pool even when the otters moved into it. I'm not sure if the trout realize they should be a tad cautious around these things! I sent the info into the regional biologist, which besides yelling blasphemous insults at them across the river while they have lunch (otters, not regional biologists ), is about all one can do. Cheers.

Maybe, but there were entries on the list for June of this year already....

Ok, two questions about the 2011 stocking report. 1. Beaver Lake (near caroline) is not on the list. I looked at last year's report and they put in 3,500 in May, so I would have assumed they would be doing similar this year. Fiesta is also not listed??? There can only be 3 possible explanations that I can think of. In order of likelihood: a. SRD are going to still stock 3,500 but do it in the fall so the loons don't enjoy it so much. b. Forgot to put both lakes on the list. c. Have somewhat come to their senses and realize that if they are going to raise trophy fish, that they need to stop overpopulating the lake with juvenile fish. However, totally stopping the stocking seems a bit drastic. Why not just drop it to 1,000 into Beaver? 2. Why in the freaking world are they still dumping 56 broodstock rainbows into Cow Lake? What's the point of still dumping them into there with all of the diseased pike? Why not put them into Beaver so that it at least looks like the province can naturally grow a fish to 2 feet? Wouldn't putting them into a lake designated as "quality" help to improve the "quality"??? Or does this just make too much sense to even consider? Thoughts?

Thanks for all of the info. Elected instead to go to Douglasdale as it was quite a bit closer to where we were staying and I didn't have a lot of time. Arrived on the river at 6:45 to see that the mother hole already had a fisherman in it.... thought it might. Went upstream, knowing from previous fishing trips there that it wouldn't be as good but that I could fish by myself. Tied on a Bow river buggar and had a hit right away. Looked back down to "the hole" and now there were 4 fence posts standing in the same place. Glad I didn't go down there. Went the next 2hrs with nothing but had a great morning breaking off the rust. Midges were hatching in ok numbers as I left and with the clouds moving in, I can only assume that the fishing probably improved considerable RIGHT after I left. Oh well, took the 14 month old boy and the fam to the zoo for the afternoon and had a great time. That baby giraffe is pretty cute. Cheers.

I don't live in town but am hoping to stop in this weekend. Does anyone know what the situation for access is south of 22x where the deerfoot crosses the Bow? Last year, people were just parking in between the lanes in the ditch and walking down. Seemed like the cops were just letting it happen with no tickets. I parked there several times with a dozen other people with no issues. However, at the end of last year, it looked like there was some type of parking lot being built on the NorthWest side. What's the scoop with fishing there? Is parking in the ditch between the lanes still the way to go? Cheers.

I've got a TFO 4wt finesse that I absolutely love and doesn't break the bank. If you're wanting it for Stauffer, I wouldn't want to get something too expensive... you'll spend all your time worried that you're going to get a scratch on your precious new rod crawling on your hands and knees through the willows. It's a place that not only dreams are crushed, scratched, and broken, but rods are as well. I think all of those scratches and nicks just add character but you might feel differently. Besides, does it take a $500+ rod to cast 20 ft? Or is a $500+ rod going to get your fly hung up in the tops of the willows less often? I doubt it. Not dissing the more expensive rods or those that use them but if it's mostly going to be bushwacking on Stauffer, it might be better to leave the pretty rods at home to keep looking pretty. Just something to think about... Cheers.

Good advice.... I believe you could go blind doing it that way.

Don, what you need to do is invite all of the regional fisheries biologists along with you this summer on your way to Manitoba. Perhaps then we would see more of the shift in thinking that we're looking for... cheers.

Here are a variety of flies I've been tying up for Fortress Lake this June. I know it's a little tough to see individual features but any thoughts? Cheers.

#111 - a bad day fishing, is still a good day. which is not dissimilar to the advice my dad gave me before I got married: #111b- bad sex.... is still good sex. Cheers.