Jul 19

The Third Time Is A Charm

The hunt for Brownzilla

We launched out of the boat launch on the after supper special trips I offer and headed down river like any other evening, hopeful and prepared. I tied the Live Sucker X-Rap on for Jeff at the boat launch and Ryan had the Rapala Countdown on the go; two proven hooks to catch monster trout on any day or in this case, any night of the week! I fired the Explorer Industry jet boat up and shot out of the boat launch like a rocket aiming straight for “brown town”. After a short ride I spun the boat around and pointed upriver and instructed Jeff and Ryan to cast their lures close to the bank in the choppy deep water I had stopped at. The top of the run was empty but as we entered the middle of the run, Jeff hooked into a total monster brown, the kind of brown that gets your pulse up and your heart pumping rapidly. I instructed Jeff to keep his tip high up and keep reeling rapidly. Just as Jeff slowed down on the reel, the behemoth brown did the death roll and spit the hook on him. To say I was completely dejected and disheartened would be a great understatement! It took me a good hour to shake off that empty feeling of not getting that trophy to the net. No matter how hard we try, or no matter what our skill level, some fish just outsmart us and get away. We had an incredible evening landing many great trout, and even stopped at this very spot on the way back up to see if he would eat again, but to no avail!

I had another evening trip coming up a few days later, this time Chad was gonna go after some fish. Before arriving at the boat launch, Chad had already tied up an X-Rap in the Rainbow Trout pattern. I rigged another rod up for him and off we went, seeking that same fish a few nights later. Most often, if the holding water is ideal, the fish will stay in that water so I was hoping that we could have a shot at this total tank brownie. Once again, I spun the boat perfectly telling Chad the story of “Brownzilla” on the way down the river. Chad fired his lure into the perfect spot, tight to the bank where the water came from shallow to deep and choppy. It was the perfect cast and low and behold, BOOM. His rod doubled over and loaded up with something huge, I could just tell. The fish came to the top of the water, much like it did when Jeff hooked it, letting me see its tail and body profile before again spitting the hook on Chad. That same empty feeling came over me once again, as I hung my head with frustration. I could not believe that this bruiser outsmarted us twice. Again I stopped on the way back but no way was this fish eating again. Many, many casts were tried before it got dark and we had to call it a night.

The next day brought yet another night trip with Rick and his lovely fourteen year old daughter Trinity. I arrived a little early; Rick and Trinity were already there eagerly awaiting my arrival. I got the boat ready quickly and tied on, take a guess….. A Live Sucker X-Rap for Trinity and Rick chose the Gold Rapala Countdown CD-9. Blasting off, heading for the illusive “Brownzilla”. I chose to head upriver for an hour fishing the ledge and hitting another great spot just above the boat launch with no bites or hook-ups. I hit the afterburners and headed straight for where the monster brown was lurking. I figured it would be worth a shot to try for this amazing fish for at least thirty minutes. I spun the boat around and instructed both Rick and Trinity to cast as close to the bank as possible. Rick fired his hook out first and landed it in the perfect location, close to the bank like I said. Trinity launched her live sucker out and it also landed in a great location in the chop. As I turned my head back to see behind me, and watch Rick retrieve his lure, Trinity piped up and said, “Mike I got one”. I swiveled my head around hurriedly to see Trinity’s rod doubled over hard. Right there and then, I knew it could be “Brownzilla". After Trinity hooked the fish, I wanted her to keep reeling as to keep steady pressure on the fish with the rod tip up. She did a wonderful job as I kept the boat in the perfect position for her, net in hand. After fighting the fish perfectly, I lowered the net and scooped this gorgeous male brown trout in the basket. My heart was racing as I unhooked the Rapala Live Sucker from the trouts upper jaw and snapped a few quick pictures before reviving this beauty male and returning it in the choppy run.

The hunt for “Brownzilla” was finally over, letting me sleep at night knowing this fish was, at last, in my net! An amazing trip and Trinity’s personal best brown trout.

Jun 16

Fathers Day Fishing Trip 2019

It’s a blessing to be a father to a beautiful daughter. Those who are great fathers would know what I speak of. I was super happy my daughter joined Carla and I, on a wonderful father’s day fishing trip. Most often, I am busy guiding the river and my daughter does not get to join me.
It was great that the water had cleaned up and we could make it out for a great day on the water.

