albertatrout

Problem with only addressing ice fisherman is there are still snowshoer's, cross-country skiers, hikers, skaters, etc. I agree we really need to maintain aeration but it could be hard with lawyers getting involved. I think the no ice fishing rule would help reduced harvest/ poaching but not so much address this concern. Really need this old law changed!

I know the area very well and thought I had missed something in the discussion about this issue , I see it's just different folks looking at it differently. I won't waste any more of your time with this discussion. Sorry to increase your blood pressure, good luck finding volunteers for your projects.

Shame on me and anyone else who questions ya eh? There was no doubt in my mind who wrote it. Sorry that questioning your antics/statements is “shocking and saddening” but that’s how the scientific mind works. I have spent a fair bit of time on conservation initiatives myself (mostly on the ground, not so much over social media) and know a fair bit about sediment issues, invasive species , as well as selenium issues in the area as well as across the west slopes. I’d hazard a guess the road runoff which comes off the trunk road, or even the Atlas road every time it rains impacts more fish habitat than that slope. Also, if the cutts have persisted thus far the selenium must not be all that crazy. Remember the guideline is extremely conservative and an occasional exceedance occurs in untouched rivers and streams as well (there are some natural exposed slopes in the mountains too). Hard to make a statement of effect on one or two samples. I was wondering if fish sampling had occurred or what the cause for sudden alarm was, what I get now is very little has changed in 50+ years. It’s an abandoned un-reclaimed coal mine, you seem very opposed to the new project being discussed. The new project would have to adhere to modern mining rules/ reclamation requirements which should reduce impacts on the creek. Seems to me this project could provide a huge benefit in regards to the historic sediment issues you seem to have identified. It is amazing to me the cutts persevered through the initial mining of the area (never mind most of the streams in the area, ever saw a photo of the Crowsnest River 70-80 years ago) and they should be protected, but a single slope with some exposed rock is not an issue of national significance. I think this project seems like a gem versus something like that Ram River Coal mine up by Nordegg. I appreciate the effort you put in, but I have had to distant myself from a certain TU chapter due to these sort of approaches/ antics. Not the way I think conservation should be approached in every case but good luck to you.

Any data supporting these "early reports". Also, why is it an issue now? Those tailing have been present as an issue for decades and would have been much worse during the actual mining period. Also, would the new mining project not re-dig that area meaning it will be reclaimed following modern methods/ standards? Fighting that development seems like a nimby issue rather than a protect the cutts issue. I would think a mine operating then re-vegetating those slopes would be a good thing.I wish someone would do the same at Tent Mountain, it looks like 10x the sediment issue from what I've seen.

We enjoy our little area in Southern Alberta. We raise our seedlings in old tims cups in a south facing sunroom then plant out on May long. We focus on a small area in the yard (maybe 20 foot by 40 foot) and use lots of trellis/ small beds. This year we have harvested around 50-60 pounds of tomatoes so far, think we will break 200lbs more off of the 10 plants. Also did well on blackberries and haskaps, but saskatoons and raspberries were a bust this year. Its looking like we will get around 100 pounds of winter squash (butternut and spaghetti) from 4 bushes as well as a few zucchini. We also try and do it for cheap, this year I have used about 2 m3 city water (rain for rest) and $3 worth of fertilizer (rely on free organics from yard/house mostly). Pretty good hobby and lots of fun, I really enjoy the minimalist approach to it and hope to expand my "irrigation" system next year with a few more free barrels. The goal of spending very little on it appeals to me. Yields are a bit lower this year (hail) but the canner/ cellar will still be full. We will be harvesting pears for the first time here very soon as well, great big Flemish beauty's. Hoping they taste as good as they look. Oh, and sour cherries. 80 lbs pitted in the freezer ready for pie filling. Nice little front yard trees that yield big. Appreciate the other photos/ reports. Looks great everyone.

