Smitty

Castle Wildland Park, Forestry Reserve, and Waterton to be closed as of today. From minister Philips: "With wildfires threatening parks and campgrounds in the province, there are several current and impending closures people need to be aware of. In southern Alberta, a full forest closure is expected to be in place by 10 a.m on Monday, September 4. This closure will include all areas south of Willow Creek. The South Castle Valley in Castle Wildland Provincial Park is now closed. A full closure of Castle Wildland Provincial Park is expected to take place by the afternoon of Monday, September 4. A wildfire north of Crescent Falls Provincial Recreation Area has led to its closure and the evacuation of the campground. The threat of wildfires has also closed several trails in Castle Provincial Park, Thompson Creek Provincial Recreation Area and Kootenay Provincial Recreation Area. Visit our website for details: http://www.albertaparks.ca/albertaparksca/advisories-public-safety/advisories/ Wildfire conditions in these areas are well past the extreme level. In these conditions, wildfires can move very fast, and embers can create new fires several kilometres away. Forecasts indicate a new fire can reach up to 45 hectares in size in under an hour. Please stay safe and visit AlbertaParks.ca for the latest details on closures."

Dad and I are planning our annual trip to southern AB this year; we delayed it a bit, hoping for cooler temperatures and - fingers crosses - some precipitation. Any forecasters out there want to speculate on what the water conditions will be like for the September long weekend? Water levels, water temps? We're thinking the usual haunts; Crow, Castle, Oldman (upper and mid). I am assuming that close to the mountains, maybe the nights are starting to get colder, and, even if the region doesn't get much precipitation between now and then, there will be enough night time cooling to make it worthwhile... Thoughts? Reports from down there? Cheers, Smitty

GIven my feelings about riparian zones and what I have seen in my beloved home waters in the Hinton area, I absolutely cannot believe I'm about to play devil's advocate in my teeny tiny defense of forestry. Someone slap me out of my ignorance. But 1000m sounds like a big buffer. Not within one single creek or tributary? I'm sure we've all looked at a waterbasin map. The entirety of the foothills from the Montana border to the Peace river region is just blanketed with flowing water. Every. single. tributary? Within 1000m? Doesn't that pretty much effectively ban logging from 90% of the foothills? Isn't it easier to just prohibit logging altogether from most spaces? Isn't that what you're advocating? Actually, never mind. I'll shut up now. That sounds about right to me. I'll just look the other way when I see the unemployment line double in size after we've gelded the forestry industry. Smitty

Looks like some great trips / classes!

BurningChrome, internet is a poor medium for detecting tone. So I'll assume the sarcastic emoticon was in full force, ya? The major point being the backhoe has approved work (whether they are compliant or not is a separate issue) that has been deemed either necessary or fulfilling some sort of desired outcome. Either way, the other salient detail is that the backhoe's presence is temporary, whereas recreational users with their OHV's and trucks are disturbing watersheds continually and steadily from May long weekend until, what Labour day (or longer?). And for what purpose; will there be a public benefit? No, it's purely for there own recreational pleasure. Surely you see that difference.

I'll bid if you offer another trip that ends up with a 7lb bully on my line!

I like the move too, but to be a nitpicker, there's a huge difference between regs for the National Parks and a general blanket term "Rockies". For a moment, I thought a provincial rule had been implemented.

Isn't the problem with Rotenone is that it pretty much obliterates other gilled organisms, including aquatic invertebrates? As an aside, and I'm not excusing the gov't by any means, but fisheries management in this province is incredibly challenging. You got the put and take guys to appease, the fanatical fly fishing QSF catch and releasers, the Lac la Biche and S. AB crowd that want to eat their walleye, the guys that specialize in hammering jumbo perch, the Lakers crowd fishing / loving Cold Lake to death, the let's make kid-friendly fisheries, gotta make the ice fishermen happy, first nations rights, etc... Add to that an historic overall lack of water, a 400% increase in population translating into more users and stakeholders, gov't mismanagement, lack of gov't foresight, lack of gov't pro-activeness, combating decades of way to liberal keep and possession limits, sure as hell ain't easy managing fisheries these days, especially when you're part of the problem.

The "incentive / dis-incentive theory" is a failure in my opinion. Do you really think the incentive theory has saved Beaver from being infected? If so, can I see some evidence / proof? Trouble is, its exceeding difficult to prove a negative, right? They should at least try a pilot program - somewhere - let the lake have a no limit on perch. Stock perch lakes with Tigers and Splake; don't they eat the perch too? Why do 90+% of our lakes only have one species of trout? Many successful lakes elsewhere support multiple species. Just an alternative viewpoint. Maybe the best and cheapest alternative is to learn to live with the perch and decimate them as best we can. Government seems terribly reluctant to do rotenone, plus, it has limited use. Can we get some sterile pike? I jest.

