danhunt

Safe travels and happy trails!

My first pair of breathable waders about 18 years ago was a basic set of Simms Freestones, and they have also been my longest lasting pair (I still have them as a backup). The salesman who helped me at the time suggested I buy a pair that was loose fitting and exceptionally long in the legs because he said most breathables failed due to the seams being pulled on. I also have a set of G3s that only lasted a couple of seasons before leaking and when I bought them they “fit” based on the sizing chart. It doesn’t make much of a fashion statement, and YMMV, but the next time any of you are in the market try going a bit oversized and see if it helps.

I took a look a look at the link provided by Toolman and it was interesting see that there is some empirical evidence for catch and release mortality to be somewhat offset by reduced angler success. That said, there are a couple of things that the numbers didn’t touch on that still give me pause - the first is that it seems that there is an assumption that angling (for trout) is always going to be less successful when the water is warmer. Thats probably fair in general, but exceptions are possible. The second is that it doesn’t touch on which fish are most adversely affected - if it’s anything like winter and/or summer kill events, it will be the larger fish that suffer the most. At the end of the day, it’s hard for a one size fits all rule like this to be meaningful and/or effective over such a large and diverse area as the one it’s being applied to. That said, I read a quote once (and I may be paraphrasing) that said “a true sportsman does more than is required and takes less than they are entitled to”.

The only good thing (if you can call it that) was the lack rainfall at the time the warm weather hit meant that the moisture either soaked into the ground or evaporated. Had the ground been saturated already, we likely would have lost an entire age class of fish in yet another major flooding event.

I checked some river levels and snowpack levels from Red Deer south and as others have said, the snowpack was gone 3-6 weeks earlier than average so what you see is what you get. The levels of the rivers and streams I checked in are at late summer levels already. The good news is that they should be ready to go as soon as they open, and we could see some great early dryfly fishing. That said, it could be a very short window before the waters get too warm to fish safely.

Great post by Ken, there are only a couple of things I would add - when looking at electric motors keep in mind that the higher thrust models won’t propel you any faster, they all max out at about 5mph. Where they do come in to play is maintaining that speed with heavier vessels and in more challenging conditions (wind). That said, if you decide to go to a bigger boat at some point, you might want to go for a higher thrust model now so you don’t have to buy another motor when the time comes (buy once, cry once). If you plan to use your motor to move from one spot to another then a basic motor is fine, but if you plan to troll then it might be worth looking at one with the digital maximizer technology. Basically, a standard motor uses the same amount of power at the lowest speed setting as they do at the highest, and they use resistors to control the speed. The maximizer sends the power to the motor in pulses, so at lower speeds the pulses are shorter, meaning less power is used. But again, it’s a moot point if you’re just going from point A to point B. Lastly, if you go with a conventional battery I’d recommend getting a charger intended for trolling motor batteries. I don’t know the how/why behind it, but I do know I killed a few batteries with an automotive charger before I got my minnkota charger. Lastly, if you do get lithium battery keep in mind that you will likely have to get a charger for it separately. I’ve been looking at Alberta lithium and who knows, if I get a decent tax return I just might splurge this year… lol.

I would go with a good 6wt and a reel with a smooth drag. A 7wt or even an 8wt might be better for the larger fish, but if the fish are spooky it can be harder (at least for me) to fish the heavier weights with finesse, and then too you have to ask can you fish a heavier tippet to really take advantage of the extra power?

Hi Don, I’m not sure who was the first to manufacture lines that were a half size (or more) heavy, but the first time I became aware of it was when I came across a Rio Grand line, and they have been around since about 1997. They were largely in response to the very fast action graphite rods that started to become more mainstream around then, but around the same time the modern two handed rods started to become popular. This further confused things because a two handed 8wt can throw a line that would be suitable for a 15 wt single handed rod. Since then, I think most manufacturers use rod weights as an indication of an appropriate application vs actual line weights. I recently assembled a streamer rod that is designated as a 7wt, but when it comes to matching a line to it I used the blank builders grain weight window and compared it to various line manufacturers specs to get an idea of what would work. It’s a pain, but the trade off is that if you want a specialized tool to do a specific job…

Perfect, thanks, troutfriend!

I was just wondering if anyone knows if there are still golden trout in Rainy Ridge lake? I had read somewhere that they were naturally reproducing in that lake, but I was reading a more recent account from someone who had hiked in and they had caught cutties (also confirmed from the photos)? As there are three lakes I’m kind hoping one out three still might?

It has never recovered from the floods, and whirling disease is/was likely part of the problem.

Another option might be to reach out to a local rod builder and see if they can make a repair for you. I don't know what the "going rate" might be, but if its less than the cost to sending it back to Sage...

Thanks for the heads up, Ray! I was just contemplating putting in an order with them.

