seanbritt

Interesting discussion. According to the Herald article, only a few of the 55 applicants who responded to the application were local. The panel was made up of five citizens. In my opinion, if folks are tired of seeing the money go to folks from out of town, they should encourage their fellow Calgarians to participate in the process rather than complain about it.

The above article pertains to surface fossil finds only. It does not apply to archaeological finds. While it may seem there is an obvious difference, to the untrained amateur eye they may look the same. Best practice is to keep things where they are. Also, as noted in the link above, in the event of finding a surface fossil you are still required to hand it over to the RTM. Archaeological finds are under the jurisdiction of the RAM.

Actually know quite a few City Planners quite personally and know how a good portion of them think. You'll be pleasantly surprised at how proactive and forward thinking they are. You want to find out where the issues are? Go right to the source: land developers. $$ is valued more than the greater good and good planning. $$=politicial sway. $$=development on the floodplain. But then again, when you look for the source of any issue it more often than not tends to be $$....

I know some people are aware, but just thought I'd send a quick reminder, about the Historical Resources Act of Alberta. With the flood, numerous archaeological and paleontological sites have either been exposed or further exposed. According to the Act, it is illegal to remove any artifacts with fines up to $50K. If you happen to come across a find, please report it to Alberta Culture at (780) 431-2300. The best thing to do is take photos and a GPS waypoint to send to them. If you have any questions you can contact them. Please pass along the word as the minute we take these objects away, we loose all information associated with them and, according to the act, are destroying the site. While I know these objects are pretty amazing, please let professionals record the contextual information and contribute to helping preserve our past. I compare it to poaching. We don't like to see fish poached from our rivers, and my fellow colleagues don't appreciate seeing these items poached from their context. There is a great article from the Herald that highlights this and it reminds us that both fossils AND archaeological artifacts are protected: http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/alberta/Hunting+bones+Chances+finding+exposed+fossils+rises+after/8658179/story.html

Very well said Paul/Rick. Its funny, a few of my favorite experiences on the Bow have been non-fishing experiences. One was a simple float with my wife and dog and another with the Mrs. and our good friends from out of town. A third was a certain fly-fisherman's bachelor party in which we floated from Banff to Canmore....absolute hilarity!

x2 It comes down to the individual driving the boat/pontoon, heck or even fishing for that matter. I've been on the side of the river fishing and think the proportion of impolite operators are likely equal among drift/jet/pontoons. Jets likely get a worse rap due to the attention that is drawn to them based on their motorized action. The one thing that could potentially be discussed is a size limit. I've seen some sea-worthy motorized crafts down really low that should be running in the ocean, not the Bow. Also, x2 on Tungsten teaching a course. I've only been out with him once but he was very polite on the river when we came upon other anglers, etc.

x2 with JBear. I had the same issue with getting my father in-law interested. I found it best to give some lessons on dry land then start off on easier waters where it was easier for him to hook into fish. Starting off on the Bow, even for an experienced angler, can be challenging and frustrating. Also, having one half of a couple teach the other half can sometimes end badly. A private lesson or class for her would probably be the best way to go....

Gorgeous photos Peter! Looks like you had an epic time!

I agree with 420 and would only add that when looking at a reel for your 7wt, look at saltwater ready options as you never know what the future holds:)

Way to go! I've seen that dude on the bike rip out fish and toss em in the bushes. First time I called the CO on him I confronted him first, which was my bad as it gave him time to high tail it out of there. Good to see some justice! Lets keep it up!

DONE. They took my name and number and said they would call back with an update as lots of people were calling in and they weren't quite sure as to the status/what to do yet. Thanks for spearheading Jay!

Great job everyone! Great example of how concerned anglers can make a difference!

A childhood friend of my wife has a husband who loves to fly-fish, but isn't able to make it out as much as he'd like due to being a new parent (which I'm sure most of you can relate to!). All he's wanted to do for the past few years was to catch a brown, a species on his bucket list. I invite him down fishing a few years back and take him to one of my go-to spots. Day one, skunk. I felt bad as myself and another angler on the river managed to get a few to hand. Next AM (and his last chance) we wake up super early to hit another one of my favorite locales. Third cast, a taped 25" brown. Skinny (as they sometimes are early in the spring), but a beauty nonetheless. He proceeded to bring in another 6. I've never seen a guy so happy fishing in my life. Good to be out there with him and share that experience.

"All this comes down to the purpose of these boards. To me, the purpose is to share information and help people learn how to fish with a fly rod. If we are successful in sharing the information then more people who try the sport will stick to it, and in some cases it may mean more people on "your" river. Good, I say. I can't think of a better thing that could be said of someone than he introduced xx people to fishing. I hope I have a lot of xxx's in my life. Some will be people I took out personally, and I can only hope some will be because of something I said on this board." x 1 more anglers=more people on river. however, more anglers=more representatives of our fisheries=larger voice in conservation efforts=(hopefully) better protection of our watersheds

Welcome to Calgary and the board! You'll find a ton of great information here, and as SilverDoctor noted, all you have to do is use the search option. There is a newly udpated waterproof fishing mapbook of the Bow River that came out last year and includes such things as launch locations, fishing spots, walking paths, major roads, hatch chart, recommended flies, flow rates, float times, etc. It is available at many local shops, a number of whom support this forum. They include: Fish Tales, Bow River Troutfitters, the Fishin' Hole, Canadian Tire (Southland/Macleod), West Winds Fly Shop, Wholesale Sports, and Southbow. Sean p.s. Don't forget new 2012 licenses available mid-march!