I've noticed lots of NDP propaganda stating this. What changed was the navigable waters act which has nothing to do with fish habitat. The changes in the fisheries act were related to reducing infrastructure costs in creeks with minimal fish potential (minnows). Prior to the changes, culverts had to be designed for fish passage at flood flows even in fishless systems/ many wheat fields. If folks talked to people that work with the legislation, they would know very little changed in systems with any sport fish potential whatsoever. Some of the previous rules were so precautionary it was driving up costs to insane levels in many counties/ jurisdictions. A culvert passable to pike during a 10 year flood event 30 km from the nearest pike wasn't very good legislation neither. I'm thinking dryfly knows this, but many others don't do their own research.

I'd say even lower for bulls/ cutties. Bull trout will actively avoid 17 Celsius (I think that's around 62 F), they are significantly less tolerant that other salmonids.

Nice thinking process but I'm on the other side of the fence regarding that group. I think the vast majority of ATV users couldn't give a crap about their impact. I have had discussions on many occasions with guys driving up and down creeks (including over redds) and even polite confrontation leads to a "I pay taxes and go shove it" kind of response. They can't clamp down on these yahoo's soon enough. The government is in the process of repairing trails/ reclaiming areas down south but of what I've seen, not accomplishing much yet as the quads go around the signs and rip it all up again as soon as they can. The problem with submitting photos to fish and wildlife is its a "I said, they said" sort of argument and rarely is anything done. I have seen no stop to the abuse in areas with signs/ barricades, strictly enforced no messing around rules will be the only solution. Most know the rules, they also know the chances of getting caught are astronomically low. As for the AWA getting involved, It makes me want to distant myself from the issue. The amount of lies and misinformation they have used trying to keep the grizzly bears protected is disgusting and many many conservation minded people will not align with that organization. Some extreme radicals in that group, including many who would like to see no human use in the west country whatsoever. Keep taking pictures and writing letters, the only way things are going to improve is from the top down.

Thanks for the link. But where is the data? How is someone supposed to form a valid opinion without data extending across the species range? I fish across the west-country of Alberta and find bullies are still hurting in some areas but seem to be recovering in others. I realize this applies to the Saskatchewan/Nelson Rivers only but still, where is the data? Public opinion/ emotion should not be the dominant force in a species listing, the average fisherman can't even recognize a bull trout over the other species. I'm a huge bull trout fan and would like to see them recover everywhere but still, shouldn't data/ background info be provided?

I would say at 23 degrees the average angler will have significant catch and release mortality (rainbows). We go elsewhere at 20, even then recovery can take extra time, care, and attention. Bullies are very uncomfortable/ absent at around 17 degrees so it varies greatly. If you want to learn more about it read through some habitat suitability models (available from usgs via Google). Lots of factors at play but temps are critical as they directly impact oxygen/ stress in fish. A stressed fish is not a happy fish.

Moving water is good, fighting the fish quickly (heavier tippet), and not pulling the fish out of the water (no pictures) will help. Not fishing when the water is hot is the best plan though. High chance of trout mortality when the temperatures are nearing 20 degree's, some trout are more tolerant but overall it's wise to go fishing in the morning while the water is cool. Some lakes are already approaching surface temperatures of 20 degrees this spring, bad news for recovering tired fish. In lakes, holding the fish down a bit deeper helps, the top 0.5 m of the water column can often be way warmer than the water further down. Don't throw fish back into the deepest areas of the lake when not recovered though, there's often a layer of anoxic water near bottom in the summer which will prove lethal if they are too exhausted to swim. We have been limiting our fishing to the morning lately, seeing temps of 19-20 degrees by 11 am which is crazy for this early in the year.

I just buy a slightly smaller pair of wading boots (generally the ones with most leather/ least stitching) and wear an old pair of wool socks and Velcro ankle wraps while wet wading. I don't get rocks/ debris in my boots and I can walk many kilometers while remaining fairly comfortable. Sandals are dangerous, I used to fish that way but ended up with some pretty serious puncture wounds along beaver infested brook trout creeks. Safe while fishing from a boat, not so much if you are going through much woods/ murky water, beaver death trap ponds.

The June monsoon's generally muddy things up for a few weeks. It seems every-time someone says we missed run off the clouds roll in and we get hammered. Only time will tell. Not much for snowpack or soil moisture at this point so personally I'm hoping for the rains.

It's a good time to fish them, try downstream of the city.

I've seen 10 different grizz in a week there, got to take adequate precautions.

