jasonvilly Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 Go here for all proposed changes. http://esrd.alberta.ca/fish-wildlife/fisheries-management/documents/Proposed2015AnglingChanges-Nov28-2014.pdf Now I think they made a mistake. They have Bowriver (bearspaw to Carseland) listed as PP2 when it should be ES1. But if it is a mistake and they are proposing the changes I think they are then this will mean big changes for the popular floats. see point 2 1) 0 retention for all species 2) fall closure Oct 1- Nov 31 to protect brown trout Although I float and fish quite a bit in these months, I am not against giving the browns a break to do their thing. Interesting however is that they are not doing the same for rainbows in the spring. Which leads me to postulate that they have realized the browns have taken a hit in last couple of years (flood, sapro, low water fluctuations) Quote
Guest bigdirty Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 Zero limit sounds like it should have been done a long time ago. Quote
jpinkster Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 I'm really supportive of all these changes. Anyone that keeps something out of the Bow probably regrets it once they fry it up. While I love October floats, I'm happy to sacrifice them if it means more protection for the Browns. There are plenty of other fisheries to hit up at that time of year anyways. I'm glad to see they are finally doing something to address McGregor and Travers. I knew things had gotten bad there, but I didn't realize it was that bad. Quote
Snouthunter Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 I agree with the changes that could be but I think also a big problem is many actually don't know the regs for the bow see a lot of guys spin casting with bait and guys fishing fish creek during closure so maybe high pressure areas they should add in signage for these individuals. Thank you for posting this some good info on there. Quote
jpinkster Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 It is an angler's responsibility every time they wet a line that they know what the regs are for a given body of water. Signs would be very helpful, but there are plenty of people who still chose to ignore those. We met a CO on the river last year that told us there are two dedicated officers that cover the Calgary City Limits to the Bassano Dam...that's 200 km of river. These new regs are a step in the right direction, but holding anglers accountable is still going to be very difficult. Quote
bcubed Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 Wow. Can't say I'm anything but surprised considering the general attitude towards closing the river in the fall... Glad to see it happening. Also surprised they're going to go full river closure Quote
jgib01 Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 On the positive side, looks like the restrictions are good news regarding reaction to what is happening in those bodies of water. Of course, the bad news is that these are mostly reactive, in response to species being in trouble there in the first place. Quote
RedBeard Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 I agree with the changes that could be but I think also a big problem is many actually don't know the regs for the bow see a lot of guys spin casting with bait and guys fishing fish creek during closure so maybe high pressure areas they should add in signage for these individuals. Thank you for posting this some good info on there. ...but calling RAP on those guys is SO satisfying! Quote
darrinhurst Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 So these are proposed, when would they make it official? 2015 or 2016? Quote
Snouthunter Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 You are right calling them is satisfying.... I have had the pleasure of watching the rap in a boat watching guys then swooping in and ticketing them plus I guess to take their gear too which was quite interesting to watch last year! Quote
Conor Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 While a rest in the fall can't be a bad thing for the fishery, I doubt they have any significant evidence showing fall fishing effort effects recruitment of catchable browns in subsequent years. I expect our guiding industry will push back pretty hard on this. Quote
jpinkster Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 Plenty of other fisheries to focus on in the Fall. October caddis on the Highwood.... Quote
Jayhad Posted February 12, 2015 Posted February 12, 2015 as a guy that fishes the NW this is an awesome change, I get to drift much earlier Quote
SilverDoctor Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 Excellent is all I say... Excellent Quote
bcubed Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 While a rest in the fall can't be a bad thing for the fishery, I doubt they have any significant evidence showing fall fishing effort effects recruitment of catchable browns in subsequent years. I expect our guiding industry will push back pretty hard on this. Anyone in the guiding industry with some credibility will be standing up and cheering for it. While not able to show the direct correlation, I would be hard pressed to find a guide who was happy about the Sapro issue the last few years.. Quote
albertatrout Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 While a rest in the fall can't be a bad thing for the fishery, I doubt they have any significant evidence showing fall fishing effort effects recruitment of catchable browns in subsequent years. I expect our guiding industry will push back pretty hard on this. 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. Quote
Conor Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 Alberta- That's good they have the power to stand their ground. I also don't envy them and was alluding to the poor funding wih my comments. Any insight into the other changes you mentioned? A few people mentioned other opportunities in that period? I feel like I'm out of the loop. Nov in AB doesn't have a lot of options. Given decent weather, I expect the remaining options to be a zoo. Quote
monger Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 How many brown redds are below Policeman's? Seems to me that a closure from Bearspaw to Policeman's would be sufficient to protect spawners. Anyone have access to fall redd counts? Quote
Villageidiot Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 I'd bet we're going to see a very good bow river in the next 3-4 years. Might make it worth fishing below the harveys passage. Quote
bcubed Posted February 13, 2015 Posted February 13, 2015 How many brown redds are below Policeman's? Seems to me that a closure from Bearspaw to Policeman's would be sufficient to protect spawners. Anyone have access to fall redd counts? I've seen a few, but certainly not like the city section. I agree, close it from Deerfoot extender up. I followed up with ESRD for more info but haven't heard back. Seems that this indicated there was to be a public response period, but I don't remember seeing one. Quote
monger Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 Love to see the "science" justifying a closure in the lower reaches. Great idea to protect redds....but is there ANY below the Highwood? How many from Policeman's to the Highwood?. October afternoons can be good for feeding BWOs to sipping rainbows. Management should be backed by some facts. Quote
dino Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 How many brown redds are below Policeman's? Seems to me that a closure from Bearspaw to Policeman's would be sufficient to protect spawners. Anyone have access to fall redd counts? Monger My thoughts exactly. Perhaps it is more difficult to create a new identified boundary hence the overall closure to Carseland? I respect the closure as it will definetly recoop the recently lost brown trout population. It is however unfortunate as October was one of my favorite times to fish the river. The fish have reached maximum mass and the river has reduced pressure at that time. Most outdoorsmen are steelheading and hunting. Dean Quote
jpinkster Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 I love me some Highwood October caddis Quote
bcubed Posted February 14, 2015 Posted February 14, 2015 It sounds like it's a closure from bearspaw to highway 2. Will advise more when I hear from ESRD Quote
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