albertatrout

Last I heard they will not be making it very far south but here's hoping the hatchery guys convinced certain regional managers otherwise. Encouraged catch and release never really works that well but maybe a few will escape.

Yup, many of the old time fisherman down south are not impressed with the pike changes (not impressed is an understatement). Got to admit the consultation (what consultation?) was very poor but changes were a long time in coming. Nothing else too surprising this year otherwise. I'm tying up a few leaches for tomorrow. Ice off is 8 days earlier than last spring so got to get some more use out of the old license before it expires ha ha.

Yeah, i fish in that region a fair bit too. I was spending some time looking through the fish data from last year and I wonder if the worst part of this disaster will be the habitat change's giving the Brook Trout a chance to invade/ take over. I would imagine any and all beaver dams that used to stop them are gone now. Hopefully the data and trends are being watched closely. I haven't heard a lot in the media lately, the big breach is BC took most of the attention.

Anybody still following this? I was made aware of this link today and was very surprised by the amount of data/ details they have made available. http://obed.ca/

I came across this groups facebook page and see it's still in court. The webpage seems devoid of project details/ whats happening, lots of stuff deleted by the looks of it (that or it's just a very poor webpage). Does anyone know if this is a simple cabin/ camping lot project versus a mormon (or other Church) build? Not trying to start a debate either way so please don't take it that route, I'm just curious where the money/support is coming from. Sounds like this could be a development that will benefit a small group of people and put some sensitive environmental areas at risk. I'm all about property rights but land use zoning is there for a reason too. Just wondering if anyone has heard whats happening down there as of late. Thanks.

Alberta fisheries management does not have a lot of significant evidence for any changes, budgets are tighter than anyone can imagine and they are very short staffed, it's not going to improve soon. They would have evidence about catch-ability increasing during the spawn, and they would have evidence of redds being trampled (that is unfortunately pretty easy to find on any stream in Alberta), so information can support the changes even if it's not super specific. I understand the changes mentioned are basically in stone. I discussed a few of the proposed changes with regional managers and understand some tough decisions will have to be made, I don't envy the guys needing to make the call on such limited data. The good news is there are some other changes not mentioned in that document that may greatly benefit fly fishing opportunity in Alberta, hopefully budget cuts don't stop the positive progress.

I've been chased by grizzlies while fishing on a few occasions in north central Alberta. In one case he was relentless and only let up when i crossed a sketchy beaverdam, he did not like the way it moved when he joined me on there and it gave me enough time to get out of the willows and draw my bearspray (waving a fly rod seems to confuse them a bit too). He did not leave me alone until i got to my truck a couple hundred yards away. Got back to the cabin and made sure the wife knew I loved her, never did tell her what put a scare into me that evening. Also had a close call while fishing the upper Red opening week a few years ago, slipped while netting a bull trout and dislocated my shoulder, it was a tough climb back to the truck after relocating it on the ice shelf that got me. Luckily I didn't slide into deeper water, I pay way more attention to ice/ slip hazards now. I also put a lot more effort into finding a fishing partners when possible, though in hindsight i also wouldn't trade some of the experiences for anything as they were great lessons and i escaped relatively unharmed.

Are there any pure strain cutts left in Star Creek? I know its fishless above the falls but still a very pretty area. It has been logged historicaly (it did grow back), we're not talking old growth forest in there. I'm a bit surprised theres enough lumber for them to even bother with.

Biologicaly it will vary from system to system. Most of the current regs (minimum size) are based on a fish spawning at least once. I think blanket management is a poor idea in general, and optimally some lakes would have a slot, others a minimum, and others yet a maximum (release everything over a certain size). Catch and release would obviously be nice in some systems as well. The problem with the other options in many Albertan lakes is simply too many fisherman, hence the slowly expanding tag system.

In Alberta, you do not need a license to fish (or keep fish) if you are under 16 or over 65. Though you may have a self imposed family limit that is not the law. I have seen many families taking advantage of these laws down in the south, it means they are often taking 20+ trout a day. I have also witnessed families retain over 10 pike in an afternoon on a local lake. Heres some info fyi. http://mywildalberta.com/Fishing/Regulations/FishingFAQs.aspx

Yup, shallower generally will mean more sunlight getting to the substrate, more invertebrates, and therefore more food for the fish. This is also influenced by other factors like density of fish/ species of fish/ nutrient inputs but in general it holds true.

It depends how succesful the spawning is, if fish numbers get too high size will go down. I know of several lakes with outlet spawning, a few have crazy high fish numbers and relatively small fish (14" is a good one) while others grow nice size trout. You can also look at the average depth in some cases to get an idea how big the fish can get, shallower (more littoral area) generally means more food production. There are lots of factors at play but it all boils down to production.