I hope they put some effort into pursuing it, keep us updated. I have had absolutely zero luck with calling in this sort of stuff (usually get a call back a few weeks after everything has been deleted).

It's such an odd concept considering current markets, prices, and environmental regimes. I really don't give these projects a lot of hope unless some huge market changes occur.

Glad to hear someone has had some luck ha ha. We got skunked again the other night, tried chironomid's and leeches but not even a hit. This used to be the most successful time of year for us but maybe something is different this year.

I have found the fishing quality to be heading steadily downhill in the trout ponds in that area. I think part of it can be attributed to crazy nutrient loading as many of the lakes seem weedier and greener in the summer than they were 10 years ago. I do know partial winterkill is more and more common on some of the shallow pike sloughs around there, SRD attributes it to feedlots and more and more nutrients in the soil/ environment. Has anyone done really well at McVinnie (or kenex or Mquillan) in the past couple years? May just be our group, still some nice fish but not like a few years ago. Hoping some action is taken on WQ issues before it gets even worse.

I think that's key, seeing anything for new development in the next while would be a surprise based on current markets. I would think companies would be hesitant after seeing Coalspur (thermal coal) get crushed but only time will tell.

I'm watching this one closely. Hoping after they re-mine that area and reclaim it properly they head over towards Tent Mountain and re-mine that disaster zone. Maybe potential for an isolated end-pit lake with self-sustaining population of pure strain westslope cutthroats. Other mines have had incredible success with that reclamation strategy for native fish species. I would think they will not touch existing fish habitat but we better all be keeping an eye on it. The mud that flows off those old mines after a heavy rain is disgusting, would be nice to see it all capped and vegetated.

Ya, if Alberta's population was to drop by about 90% so we no longer need much for water storage and the province still had billions of dollars available to remove rainbows, brookies, and browns then maybe things could change. I would call this a foolish vision, some rivers will never again be suitable for the native inhabitants (Bow, Red Deer, most of the Oldman, Crowsnest, most of the Castle). Removal of invasive's may work in small isolated systems but it's extremely expensive and unless barriers are present its going to fail shortly anyhow. I have been involved in many many projects of this nature, it's nearly impossible but on the smallest most isolated scale. Accept what we have and fight for the few populations that remain, its a much wiser use of resources. As for the tigers, they will draw attention from other fisheries and will be a net benefit to the fishery in Alberta. Win Win situation. Unique fisheries are like fishing effort sinks, look at the parking lot at Beaver or Bullshead on any given Saturday.

Funny you say that as it has been done. I remember reading about this experiment in an old fish hatchery book. From what i remember they didn't survive very well and survival rates were astronomically low. Weird looking trout going by the photo's. As for discussion of Tiger Trout reproduction, extremely unlikely. Consider in the wild brooks and browns occupy many of the same habitats yet only a few naturally produced tiger trout are ever captured. Not much of a concern if you look at the numbers.

It's mostly due to some politics which delayed stocking until after the new regs were published. I know some area managers were hoping to go catch and release with the tigers, the invasive species council or whatever it is called just took forever in giving the ok for them to be stocked. There was hope they would be stocked in a lake that is strictly catch and release but it wasn't confirmed whether or not enough fish would be available this summer (hopefully it works out). One problem with tigers is they are apparently not very good at competing with other trout (that is according to biologists out of Saskatchewan and Manitoba) so there were hopes some could be stocked in lakes with limited competition from other trout. Will be interesting to see what the final stocking plans look like come summer.

It depends on the weight of the mount, are there any hooks/ eyelets on the back of it? Is it on a piece of wood or anything? Generally, as long as you have screws into the joists of your walls it will hang just fine. I have a heavy bighorn sheep mount and it has been hanging for years off one solid screw, i have a few other large mounts in the basement and at most i have used 2 screws into something solid with great success. Brackets similar to these would work, one on each side of the fish maybe. http://www.amazon.ca/PICTURE-HANGING-DOUBLE-NICKEL-PLATED/dp/B0087DSR7U/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1427644813&sr=8-1&keywords=picture+hanging+bracket . An idea may be to get something like that but significantly larger too, there's really not just one way of getting things to hang nice.