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11-23-2018, 10:01 AM
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Central Alberta
Posts: 1,807
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Good things lead to better things
Folks,
Did part of my annual redd walk where I pick a section of Stauffer Creek and walk it during early November to determine the number of redds and therefore the possibility of increased brown trout populations.
I divide the stream into four sections and today I walked the section from the Lazy M upstream to the bridge.
I am pleased to report that someone removed the beaver dams along this section thereby allowing browns to utilize the traditional spawning habitat. From a low two years ago of only 12 redds, the beaver dam removal resulted in an increase to 36 redds in this section. Only nine below the removed dam shown bellow and the rest above it. There were some sections where the redds are so close together that counting was difficult. In this case, I error on the low side. No point in being too optimistic.
This redd located along where the dam was located humored me. A fishery screw you.
Regards,
Don
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11-23-2018, 01:53 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Edmonton, AB
Posts: 527
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Great news indeed, sir.
__________________
God grant me the Focus to Visualize myself catching fish, the Faith to believe that I will, and the Wisdom to keep the freezer stocked with hamburgers and hot dogs
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11-23-2018, 04:26 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Calgary
Posts: 2,736
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Excellent news, thanks for the report.
__________________
Often I have been exhausted on trout streams, uncomfortable, wet, cold, briar scarred, sunburned, mosquito bitten,
but never, with a fly rod in my hand have I been in a place that was less than beautiful.
My blog - casting on the waters
fishing regulations and facts on fish handling
Fishing Regulations
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11-23-2018, 08:41 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 1,022
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Great news!!!
Sounds like my bitching to the ACA earlier this year about dam removal may have actually helped. At that time, they claimed it was not their responsibility...that it was TU central chapter?
I hope they removed the "builder" of those dams too....
Don...did they take out the one just u/s of the bridge too?
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11-23-2018, 09:24 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2017
Posts: 90
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Great news!!! Thanks for the updates
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11-23-2018, 10:39 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Central Alberta
Posts: 1,807
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Quote:
Originally Posted by flyrodfisher
Great news!!!
Sounds like my bitching to the ACA earlier this year about dam removal may have actually helped. At that time, they claimed it was not their responsibility...that it was TU central chapter?
I hope they removed the "builder" of those dams too....
Don...did they take out the one just u/s of the bridge too?
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You can rest assured if the ACA says they are not doing something, they don’t.
I have no idea who removed the dams.
I don’t know of fbs status of other dams or beaver control.
Don
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11-23-2018, 11:16 PM
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Join Date: Aug 2013
Posts: 1,022
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Don...the one I was thinking of was the one no more than 50 yards upstream of the bridge...It had been there since last fall (2017)
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11-24-2018, 09:27 AM
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Join Date: Oct 2008
Posts: 135
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Great to hear. Those beaverdams really do a number on the stream flow and trout travel. Not sure what the answer is in regards to the beavers. Seem to be difficult to remove the dams, beavers rebuild them quickly.
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11-25-2018, 10:38 AM
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Cochrane
Posts: 739
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Any trappers around? Their time is probably worth more than beaver pelts I guess
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11-26-2018, 01:32 PM
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Join Date: May 2016
Location: Calgary
Posts: 544
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Sorry what is a REDD?
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11-26-2018, 02:17 PM
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Join Date: Mar 2010
Location: Calgary
Posts: 2,736
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Roderek
Sorry what is a REDD?
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A red is a spawning bed that a Trout makes by cleaning the gravel, you can easily recognize it by lighter areas on the stream bottom in pea gravel areas. Don't Tread on Redds.
__________________
Often I have been exhausted on trout streams, uncomfortable, wet, cold, briar scarred, sunburned, mosquito bitten,
but never, with a fly rod in my hand have I been in a place that was less than beautiful.
My blog - casting on the waters
fishing regulations and facts on fish handling
Fishing Regulations
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11-26-2018, 03:24 PM
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Join Date: May 2016
Location: Calgary
Posts: 544
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Lornce
A red is a spawning bed that a Trout makes by cleaning the gravel, you can easily recognize it by lighter areas on the stream bottom in pea gravel areas. Don't Tread on Redds.
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Thanks the picture makes way more sense now.
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11-27-2018, 10:10 PM
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Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Central Alberta
Posts: 1,807
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An update
Took another walk today looking for redds in the Buck for Wildlife area. Starting <> 600 yards east of the parking lot I wandered upstream checking out the usual spots. Well, it took a while to find the first one. From year to year, the browns will often use the same locations. Such wasn’t the case for the first several hundred yards. Then I found a possible. Occasionally, browns will try a spot and find it not to their liking. These trials redds often do not contain the large rocks at the upstream end indicating a rejected location.
Then I found a real one and within a short distance another. In one stretch of 50 years there was four.
The walk ended with eight redds found which is far better than the two I found two years ago and certainly down from sixteeen found about ten years ago. Whether this indicates normal is unclear.
I never check upstream of the Buck for Wildlife parking lot to the Lazy M any longer as there has never all been more than two redds in this location. Upstream of the Lazy M is a far more important spawning area.
I then checked two short previously used spawning areas.
Just below the culverts on the west property line of Stainbrookes site yielded four redds which is typical. Further upstream, downstream of the culvert on the Leavitt site often has redds but there were none.
So ended today’s redd check.
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