A lake (regardless of location) can only produce a certain amount of biomass per year. Say a lake can produce 100 kg of fish per year and has 100 fish, each fish has the potential to gain 1 kg that year. Say suddenly fish numbers increase and you have 1000 individuals, each fish would only be able to average a gain of 0.1 kg over that year. Fish density is a very important factor in fish size potential, especially in mountain lakes where productivity can be limited (like 1 to 2 kg/ year/ hectare). Diversity on the bug scene is also important, if scuds are around production generally increases as they are relatively efficient at moving resources up the food chain. I have read about a case in a high lake in Jasper where a herd of goats or sheep fell through the ice. They could actually measure the increase in production the next year as the scud population shifted upwards (i have witnessed dead sheep coveted in scuds. Kind of cool). Other experiments showed adding a bag of fertilizer made big fish for a few years but the nutrients eventually run out and lakes return to near baseline. Alpine lakes are fairly simple as far as ecosystems go as more productive lakes have far more variables/species to try and understand. Catch and release can actually make fish much much smaller in some cases, stunting is common in alpine lakes as food/nutrients is generally limiting, not spawning or winter habitat like in many other systems.

There is literally next to no body left in the service. I am in contact with fish and wildlife very regularly and it is shocking how often a large swath of the province doesn't even have an on-duty officer. I reported somebody illegally trying to sell wildlife last spring and it took a week for someone to return my call after leaving a message, all evidence had been removed/ covered up in the mean time meaning they couldn't pursue the case. It can be frustrating. I spend a lot of time in remote country that doesn't see a lot of other people, the amount of poaching and environmental destruction we see/ try to report a year is staggering. Relatively few convictions on our tips but a few is better than nothing so we keep trying.

Very painful video for somebody who has reviewed and studied this project. Most of the claims are over exaggerated as is the scale. It was not as simple as just wolves missing from the area, not even close. Read through the actual science and you will see there were changes but not to the extent this video illustrates. This video comes accross as propaganda being used in the fight against control measures being placed on the wolf population in that area. The elk population crashed (approximately 70%) following the establishment of wolves, there were many factors at play (bears are also very hard on elk, this is being heavily studied right now) and some of the benefits attributed to wolves were part of already naturaly occuring cycles. Yes, having wolves on the landscape is a good thing, they do not however return ecosystems instantly to pre-disturbance status. We have lots of wolves in Alberta, I have seen dozens every summer for many years, they do not insure no erosion/ optimal fish habitat, there are way more significant factors at play.

It's silly posturing. I do not expect to see much of an increase in angler catch, it's just politics. I have fished the southern reservoirs since i was a young kid and even with the commercial harvest, it has never been hard to get a limit of whitefish if we wanted them. If you look at the data, by-catch was extremely low most years and the fishery was tightly managed. I don't have an interest in the industry either way, i just feel it's being blown out of proportion as a positive management move. Don't let the real issue's get forgotton because a small commercial fishing industry was shut down.

Luckily it hasn't invaded most of that country (yet). You could camp south near the pass, lots of service down there.

It could be population recovery, you may also just be catching them congregated prior to the main spawning run. A large percentage of a streams bullies may be located in a relatively small area around this time of year. Bullies begin spawning migrations very early (mid-July in some areas) while the migration is generally started by August. I know of many creeks really full of bullies right now, doesn't necessarily mean they are recovering across the entire system. Also, they are extraordinarily easy to catch due to their aggressive nature, you may be catching every bully in a run. I once caught the same tagged bully 3 times in a single day, they aren't picky and catch rates can be deceiving. Just something to consider.

Listing them will not do anything, the government actually has to make changes/ enforce rules if they want to see improvements.

Has a bit to do with the local bands holding our country hostage don't you think? Race segregation in Canada is an ugly topic and all sides have to take some responsibility. Sooner or later all tax dollars will go the first nations if they have their way, our economy will be crippled. All parties need to cooperate and accept some responsibility for this situation, so much greed on all accounts.

Hey look, more responsible 4 wheelers driving through bull trout spawning creeks.. Another reason designated trails are needed across this province! About 9:50 shows what happens to stream banks, every time it rains you can watch the plume follow these trails..

Thanks for the ideas everyone. Its greatly appreciated. We will see if it works out.

Has anybody here ever registered an out of country vehicle before? I'm looking at buying a Japanese mini truck which has not been registered/ used on the highway in Canada before but I do not know the process. It is already in Canada, but has only been used on private land. Any ideas? Cost specifically? Thinking it would be a great little fishing truck for the bit of off-roading i need, belly boat or pontoon would fit on the back just fine. Just trying to figure out what it may cost in the end.

Volunteer positions for this kind of work are a complete joke! Even the governments has unpaid internships now. I know of university research projects on grizzlies in Alberta actually charging staff money to be involved, the sad thing is all positions were filled easily with granola crunching vegan types. Nothing against them, but it leads to a certain demographic taking over research in our province.