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A few weeks ago I was floating the Elk River in Fernie with my dad's buddy who has been a guide on the Bow, and the river systems around the Fernie area for the last 30+ years. We had 2 of the best days we've ever had dry fly fishing on the Elk and easily one of the best dry fly days of my life. Period. At one point during the day we got to chatting about the CW licensing system in BC and how difficult - and somewhat expensive it is - for an AB angler to get unguided days on the Elk and some of the other incredible smaller water systems in the area. I mentioned how I felt that some AB river systems had changed so much over the years with crowds, campers etc. and how much the fish populations & over-all health of the fish/river had changed as well. Not all for the better. I feel BC's CW licensing system has a great deal to do with how well the Kootenay river systems are managed & that AB could benefit from something similar to make sure our trout fisheries stay in good shape for future generations. So my first question is this; what are the pros/cons of a CW licensing system in AB? We continued to chat about this topic as we floated the Elk that day and got to chatting about the benefits of a 'ski-pass' like CW licensing system for rivers in the Kootenay zone - i.e. pay $250 and get a seasons pass to the Elk, Michel & Alexander Creek for example, or for a longer period of time, say 5-10+ days. We both agreed it would be best if it was a fly fishing only licensing system, that it was likely to increase traffic on the more popular systems, but could be set up with close support from outfitters and guides in the area to make sure it worked for all of those who rely on those river systems to make a living. This leads me to my second question; what are the pros/cons of this 'ski-pass' like licensing system? Very interested to hear the communities thoughts! RW

Hey Guys, I was fishing in the Oldman at Maycroft today and lost my friends ski pole that i was using as a wading staff. If anyone finds it, I'll have a reward for it. It was my friends and I'd love to return it. It wash downstream from the second parking area. Thanks Allan

There have been a lot of conversations about OHV use this week. There have been some great conversations on this forum and in various social media spaces (some of the dialouge on FaceBook spaces like The Crowsnest Journal and Alberta Fly Fishing have been particularly interesting. Check out the latest blog post from the Oldman Watershed Council: http://oldmanwatershed.ca/blog-posts/2016/1/28/ohvs-and-the-owc-where-do-we-stand For the OWC the bottom line is watershed health, so hearing their perspective is especially interesting.