Proposed Regulation Changes

[dekkard2019]

The current regulations for the Upper and Lower Kananaskis Lakes is "Open all year - trout (except bull trout) limit 3; Cutthroat and Rainbow over 30cm; Bait Ban". I would like to propose a regulation change for 2011 to state that it should be "Open all year - trout (except bull trout) limit 1; Cutthroat and Rainbow over 40cm; Bait Ban". I believe this will create a high quality fishery.

I have printed out petitions to make this regualtion change happen with your help. If you wish to help me on this I have petitions at Southbow, Fish Tales, Wholesale Sports (Calgary), and Westwinds. If you like you can visit one of these shops and sign your name in support. If you can't make it to any of these locations and still want to contribute, you can send an email to: srd.infocent@gov.ab.ca OR you can send a letter to: Fisheries Management Branch, Alberta Sustainable Resources Development, Great West Life Building, 9920 108 Street, Edmonton Alberta T5K 2M4

I have heard other opinions on what these regulations should state, and find this to be the best approach. It is hard to keep everyone happy. But in the long run I believe this will really help things out. If you have any concerns or opinions send me a PM.

[McLeod]

The current regulations for the Upper and Lower Kananaskis Lakes is "Open all year - trout (except bull trout) limit 3; Cutthroat and Rainbow over 30cm; Bait Ban". I would like to propose a regulation change for 2011 to state that it should be "Open all year - trout (except bull trout) limit 1; Cutthroat and Rainbow over 40cm; Bait Ban". I believe this will create a high quality fishery.

I have printed out petitions to make this regualtion change happen with your help. If you wish to help me on this I have petitions at Southbow, Fish Tales, Wholesale Sports (Calgary), and Westwinds. If you like you can visit one of these shops and sign your name in support. If you can't make it to any of these locations and still want to contribute, you can send an email to: srd.infocent@gov.ab.ca OR you can send a letter to: Fisheries Management Branch, Alberta Sustainable Resources Development, Great West Life Building, 9920 108 Street, Edmonton Alberta T5K 2M4

I have heard other opinions on what these regulations should state, and find this to be the best approach. It is hard to keep everyone happy. But in the long run I believe this will really help things out. If you have any concerns or opinions send me a PM.

 

Sounds like a good idea. Would stocking numbers need to be reduced ? What is the food supply like as I always thought of the lakes as having food supplies ?

[dekkard2019]

I am not sure what will happen with stocking. They have been quite consistent stocking the upper lake. The food supply is good considering the fluctuating water levels throughout the year. Fish grow well in both lakes.

[brownonbow]

I believe it should say unlimited bull trout limit.

 

Before they put the bulls in it truly was a great fishery. Used to catch many rainbows and had an absolute blast as the rainbows actually fight when caught. I find the bulls hit hard and then come in like an old boot.

 

Anyone else think that its time to harvest the bulls??? Are they really endangered? I have talked to old timers that had hunted and fished that lake when there was only a dirt road leading to it and they said they never caught bulls, and I found that interesting.

[monger]

Pretty sure the Bull trout and Cutts were there before the rainbows were delivered in a truck. The interlake dam isolated the fish from spawning habitat in the upper lake so the populations died off. Subsequently the native fish were replaced with stocked rainbows. Recently there was a decision to replace native fish to the Upper lake. Is there not lots of Cutts around in the upper lake that replaced the rainbows?

The Bull population seems like it has plateaued in the lower lake. If you opened the season on the Bulls they would quickly be reduced to very low numbers. They are just too easy to target. In addition, the Bulls don't mature very fast and many would be removed before they had a chance to spawn. I was part of a team that sampled the lakes in the mid-80's. There were VERY few Bull trout around at that time. The major fish population was suckers. Changing the regs to C&R allowed the population in the lower lake to rebound dramatically.

It is a unique area with great chances to catch a rare trophy sized Bull trout. There are few places left in southern Alberta that offer such good odds on catching big fish. I hope they never remove Bulls from catch and release regs. Folks who want some meat should be able to eat some Cutts now instead of rainbows in the Upper lake.

