Glenmore Reservoir call for legislation

[Respect the Resource]

I have been down to the Glenmore after work about a half dozen times time year, And every time I go I run into alot of fishermen using illegal gear, And stupid practices. I was standing beside a guy last week who caught a 12-14" pike. He pulled it in and promptly knocked it on the head and threw it in his bag. I asked him" Don't you think that fish was a little small to keep ?" He replied that it was small, But if he didn't keep it someone would catch it tommorow and they would keep it. This kind of mentality is all too common around our city and province. It's a sad sign of the times, Hopefully the government will bring in some much needed legislation for the Glenmore to help keep this a great in city fishery. Maybe pike over 63, trout under 50 and some enforcement not only to enforce, But to educate people that are new to fishing here or just ignorant of our rules.

[Christofficer]

Agreed, I've been catching only smaller fish this past year and even less of those. Haven't caught a burb out of there in 2 years either, I think the populations are declining quite dramatically. Last time I was there I had a log float to shore beside me and noticed a huge ball of what seemed to be 20lb test tangled around it. So I took out my pliers, cut it from around the log and bundled it. When I left I threw it in one of the trash bins along the bike path. People seem to be eager to keep everything they catch in there, and I dunno why. The elbow feeds the reservoir, and most large trout and pike take years in the res to get to their large sizes. This is an important river that feeds the bow alot of large brown trout, pike, rainbows, and burbot.

[jeprli]

Something should definitely be done, i hate watching the massacre that happens there every spring, large female pike are caught full of eggs and not released. This spring alone I've seen at least two dozen pike taken anywhere from 8-20lb range. One time i even helped a guy pull out what was about 12lb worth of pike, full of eggs and he would not release it at any cost. I got pretty much the same answer "...if i don't take somebody else bla bla bla..." Same thing with trout, if it is caught it rarely ends up going back. Glenmore has a huge potential if it was only a bit more restrictive by regulations. You cannot use a smelt but you can sure use some sort of ocean minnow which does exactly the same thing as a freshwater fishy.

About the small pike(yes it sucks that he took a 12") i'd rather see people take smaller ones than big spawning females, those around 17-20" are the best for eating anyway and are rarely mature enough to spawn successfully(not in a cold lake like Glenmore).

Many times I've found burbot rotting on the shoreline, sometimes it's 5-6 of them. Why? Who in their right mind does something like that???

[Christofficer]

I'm pretty sure smelt are allowed there. Unless I'm missing something???

[rielbowhunter]

You CALL THE FISH COPS . IF YOU WANT TO STOP IT!

[jeprli]

I know they are allowed, you can't use freshwater minnows, but sal****er are good to go(which is what boggles my mind, who made the stupid law).

It's like... you can't shoot a deer with a remington, but if you are using a beretta you're good for it. Doesn't really make any sense, does it!

[fishpro]

The reason that salt water fish species can be used for bait and freshwater baitfish can't is that it would be very hard to keep a salt water species alive and introduce to our waters, while it can easily be done with freshwater species. A person could easily have a tub of live minnows and say they kill each one before they put it on the hook, but at the end of the day dump the bucket in with no one seeing. The law is a safegaurd to ensure that new species aren't introduced into our waters.

[Respect the Resource]

Calling the authorities and reporting all pertinant information is necessary, But with a response time of several hours or not at all it really does not help. Seeing some more foot patrols out there would be nice.
Smelt and other dead salt water species are legal there. But barbed hooks and using two rods are not legal. It just fires me up to watch these clowns keep fish that have less meat on them than a mc ronnie's burger or pick up a fish they are going to release by the eye sockets so they can snap a few pics. Anyway I am glad to see this thread is generating some interest, Concern and opinion. Thanks to all who reply, Rick.

[jacenbeers]

I caught a number of pike and brown trout in the reservoir in the spring and put all of them back. I also saw a lot of others catch them and I never saw anybody keep their catch.

[jeprli]

I think RTR is referring to the 90th avenue point, as that's where most of the illegal stuff is happening.

I release my fish too, keep an odd one only if it is too badly hurt to survive. Most people I meet/see there are C&R oriented but a lot of them don't release anything. At certain times of year it can have a great impact on future fish population.

[Respect the Resource]

I am talking about 90th and the other side. Like you say most people are very good about their fishing, But it is the few bad apples that stick out in your mind, I'm pretty sure we are thinking of the same people. Keeping an injured fish is the mark of a sportsman. It is sensless to waste it. I just want to see the quality of this reservoir maintained or improved for present and future users.

