Quote:
Originally Posted by 1/2 oz Bucktail
There is/are an amazing trout fishery(ies) in Alberta, well above what some would call mediocre where fish over 30 inches are common and no stocking or aeration is required.
What are these magical spaces that I speak of you say?
They are our western streams, creeks and rivers, where at the proper time and location any fisherperson (gear or fly) can tie into the badest mofo of the eastern slopes. Yup the bull trout.
Oh wait bulls are char and not trout. I gues my argument falls.
These fisheries can also be home to amazing grayling, bows (both native and introduced), whites (very underrated), cutts, introduced browns, brookies (the devil, the downfall of flowing water in the west).
Maybe we should focus money, management, and enforcement on our rivers and streams to ensure that we maintain healthy, viable populations of our beloved native fish species. The bulls, grayling, athabows and in some locations the cutties.
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Geez Kyle,
If only we all had our own private fisheries where we could go down, sit below a set of beautiful waterfalls and catch the stupidist fish in the province with little to no skill....Hmmmm I guess access is kind of an issue for most normal people eh?
I'm actually really surprised that you don't see the validity of enhancing our stocking program to offer a wider range of opportunity to cater to a larger crowd. I also don't bother fishing at most socked trout lakes as the stocking rates are way too high and catching 30-40 9" trout in an evening just does not appeal to me. BUT that's just me - there are plenty of people out there who would be tickled pink to be able to catch 30-40 dinkers in an outing. I believe the gov't needs to accomodate the public in a broader fashion, not have to go and create our own freakin' lakes.
I love to fish and support conservation, but being able to take home an 18" trout and throw it on the bbQ with some butter/onions/seasoning is a beautiful thing, that's what we pay for. Albeit, a stocked fish, but I would rather kill a stocked fish than any fish in our streams in western alberta. But i'm sure a purist like yourself would not understand the barbaric need for the occasional protein boost of the pisces variety.
We were succesful last year with our lobbying and got three local lakes in the Hinton/Grande Cache changed to be "quality" fisheries. Bait ban, one trout limit over 40cm. This is what we want...now just need to adjust stocking rates to accomodate some better growth patterns. BUT GUESS WHAT????? There is still Grande Cache Lake, Victor Lake, 2 of 3 Pierre Grey Lakes, Kinky, Wildhorse, Jarvis pond, wildhorse 2, marygregg etc etc. in the immediate local vicinity. These lakes are very accesible to the general public and will cater the the vast majority of folks who enjoy catching lots of small trout. Perfect - both sides win.
Guys, seriously, lobby your local fish bio, even tell him to talk to the bio in Edson - he himself is an avid angler and understands this stuff. We will see some great trout fishing in the future yet, I'm hopeful.