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| Photo, Calgary Herald. A trout lies washed up on Memorial Drive near the Peace Bridge last month. Provincial fisheries staffers and volunteers managed to rescue 5,000 stranded fish. |
Friday, July 12, 2013
Scientists say fish loss could be significant
Looking back along the Bow River - 2012 Season
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| Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All rights reserved 2012 |
Fly fishing in comfort, with curious fishing dog. LAST YEAR. June 2012 #bowriver
Back Cast Flood Relief Benefit Film Night - Jul 19
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| Click directly on post for larger 768 px image |
"Back Cast Flood Relief Benefit Film Night"
This event will be an opportunity for local fly fishers to come together in support of fellow Albertans in the Bow River watershed who have been impacted by our Alberta Flood 2013.
Net proceeds will be donated to The Calgary Foundation - Flood Rebuilding Fund.
http://www.thecalgaryfoundation.org/initiatives/flood-rebuilding-fund
Bring some extra coin! You might leave with more than you came with, thanks to our supporters and sponsors!
This special event will include the screening of several ‘blue ribbon’ fly fishing films.
Our evening will open with guest speaker
Brian Meagher, Provincial Biologist,
Trout Unlimited Canada - Bow River Chapter.
“Floods and Fish – Short-Term Loss, Long-Term Gain”
More information and ticket purchase here: http://backcastfloodrelieffilmnight.eventbrite.ca/
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Returning to Rivers
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| Click on photo for larger 980 px image |
Returning to Rivers
from Calgary Outdoor Centre-University of Calgary
As the waters recede, basements start to dry and our communities begin to recover after the largest flood in memory, paddlers across the province are starting to get back on our rivers and waterways.
With roads closed and many bridges still out, the paddling community is left with large gaps in our knowledge of river runs that only weeks ago we knew like the backs of our paddles.
At Paddle Alberta we are looking forward to getting on the water and discovering these new changes, but before we do we are taking care to make sure that safety is our primary concern.
We urge all paddlers to return to the rivers when levels are safe, but to treat every run like it is your first time out. Expect big changes in the water province wide, even your local run could be very different from the last time you were out.
This is a time to collaborate and share knowledge. If you paddle in Alberta, please share any information you have on changes with Paddle Alberta, Alberta White Water Association, Paddling ABC and other organizations that can spread the news within our community. Take pictures, write notes and be safe.
Let’s return to the rivers with the knowledge we need to recreate, teach and learn the safest way we can.
Returning to the River,
Finlay MacNeill
Paddle and Cross Country Ski Programs Coordinator
The University of Calgary
Outdoor Center
Vice President Paddle Alberta
Looking back along the Bow River - 2012 Season
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| Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All rights reserved 2012 |
Red-winged Blackbird. LAST YEAR. June 2012 #bowriver
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Tuesday, July 9, 2013
Bow River Flow Rates - Post Flood 2013
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| Click directly on graphs for larger 1200 px images |
Bow River Flow Rates - Post Flood 2013
The flow rate at 11:00 am today (Tues July 09, 2013) at Calgary was 309 cms.
It may have been wishful thinking, but we think we could see a little bit of the colour green, coming through the grey/light brown colour of recent days.
In a recent report, Fish Tales Fly Shop writes:
"- In 2005 float trips resumed the first week of July with water levels between 220 and 295 cms (Calgary Station) and fishing was very good with some of the largest brown trout of the year caught.
- Similarly, in 2012 we experienced very high water during early July. All float trips were canceled until July 4th when we did our first float trips which turned out to be very good again with big brown trout being the highlight of those early days back on the river. At that point, the river was running at 323 cms (Calgary station).
We are putting this information out there to give people an idea of what we have to wait for, water level wise, in the coming days. Obviously safety continues to be the primary concern once the flooding is down. Once water levels drop we will make decisions about trips once our guides have been able to spend some days on the water exploring the “NEW” river. We will only start to float once it is safe to do so and access can be determined."
Read more here: http://bit.ly/1a9NrX2
Looking back along the Bow River - 2012 Season
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| Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All rights reserved 2012 |
Monday, July 8, 2013
It's foolish to think worst flood is behind us
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| Photo: John Gibson Getty Images. Houses damaged along the edge of Cougar Creek are shown in Canmore. Widespread flooding caused by torrential rains washed out bridges and roads prompting the evacuation of thousands |
It’s foolish to think worst flood is behind us
"Jerry Osborn says he and other university teachers of applied geology annually cite Canmore's Cougar Creek subdivision as one of the best examples in the world of inane mountain development"
By Jerry Osborn, Calgary Herald July 6, 2013
How big a flood does it take to inspire homeowners to plant signs protesting insurance-company policies, to generate arguments over whether the Stampede should proceed, and to produce such outpourings of community spirit that Herald columnist Kevin Brooker is almost euphoric about living in the flood zone?