[Bow flyman]

I agree with all of this. I have fished this place for 20 years, now. I have caught fewer fish on average, each and every year. My fishing technique has actually improved over this time. Pike have become fewer, and smaller. I used to get decent numbers of large Brown trout. Now, I am lucky to get one per year. What kind of regulations allow for a harvest of 5 trout of any size from this fishery?! It is absurd. We need a trout limit of 1 under 50 cm. I, for one, would like to see more of those huge browns cruising around, like I used to. Too many people fish this reservoir nowadays to allow the liberal harvests to continue.

[Mark]

I agree that a few apples spoil the group, but what do you do? A prime example is I was out at Winchell Lake this weekend. Place was busy, and everybody was enjoying themselves and catching fish. Later in the day, two guys unload their boat and start trolling. I troll pass them and notice that they have four rods out (only two guys in the boat). When I pass them again I let them know that the regs say only one rod per person, except when ice fishing. They don't respond, so I took out my phone and took a picture and let them know I'd be reporting them. Only then did they say they'd take the other rod out when they finished their current track. It was obvious that they didn't care that they were breaking the law, and only change under threat of being reported. It still p^*es me off, since I'm sure they have done it before, and will do it again next time they're out.

[Okotokian]

You CALL THE FISH COPS . IF YOU WANT TO STOP IT!

The things the OP was complaining about was not illegal. He just thinks there should be different rules. Until they change I wouldn't correct strangers. Risky....

[SushiUnagi]

Calling the authorities and reporting all pertinant information is necessary, But with a response time of several hours or not at all it really does not help. Seeing some more foot patrols out there would be nice.

Totally agree with you there Respect and I think you got it bang on! Definitely need more fish cops to enforce it so ppl don't take it for granted.

Sure big signs with all the rules and regs listed might not stop those who are there with the sole purpose of catching and keeping everything, but at least to educate those who truly don't know.

[SushiUnagi]

When I pass them again I let them know that the regs say only one rod per person, except when ice fishing. They don't respond, so I took out my phone and took a picture and let them know I'd be reporting them.

Good job doing that Mark! You should totally have reported them. Only then will they really learn when all their stuffs are confiscated and getting fined in the thousands.

[hunter49]

Good job doing that Mark! You should totally have reported them. Only then will they really learn when all their stuffs are confiscated and getting fined in the thousands.

Are you kidding me? In this day and age, I wouldnt be surprised if they got a warning. At the very most a couple hundred in fines. If there was BIG fines maybe people would think twice about it.

[Beekahs]

Totally agree that the lake should have a few more restrictions and I wish there were more officers around to catch the people not respecting this resource. A question though ... while at the Bow Habitat Station grand opening in the spring I was talking to a staff member or volunteer (could have even been a scientist .. there were a great deal of people floating around) that said the Elbow just upstream of the res. has been decimated because the silt run off from the construction in the elbow valley has destroyed the gravel areas fish use to lay there eggs. Could this also have something to do with the changes we have been seeing?

[Christofficer]

Totally agree that the lake should have a few more restrictions and I wish there were more officers around to catch the people not respecting this resource. A question though ... while at the Bow Habitat Station grand opening in the spring I was talking to a staff member or volunteer (could have even been a scientist .. there were a great deal of people floating around) that said the Elbow just upstream of the res. has been decimated because the silt run off from the construction in the elbow valley has destroyed the gravel areas fish use to lay there eggs. Could this also have something to do with the changes we have been seeing?
It's possible, you'll have to be a bit more specific on the location. The more closer to the reservoir the more muddy and siltier the water gets. That's why there's more browns and rainbows than anything in that section, the bulls and cutts like the cold oxygen rich mountain water and tend to stay in the upper reaches. The problem isn't with the cutts and bulls (maybe that's a problem, but it shouldn't impact the reservoir), it's with the pike and browns. There just seems to be less of them for some odd reason.

[SushiUnagi]

Are you kidding me? In this day and age, I wouldnt be surprised if they got a warning. At the very most a couple hundred in fines. If there was BIG fines maybe people would think twice about it.

Maybe we should rally for bigger fines then!

[Bigdad013]

I was quite inpressed with the authorities when I report poachers etc. I worked at the Valley Ridge golf course and saw many fisherman fishing out of season on the Bow. They think if they get to a remote spot they can fish. On average it took the authorities about 30 mins to get them. I reported 12 fisherman that year and all were caught. So not calling is not really an excuse, they want to catch these guys and will try very hard to get to them in a rapid fashion. All I'm saying is, call, you will be surprised how quick they show up.
Just my 2 cents worth