trailhead

I caught an infected whitefish across from Edworthy Park in 1994, it's my journal so I have the date down. Of course at the time I didn't know what it was. Just a fish with a hump behind the head and a shrivelled tail twisted off to the side. I put it down to the U of C sewage outlet that comes out there. Maybe that's how it was introduced, as from what I have seen and heard it is all speculation. In fact last fall I had a high ranking TU official tell me to use bleach to disinfect my boots and waders, now its a ammonia solution. I get the feeling that the more it gets researched the more questions will be raised and the more confusing it will get. I haven't used my Bow River gear in any of the other rivers that I fish. Primarily did that for didymo, but the soapy Bow is full of all kinds of "things".

From what I was able to gather at the presentation that Lesley gave it appears that there are factors influencing the effect on fish. She mentioned things like water temperature, streambed strata and water chemistry, and was honest in saying that the biologists are learning as they go. One interesting fact was that in Colorado it was spread by the biologists as they were trying to typify and identify infected systems. I agree with Silver Doc that it has been around here for awhile, probably was introduced in the 1990s when all the infection was happening in the US. Lots of anglers came to fish the Bow and the Crow from there at that time, and still do.

And if my aunt had balls she'd be my uncle. The future is kind of unpredictable, and as much as human beings think we know it all. Really we don't.

Appears to me that there is a little bit of fear mongering going on, kind of like how all the rivers in southern Alberta were in extreme peril last year due to the early spring melt and the water temps were going to go sky high and the angling was going to be closed and fish were going to die and ......

"Almost certainly" like almost free?

I agree with Fishteck and having read the guidelines; that is all they are. it even states that there is no legal standing to the Water Quality Objectives in the document (page 14 chapter 3.1). They are used as a reference in the enforcement of Federal, Provincial and Municipal law. So again who to call it into is debatable and the license covering the work in all likelihood has a specific set of defined limits that are applicable to this project alone. As for there being an impact that is a given, the river downstream of the mitigation work is currently a murky brown color. Is it above the allowable limits? I don't know and until I read what the limits are for suspended solids in the water for this specific project, I can't make an informed decision that they are breaking the law.Then a sample has to be taken and tested to determine the level of contamination. I can look at the water and say it is contaminated, but to put a number to it is not possible. Kind of like looking at a fish in the water and saying it was 29 inches long.

A Grebe that put up quite a fight, a gull that I LDR'd and last year I snagged a drone.

Letter sent

Some good changes for the Bow in the no bait part, and the increase in fees for out of province is good too, maybe it will cut down the pressure on the waters in the SW. Seems like most of the rest of the waters are as previous, like the Elbow, Highwood and Crowsnest.

The problems I see with the OHV use are; one the majority, as Silver Dr said, have no clue about regulations, safety or environmental responsibility. Secondly the organized groups, funded by equipment manufacturers and retailers, will lobby very hard to quash any reduction in their use of areas in which to ride.

When I read the article it made me wonder. Who funded the research?

Yeah if the Kingfish don't get them, the Frigate birds do, plus in Barbados they are a deep fried delicacy.

The latest forecasts are for the USA to be a net oil exporter by 2026. Currently the US is pretty much the only market for Canadian oil. Which is why West Texas Intermediate sells for $54/bbl and Western Canadian Select sells for $38/bbl.

I would guess all those factors have an impact. Kind of a Chaos Theory thing.

Anyone know how many watercraft cross the border on an annual basis?

From what I have been able to ascertain, the majority of contaminated boats caught were waterskiing recreational boats. There are waymore of those than fly fishing ones.

Yeah all those pipeline spills in BC are terrible. All three of them since 1999. Funny that there is no mention of the 17 spills from other sources that occurred over the same time. The Chekmanus train spill one as previously mentioned was the ultimate environmental disaster, but from what I've read they restocked the annihilated steelhead population with hatchery fish, then they and the salmon runs will return to normal. Yeah railways are way safer than pipelines.

I think the government check stations are doing a super job. I saw the personnel at the one in the Crowsnest tear after a truck pulling a boat that didn't stop. Caught up to them a bit down the road on my bike and the woman who pulled them over was reaming them out. The truck was from Manitoba, so who knows where they were coming from. But I bet they got a hefty fine. Only problem is that the inspection station isn't open 24-7.

Yes it is a good article but the environmental fanatics in the Lower Mainland and on Vancouver Island think Ft St John is in Alberta.

A true out doors gentleman, had the opportunity to hear him speak and to actually talk with him, He was an advocate and always had the best interest of fishing and hunting pursuits in mind. He will be missed..

Obviously they have some good PR people, as this was on CTV too.

Us old guys have seen it in the past.

I was part of the Stewardship program and in that I kept a fair number of brook trout and one rainbow. I still keep brook trout from the SW streams which was four this year, and I did keep a stocked rainbow about 10 years ago. Way back when I kept some rainbows from the Bow, smelled like sewage when I cooked them up so have never kept anything from the Bow since.

That is a nice fish. Last time I was on the Crow I spotted an amazing amount of fish in the river and of all sizes.

People don't read signs. I saw a fellow a few years ago on the Livingstone and when I said that it was catch and release only he said "where does it say that?" I pointed at the black and yellow sign beside the area where the vehicles were parked.