Once again, we have arrived at Christmas and New Year. I always like to wish those of you that read the blog, holiday greetings and blessings for a new year. Blogging is much different now …
With the boat put away for the winter, the time has come here in Calgary to switch to shore fishing. Winter has arrived indeed, but we are blessed to get those chinooks that break up …
With mild temperatures running into the second week of November, and snow finally blanketing the ground today, I think its time to winterize the jet boat and close the 2024 boating season. Once again, it …
Fall fishing in swing and today we are joined by the best receiver in the CFL, Mr. Reggie Begelton and his teammate Mr. Tre Odoms-Dukes. As most of you know, Reggie is a seasoned angler …
Recently I have seen an increase in poaching on the Bow River while out fishing. Poaching is bad for our fisheries and can cause severe decline in fish populations rapidly. Not only is it against …
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.
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
The Edmonton Boat and Sportsman’s show has come and gone once again this year. I was able to attend this year’s show with the owner of CST Handmade Lures. Bojan, the owner asked me if I would attend with him in his booth, which was both an honor and privilege for me! I booked the Friday off of work and headed north to Edmonton on the Thursday afternoon. Before I made the short two and a half hour drive, I stopped at my friend John’s shop to get my boat out of its winter hibernation. Huge thanks to John for letting me store my boat in his shop once again this winter. I hooked up the Explorer Industry jet boat and headed out of town before rush hour traffic clogged the highway. I arrived in Edmonton at 6:30 PM and dropped my boat off at Explorer Industries as it need some spring servicing; then onward to the Best Western on the West side to check in for the weekend.
I woke early on Friday and headed to the show for 9:30 AM as I wanted to help Bojan set up the displays in the booth and get ready for a huge day of sales, by noon the show was hopping and we started to get many people stopping at the booth. We had a great day sales wise on Friday, selling lots of Domecraft lures, as well as the D-Contact series baits. By the days end, we had great sales and left the show happy and excited for the busiest day, which is normally the Saturday. We went back to the hotel and chatted a little before retiring to bed early, our feet were sore from standing and the voice boxes needed some rest. We awoke Saturday, tired but excited for the day ahead, once again arriving early to set up. We were getting huge complements all weekend on the jerseys we wore pictured here.
Saturday and Sunday were both very busy days, with sales exceeding our expectations. The lures are custom made, hand painted (Airbrushed) lures that twitch when retrieved. They boast fantastic durability as they are clear coated with five coats of clear coat and have a warranty included with every lure purchased. The lures are designed for multi-species applications and deserve a place in your tackle boxes. You can see the full line up of lures here http://csthandmadelures.com/ It was awesome to see everybody at the boat show once again this year!
I picked up the jet boat and headed back to Calgary Sunday afternoon. I was super happy to have the boat back and ready for another season of fun and making memories. I dropped the boat off at Pam and Darren’s place where I store it for the year. Huge thanks to both Pam and Darren for letting me keep my boat at your house again this year. During the week, spring fever set in and I found myself checking the boat launch almost daily. I had three clients coming down from Red Deer this past weekend to do a walk and wade trip with me fishing the banks of the Bow. After checking the boat launch once again this past Friday, I was positive I could get my boat in over the ice ledge that was still not completely thawed out. Mike, Joe and Rob arrived to me waiting for them in the Tim Hortons parking lot with my jet boat attached to my truck. To say they were jacked up to be heading out in my jet boat, as opposed to a shore fishing trip would be an understatement.
We arrived at the launch at 8:45 and got the gear all rigged up and ready for the day ahead. The water was quite stained up from the melting snow we had inner city. I wanted to use lures that rattle and had some bright color to them. I find this most effective when the fish cannot completely see the lure. I got the jet boat over the ice ledge and in the water with no issues and off we went. I jetted up river as far as I could go and pulled the boat off the river in a deep pocket of water, letting the guys cast to the middle of the seam and retrieving into the deep water off the seam. We came up empty after several attempts, deciding to leave that location and head down river. After fishing a few prime locations, Joe finally hooked into a sweet brown that absolutely smashed his Rapala offering. I was super happy that we had one fish on the board. After heading all the way down to the Highwood River junction, and getting some good bites along the way, it was time to jet back upriver. I wanted to fish a side channel of the main river as it seemed we were getting most of our bites in shallow moving water. My hunch paid off shortly after stopping along the bank with Mike hooking a decent brown trout. Shortly after, Joe tagged into a sweet rainbow before we had to close up shop for the day and head back to the boat launch. It was awesome to see some great trout caught and released.
I am ecstatic that the snow has all but melted in Calgary, and the ice is gone off the river south of town. Spring fever has kicked in full affect for me! I will be back out on the River this weekend searching for bruiser browns and monster rainbows. For me, being on the jet boat and fishing an incredible river is exactly what heaven looks like for me. So I raise a toast to open water fishing, watching eagles soar above head, bonfires and camping along the river banks, and let’s not forget personal best trophy trout.
I am excited to announce the premier of season three’s Fishing The Wild West TV show, where I get the pleasure of guiding Wes David along the lower stretch of the Bow River for some of the finest brown trout specimens the river has to offer.
It was an honor and pleasure to guide Wes in my Explorer Industry jet boat in the spring of 2018. After a long wait for this awesome episode to air on cable, the time has finally arrived.
You can view the Bow River brown trout episode on CTV2, The Sportsman Channel, Canadian Sportsman’s Channel and Wild TV this week.