My understanding is the same as yours provided that it is a navigable waterway (not flowing only seasonally or prone to drying up completely in certain years), not federally controlled land (eg military bases and/or native land reserves) or lands that were originally deeded by the Hudson's Bay Company (there is one of these on the Crowsnest where the bed and breakfast is). I'm curious, was this just upstream of the campground? If not, the land owner who owns the home on the north bank of that section upstream of the bridge seems to have a creative interpretation of river access laws as well. I think all you can do is stay polite, state your case and encourage them to call the RCMP if they disagree. If they threaten you, offer to call the RCMP on their behalf. If they threaten you with a weapon, apologize, leave, and as soon as you're safe definitely call the RCMP.

Hello All, I'm wondering if anyone out there would be able/willing to turn a wooden reel seat insert for me, or if you could recommend someone? Long story short, I got a bad spacer from a manufacturer and they don't seem to want to do anything about it, so I thought this might be an option to use the skeleton rather than throwing in the parts bin and ordering a whole new unit. I'd be happy to pay for the time and materials, just let me know. Thanks!

I don’t know if this is might be one of those things that is so dumb it’s brilliant, but here goes… I have a jon boat with a regular height transom and I have a long leg outboard. I was thinking of selling the outboard because I really didn’t want/need the prop sitting that far down. On the other hand, the tiller of the outboard isn’t quite high enough for my tastes, as it kind of hits my leg when I try to change direction, and then it occurred to me - could I build an extension to raise my transom 4” – 5” out of plywood (I’m picturing kind of a U shaped sleeve) that slips down over the transom solving both problems at once? I don’t want to damage my boat or loose my motor, but I’m thinking sheet aluminum doesn’t have that much strength on its own, and its usually just plywood reinforcing the transom anyway, isn’t it? As long as the “bite” of the motor clamp is wide enough and as long I secure the extension to the boat it might work? Thoughts?

As others have said, you'd probably be better served something in the 3-5wt range for the kind of fishing you describe. To give you some perspective, an 8wt is commonly used for coho, steelies, chum, and it might be on the light end (depending on the rod) but do-able for springs. If you're on here I'm guessing you're in AB, and looking to fish AB streams - a 5wt may be overkill for some of the truly small stream fishing, but it's a very versatile weight for the east slopes and it will work well for about 90% of what you're likely to encounter. A medium fast action rod is probably where you'd want to start, depending on your budget you could spend $150 for something like a TFO Sig II to the sky is the limit. As far as a line is concerned, you'll want a weight forward (WF) floating line (F) to start but this is where things get a little dicey - you can spend a $1000 on a high end rod, but if you put the wrong line on it, its like putting 13" rims on a monster truck. Go to a flyshop, tell them what you're planning to do and what your budget is and they should be able to set you up. If that's not practical for your circumstances, then generally speaking more "traditional" tapers like a cortland 444 or a Rio Gold match better with M/F action rods. Lines like the Mastery MPX, Rio Grand, etc tend to have more aggressive tapers and are typically about a half a line size heavy for their given rating, which helps load fast to extra fast action rods, but may overwhelm a slower action. For leaders, I typically get something like a 9' 1x -3x and then tie a 3x-5x tippet to them, but a 1x or 2x with a 4x tippet is probably what I use the most.

There is nothing corrupt about the concept of farming fish for food (or any other intensive livestock operation), the corruption comes when it is done at the expense of the public interest or (in the case of terrestrial based intensive livestock) unless the animals are being raised in a less than humane manner or fed an improper diet. If poultry producers (just a for instance, nothing against them and I’m not suggesting this is how they actually operate) were indiscriminately spraying waste, feathers, entrails, parasites, viruses and chemicals in the surrounding environment how long would they be allowed to practise those farming methods before they were forced to change? Especially if those methods impacted wildlife on a large scale? As far as the inability of commercial fishing of wild salmon (including hatchery augmented runs) to meet consumer demand, I have to say so what? Where does it say we (Canadians) have to sacrifice a public resource in the name of private interests, especially for an industry that is 90% foreign owned? There is also no biological requirement that we as a species eat salmon in order to survive. In fact, the two most populated countries in the world (China and India) got there without salmon ever being a significant part of their diets. I would agree that there are other stressors like climate change, open ocean survival, etc that come in to play but the decline of the Fraser River Sockeye, as an example, lines up pretty well with the increase in the size and number of net pen Atlantic salmon farms off the west coast of BC. I know there are steps being taken to develop land based closed system salmon farms and if/when they do, if those practices are ultimately sustainable, then I will have no problem with farmed salmon. As I understand it, the technology to make it work is available now, it is just too costly to economically viable at this point. If the salmon farming industry were forced to practice more sustainable farming methods that were more in line with other types of intensive livestock production, then the consumer would be forced to pay for the true cost of the product. At that point letting consumer demand for the product regulate production would probably work. As stated previously, right now it’s just a cheap source of protein and, based on conversations I’ve had with friends and colleagues, I believe the general public only has a passing interest and/or knowledge of the risks involved. On the one hand, I applaud trying to take a balanced and holistic view of the needs of society and how fisheries and recreational fishing fits in to the bigger picture. That is a mature and reasonable thing to do. On the other hand, that is not the world we live in. The political will that controls these kinds decisions is steered by which special interest groups contribute the most to their election war chests and/or by which groups hold the most sway over public opinion. Mining, forestry, agriculture, etc all have their own lobbies and they don’t need our (anglers) help. As I have said previously, I am not against special licensing, increased fees, angling restrictions etc if they are necessary as part of the larger picture. However, I do not believe they are effective on their own their own. If you need an example how this plays out look at the Thompson River Steelhead. When I last fished it in 2005 the run was down from the historical 10,000 + fish to an estimated 1500. At that time angling restrictions in the form of zero retention, a bait ban, single barbless hooks, reduced angling seasons (in some years, no recreational angling at all), classified waters designation and a special conservation surcharge were all in place. In the nearly 15 years since I last fished it the returns have fallen further from 1500 to 86 fish in 2019. Why? The same factors as the Fraser River sockeye plus the bycatch in the lower Fraser gillnet fishery for chum salmon, which still goes on. To tie it all together, the issue in BC is the same as the issue in Alberta – conservation. And, unfortunately, conservation without addressing the root causes of the problems (what ever they are) will have little appreciable impact over the long term.

