This week I was interviewed by Michael Short of Let’s Go Outdoors regarding the latest article in the Conservation magazine, which is a publication of the Alberta Conservation association, written by Paul Christensen and Dr Michael Sullivan. We discuss the decline in the rainbow trout population in the Bow River and some possible solutions going forward. There have been several AEP meetings held this past month, where both the biologists, and the river stakeholders (users) are included in the Zoom meetings. Here, we all discuss possible solutions to an ever-increasing problem on the Bow River, which is more angling pressure and a decreasing rainbow trout population.
Several ideas and possible solutions have come out of these important discussions this far, which will hopefully be positive for the Bow River trout populations going forward. The Bow River plays a huge role in tourism, and generates income for guides, hotels, car rental companies and restaurants. Seeing the Bow River collapse would have a massive impact on all these businesses!
Without pointing fingers, as I was taught, when you point your finger at someone or something, there are three pointing back at me! When I am on the river either fishing or guiding, I see fish caught and played out far, far to long. On several occasions, I have pulled off the river for lunch. While getting the lunch from the cooler, I see a boat across the river catch a fish. I pass the lunch to my clients and have a sandwich myself. During the time it takes us to eat lunch and have a drink, the fish the person across the river caught still has not been landed. We are talking ten to fifteen minutes that fish has been played on the hook. In my opinion that is far too long for a fish to be caught, landed then released. This is happening all day, everyday in the peak months of spring, summer and fall. If you have been fishing for any length of time, you know this puts major stress on any fish caught. Biologists and experienced anglers alike will tell you this leads to high mortality rates and is harmful to any trout species. In the peak months of fishing, which we know are July and August, there is normally thirty to fifty boats on the water from Policeman’s flats to the Carseland Weir daily. I will leave it up to you to do the math.
According to many articles published online, good catch and release begins with playing the fish well. Here is a snippet of some best practices I found online through a simple Google search.
“The key to proper catch and release is playing the fish quickly and safely. The longer you play a fish, the more lactic acid is built up in their system and the more they struggle to recover. Playing the fish for over 2 minutes, is generally a bad idea. Trout don’t recover as quickly making them susceptible to suffocation or being eaten by other trout or birds of prey. Play the fish quickly by keeping side pressure on the trout to bring it to the net quickly. Side pressure is turning the tip of your rod to the left or right of the fish to turn its head back towards you. You’ll be amazed how doing this can bring the fish in quicker and with heavier tippet and leader, you can bring them in quickly (under 2 minutes max) for a safe release. *Note the author of the article says under two minutes. That’s a big difference from the ten to fifteen minutes I see happening often!
LAND FISH QUICKLY USING HEAVIER TIPPET
Fish don’t care as much as you think when they see the line. Often you don’t need 5x and 6x or even 7x tippet. You can be just as successful with 2x to 4x. Fishing with heavier leader will allow you to land the fish quicker and keep you from wearing out the fish beyond what it can recover as mentioned above.”
Obviously, there are several other contributing factors as to why the fishery is in a steady decline, as discussed in the zoom meetings, but I never heard this mentioned as a factor. I feel its important to mention. I am by no means perfect, and have made mistakes in the past, but I am continually learning and trying to better myself and educate my clients and friends along our journey. Will I make mistakes again, absolutely I will! As I mentioned in the video with Michael, I am continually asking myself “How can I do my part” to make less of a negative impact on the river as possible. However, wherever I can help in a positive, constructive way, I shall!
~Mike
