[Tacoma Tire Recommendation]

I have the duratracs on my taco.. great summer and mud/water.. brutal on ice. I'm looking at getting proper winter specific ones for this as i find myself with more and more time in the mountains in the winter

[Anchor rope for drift boat]

go to calgary climbing centre and see if they have any old ropes they want to sell, that's what i did with my old boat. They have to retire ropes after a certain amount of time on the wall, but they still have more then enough life for what you need.   Way cheaper then a new rope (think i got mine for $20), plus more then adequate for what you need.

[Bow River Flows]

Ya there is a lot of text out there if you spend a couple minutes on google scholar.  Here's a couple quick ones, and obviously a lot more out there if you were going to spend some serious time looking into it..

- A framework for evaluating food-web responses to hydrological manipulations in riverine systems
- instream flows and the decline of riparian cottonwoods along the St. Mary River, Alberta
- Basic Principles and Ecological Consequences of Altered Flow Regimes for Aquatic Biodiversity
- Influence of flow regulation on channel dynamics and riparian cottonswoods along the bow river, alberta
- review of benthic invertebrates and epiltihic algae at long-term monitoring sites in the bow river (this one specifially speaks to the impact on inverts at Cochrane due to the impacts of Ghost, which is the kind of management we saw for a week.)

 

[Be careful when grazing!]

48 minutes ago, reevesr1 said:

As one who has some experience in falling, might I offer some suggestions

"some"

[Bow River Flows]

While i agree talking on forums doesn't do anything to fix the problem, it still raises the issue in front of people, so more people can contact them

[Bow River Flows]

I figured this is worth a seperate discussion rather then getting buried in the Bow conditions thread. We’re on yet another swing today

 

[Poacher on Crowsnest River at Lundbreck Falls BUSTED]

I signed it and took a photo as thats what the CO told me to do... Funny as i was checked at Upper K this spring and the guy didnt bat an eye at the unsigned PDF

[Poacher on Crowsnest River at Lundbreck Falls BUSTED]

Must have been bad luck for the fish creek one. i've been checked thrice this year by them (was given *hit for not having a signed copy of my license [had the pdf on my phone], but just a warning). They're usually the easiest to get enforcement from

[Prussian Carp]

1 hour ago, monger said:

They are below Bassano dam already

They’re in Nose Creek and the Bow already in town.. tons in Nose from last time I e-fished it 

[Wet flies]

it works quite well... and doesnt get used that often so can take some of the pickier fish..

 

Only issue is when you have a guy who is fishing up with an indicator or dry, and a guy swinging down towards them. Neither is in the wrong, but i'd recommend chatting with folks if you're fishing around them so at least you don't get into a bit of a funky spot, in the case they assume you're gonna be fishing upstream and they're just gonna fish behind you or otherwise

[Bow River Trout Populations May Be In Decline]

Sorry Peter, but how does ‘Little to no commitment to river access additions and improvements’ Possibly affect fish populations in a positive way. 

 

Also, I know you’re choosing your words carefully, but why is it a ‘may’ from your perspective. It seems pretty cut and dry, no?

[Bow River Trout Populations May Be In Decline]

2 hours ago, toolman said:

Actually, numerous studies on the long term impact of C&R on trout populations show that it has no significant cumulative effect. Nor does fishing over redds. 

If look at the Bow regulations from the 80's and 90's, anglers were using bait, keeping trout, yet the population continued to flourish and expand during that period.

     

I’d be curious to see the report that speaks to the cumulative impact of whirling disease, water temp, a year class changing flood,  transalta’s ‘fun’, the substrate and turbidity changes as you d mentioned, as well as the pressure the Bow has. I know I sound like the good ol OHVers, but show me the money (science). Don’t forget that the 2005 assessment of the fishing at the highwood confluence was utilized at the 2014 PAC and described as ‘the rainbow trout populations are doing fine, so no reg changes needed’... turns out not so fine..

 

really, the decrease and timing sure points towards whirling disease to me...

 

regardless, hope this motivates the government to look at the Bow a little closer. We all took it for granted for a long time and I think we’re paying for it. Don’t forget the articles and videos from prominent guides about how the Bow was better then every following the flood, and no decrease in numbers...again, I hope that the fishery guys can motivate the higher ups to look a lot larger picture, as the only lever they can pull is reg changes. If anglers aren’t the problem, then how do we get to the larger issues (flows being my favourite topic)

[Bow River Trout Populations May Be In Decline]

The problem will be similar to the NCNT. Fisheries management has a very limited set of levers to pull, mostly just reg changes. 

 

C&R May be relatively low impact when looked at in a silo, but cumulatively a 1-2% mortality starts to add up when you add in the other issues mentioned..

[Bow River Trout Populations May Be In Decline]

1 hour ago, fishteck said:

Before any change or improvement can be made to the fishery there is need for a baseline index to monitor shifts or improvements to the management of the resource. Fish population surveys would seem to be that index.

Would be nice to see an application of the precautionary principle a bit here, while we are catching up on data shortages. We also need to get a feeling of angler effort and potential impact..

[travelling to Calgary]

Give a shop a call, they'll sometimes have a person or two that has given them the same request and may be able to help you with some matchmaking..I'd just ensure that you are clear with what you're wanting, such that you don't have two guys butting heads about what they want out of the day (say a guy only wants to fish dries, while the other just wants numbers..it won't be a pleasant day in the boat).

[More Lakes in Banff closed this summer.]

Suspect that if they're found to not have any whirling, they'd be kept shut to avoid transferring it there

[Water Clarity]

Highwood was mud today on highway 2

[Policeman's Flats Closures in April]

Peter, was there allowance for work outside of isolation within the Water Act and DFO Request for Review..?

[Trout Unlimited tackle swap]

6 hours ago, BurningChrome said:

TUC accidentally posted to Facebook that it started at noon so there were people who showed up at 11:30.

whooooooooooooops

[Trout Unlimited tackle swap]

From my understanding 2 was the goal, people probably got a bit excited. Glad to hear it went well and seemed well received. That Banded Peak Plainsbreaker is pretty great

[Anyone ever use Egg Patterns on the Bow?]

15 feet of t14 and the associated rod required to throw it for trout fishing..

[Kitamat]

And if the bulkley was anything like last fall..might want to take up the pinner anyway

[Kitamat]

Just pretend that fish arent the reason you do it (but really, then why are you fishing... dont get me started), and then you can accept getting skunked way easier..

[Kitamat]

At least if the pinners are getting some, you know they're around. Nothing worse then watching all the guys pulling plugs and pinning getting skunked, and you following through.. Have seen that plenty on the Kitimat 

[Anyone ever use Egg Patterns on the Bow?]

I should have clarified, ya i think it's a bit different when you're matching a "hatch" (particularly fish that are following sockeye/pinks/etc) and matching actual eggs that are present... but you can catch fish on eggs in the middle of winter when there are no natural eggs around, cause fish are programmed to eat them as they're the perfect meal.