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rudedawg

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Everything posted by rudedawg

  1. I googled Alberta Petty Trespass Act and got to an article summarizing recent changes to the legislation. (https://auma.ca/news/casual-legal-alberta-strengthens-trespass-legislation). Changes in Feb 2020 include increases to fines and clarifying when a landlord is presumed to prohibit access - i.e. doesn't have to post the land as "No Trespassing". "The amendments to the Petty Trespass Act also clarify when notice is no longer required to be provided to a trespasser. The list of areas where notice is now essentially presumed, as provided for in the Petty Trespass Act, includes lawns, gardens, land used for the production of crops or raising of animals, lands surrounded by a fence or natural barrier and lands that are enclosed in a manner indicating the owner’s or occupiers’ intention to keep individuals or animals off the land." So it would seem that where a fence has been set back from the bank, to keep livestock in the field and out of the creek, there is no presumption that the landowner is intending to prohibit access. I'm thinking about Dog Pound upstream of Rge Rd 43 (although I haven't fished that water for several years, so it might have changed since then). Likewise, where a fence is not being actively maintained, is in a condition that would allow livestock to step over the sagging wires and has been like that for a while (I'd say a year at least), there is no presumption of an intent to prohibit access. But all this means nothing if the landowner has posted the land: a sign leaves no room for presumption, it is an express statement of intent, even if the fence hasn't been maintained. Ditto, if a landowner tells you to get/stay off their land, it doesn't matter whether they have posted the land or maintained the fencing. The lack of signage or fencing might give you an excuse for having inadvertently trespassed, but once you are informed of the landlords intent that excuse no longer holds water ... pun intended.
  2. Good to see you strapping the go-pro on again, GBD ... and Deano, shy as ever. Nice prospecting on a not-so-nice day!
  3. My bro-in-law just bought a Panasonic Lumix dmc fz300, which he likes a lot. 4k video, 25-600 mm optical zoom, lots of bells and whistles, weather sealed (splash-proof, not an underwater camera, but I don't think you can get extreme optical zoom in a fully water-proof camera). Looks a lot more practical than my Pentax dsrl with 55-300mm, which is a pretty rugged unit, but a bit too heavy to hang from a neck strap for extended periods.
  4. Yup, no trout to be found in the NW ... nothing to look at here folks, just move along.
  5. "He counted 68 vehicles parked at those spots." Remember, more cars at those spots doesn't always mean more people. Last time I was skiing in the backcountry (mid-March) my buddy and I arrived in separate vehicles, as did the next three skiers. I guess social distancing trumps climate change. Last week I counted 2 dozen cars at a remote access point downstream of Policeman's, a place where 10 cars would be a busy day in normal times. I was prepared for a gong show on the river, but that trailhead accesses 4-5 km of fishable shoreline and I only saw a few other anglers during the day. Nobody in the walk 'n wade community is violating social distancing norms just by choosing to spend a few hours on the water, maintaining a couple of casting-lengths, or more, spacing. Social distancing does not mean solitary confinement. On the other hand, a handful of jet boats passed by that were not solo trips, and I'd have to call that out as "non-compliant" (pretty sure these were not guided trips, though).
  6. I’ve got a dozen or so tomatoes started, six varieties. No luck with peppers, though: even with electric heating pad under the soil trays, 0% germination rate. Anyone know any secrets to starting peppers.
  7. The Flathead is not classified, but outside of your 30 minute window ... and along some active log hauling roads. Wadeable, and classic cutthroat & bull trout water.
  8. I’ve had my share of valet-parking experiences on some SW streams this past year, but not everywhere is overrun by bobber-chucking dog-faced pony soldiers. A thirty minute drive from Calgary and a 2 km hike can still buy you a priceless day on the water. Back in September I was five minutes into watching the feeding pattern of a couple of large cutthroat when I realized that I was being watched by a large grey wolf. He was polite enough to saunter off into the forest once I made eye contact. I don’t even remember whether I caught any fish that day, but will never forget the moment.
