jpinkster

I'm at least pleased to see that protecting sensitive bull trout territory factored into the decision. Small victories.

Those cutty-rain-browns don't stand a chance against the brookbows.

I'm not sure this will have a huge impact on migratory trout species in all honesty. Glenmore Reservoir is about 20km downstream, and it isn't like fish from the Bow can get up the Glenmore dam anyways. It looks like fish should be able to easily pass through the gates. My concern is what happens when the off-stream reservoir is drained. There will be fish that end up in the reservoir that could get stuck in standing water left behind once the water drains back into the river. Have a look: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hp5Rut8CrmU

Slurped it right off the surface. I actually asked the guide if it would be at all possible to catch a sturgeon on a fly rod. He looked at me like I was from another planet.

Here's my take for what it's worth: I am hopeful that we will see either a Liberal or Conservative minority government. While ideologically I lean more towards the Conservatives, I have issue with the way our country has been governed over the last decade. A lack of cooperation with the provinces and a move towards more American style politics makes me uneasy about another Stephen Harper lead majority government. The Liberal platform has some potential. That being said, I haven't seen enough from Trudeau yet to just hand over the keys to the country. I would be comfortable to see what happens in a Liberal minority and decide again in a few years if they have earned a broader mandate. The current government has a style problem, not a content problem. I have several friends that have been working on a few CPC campaigns. Sounds like they have been given some guidance from the central campaign to "save the office furniture". Internal polls are suggesting this will not be a good night for the CPC, and they are throwing resources at seats that might be saved.

I know this isn't fly fishing...but this absolutely has to be shared. Earlier this year my dad was diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. He has had one surgery already, and another scheduled for later in November. Getting out for this trip was AMAZINGLY important to the entire family. We caught two sturgeon over 7 feet, and my dad summoned the strength to reel the last one in for 45 minutes straight. I'll have a blog coming up on this in the week to follow. Me with a 7'3, 230 lbs monster. We hooked it 10 minutes into our first day, and it rose 4 times for us. These fish are absolutely amazing creatures. This was the money shot. This was a 7'4 200 lbs monster that took us 2km downstream.

Yup, try setting your drag a bit looser. I had some issues last year (and last night for that matter). I don't like to try to turn the head until they stop their first run. Once that run stops you can lean on them a little bit more.

In all honesty, it's my least favorite float on the Bow. Lots of swirly water with less obvious structure. I know the fish can get huge down on that stretch, but I've always preferred Police to Mac.

Interesting context, thanks for sharing that. I have similar experiences with my non-fishing friends when I tell them that I don't keep anything. Most of them ask, "well what's the point then?". Different strokes for different folks I suppose!

Behind every great fishermen is a very understanding wife. Great work Don.

Is fall the better time to go? Most of the folks I talk to go in August, so I hope October isn't too late in the season.

A few of us recently had a discussion regarding more resources for our COs with Enviro Minister Shannon Phillips: I'm very pleased that this appears to be on Minister Phillips' radar. Now is the part where YOU come in! Please write letters to Minister Phillips asking for more resources to be dedicated to F&W and our COs. There are MANY things that need to be done to better protect our fisheries, but this may one of the simplest ways to bring some added protection.

Thanks, I appreciate the kind words. I'm so thankful to have a wonderful network of people here that have WAY more knowledge and understanding about our fisheries than I could ever hope to have. My shout out is to our wonderful fly fishing community; first class!

I checked with F&W to see if they searched the freezers of these individuals. Looks like they did not:

I was talking to a woman at my work about the entire situation today. She has nothing to do with fishing in any way. When I told her the story and explained the significance she started to tear up. Again, this is someone who has no relationship with fishing. This is powerful stuff that we can certainly capitalize on.

Here is the audio this morning from CBC: http://www.cbc.ca/eyeopener/episode/2015/09/30/fish-poaching-in-the-oldman-river/

They were busted where the Racehorse dumps into the Oldman. You kind of need to know a thing or two about the area to get yourself to that spot.

I think you hit the nail on the head here. This has nothing to do with the judge. If you want change and stiffer penalties, the legislation needs to get some more teeth. If you really want to make a difference write the Environment Minister. This is headline news at the moment and she will certainly be paying attention (if she knows what's best for her politically).

The story from CBC this morning: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/alberta-anglers-protest-fish-poachers-1.3250170 Love the picture they used of me.

I wonder if we want to collectively put together a package for them that outlines the fisheries they can take from in the area?

There were some conversations about this in Pincher Creek yesterday that I was a part of. It sounds like this may not be the first time this landowner tried to do something of this nature.

I spoke with the F&W guys. They really appreciated us being in attendance, and were certainly gunning for something a bit more severe. Despite everything, we should consider what has transpired over the last 24 hours a huge win. This story got WAY more media attention than it likely would have otherwise, so we certainly won the PR battle. If through this we can raise some awareness, send a clear message to poachers and have some ammunition to go back to the Enviro Minister with...that's a positive.

I'll on be on Calgary Eyeopener in 15 minutes on CBC Radio. I'll share a link once they have one up.

You can see more on the story from the Pincher Creek Voice here: http://www.pinchercreekvoice.com/2015/09/six-lethbridge-men-plead-guilty-to.html The thing that saddens me most is that nearly all of these fish were of spawning age, and most were females.

Folks, I think I have an obligation to tell as much of the story as I can since I was in attendance today: The item was not addressed until near the end of the day. The group that showed up endured nearly 6 hours of cases, and I thank all of them for their patience. At once point the judge even mentioned that there were no more cases on the listing, but there were still so many people in attendance. All 6 individuals entered a guilty plea on their charges. Initially the crown had asked for fines of $1,000 PER FISH (about $5K per person), the seizure of their fishing gear, the cancellation of their licences and prohibition of future licenses for 5 years. These individuals were relatively new Canadians and had very low incomes. The defense suggested that they were fishing for sustenance, and that as first time offenders there should be some leeway. The judge ultimately agreed that while these charges were serious, the sentence needed to be proportional to the individuals in question. It was decided that they would each be fined $1,000, would receive their fishing gear back and would have their licences cancelled for the remainder of the year. It should also be pointed out that this was a first offense. Am I satisfied with the sentencing? No I am not. Do I understand why it went the way that it did? Absolutely. I'm glad I was in attendance, it helped build a tremendous amount of perspective on this issue. I spoke with our F&W friends on the way out, and they greatly appreciated seeing us there to support this. Another great note is that 4 separate media outlets were in attendance, and I did interviews for 7 different outlets today. The coverage on this story will be very broad. Tomorrow morning I will be on CBC Radio for their EyeOpener program at 7:10 to discuss this issue. For those of you that are not satisfied with the outcome (virtually all of us) I strongly urge you to write a letter to your MLA and to the Environment Minister.