Hoot Owl restrictions in ES1

[rudedawg]

Just when I thought we'd broken the back of the heat wave ... 

These take effect on Wednesday - tomorrow - 26 July as at 2:00 pm, for a minimum of 14 days.  All streams in ES1, no angling from 2:00 pm til midnight.

https://mywildalberta.ca/fishing/advisories-corrections-closures/time-of-day-angling-restrictions.aspx

 

ps Thanks to the folks at Iron Bow for the head's up on this.

[SilverDoctor]

Thanks for posting

[toolman]

https://www.fieldandstream.com/conservation/fishing-high-temps-doesnt-harm-trout/?fbclid=IwAR1z7Z1LNjPtfUpdoUyqFGS6dLKk7E-ojNfDUA5LRVotrxYsy9W6H6dK3S0

 

https://www.idahopress.com/emmett/sports/fishing-during-low-water-and-high-temps-does-not-harm-trout/article_c9617870-1898-11ee-a216-671027bf6636.html?fbclid=IwAR1z7Z1LNjPtfUpdoUyqFGS6dLKk7E-ojNfDUA5LRVotrxYsy9W6H6dK3S0

 

 

[PassRat]

Interesting. The 70’s and 80’s were as hot and water levels as low or even lower. The was no such nonsense. Albeit a lot less of us as well. I have never seen a fish die unless it was played too long, took too many photos and not returned to the water or resuscitated properly and this applies to any time of the year. High water temps def affect the fish. I would argue it makes them lethargic and not eat as much. I feel the same way when it’s warm. 

[danhunt]

I took a look a look at the link provided by Toolman and it was interesting see that there is some empirical evidence for catch and release mortality to be somewhat offset by reduced angler success.  That said, there are a couple of things that the numbers didn’t touch on that still give me pause - the first is that it seems that there is an assumption that angling (for trout) is always going to be less successful when the water is warmer.  Thats probably fair in general, but exceptions are possible.  The second is that it doesn’t touch on which fish are most adversely affected - if it’s anything like winter and/or summer kill events, it will be the larger fish that suffer the most. 

At the end of the day, it’s hard for a one size fits all rule like this to be meaningful and/or effective over such a large and diverse area as the one it’s being applied to.  That said, I read a quote once (and I may be paraphrasing) that said “a true sportsman does more than is required and takes less than they are entitled to”.

[BowLurker]

Just read the email notice I received over again, and all the reservoirs on the Bow River are also affected, so Ghost - Bearspaw - Glenmore - Bassano and the St. Mary's bodies of water are also under the TOD restrictions. Sheesh...we need a lot more manpower to cover all of those as well! 

I noticed someone casting in the Bow on the way home from work, I parked and took a quick walk down to the angler. He was an older gentleman, that didn't need to buy a licence anymore, and didn't sign up/wasn't aware there were emails or forums that would notify him of shutdowns. He mentioned he had enough fishing/tying materials to last his life and hardly ever went into a fly shop anymore...so how do anglers such as this ever find out about closures?

At any rate, I saw him walking along the bike path with his rod broken down, probably heading back to the car  -  turned out for the best on this one.

[SilverDoctor]

12 hours ago, BowLurker said:

Just read the email notice I received over again, and all the reservoirs on the Bow River are also affected, so Ghost - Bearspaw - Glenmore - Bassano and the St. Mary's bodies of water are also under the TOD restrictions. Sheesh...we need a lot more manpower to cover all of those as well! 

I noticed someone casting in the Bow on the way home from work, I parked and took a quick walk down to the angler. He was an older gentleman, that didn't need to buy a licence anymore, and didn't sign up/wasn't aware there were emails or forums that would notify him of shutdowns. He mentioned he had enough fishing/tying materials to last his life and hardly ever went into a fly shop anymore...so how do anglers such as this ever find out about closures?

At any rate, I saw him walking along the bike path with his rod broken down, probably heading back to the car  -  turned out for the best on this one.

That was a good deed.

[matt1984]

Other than he's breaking the new "rules", what harm would he have been causing fishing yesterday? Water temps are good, flows are reasonable. To be honest, I'd be more worried about the people fishing the river in winter causing damage to trout from the cold. 

Over the next two weeks if someone chooses to fish on days like today where its raining and cool past 2PM good on them. Two weeks ago the river was full of people fishing all afternoon when the water was bathtub warm. We should be making our decisions based on the health of the fish, not what an email says.

[BowLurker]

23 hours ago, matt1984 said:

Other than he's breaking the new "rules", what harm would he have been causing fishing yesterday? Water temps are good, flows are reasonable. To be honest, I'd be more worried about the people fishing the river in winter causing damage to trout from the cold. 

Over the next two weeks if someone chooses to fish on days like today where its raining and cool past 2PM good on them. Two weeks ago the river was full of people fishing all afternoon when the water was bathtub warm. We should be making our decisions based on the health of the fish, not what an email says.

I understand @matt1984 it probably was a perfect water day for the fish. We cannot have it both ways!  

Obviously, there is more to the closures than just making life inconvenient for Bow River anglers, one example is dead fish on the Crowsnest...another is an angler (me!) getting a 66ºF / 19ºC at 9:30AM in a riffle ,which was a shocker for the NW! One more example is a person coming into the shop and bragging about a football Bullie, showing bloody TikTok videos, fought for 30+mins on a 5 weight, then breaking the rod...? I asked if they knew the water temp... 

The examples are endless, and IMO the Daytime was at least 10 days too late. Is the temperature measuring station at Carseland the only way to shut down an entire region? As anglers, do we need to push for a separate 'Eastern Alpine Slopes' region that is based on another few stations out in the woods? As anglers, do we shift to lakes and other regions, if possible?

This year has been epic, and hopefully the Daytimes won't have to be extended with hot weather on the horizon again. I had called a CO already, @matt1984  and I don't call in on a whim. I thought the CO folks were probably super busy, so took a short walk to speak with the angler. IMO, it was the right move.

Fish on everyone! If the local Calgary shops can adapt to the early-bird hours, I'm following suit..now where's the coffee grinder that doesn't have dubbing in it!    

[toolman]

These TOD restrictions have no conservation benefits and causes unnecessary disruption to the majority of anglers in S. Alberta. It also damages the Bow rivers long standing international reputation as a reliable Blue Ribbon trout fishing destination.

[PassRat]

Couldn’t agree more. Although I saw a guy playing a 20 inch rainbow with what looked to be a 3 weight and light tippet. Me, I use 8 lb fluoro on a 7wt and yard ‘‘em in…..education is def needed….

[trailhead]

I was camping down south and they had just put in a fire ban. The conservation officers came by a couple of days later. I spoke to onw of them and she told me that when there are closures of any kind imposed that there is a grace period that they use discretionally. Probably for people like the older gentleman mentioned. 

[PassRat]

No longer 14 days, it is “until further notice”. 

[PassRat]

Is the restriction off now? From the Gov website:Time of Day Angling Restrictions were in effect from 2:00 pm on July 26, 2023 until 11:59 pm on August 18, 2023.

[rudedawg]

Looks like that’s correct. 
 

https://mywildalberta.ca/fishing/advisories-corrections-closures/default.aspx