In the case of the Elbow River, a pretty big one. In the case of the Bow River, a not-so-big one.
Read article here: http://bit.ly/12T2JgK
Looking back along the Bow River - 2012 Season
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| Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All rights reserved 2012 |
Sunday, July 7, 2013
'Ode to the Bow' by Jim McLennan
"Ode to the Bow" by Jim McLennan, McLennan Fly Fishing
Maclean's Magazine, Special Edition - The Great Alberta Flood - June 2013
'As a fly fisher with an enduring love for the Bow River - provider of trout and maker of memories - Jim McLennan is also optimistic it will recover from its most recent trauma, and return to its great and gentle self.'
Read Jim's article 'Ode to the Bow' in this special issue mag. We picked up our copy at our local Safeway magazine rack.
Calgary Turkish Festival - July 5-7, 2013
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| Click on poster for larger image |
Calgary Turkish Festival - July 5-7, 2013
Performances include whirling dervishes, folk dancers and singers. Traditional food and drinks, including Turkish coffee, donair, shish kabab, baklava and more.
Read more here: http://www.calgaryturkishfestival.com/
Well, we pretty much missed this one. That's what happens when you don't diarize things properly.
However, if you have no other plans for late afternoon/evening today, you can still catch the closing events. It runs until 10:00 pm.
Sunday - July 7, 2013
15:30
Folk Dance Instructions
15:50
Murat Toy
17:30
Seven Seas Dance Group
18:00
Whirling Dervishes
18:30
Murat Toy
Looking back along the Bow River - 2012 Season
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| Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All rights reserved 2012 |
Saturday, July 6, 2013
Looking back along the Bow River - 2012 Season
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| Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All rights reserved 2012 |
SUV and drift boat trailer heading downstream. LAST YEAR. June 2012 #bowriver
Friday, July 5, 2013
Back Cast Fly Fishing Film Festival 2013 - Epilogue
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| Photo, copyright Bow River Shuttles. Calgarian Kyle Snarr, Team Member, Canadian Youth National Fly Fishing Team accepting a cheque from Michelle Magotiaux of Bow River Shuttles, organizer and presenter of Back Cast Fly Fishing Film Festival. |
Back Cast Fly Fishing Film Festival 2013 – Epilogue
It took a bit of time, but we finally caught up with Kyle Snarr. Based in Calgary, Kyle is a Team Member with the Canadian Youth National Fly Fishing Team.
We were pleased to present him with a cheque in the amount of $1,996, payable to Fly Fishing Team Canada.
These funds represented the net proceeds of my 2013 Back Cast Fly Fishing Film Festival.
The money will go towards the Youth Teams’ upcoming trip to the World Youth Fly Fishing Championship in Ireland, July 21-26, 2013.
This year’s event was a ‘sold out’ success, and we’ll like to sincerely thank all the attendees who come out and supported us.
Thanks also to so many others who contributed in various ways.
To the “Friends of Back Cast FFFF” who joined us with their display booths:
- Calgary Hook and Hackle Club
- Calgary Women Fly Fishers
- Casting For Life
- Trout Unlimited Canada
- Bow Habitat Station
- McLennan Fly Fishing
- Canadian National Fly Fishing Championships & Conservation Symposium
To the “Supporters of Back Cast FFFF” who contributed:
- Spolumbo's Fine Foods & Deli
- Fish Tales Fly Shop
- Country Pleasures Fly Fishing
- Peiroway Rod Company
- Bow River Troutfitters
- The Fishin’ Hole
- Calgary Hook & Hackle Club
- Patagonia
- Wholesale Sports Outdoor Outfitter
- McLennan Fly Fishing
- Bow Habitat Station
- Hyde Drift Boats
- Trout Unlimited Canada
- Canadian National Fly Fishing Championships & Conservation Symposium
To the fishing retailers who stocked event tickets:
- Fish Tales Fly Shop
- Country Pleasures Fly Fishing
- Bow River Troutfitters
- The Fishin’ Hole
- Westwinds Fly Shop
And last but certainly not least, the film makers who gave us permission to screen their films:
- Daniel Göz and Anton Hamacher (Gaula – River of Silver & Gold)
- Catch Magazine (The Best of Catch Magazine)
- RA Beattie (Bird Chasers: The False Albacores)
- Finback Films (Low & Clear)
Thursday, July 4, 2013
Calgary volunteers wade into flooded areas to rescue dozens of stranded fish
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| Photo, courtesy Jen Gerson/National Post. Alberta government teams use electrofishing to safely capture fish trapped by the receding flood waters of the nearby Bow River. They throw an anode that looks like an egg beater into the water in Bowness Park. An electric current is then sent through the water, which temporarily stuns the fish and forces them to move toward the boat. A second government scientist then catches the fish with a net and puts them in a tub where they're promptly transferred to the Bow River. |
Calgary volunteers wade into flooded areas to rescue dozens of stranded fish
by Jen Gerson, National Post, July 01 2013
Wearing beige hip waders and baseball hats, Nicole Goerlitz and Gene Aquilini carry a blue plastic tub filled with about two dozen stunned freshwater fish, most of them no longer than the length of a hand.
