Whirling Disease Found Down By Mouth Of Highwood

[SilverDoctor]

- Restricting the spread of WD can be as simple as limiting the use of felt-soled waders and boots by anglers. Spores can remain in damp felt for an extended period of time and could pose a risk for introduction into other systems.

 

It is important that WD is taken very seriously by all parties. We look forward to further comment and guidance from biologists that are working diligently on this file.

I can't help thinking that statements like this can be harmful. It implies that the disease will stop with a knee-jerk banning of felt. All equipment should be cleaned and dried. Fisherman aren't the only way it spreads. There is no talk of atvs, rafters and other users.

[jpinkster]

Maybe it's just the number of big fish has risen and they push the tiddlers out of the lies that most people are targeting? As the fish started to hole up, I was catching a fair number of small (<10") fish left over in summer water.

 

 

Here's a bit of a chicken/egg situation. Why are we seeing so many more fish (anecdotally) in the river? Is it because there is suddenly more food supply in the river or we had a few bumper stock years? Or is it because there are less smaller fish to compete for food? Or is it that there are lots of little fish dying, so bigger fish have an easy meal? From what I've read quantity/size can be really cyclical in a river. Years where there are more fish, there are generally fewer very large fish. Years where there are more big fish, there are fewer fish all together.

 

Don Anderson made a comment a few months ago that I hope won't ring true for the Bow. He said that just prior to the outbreak of WD in Montana a lot of anglers were really excited about how many really big fish they were finding in the river. A year or two after that, the bottom completely fell out. We have certainly had a year or two of more than average large fish being caught (anecdotally). Is the drop coming? I sure hope not.

[fishteck]

Jpinkster:

 

We are not seeing more fish in the Bow River than historical norms, only an increase following the 2013 flood. But not enough re-population to suggest the Bow River has rebounded to historical norms. There would appear to be an increase in very large fish this year that is very unusual. Where the population is substantially lower is in the mid-size fish. The hope is that the abundance of juvenile fish will survive the winter months and grow in size next year. With the presence of Whirling Disease we could see some kill off of juvenile fish which would impact the midsize fish population in coming years.

 

There are many factors at play here - not just Whirling Disease.

[BurningChrome]

I can't help thinking that statements like this can be harmful. It implies that the disease will stop with a knee-jerk banning of felt. All equipment should be cleaned and dried. Fisherman aren't the only way it spreads. There is no talk of atvs, rafters and other users.

Yes, there are other ways for invasives to spread but the science has shown that felts are one of the most effective mechanisms. Then on top of that fly fishermen are probably much more likely to visit multiple water bodies within a short period of time. If you have felts and only use them on one river then there probably isn't much harm in that. Honestly though, there's really no need for felts any more. The first Vibrams I wore were kind of crappy and slippery, but I haven't taken any unplanned swims in the newer ones. Can't say the same for when I wore felts.

[Dangus]

Bron:

I believe your observations are just wishful thinking - hoping that the Bow will recover from years of decline. As you have said, there are pools with large numbers of juvenile fish in them especially in the area downstream of the Highwood. Over the years they have always been there.

 

What is of concern to me and many others who have been around for years is the absence of any number of fish in very good stretches of the Bow. This is especially true downstream of MacKinnons. One could argue that the 2013 flood had an enormous impact of the river downstream of the Highwood. But 3 years is sufficient time for fish to repopulate that stretch of the river.

 

Sure the fish are moving to runs in the river that give them protection from predictors and fishermen alike. Often to mid-river habitat where it is not as easy to catch them. But I would still claim the the number of fish is way down over what we did see in the '90.

Yeah I've heard people talking about the widening of the stream down that stretch. I wonder if because of the last couple weak freshets, the river hasn't had enough oomph to scour out some deeper channels? It's amazing what can be carved when a couple of trees or boulders deposit favourably.

 

Anyways, the uncertainty is another good reason for fisheries to get their *hit together when it comes to lakes. Alberta needs more resources to spread anglers out.

 

Make sure to write it down on your list to santa.

[troutfriend]

Interesting conversation.

 

There are many different pressures and factors driving change in a fishery: dydimo, saprolegnia, fishing over redds, whirling disease, alterations of riparian habitat - new communities proposed/ built in the floodplain, angling pressure, poaching, warm summer temps, cold winter temps, low flows, high flows...floods, the after effects of floods (rip rap), dams, not enough food, too much nitrates and phosphates,weeds, alterations to spawning habitat etc etc . Pick your poison. As to which one(s) are resulting in a change in the fishery is typically very challenging to pinpoint (except from maybe a train load of bunker D falling into a lake or something...).

 

I suspect that most of these factors have been playing a role on this landscape for a long time, layered with a dramatic growth in anglers on the system, more knowledgeable anglers who are better equipped and getting days year round, and environmental impact of a ever growing city footprint (physical and chemical).

 

The fact is that these challenges are here at some level of impact, and we will have to adapt to this reality if we want to continue to enjoy this amazing resource. I agree that as a result of the current uncertainty, there will likely be short term pain for long term gain as they have seen in other affected areas. It will be interesting to see the full extent of WD across the province, then we will have a better idea of the scale of the issue we are facing.

 

Guess I will continue to clean and thoroughly dry my gear between use, that is the new norm.

[trailhead]

I would guess all those factors have an impact. Kind of a Chaos Theory thing.