I took the puppy dog for the weekend and even he had a great time on the jet boat fishing the Bow River

Happy father’s day to all the readers of the Blog and all my friends who are great dads. Hope you all had a great day !

May 17

Sturgeon Fishing Rattlesnake Country

The Badlands

Off we headed, south of Calgary this past weekend to the Badlands of Medicine Hat in search of what the locals call “Dinosaurs”. Sebastein, Tony and I had made plans for this trip back in late March, to fish for Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) in the South Saskatchewan River system. The Badlands are a type of dry terrain where softer sedimentary rocks and clay-rich soils have been extensively eroded by wind and water. They are characterized by steep slopes, minimal vegetation, lack of a substantial regolith, and high drainage density. They can resemble malpaís, a terrain of volcanic rock. Canyons, ravines, gullies, buttes, mesas, hoodoos and other such geologic forms are common in badlands. Badlands often have a spectacular color display that alternates from dark black/blue coal stria to bright clays to red scoria.

History

A tent city sprang up in the valley of the South Saskatchewan River in 1883 while work crews were constructing a bridge, the only river crossing in the prairie railway system. The valley was also well known to itinerant Cree and Blackfoot who frequented it. Numerous legends account for Medicine Hat’s unique name. Evidence of early native activity is found in the Saamis Archaelogical Site. Located in the valley of Seven Persons Creek, the site is important because of the range of activities represented, the abundance and variety of features and the fact that it has been extensively excavated. Today a gigantic landmark teepee overlooks the site. The badlands is an area with exotic, surreal looking hoodoos carved into the river valley, which look like something taken from a scene in a sci-fi movie.

Continue reading

Apr 30

CHQR 770 Interview With Danielle Smith

https://omny.fm/shows/danielle-smith/poor-fish-habitat-on-the-bow-river

Following our decline in Bow River rainbow trout population last year, (Reports up to 50%) my friend Kris Allen and I have recently started a Facebook Page titled, United River Alliance. We started this group to raise awareness to what we believe is the major cause of the decline to the Bow River rainbow trout population of fish. We have been questioning the main “Smoking Gun” narrative that was published last November from a PhD student citing “Multiple stressors” behind the drastic population decline. Some of these stressors included Whirling Disease, (Which I have NEVER seen signs of). The floods of 2005 and 2013, which I agree had killed off fish as a result of the drastic change in habitat. I saw that bounce back quickly after the 2005 flood but it took longer after the 2013 flood as it was much more catastrophic. It took two years for me to see decent numbers of fish (rainbow trout) caught from floating either Policeman’s Flats to McKinnon Flats, or from McKinnon flats to the Carseland Weir. I was not able to float to the weir in 2013 and much of the 2014 season as the flood completely destroyed the road to the boat launch. I personally think what was published is not the main cause of the decline of the Bow River rainbow trout population.

The article published in November 26, 2018 states he believes “Not much can be done about floods or whirling disease but there are things fisherman and the government can do to limit catch and release deaths”. I personally feel this statement as insulting to both the fish and the anglers catching them. The now gone NDP government had asked for more flood mitigation measures and also let TransAlta Utilities control water levels in the Ghost Dam which I believe led to the major decline in Bow River rainbow trout. This caused an unstable environment and stressed these fish out to the point of death. Ever since TransAlta Utilities started letting out too much water, too fast in early spring in fear of floods, the Bow River rainbow trout population declined.

I also believe there are other factors that have led to the decline which include more birds (Pelicans) which migrate here from California. Improper handling of fish which include having the fish out of the water too long (especially on hot summer days). More poaching which I have personally observed and called in. Once they changed the regulations on the Bow River to ‘Catch And Release ONLY’ and not hiring more Fish And Wildlife officers to police a huge stretch of river, as I suggested they do in the government survey that was circulated prior to the regulation changes, we have seen an influx of poaching activity!

Kris Allen and I have been in contact with our newly appointed Environment Minister Jason Nixon and have expressed our deep concerns towards TransAlta Utilities and the improper discharge of our water in the Bow River basin as well as the Kananaskis River system. Jason has been very receptive to our emails and letters of concern and we both hope to have this serious and detrimental issue resolved as soon as possible. Please have a listen to our interview with Danielle Smith here https://omny.fm/shows/danielle-smith/poor-fish-habitat-on-the-bow-river

All fish lives matter.

~Mike