Sundancefisher
05-22-2009, 10:00 AM
I CHALLENGE ALL OF YOU TO TAKE THIS ONE TIME TO HELP EFFECT POSITIVE CHANGE TO FISHERIES REGULATIONS IN ALBERTA! EXERCISE YOUR RIGHT TO LOBBY AS A RECREATIONAL FISHERMAN!
Please email ASAP!
Let's effect a regulation change. Email or Fax Jim Stelfox regarding the following issue!
Jim Stelfox
Senior Fisheries Biologist, Southern Rockies Area
Fish and Wildlife Division, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development
Box 1420, Room 228, 2nd floor, Provincial Building
Cochrane, Alberta, Canada T4C 1B4
Tel 403/851-2205, Fax 403/932-2158
Jim.Stelfox@gov.ab.ca
For many of us our first exposure to fishing as a kid was with our parents or grandparents. They took us camping or to their favorite local lake...set us up with everything we need to get hooked and started us on our path to being respectful and appreciative users of the great outdoors.
As our population exploded, our water bodies have become more and more loaded up with everyone "wanting their share" of the resource to the point that people need to catch and kill their limit in these put and take lakes before the next guy beside them catches "their trout".
What has resulted from this is that now we take our kids or ourselves out to K Country to relax and enjoy the great outdoors...share the love of everything "nature" with the next generation and be able to look into your son's or daughter's eyes as they see a trout rise and then the anticipation and excitement of seeing a trout bite. They the joyous laughter and loud expressions of amazement and thrill as they fight there first fish to the shallows. For some the next step is to kill the trout so that their child can eat their first fish and realize the hunting and gathering instinct we all have to some degree or in some instances explain how they enjoyed the experience so much that by releasing this fish back to the lake that they can come back again and relive the experience or allow another child this same thrill.
Unfortunately with these put and take lakes that the 5 fish per day limit in some fashion forces people to try and kill their limit. It makes this sport more about meat than about the thrill of the hunt. Now just to be clear I am not advocating catch and release but rather we all need to consider how to spread out the finite number of stocked trout in a lake to allow for people have a strong chance of seeing and hooking a trout versus coming out in June, July, August or September to find they were fished out long before. What a waste to see a child get bored and associate fishing with sitting doing nothing.
Therefore Allen Bill pond is going to be stocked again and for the first time this year since 2005 just before the outlet berm washed out in June 2005. Currently IMHO there is no long term fishery but rather a short window of a feeding frenzy. I would then respectfully request to all my fishing community to open up and email Jim Stelfox with the following proposal.
I recommend we take Allen Bill Pond and make it a special regulation lake to have a maximum daily limit of 1 trout per person. I also recommend we go baitless as my experience shows that with more fish in the lake a fly rod or spinning rod with a spinner, spoon or bobber and fly worked just great there. Baitless will allow for better survival of catch and release for those that desire that yet still leave a variety of other fishing methods available
Simple and straight forward. You take your family there...you want to eat fish...keep one each. You are not going to fill your freezer here but hey...do you really need to? At the same time...releasing trout means more fish and more future fun in one lake in which you can be more assured your trip to the mountains will not result in sadness for you and your kids due to no fish. Allen Bill Pond is also close to the city of Calgary such that the fishing pressure is that much more intense.
Please take the time to excercise your ability to direct managment recommendation in our fisheries! Please do not delay. The sooner you respond the sooner the regulation change can be implemented. There is a process and time is of the essence!
Cheers all.
Sun
Please email ASAP!
Let's effect a regulation change. Email or Fax Jim Stelfox regarding the following issue!
Jim Stelfox
Senior Fisheries Biologist, Southern Rockies Area
Fish and Wildlife Division, Alberta Sustainable Resource Development
Box 1420, Room 228, 2nd floor, Provincial Building
Cochrane, Alberta, Canada T4C 1B4
Tel 403/851-2205, Fax 403/932-2158
Jim.Stelfox@gov.ab.ca
For many of us our first exposure to fishing as a kid was with our parents or grandparents. They took us camping or to their favorite local lake...set us up with everything we need to get hooked and started us on our path to being respectful and appreciative users of the great outdoors.
As our population exploded, our water bodies have become more and more loaded up with everyone "wanting their share" of the resource to the point that people need to catch and kill their limit in these put and take lakes before the next guy beside them catches "their trout".
What has resulted from this is that now we take our kids or ourselves out to K Country to relax and enjoy the great outdoors...share the love of everything "nature" with the next generation and be able to look into your son's or daughter's eyes as they see a trout rise and then the anticipation and excitement of seeing a trout bite. They the joyous laughter and loud expressions of amazement and thrill as they fight there first fish to the shallows. For some the next step is to kill the trout so that their child can eat their first fish and realize the hunting and gathering instinct we all have to some degree or in some instances explain how they enjoyed the experience so much that by releasing this fish back to the lake that they can come back again and relive the experience or allow another child this same thrill.
Unfortunately with these put and take lakes that the 5 fish per day limit in some fashion forces people to try and kill their limit. It makes this sport more about meat than about the thrill of the hunt. Now just to be clear I am not advocating catch and release but rather we all need to consider how to spread out the finite number of stocked trout in a lake to allow for people have a strong chance of seeing and hooking a trout versus coming out in June, July, August or September to find they were fished out long before. What a waste to see a child get bored and associate fishing with sitting doing nothing.
Therefore Allen Bill pond is going to be stocked again and for the first time this year since 2005 just before the outlet berm washed out in June 2005. Currently IMHO there is no long term fishery but rather a short window of a feeding frenzy. I would then respectfully request to all my fishing community to open up and email Jim Stelfox with the following proposal.
I recommend we take Allen Bill Pond and make it a special regulation lake to have a maximum daily limit of 1 trout per person. I also recommend we go baitless as my experience shows that with more fish in the lake a fly rod or spinning rod with a spinner, spoon or bobber and fly worked just great there. Baitless will allow for better survival of catch and release for those that desire that yet still leave a variety of other fishing methods available
Simple and straight forward. You take your family there...you want to eat fish...keep one each. You are not going to fill your freezer here but hey...do you really need to? At the same time...releasing trout means more fish and more future fun in one lake in which you can be more assured your trip to the mountains will not result in sadness for you and your kids due to no fish. Allen Bill Pond is also close to the city of Calgary such that the fishing pressure is that much more intense.
Please take the time to excercise your ability to direct managment recommendation in our fisheries! Please do not delay. The sooner you respond the sooner the regulation change can be implemented. There is a process and time is of the essence!
Cheers all.
Sun