HeadwatersHunter

I have a 2 year old and a 6 month old, honestly my fishing has not taken much of a hit. That being said, the majority of rivers that I fish are between 5 and 30 km from home so it gets pretty easy for me to hit up some water before work, after work, during naps. My 2 year old has actually spent alot of time on rivers with me in a carrier style backpack. His first trip was out to a remote section of the Little Smoky for grayling before he turned 1. The biggest thing is changing out tactics (I can no longer head out all day every day off work) and as someone mentioned earlier compromise. Give your wife some time off and you should in return get some time to yourself. I am lucky in that my wife knows that the season up here is incredibly short and so she has given me free rein for a two week period following runoff each summer. Seriously look into a good carrier back pack for when the little one hits 1 year plus. I love taking my 2 yea rold out. He gets excited and cheers and claps everytime I get a fish, plus he talks, sings, and just makes enough noise in general to keep the bears away. Try to enjoy the time with the newborn as they grow so damn fast in those first few months.

Nabbing a bass in Alberta now would be a longshot, 12 years ago.... no problem. My friend and I used to hammer smallies out at Island lake where they were stocked. Haven't heard anything recently though.

Should we then close all bull trout waters until spawning is complete? Spawning age bull trout typically begin the spawning migration right around the time that most eastslope rivers open. I mean we could argue that it is unethical to fish canyon sections of rivers for bulls due to the presence of natural barriers such as ledges and small waterfalls. The bulls tend stage in these areas until water condtions allow for easier passage (I have watched bulls jump 5 -8 ' waterfalls). Should also close any confluences to fishing in the summer as well since the bull trout will stage in a confluence pool until water temps reach ~ 10 degrees before entering the rearing stream. We should also look at the speculation that in northern regions some adults spawn every other year due to the relatively low productivity of the rivers. Maybe the answer is to have a shortened season such as the Muskeg River in the Grande Cache area. Close the tributaries to angling on August 31 leaving only the main branch waterways {Athabasca, Smoky, (sorry, only familiar with the northern areas)} open until the end of the regular fishing season. Of course all of this would be based on the assumption that we can maintain enforcement on the waterways; and yes I do mean "we", there is a report a poacher hotline. Anyways, maybe PGK has some insight or thoughts regarding bull trout protection in particular. The guy may push a few buttons but, he still has an education in fisheries biology to back it up.

I have to agree with PGK on this one. Up here in the north country there are far too many suspect individuals carrying firearms who claim that they will drop any bear that they see. Kind of makes me wonder how I am still alive with all of the time I spend in Grizzly and cat country at work, home and while out fishing. I have had the pleasure of having several serious run-ins with both grizzlies and black bears, some of these occasions I was carrying a shotgun, none of these occasions resulted in a shot being fired at the bear. I never considered shooting necessary for any of my incidents. I will close with this advice: Don't try to be a hero. A little bit of fear will go a long way in regards to keeping you cautious and aware while in the field.

40 inch bull trout!

I fish for grayling alot up here in the G.C. There are very large numbers of grayling here, in fact most rivers that do contain grayling have such good numbers in them that a person often gets bored with catching them after only a few hours. These rivers hold significant numbers of fish within the 14 - 17" range and are extremely easy to catch. I can completely understand how bumping up the catch limit of grayling could easily wipeout a population. As far as I know, there is a very restricted catch limit for grayling on some waters up here while others are C&R (I never bother to look at the catch limits as I treat all rivers out here as C&R). I say protect the grayling, they feed the bull trout, and everybody loves giant bull trout.

Already hit my opening day up here (June 1st), nabbed a bunch of bulls on the Sulphur River.

The berries in question are from a lily called Fairybells (Disporum trachycarpum). Apparently the Blackfoot occasionaly ate the berries however they are decribed as being flavourless.

Man am I ever glad that I live up here in the middle of nowhere. In 5 seasons of fishing Grande Cache I have only ever run into other anglers on sections of river that I fish twice (one of the occasions it turned out to be two very good friends of mine). I have never really had to worry about river etiquette out here. Then again I also have never had to worry about access as it is all crown land in this neck of the woods.

For anybody who may be looking to head up to the Cache this coming season, or for anyone interested in getting into some decent grayling. Shoot me a line and I can send you a bunch of river reports, or I can meet you out on the water. I'd be more than willing to trade some decent fishing holes for some tips on how to improve my fly fishing skills as I am still very new to the sport.

Hey, I am just south of you in Grande Cache. I have some crazy patterns that will nab the big boys about 95% of the time. PM and let me know. Can always meet up at the Kakwa when the season opens.

Jay, I can get you into some insane grayling a little closer to home. Head on up here to Grande Cache where I can get you 100+ fish days with most grayling between the 14 - 18" mark. I am not too sure if I can match the size of some of the bulls that you pull out of the southern rivers though.

Well, thanks for the input guys. I am definately going to be putting away some cash for the water master. I really like the idea of being able to hike a ways into the put in with the entire boat being in a bag. I also like the prospect of being able to easily hitch hike back to my truck after a solo float without worrying about either locking up my boat or finding someone with a truck who is willing to haul it back. I forsee some awesome drifts on the Smoky, Simonette and Kakwa rivers in the next season.

Just looking for some insight as to what may have a slight advantage. I am looking for a boat to do floats on rivers such as the Clearwater, Ram, Athabasca, Smoky, Kakwa, basically freestone eastern slope rivers. Does anyone have experince using a kickboat in these types of conditions? Do either of the two boat types have a major advantage over the other? Any input would be greatly appreciated.