Cause the fly fishing community isn't as "connected" as it is down here, with 5+ fly shops, plus, basically speaking, the organizations in Edmontonchuk don't seem to place a priority in bringing it up there.

Lee: Is the February date also sold out? Saw on the website there is a 2nd screening. ....sigh...which of course ticks me off as an Edmontonian. IF4 rarely comes to Edmonton...

http://www.nationalobserver.com/2016/12/21/opinion/garossino-why-kinder-morgan-isnt-hill-fight-and-die

Don: No one is snarling or whining 'too'. And resist the temptation to put words in my mouth about 'paying forever'. Calm down and spend some time with your bamboo cane and see if that reduces the blood pressure. lol I was simply asking if you has some thoughts on the logistics. Clearly, you don't. You simply have the knee jerk reaction. I wish you luck. Mike

A quick google search yielded these: http://www.rockymtnflycasters.org/articles/disinfect.php http://www.murraysflyshop.com/fly-fishing-articles/cleaning-and-disinfecting-your-fly-fishing-gear/ http://www.successfulflyfishing.com/how-to-clean-your-waders-and-wading-boots/

That's what I am driving at. Disinfection stations don't sound like blanket angler bans to me...

Well, like others of course I'm sympathetic and very concerned about this. But are you serious Don? We're simply going to ban boat traffic and anglers from Montana? And what about vice versa; Albertans going to Montana? You have some thoughts on how to work that out, logistically speaking?

Thinking seriously of ditching my cable tv, listening to more and more of my IT savvy friends ditching Telus and Shaw altogether, in some cases, years now. I'm at the point where I see this process is fairly straightforward now and pretty user friendly, so I am very tempted. So what are you guys using? The dilemma now is the burgeoning array of choices; Android boxes, chromecast, Roku, Slingbox, Kodi, Plex, Apple tv. What works best in Canada, or provides the best quality and variety of programming? Was wondering. Mike

Update: It would seem he has re-located?

Did you try the AB Outdoorsmen forum? Just from a numbers perspective, there may be alot of knowledgeable hunters whose brains you can pick on that forum. Just a thought. Mike

I thought there was a shop in Red Deer? Just like described a pop up store or something similar? And while I would stop at your shop on my way to the Bow, Aidrie wouldn't work if I am doing the full blown southern AB thing. When I go to the Pass, it either means Fish Tales (closest to bypassing Cowtown), or the Crowsnest Angler or the Crowsnest Cafe. If you're talking the Red Deer area cutties, browns, and bulls, there is no incentive to drive all the way to Airdrie and back when I am turning onto hwy 11A or 54 when coming from Edmonton. Even with the lack of a true flyshop up here, I can usually get enough stuff to sustain myself for an outing. Mike

Don't do it, for reasons stated above. Extreme price competition with bass pro, extreme overall competition from what...5 other shops? And, a shop in Airdrie is on the 'wrong' side of the city. Fairly distant from your bread and butter, the Bow. Sorry to be such a Debbie Downer.

Dave reached out to me. He has no issues with anyone who would like to ask these questions in a respectful manner on the FB page. Just an FYI. I imagine he would welcome an open, respectful discussion and the opportunity to clarify any issues. Mike

Guys. why I asked the question: "What is your angle here" I'm all for an open discussion. But let's be frank, often noble intent leads astray. Too often, discussions de-volve into soap box ranting. And so, I am being terribly pre-emptive here, let's be aware of that before a thread goes 3 pages. Look, fish handling is an important discussion and deserves to, and ought to be discussed. It's been discussed before, and deserves re-visiting now and then. I'm simply saying that I hope that beyond the closed system of the FFC batting the issue around between a couple of dozen forum regulars, and a group of semi regulars, and hundreds of lurkers, at some point, the bottom line is reached. And that is, because the publication is small, and we know who runs it, there is an opportunity here to voice our concerns directly. All I'm saying. Cheers.

Bron, it's not about ruffling feathers, trust me, you're tame compared to some of the previous forum members I've seen over the past 10 years. And yes, I'm surprised actually you don't see this, it IS different than the Calgary Sun; part of a massive multi-national newspaper media conglomerate corporation of which the Sun is but one newspaper amongst many, as opposed to a husband and wife team publishing a single annual magazine? I don't think it matters a whole bunch that you don't know him personally; if the pictures ruffle your feathers, why not drop him a line. He's a fairly approachable guy. If you meant no disrespect, fair enough, but then...why not drop him a line? Because, then, may I ask, what's your angle then? What's the purpose of the thread? Just to rant? These are fair questions, imho. And no, I'm not one of Dave's besties or president of a fan club. Mike

Bron: Respectfully, if you have issues, doesn't Dave deserve to hear about it directly from you, if you have concerns? Instead of airing your complaints on another forum like FFC? Mike