Jayhad Posted January 4, 2009 Posted January 4, 2009 Does anyone have a good answer for why most of the waters are closed more then open in Ab? Couldn't we have catch and release only months? I understand closing waters during spawning times but that still leaves us with a lot of the year to fish, I just find it is going to be to long to wait for July 16th, and a 4-6 month window just doesn't seem long enough. So much water and so little time, damn. What are your thoughts? Quote
maxwell Posted January 4, 2009 Posted January 4, 2009 take a drive out and go look at most of the streams that are closed right now.. u coudlnt wet a line even if you wanted too.. the bow the crow and a few others places that u halfto search out on your own.....that are open right now... and they are really the only bodies of water that do not have ice on them... mianly because of bottom drawn dams/water treatment making them icefree... all the other cutty streams n whatnot are frozen completely solid across the top right now so it wouldnt make a difference anyway... and the reason why i figure they are not open during runoff/break up would be cutt/rainbow spawning times.... hope that helps dude. i thikn the regs are set almost perfect for those reasons Quote
cheeler Posted January 4, 2009 Posted January 4, 2009 The streams are closed for safety reasons (no ice fishing through moving waters), so opening them, as Max pointed out, wouldn't make sense. Quote
bigbowtrout Posted January 4, 2009 Posted January 4, 2009 I would like to see the mountian streams open up one or two months earlier for sure. Quote
flyfishfairwx Posted January 4, 2009 Posted January 4, 2009 I would like to see the mountian streams open up one or two months earlier for sure. I think last year two or three people died last year just before the season opened, they were on Small mountain streams, sight seeing and photographing.. keep them closed until the waters recede, or maybe a slot time but then you interfere with some spawning and migration.. Quote
maxwell Posted January 4, 2009 Posted January 4, 2009 ye ai agree with flyfisherfairwx they should remain teh same.. there has bin a few opening days that have teh streams so high they are barely fishable and way more dangerous than the bow or other lower gradient streams in runff(wich are still can be deadly) if u were too open up in early april like some of teh browntrout streams that wouldnt be too bad but the fish would be sluggish..... if u want early season cutties go hit the elk! Quote
jksnijders Posted January 4, 2009 Posted January 4, 2009 I think last year two or three people died last year just before the season opened, they were on Small mountain streams, sight seeing and photographing.. keep them closed until the waters recede, or maybe a slot time but then you interfere with some spawning and migration.. I remember hearing that... I believe someone drowned in Racehorse last year wasn't it? Quote
flyfishfairwx Posted January 4, 2009 Posted January 4, 2009 I remember hearing that... I believe someone drowned in Racehorse last year wasn't it? yes Racehorse and someplace else also. If you need to fish early then hit the Bow, and fine tune everything and I will tell you when it is safe to go in the mountains .. Quote
jksnijders Posted January 4, 2009 Posted January 4, 2009 I don't even waste the trip out there before runoff's subsided. Usually the first couple weeks in July at the earliest. I'm also a firm believer that the entire area out there is unsafe. And accordingly, everyone else should stay away... Quote
maxwell Posted January 5, 2009 Posted January 5, 2009 yea the livingstone was the other spot i belive were the other person died Quote
Conor Posted January 5, 2009 Posted January 5, 2009 Bulls spawn in the fall. Cutties (and bows) spawn in the spring. The rivers are frozen between those times. Add run off safety concerns in there and you've covered off pretty well all of Sept-July. So unless you want to risk your life fishing a frozen or blown out river, or disturb threatened salmonids while they're spawning/hatching, you probably wouldn't be fishing them anyway, whether they were open or not. I don't think we are missing all that much fishing up there the way the regs are. Keep in mind, too, that it is not feasible to change the regs for variations in climate/seasons. They need to be sure that the months they block off will cover the earliest that Bulls might spawn and the latest that cutties might spawn. Quote
Taco Posted January 5, 2009 Posted January 5, 2009 In some systems bulls are now proven to be late summer/early fall spawners being basically done by the first week of October. That said, I know of 2 tailwaters down here that I wouldn't mind seeing open to winter fishin' Quote
DonAndersen Posted January 5, 2009 Posted January 5, 2009 Guys, Many trout streams are closed as a result of the East Slopes Regulation changes. The biologists wanted to protect the fish that were in their overwintering pools from anglers targeting them. Could clean out a river population quite quickly. If the water were open, the Fish Cops would have to check out anglers. So it's two issues - biological and enforcement - angler safety has nothing to do with it. In my area, I lost the opportunity to fish Prairie Creek, Main Ram, Shunda Creek and on and on. I wasn't happy. catch ya' Don Quote
maxwell Posted January 6, 2009 Posted January 6, 2009 In some systems bulls are now proven to be late summer/early fall spawners being basically done by the first week of October. That said, I know of 2 tailwaters down here that I wouldn't mind seeing open to winter fishin' u and me both dude! love them 2! Quote
proflytyer Posted January 6, 2009 Posted January 6, 2009 my thought on it is the spring and fall spawners. Quote
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