  9. There's a clue in the story: "I walked up the creek further". Likely a trib of the Red Deer/Little Red, but folks that fish those small waters tend to be protective of the location of their favourite beats.
  10. My trout rods are TFO and while I've wondered what an $800 - 1000 rod is like, I've never been temped away from the TFO value proposition. The rods caste well, handle large fish, and breakage repair is quick and convenient (car doors, or clumsy, big-footed fishing buddies: never had an on-water break). Being able to go to a local distributor for 10-minute service is a big plus. I also have a 9wt TiCrX salt water rod and haven't ever got comfortable with it. But I'm just a wannabe big rod caster, so I put my TFO 9wt experience down to my lack of skill, or mismatching grain weights for my fly line. Bowbonehead's comment has me reconsidering this: maybe it's the rod. I guess one lesson is test drive before you buy, if you can.
  11. Getting back to the opening theme of this thread ... My season on the Bow was a mixed bag. Not as many fish-to-net as in past years, but most of them were large (18-24") and healthy. Very few small fish. This reflects a change in my approach over the past few years. I used to be a die-hard dry fly fisher. Even if there was no active surface feeding, I would toss attractor patterns while scanning the water for surface action. The result was that I would catch quite a few 6-12 inch rainbows while skating a caddis emerger, often getting surprise hook-ups while retrieving my line, "accidentally" catching dumb juvenile trout while intent on setting up for my next cast. A few years ago my approach started to evolve, after having some heart-thumping success with streamers. That, and a perception that finding pods of surface sipping snouts is becoming more and more uncommon on the Bow - at least during the daylight hours (and my bat phobia keeps me off the water after sunset). So now my go-to technique involves wet-wade streamer swinging, while always keeping a weather eye open for rising fish. This also means that I don't often rig up with full sinking rigs, so I can switch to dry flies without too much hassle. Not the most effective approach for getting streamers down where the fish are holding, but not completely without merit. At least when you are swinging streamers near the surface, you get to see some big swirling refusals that would go unnoticed with a sinking rig. All that being said, I still think my empirical observations support the conclusion that the Bow still has plenty of large trout (more rainbows than browns in my notional creel, but that might be due to my floating rig approach), but the 6-12 inch cohort seems to have suffered a noticeable decline. Overall, even though my fish/day rate has dropped, by biomass my success rate has improved (one twenty inch fish probably has the equivalent mass of a dozen or more juveniles). I guess having fewer, but larger, fish might result in good biomass figures, but is that healthy/sustainable? Is this perceived change in age/size distribution borne out by the electro-shocking surveys? If so, what is the cause? I don't think angler pressure would do this. Probably the opposite. Did the flood change the feeding habits of mature trout? Lots of banged up little fish making for easy hunting in the summer of 2013, training a generation of eager piscivores? Did the flood reduce the quality and quantity of rearing habitat? I used to have a favourite beat near Home Rd that got swept away and replaced by riprap in 2013/14. I've spent some time poking around the NW this fall, and it seems to me that in addition to the riprap wasteland that continues to expand along the left bank of the river, there isn't a lot of natural vegetation in those parts of the riverbed that haven't been flood-proofed. The shallows in the NW are just a large expanse of rock snot. Not much cover for juvenile trout, and it doesn't look like ideal bug habitat. Last fall I saw redds being tended in water that was quite deep and fast-flowing (as compared to redds down below Police): is this an attempt by spawning fish to stay clear of the rock snot? is it a successful spawning strategy? A couple of one-liners to cover the high- and lowlights of my season: - The Bow is changing, and I've had to adopt different techniques to keep up. Still not going to be tossing bobbers anytime soon, though. - The Oldman system is on the verge of angler-pressure crisis. One day on the Livingston was enough for me: fishers at every access point (on a weekday!), battle-scarred trout the new norm. And there's a summer job for someone who wants to provide valet parking at the Gap. - The Elk is facing similar angler pressure issues ... and don't get me started on how BC has hijacked a federal (it's in our Constitution!) resource and made it virtually impossible for most Canadians to fish the Michel and Wigwam. - The mountain tribs of the Bow remain relatively overlooked, but a successful day of fishing usually involves a couple km of bushwhacking and wading to find the honey holes. - I now have to walk further to find the solitude that I'm looking for with my wet-wades, but the day I say I don't enjoy a 30 minute hike to find prime fishing water, it'll be time to hang up my gear and spend weekends watching Bob Izumi catch bass with crank bait.
