Duane Radford - Alberta North Field Editor
Duane is a freelance writer and photographer from Edmonton, Alberta, whose writing and photographs have appeared in many outdoor publications in Canada and the United States. Duane is the former Director of Alberta’s fisheries branch as well as having worked as a regional director and regional fisheries biologist. He is certified as a Fisheries Scientist by the American Fisheries Society and has fished throughout much of Canada
August - October 2010 Report for The Canadian Fly Fisher - by Duane Radford
Fly-fishers in Alberta North are reminded that the late summer is an ideal time to fly fish for goldeye and mooneye in large rivers such as the Athabasca, North Saskatchewan and Peace Rivers before they migrate downstream to over-wintering habitat in mid-September. Goldeye and mooneye will take a variety of attractor patterns, dry flies, nymphs and streamers. They’re a fly fisherman’s delight on a light-weight rod.
The Alberta Department of Sustainable Resources Development has updated their yellow perch invasive species management strategy which is available online at the Fisheries Management Round Table site: http://www.srd.alberta.ca/ManagingPrograms/FishWildlifeManagement/
FisheriesManagement/documents/UnwantedPerchUpdateForRoundTable-Mar-2010.pdf.
Illegal introductions of yellow perch have been made in numerous Alberta potholes stocked with rainbow trout, to the detriment of the ‘bows.
Todd Zimmerling, CEO of the Alberta Conservation Association (ACA), has advised Alberta’s outdoorsmen that the ACA is re-negotiating stream bank fencing agreements on streams like Dogpound Creek, North Raven (Stauffer) and Prairie Creek. Officials from the ACA are looking into entering into a paid lease and may even purchase land with the goal of increasing the amount of protected land so fences can be moved back from the edge of streams. The ACA maintains 32 fishing access sites in Alberta and requests support from Alberta’s outdoorsmen to curtail vandalism at these sites. Last year it cost the ACA approximately $32,000 to repair damage done to toilets at some of these access sites, funds allotted from angler’s levies that could have been better spent on high priority ACA projects such as lake aeration.
The ACA has also posted a progress report on their website regarding preliminary findings from a trout stocking evaluation undertaken by fisheries biologist Bill Patterson on three popular pothole lakes near Edmonton: Salter’s, Star and Heritage. Notably, most of the data were collected using trail cameras, which was comparable to more intensive creel surveys at larger lakes, but far less expensive. Following is a snapshot of key findings released by the ACA:
• Number of angling hours at Salter’s, Star and Heritage lakes were 1,765, 10,595 and
5,847, respectively.
• Anglers harvested 318, 1,081, and 655 Rainbow Trout from Salter’s, Star, and Heritage
lakes, respectively. Harvested fish ranged from 183 – 503 mm in total length.
• Good fishing opportunity, type of species, closeness to home, and scenery were key
factors that influenced angler choice of lake to fish.
• Of anglers interviewed, 69% were satisfied with their fishing experiences.
• When asked, "How would you improve this fishery?” anglers answered, "increase
numbers of fish”, "increase size of fish”, "improve services”, and "change nothing”.
• Estimated fish densities using gill nets were 78, 34, and 35 fish/hectare at Salter’s, Star
and Heritage lakes, respectively. Net catch ranged in total length from 168 to 489 mm.
The population at Salter’s included 1 and 3 year old fish, while Star and Heritage lakes
included 1 and 2 year old fish.
The Alberta Fisheries Branch intends to invite public input into the 2011-2015 Fish Conservation Strategy for Alberta; interested anglers should go online to the Fisheries Round Table link listed above for further details regarding how to submit their comments which should be posed in the autumn. The Fisheries Branch is also preparing a 2011-2019 Recovery Plan for native Athabasca Rainbow trout for waters inhabited by this species; anglers can expect some regulatory changes as the plan goes forward.