Great video, thanks for sharing! I’ve been intrigued by the GT since I saw that Blueplanet video of them taking sea birds out of mid-air.

Fishteck, how exactly are you involved in fisheries management? The reason I ask is because of your comments on the “Artifishal” post where you mentioned you thought the crowd over-reacted with respect to the potential impact of fish farms on wild stocks, the cost of fish hatcheries to society, and rationalized fish farms as “ a commercial cost efficient food source”. The literal decimation of socially, culturally and economically valuable wild salmon and steelhead stocks, to the tune of millions of fish, in order maintain of cheap source of protein hardly speaks of the "enlightened" conservation ethic you seem to be promoting here. That made me take a closer look at what you’ve been saying here and in the related Bow river threads. I am paraphrasing so feel free to take me to task if I misquote, but you’ve effectively said that stocking the Bow to supplement declining stocks is off the table, changing industry practices is unfeasible, and the only practical way to preserve fish stocks is for one of the primary stake holders of the resource (anglers) to be excluded (through a combination of voluntary abstinence, by increasing the cost to access the resource, or with regulations limiting access). However, you are OK with increasing stocking and/or angling effort on other water bodies in the province. All of which will have the combined effect of reducing the recreational value of the Bow and the other streams of the east slopes, making them more susceptible to being further impacted by industry in the future. So who do you represent? Are you speaking on behalf of anglers or are you working to influence angler’s opinions on behalf of some other group?

Thanks for the post, I really enjoy Todd Moen's work. Cool fish too, kind of like fishing tarpon in a farm pond!

Hi Don, Did you make it to the meeting? If so, how did it play out?

Fishteck, Does the creel survey capture the average size of fish caught? Another conclusion that could be drawn from that data is that if the population is falling, and if there is a collapse in certain age classes but catch rates remain relatively stable then those age classes that are collapsing don’t make up a significant portion of the catch and never have. I am not trying to say I think I have the right to fish how and when I want, fish populations be damned or something stupid like that. What I am saying is something more substantial and more meaningful needs to be done to prevent the coming collapse of the Bow River fishery. Once the actual issues are identified, if angling restrictions need to be part of the conversation then I’m fine with that. But if this is the best the AEP can do then we either need to give the AEP better tools to work with or we need to start lobbying the powers that be to get some new blood in that department because, in my opinion, this isn’t getting it done.

So on the one hand AEP is saying that there are enough juvenile fish to support natural recruitment, but something is happening to the 1+ & 2+ age classes that is causing a significant portion of these fish to die (presumably before they can spawn?). The parasite that causes whirling disease is in the upper Bow Watershed, but no clinical cases have been observed in the “Blue Ribbon Stretch” of the Bow, so it is unknown what impact (if any) whirling disease is having on the fish population. That said, the report notes that biologists on the Colorado river in 1993 & 1994 observed a complete collapse in the 1+ & 2+ age classes and that such a collapse did not occur in the older age classes of fish. So what anglers have been observing on the river in recent years is exactly what might be expected if the Bow was following the same sort of pattern that the Colorado did 25 years ago. But on the other hand, it could be hooking mortality in those 1+ & 2+ age classes that anglers are reporting that they are not catching. Because they are not there as evidenced by the population samples. How is an angling restriction going to help protect fish that aren’t there and aren’t being caught?

Sorry, I should clarify as the intention of having adult fish return to spawn is also the goal with pacific salmon fisheries. The difference in my mind is that the salmon fisheries have a commercial component that harvests a certain portion of the return, so continual input is required.