Dipping the tub into the water, they slowly splash cold water from the still-too-fast Bow River. They grab the fish — mostly White Suckers — one by one, wake them up with a wiggle and watch as they make a mad dash for deeper, cooler waters.
“If I were here fishing and I caught one of these, I would be very unhappy,” said Ms. Goerlitz, a teacher. “But every fish counts.”
Read article here: http://bit.ly/15cfzYe
Kananaskis Closed Areas (including highways) July 03 2013
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| Click on map for larger image |
Kananaskis Closed Areas (including highways) July 03 2013
More info here: http://bit.ly/13meMpK
Flooding causes mental damage, too
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| Two men use a fishing boat to rescue residents from a High River neighbourhood on June 20 after the town was completely evacuated. Photo, courtesy Global News.ca. |
Flooding causes mental damage, too
By Karin Klassen, For the Calgary Herald July 1, 2013
The thing about floods, is that there are a lot of them. They are the most commonly occurring type of natural disaster, with expectations that with global warming, whatever the cause, there will be a trend in so-called flood events even in the relatively short term.
While this is not great news for anyone living in a flood plain or on a coast, it's been a field day for social scientists gathering the flotsam and jetsam of data. Rates of increase in anxiety disorders, depression, PTSD, and how to avoid all of these issues after the water dries, has been the main focus of these studies. Included in the range of symptoms are disrupted sleep patterns, relationship issues, aggression, discrimination, alcohol use and "sucidal-ity."
Read story here: http://bit.ly/14oGyib
Looking back along the Bow River - 2012 Season
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| Photo, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All rights reserved 2012 |
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Access - Bow River boat launches - Flood 2013
Access - Bow River boat launches - Flood 2013
We've been reporting on boat launch conditions with photos and a few video clips. However, it occurred to us that we've overlooked the issue of access to the launches. The short answer, at the time of this writing, is that there is no access. To any of them.
There is no gate to the Glenmore Trail/Graves Landing boat launch. However, the entire area surrounding the launch area has been closed. The street leading to the launch (Heritage Drive SE) is blocked. By red saw horse traffic barriers, and for good measure, by huge cement blocks.
There is a gate to the boat ramp at 22X/Fish Creek Park. And it's signed and locked.
There is no gate to Policeman's Flats. There is also no road. And for that matter, one could argue there is no Policeman's Flats.
The gate to McKinnon Flats is locked.
There is no gate to Legacy Island. However, there are currently several obstacles in the way.
1. Big pile of silt blocking the road, as a result of the mainland land owner clearing the road to his cabin.
2. New silt and mud on the approach to the side channel.
3. A fast flowing side channel, last time we were there.
4. A number of large downed poplar trees blocking where the road used to be.
5. Can't see beyond the wood. Maybe other obstacles?
The gate to Carseland boat launch is signed and locked.
Doesn't really matter. For the time being, the road/earthen dam leading to the boat launches on Johnsons Island has been washed out.
That new river channel is visible in the middle of this photo, just to the left of the green sign "Entering Wyndham Carseland Provincial Park".
We've been reporting on boat launch conditions with photos and a few video clips. However, it occurred to us that we've overlooked the issue of access to the launches. The short answer, at the time of this writing, is that there is no access. To any of them.
 |
| Glenmore Trail/Graves Landing. All photos, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All rights reserved 2013. Click on photo for larger 1024 px size. |
There is no gate to the Glenmore Trail/Graves Landing boat launch. However, the entire area surrounding the launch area has been closed. The street leading to the launch (Heritage Drive SE) is blocked. By red saw horse traffic barriers, and for good measure, by huge cement blocks.
 |
| 22X/Fish Creek Park |
There is a gate to the boat ramp at 22X/Fish Creek Park. And it's signed and locked.