  12. Hard to get a good image of when the fish doesn't really fit into the net. Here's one that shows the anal fin, but I don't know what you mean by "white mark".
  13. Being colour-blind, I am not very confident in my rainbow vs cutthroat ID. Sometimes the red slash really stands out for me, sometimes not so sure. I landed this beauty last night in a Bow Trib (for details, see South Alberta Fishing Reports and Chat >> SW Streams). I assumed it was a rainbow, because cutthroat don't get that big, do they? But then looking at the photo, I'm not sure. Is that slash below the jaw definitive of cutthroat?
  14. I found this blurb on navigation rules on a Gov Can website. As navigable waters is a federal jurisdiction, seems authoritative. Shore-Line Speed Restrictions When boating in the provinces of Alberta, British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario, Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia, please observe the unposted speed limit of 10km/h (6 mph) within 30 meters (100 ft) from shore. This limit applies on all waters within these provinces except where other limits are posted. These provisions do not apply in rivers less than 100 meters (300 ft) in width Is the Bow less than 100 m in width?
  15. Slush-shoeing at West Bragg Creek, saw a small grasshopper.
  16. Well, how about this for a pot stirrer: Jody Wilson-Raybould for Prime Minister!
  17. How did we make it through the winter before there was youtube?
  18. This is an interesting, if creepy, read on what might lead hoppers to land on water. https://www.ginkandgasoline.com/trout-fishing/horsehair-worms/
  19. WTF is that stuff? http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/calgary/mystery-foam-spewing-bow-river-1.4784120
  20. "Of course I am referring to the 800+ Storm drain Outfalls, that spew untreated storm drain water directly into the Bow, from rainfall that is collected by 60,000 storm drain catch basins in the City of Calgary." This is one area where we can see improvements in how the City is managing a water quality issue: engineered wetlands. From small pocket wetlands that now are engineered into every major road interchange, to multi-hectare regional catchments like the new one just being completed at Bowmont Park, a significant portion of the stormwater is being bio-remediated. Still a long ways to go (and maybe we are "engineering" lots of carp habitat that connects into the river), but it's nice to see some of my tax dollars going towards cleaning up some of the crap my lifestyle creates.
  21. He lived a pretty interesting life, including surviving exposure to anthrax! Here’s a link to an in-depth obit in the NYTmes: https://mobile.nytimes.com/2018/03/14/obituaries/lefty-kreh-a-fly-fisherman-with-few-peers-is-dead-at-93.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fobituaries&action=click&contentCollection=obituaries&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront&referer=https://www.nytimes.com/section/obituaries
  22. This new website is much more user-friendly than the old version - worth bookmarking on your smart phone ... along with this Strathmore Weather Radar site, that helps in keeping an eye on thunderstorm tracks when our mid-summer monsoon season returns: http://weather.gc.ca/radar/index_e.html?id=XSM
  23. A Husky-operated pipeline in the Moose Mountain area ruptured last week, spilling 25,000 litres of crude. An early report indicated that the spill was impacting Cox Hill Creek, which I believe is a tributary of Jumping Pound. Very little follow-up detail the extent of the stream impact. Here's a link to a G&M story: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/report-on-business/industry-news/energy-and-resources/husky-oil-spill-in-southwest-alberta-estimated-at-25000-litres/article34391666/ "Spokesman Mel Duvall said in an email to The Canadian Press that cleanup at the site at Cox Hill Creek west of Bragg Creek is progressing well. But he added the terrain where the leak happened is “very rocky and difficult.”" Doesn't give one reason to be confident that the operator has the situation locked down.
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