McLeod

I may have to invest in one of these.. especially if one decides to change his plans when he is the middle of no where like i was last year a couple of times by myself.. It would be nice if one could order a pizza and some cold beer with this device.

Take a couple of adults with you.. UberFly would would be a great guide /chapparone !

Missed that.. What was the native fish coddling ?

Very nice ! The Ram footage is awesome !

More likely 2014..as that it when the next set of regs will come out...

It's the Logo of a radical group that opposes how the ACA is funded and how it operates ! I am joking of course..I think....

Yes you are right but you are missing the point as many others have over the years. We don't have ANY C and R Stillwater for RAINBOWS in Alberta. There are other places you can keep fish. Can we not see on one lake how C and R may work and see what it produces ?

Yes you could have 1 fish under 40 ..I don't get the point of it if your trying to create a trophy fishery. If you want to eat fish get them from elsewhere.

I am not opposed to keeping fish to eat but in this situation.. Based on it's location and the amount of use the only way you are going to get and continue with a quality lake is.. 1. Reduce the stocking and adjust accordingly. 2.Catch and Release. These can be said for several of the so called quality lakes that have been established. It aint Rocket science.

My first move would be to stock pure strains cutties from other sources on those waters wecutties no longer exsist or are in low numbers. Remove as many undesireables first if necessary. What has to be remembered is not every lake or stream in watershed that historically had a certain type of native fish necessarily had those native fish. What i mean by that is take Athabasca Rainbows for example,They were not found in every lake and stream in the upper Athabasca watershed. I don't have a problem adding them but when I hear people say that rainbows or cutties have been wiped out of certain waters I ask the question..Where those fish ever there in the first place ?

So why not send the Biologist a solution to have those streams restored to what they were in the past. You may know those waters better than they do.

But the same issue regarding identity would exsist elsewhere as well..

Yes thus the conundrum in fighting the " War on Brook Trout " Not sure if your going to discuss this more Saturday or outline more streams that are going have similar regs as Quirk ? But if we are going to get serious about removing Brook trout and other exotics from flowing waters were Native Cutties and Rainbows should thrive then isn't it time to make a REAL effort to eliminate the Brookies. Maybe 20 fish limits.. A target list for anglers to go after these fish in listed waters. It just seems to me the approach that is being used is not agressive enough. Maybe that is about to change ?

So in otherwords Brook trout are crowding out the cutties ?

Can someone please explain to me why there is Zero Brook trout limit for Quirk creek ?

Can't disagree with you more. The fishing for Cutthroat in the province as a whole is far better now than it was in the 70's and eighties. The Highwood and it's tribs are a great example of that.

It would be nice to have it ALL.... It's possible but no political desire. It takes far to long to get anything done.

As long as you are following the rules. And yes I am aware of the Quirk Creek Project and there will be others.

Okay i will take it your just joking right ?

Very nice report ..Awesome Pictures... Just a fact.. there are several lakes in Banff that have Yellowstones and at least one has both West Slope and Yellowstones.

Or you can just hike in and fish and take two fish home. They aren't big fish but it's a beautiful spot.

Project aims to restore Hidden Lake Project aims to restore Hidden Lake By Larissa Barlow Posted 1 day ago In a small glacial lake in the Skoki Valley, a big problem has been brewing. A non-native fish, the brook trout, have taken over Hidden Lake and the upper reaches of Hidden Creek and Corral Creek. They've pushed out the fish that's historically occupied the waters, the westslope cutthroat trout, and that native fish is at risk. No one is quite sure how this has happened. While Banff National Park had stocked certain lakes in the 1960s with brook trout to populate them for anglers, stocking records from the time show only cutthroat trout were added to Hidden Lake. But sometime in the 60s, brook trout were introduced to the lake, likely by accident, and today they're the dominant trout. That is, until this summer. Much like the lengthy Devon Lakes project, that saw Parks Canada crews and aquatic specialists combing the water with nets and electrofishing devices used to remove invading trout, Parks Canada is about to embark on another very similar project. An environmental assessment is underway for a plan to remove brook trout from the 9.3 hectares of lake and the associated creeks, while replacing them with westslope cutthroat trout that will be well suited to survive in their historic habitat. The plan, should it receive approval at the assessment stage, is to take cutthroat trout already thriving at lower parts of the creeks and relocate them to Hidden Lake after the brook trout have been removed. Parks staff plan to work with geneticist from the University of Calgary to choose the best trout with the highest chance of survival. The project could take anywhere from three to five years to complete, but at the end will add a restored lake to the park. "If we don't do something, things are just going to get worse," said Shelley Humphries, an aquatics specialist for Banff, Yoho and Kootenay National Parks. "Even though we stopped stocking a long time ago, the brook trout are still spreading. "We need to do some interventions." Humphries said they'll be using the work done at the remote Devon Lakes as a template because both projects are so similar, with similar sized lakes and methods being used. One of the big differences making this project much easier, though, is it's far more accessible than Devon Lakes. While that project saw crews setting up a work camp and living at the site, with helicopters having to bring in supplies, workers at Hidden Lake will be able to hike in and work, or put off travelling to the lake on days when poor weather prevents any progress being made. That accessibility also leaves the door open for greater involvement from a visitor experience angle. Humphries said as the project gets underway, there could be opportunities for people to learn about fish restoration in national parks. "Because it's relatively accessible and it's on a major trail network, I think we'll have an opportunity to involve and educate residents and visitors more than we have been with other projects," she said. "As this project unfolds over the next few years people should look out for that because we're definitely going to be working with our visitor experience department on that." Humphries said if all goes well, the project could begin this summer, though as of last Friday, Hidden Lake was still half frozen, so there's no rush to begin right away. Gill netting and angling will likely be used in the lake itself, while electrofishing will be done in streams. "Hopefully when we complete this project we'll have added a secure lake and four kilometres of secure habitat," Humphries said. "We will never be able to have cutthroat trout occupying the waters of the Bow River out to Calgary like they did historically, but with projects like this, we can put more conservation eggs in our basket." Once the environmental assessment is complete, it will be open to public comment before any project approvals are granted. Larissa@thecrag.ca While I have some questions concerning costs , this is a project I would support. It is not just a lets " kill all the Brookies "but a plan that in the end has trout living in our mountain lakes. I will give Parks two thumps up on this one !

Excellant production. We don't have a lot of water in Alberta where there are pure strain cutties. Most of our cutties were introduced.

Nice ! Hopefully Jim agrees ..