[Jayhad]

Good for you Dekkard I'll swing into one of the stores to sign up

[dekkard2019]

Thanks for the support guys!!!!

[humblefisherman]

Great idea!!! i'm on board with this 100%

[flytyer101]

My dad and Iv'e been talking about this, we are in full support. We talked to the fish biologist when we were there , and he said when they introduced the bulls the suckers population dropped. The reason they are no longer putting the rainbows in is because cutts live longer. All this info was from the fish biologist. Dont get rid of the bulls, they're the reason I go there.

[Harps]

I believe it should say unlimited bull trout limit.

 

Before they put the bulls in it truly was a great fishery. Used to catch many rainbows and had an absolute blast as the rainbows actually fight when caught. I find the bulls hit hard and then come in like an old boot.

 

Anyone else think that its time to harvest the bulls??? Are they really endangered? I have talked to old timers that had hunted and fished that lake when there was only a dirt road leading to it and they said they never caught bulls, and I found that interesting.

 

Hey Jigsaw,

 

I hear that alot... "there are too many Bulls, we need to start wacking them". The "oldtimer" often say that as they are loading their limit of trout into a cooler.

 

Part of the problem is they don't fight really great and they DO compete with anglers for rainbows.

 

Plus most of the old guys weren't around when they first stocked all these waterbodies (horseback trout dumping) and they weren't there to see the massive harvests by folks early on. Look through the archives at the Glenbow museum (http://ww2.glenbow.org/search/archivesPhotosSearch.aspx) to see the sizes trout used to be and the numbers that they caught.

 

I think the populations are still low and declining in some watersheds. With pressure from angling (on predator and prey) it will take some time to see a balance (it may never happen if there is a lot of harvest).

 

Blaming bulls is like blaming suckers (there is a 80 year old study in Alberta's mountain lakes that shows that removing suckers harms trout populations!!). The suckers do take up biomass, but also contribute an important source of food for trout (brodcast eggs and tons of small young suckers). The bulls will take the slow and weak first and most often (suckers, minnows, young trout, injured, etc) leaving resources to be used in the ecosystem. Bull trout and sucker species are integral for these wild trout populations to have somewhat stable and healthy populations (a good ecosystem). The problem is the people (and generally always is).

 

I fully support the reduced harvest and increased size limit (although a slot limit would be cool)!

[alan2]

This pic from the Glenbow that I stumbled on is worth a look. Some technique he has...and he calls it fishing? Looks like daydreaming to me.

 

http://ww2.glenbow.org/search/archivesPhot...;OEH=ISO-8859-1

[cuttbow]

This pic from the Glenbow that I stumbled on is worth a look. Some technique he has...and he calls it fishing? Looks like daydreaming to me.

 

http://ww2.glenbow.org/search/archivesPhot...;OEH=ISO-8859-1

It is my understanding that now the regs are only published once every 2 years and not yearly.Any changes will not be made until 2012 unless declared an emergency and posted.

[dekkard2019]

It is my understanding that now the regs are only published once every 2 years and not yearly.Any changes will not be made until 2012 unless declared an emergency and posted.

 

If that is the case, it is still going to be reviewed. Atleast we are getting the ball rolling here. I picked up most of the petitions and the response and been well received. I have one petition left at Westwinds and will probably pick it up early next week. So, if you still want to participate, you can sign down there.

 

[Conor]

I like K-lakes a lot. But they are good fisheries as they are, and they are super accessible and covered in campgrounds. I think they are a better resource for everyone as they are.

 

I'd love to see them managed as quality fishery, for myself, but they are just too good a resource for the casual anglers.

 

Maybe just one of the lakes managed for quality would be a good compromise. Lower is already a quality lake. Trout numbers could be better. How about low socking and C&R on Lower, and leave Upper as is.

[dekkard2019]

Not a bad idea Conor, but we need to keep it simple. And like I mentioned before, it is hard to keep everyone happy on what they want. I believe that a one trout limit is the way to go.