Showing posts with label warm water. Show all posts
Showing posts with label warm water. Show all posts

Wednesday, August 5, 2015

Anglers urged to follow safe fish handling procedures

Photo, courtesy Alberta Environment & Parks

Anglers urged to follow safe fish handling procedures

by Alberta Environment & Parks, July 31, 2015

Ongoing hot weather combined with low water levels are resulting in high water temperatures in rivers and streams across Southern Alberta.

There is an increased risk to fish populations resulting from the stress of current conditions combined with catch and release angling. Until conditions improve, Albertans are encouraged to follow safe handling procedures to minimize fish mortality.

While anglers should be mindful throughout the Southern Alberta region, extra caution should be taken in the following areas:
  • Castle River and tributaries from Highway 3 upstream to Westcastle River;
  • Oldman River from Racehorse Creek downstream to Oldman Reservoir; and from Highway 2 near Fort Macleod downstream to Highway 3 in Lethbridge;
  • Crowsnest River from Crowsnest Lake downstream to Oldman Reservoir;
  • Belly River downstream of Secondary Road 800;
  • Waterton River downstream of Waterton Reservoir;
  • St. Mary and tributaries downstream of St. Mary Reservoir;
  • Sheep River from Gorge Creek downstream to Highwood River;
  • Highwood River from Kananaskis Country Boundary downstream to the mouth of Bow River; and
  • Bow River from the Western Irrigation District weir to Bassano Dam.
To minimize risk to fish in Southern Alberta, anglers are encouraged to be mindful of the following angling practices:
  • Fish in stocked ponds and lakes;
  • Fish early in the mornings; and
  • Minimize handling time and release fish as quickly as possible.
Alberta Environment and Parks staff will continue to monitor water levels and temperatures and may consider initiating angling restrictions if necessary.

Friday, July 3, 2015

Hoot Owl Fly Fishing - 12 Midnight to 2:00 pm Only


Seasons of Brown Trout - Summer Drought from JensenFlyFishing on Vimeo.

Jensen Fly Fishing writes: "In the video above – we are at the place of fish struggling to find oxygen, to find a comfort zone. We are well into drought and the heat is having impact. Fast forward to 3:55 of this video and that’s exactly where we are. (PLEASE NOTE: drought similarly impacts all trout, not just brown trout)."

Hoot Owl Fly Fishing - 12 Midnight to 2:00 pm Only

Our current hot dry weather and warm water conditions are generating many posts about the state of the fishery in our local waters, as well as those further afield.

A post earlier this week on Moldy Chum featured a video from the Truckee River in Northern California/Nevada where local fly fishers banded together to launch their own "hoot-owl" closures - no fishing from 2:00 pm to midnight.

Today, officials in Montana imposed mandatory "hoot owl" closures on a number of rivers, including the Blackfoot, Bitterroot, Clark Fork, Big Hole, Jefferson and others. 

Over on Vancouver Island, the B.C. government today issued fishing bans on rivers from Bamfield to Victoria on the west coast, and from Campbell River to Victoria on the east coast. 

Closer to home, we have:

"TUC Concerned About Low Water and Rising Temps" from Trout Unlimited Canada | http://bit.ly/1LNAkQD

"Consideration: Warm Water Angling Restrictions on our Trout Streams" from Alberta Fishing Guide Magazine | http://bit.ly/1NCWUJg

and good advice from Fish Tales Fly Shop as their contribution to this week's "Alberta Fishing Forecast July 2 – 5, 2015" | http://bit.ly/1CQYTE4
 
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