Glenmore Boat Launch-Try To Remember To Stay South Of The Bridge Guys

[flywiz]

Hey guys,

Unfortunately, at glenmore yesterday, I saw probably half a dozen guys launching boats on the gravel bar to the north of the bridge, and ignoring the sign that says...wait for it... stay off the gravel bar to the north of the bridge.

 

There is lots of room on the south side, and I saw many guys doing that with success, not sure why all these guys felt the need to ignore the sign.

 

I am still more on the side of being indifferent (this will probably change) about the increased boat access issue now, but I thought I would mention this as there is a group of our fellow fly fishers that are trying to increase boat access, and I think if we want access to new boat launches throughout the city, we should respect the existing ones, or we as a fly fishing group are just weakening our position in talks with stakeholders who obviously already have concerns or we would already have access to some of these areas.

 

There may also be fish habitat reasons they want us to stay off the north gravel bar, I'm not sure, but just in case, I think a good idea is to use the south gravel bar, and keep everybody happy.

 

my 2 cents, hopefully this doesn't sound like a john lennon song, it didn't go well for him...

[fishteck]

Flywiz:

I responded to your comments in the MAC access conversation. I cant help but agree that respect is needed. The boat ramp access is important for anglers. I only hope that a respectful approach to river access is taken by all users. Within the City of Calgary, the Parks Department has responsibility for all river frontage regardless of being inside or outside of a designated park. I only hope that all city departments buy into a need to resolve the river boat ramp issue. The fishing community did have access to 5 or more boat ramps in the city a few years back. This has dwindled to only 2 now. During the same period the number of drift boats has probably quadrupled.

[Conor]

Thanks for the reminder. I actually didn't see the sign and launched to the north. All boats were launching there and there was a line of wade anglers south of the bridge. Seemed to make sense.

 

Also saw a cop cruiser driving around down there. Not sure what they were up to, but considering they were not launching, they could have parked and walked out there...

[jpinkster]

This was Friday night:

 

Not sure what was going on. At least it was on the downstream side!

[BurningChrome]

Not sure what was going on. At least it was on the downstream side!

My guess would be someone ditched a stolen car. I see more and more kids smoking weed in their cars at river access points, but I don't think that would end up in having their vehicle impounded unless they also had warrants.

[TroutTracker]

pretty sure folks want to drift under the bridge because there's trout holding there . Although you could always launch below and paddle up - if there's not too many waders.

[fishteck]

Friday was my first float out of Glenmore. I was disappointed to see a total of 6 drift boats being launched upstream of the Graves Bridge. When will recreational fishermen and guides alike start to respect the environment and the law.

 

Many of you are probably not aware that there are plans under way to construct a permanent flood barrier at the Graves Bridge / Heritage Drive site. Although the development plans are not complete, it is possible that the truck / trailer access to the river could be eliminated. It is also conceivable that the barrier could be viewed as a positive way to protect the river bed from excessive vehicle abuse.

 

Considerable time is being spent by a number of organization in the city to obtain more designated boat access points. Concern have been expressed over the general public's lack of respect for the current access points. Could Graves Bridge access be viewed the same way?