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| Policeman's Flats |
There is no gate to Policeman's Flats. There is also no road. And for that matter, one could argue there is no Policeman's Flats.
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| McKinnon Flats |
The gate to McKinnon Flats is locked.
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| Legacy Island |
There is no gate to Legacy Island. However, there are currently several obstacles in the way.
1. Big pile of silt blocking the road, as a result of the mainland land owner clearing the road to his cabin.
2. New silt and mud on the approach to the side channel.
3. A fast flowing side channel, last time we were there.
4. A number of large downed poplar trees blocking where the road used to be.
5. Can't see beyond the wood. Maybe other obstacles?
 |
| Carseland/Johnsons Island |
The gate to Carseland boat launch is signed and locked.
Doesn't really matter. For the time being, the road/earthen dam leading to the boat launches on Johnsons Island has been washed out.
That new river channel is visible in the middle of this photo, just to the left of the green sign "Entering Wyndham Carseland Provincial Park".
Flood of 2013 is certain to alter city and the river
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| Calgarians have had a tense relationship with the Bow River ever since the city's earliest days - including 1915, when flooding damaged this wooden bridge. Photo, courtesy Matthew Evenden. |
Flood of 2013 is certain to alter city and the river
By Matthew Evenden, Calgary Herald June 28, 2013
Floods upend the world we know, our habits and our homes. Things are taken away, foundations shift and the power goes out. Lives are lost. Many southern Albertans know about this in a visceral way that I do not. As the water begins to recede on the Bow River this week, however, many people understandably search for meaning. One way to do that is to think about flooding in historical perspective.
Although the 2013 flood will go down as the largest flood in living memory, with the widest social impacts, the Bow has risen throughout its history. Float a canoe east of Calgary and you pass high cut banks, dotted with holes for nesting birds, which reveal the outlines of past surges of water and sediment that carved the valley over centuries.
Read article here: http://bit.ly/19K5oLz
22X Fish Creek Park - Bow River boat launch - Flood 2013
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| All photos, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All rights reserved. Click on photo for larger 1024 px image |
NOTE: During the height of the flood (June 21/22), the water level was higher than the top of the bank, and covered part of the parking lot.
Photos 1 & 2: Boat ramp, facing downstream, approx south. The Hyw 22X bridge is in the distance.
Photos 3 & 4: Looking upstream, a couple hundred yards from the boat ramp. The tree on the left side of the photo is still underwater.
Tuesday, July 2, 2013
Fish Rescue Opportunity for Tomorrow - Wed Jul 03
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| Photo, courtesy Trout Unlimited Canada/ESRD via Fish Tales Fly Shop |
The 8th Annual Drake Magazine Flyfishing Video Awards
Flyfishing's best movie—as voted by YOU—hits Ballroom A of the Las Vegas Hotel and Casino on Wednesday, July 10, during the 8th Annual Drake Video Awards.
Our Reader's Choice poll allows you and your friends to vote for your favorite flyfishing film of all time (other than A River Runs Through It... we draw the line there) at drakemag.com/bestmovie.
Click the link, scour the nominees, spread the word, and VOTE today. Deadline is July 5.
http://www.drakemag.com/5-minute-fiy-fishing-videos.html
Glenmore Trail Graves Landing - Bow River boat launch - Flood 2013
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| All photos, Copyright Bow River Shuttles All rights reserved 2013. Click directly on photos for larger 1024 px image. |
Photos 1 & 2: Overflow parking lot, looking east towards Graves Bridge (and in #1, the rising sun)
Photos 3 & 4: Top of the boat ramp, facing
approx south towards the Bow River. The Calgary Pathway runs between
the parking lot and the top of the boat ramp.
Monday, July 1, 2013
McKinnon Flats - Flood 2013 - Jun 23 vs Jun 28
McKinnon Flats - Flood 2013 - June 23 2013
McKinnon Flats boat launch area on the Bow River. Around 12:30 pm Sunday, June 23, 2013. The flow rate at Bow River at Calgary was around 1,100 cms at this time, having reduced from its peak of 1,680 cms at 1:00 pm on June 21.
McKinnon Flats - Flood 2013 - June 28 2013
The Bow River in Calgary flow rate was down to 400 cms at 9:00 am Friday June 28 when this video clip was shot.
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