Originally Posted by Jimboy
People like me aye , listen pal , l,ve been fishing long before you were in diapers , my dad and l were 2 of the first and very few who fly fished the bow back in the early fiftys , lic was $2 l believe back then , we slept over in Dads station wagon many times along the bow , at that time we could camp anyplace where we could drive to the river road or no road.
The flys we used back then were royal coachman , black knat , and a mosquito pattern, never did we get skunked , and we always ate them , and they were delicious , and when a fish was playing around with a fly and not taking it , my Dad had the answer to that , he,d go to the bank and catch a grasshopper and hook in onto the fly , usually the first cast back into the pool wham ! !! , he was on , and a good chance he,d stay on because the hook had a barb , life on the bow was good back then.
l can remember stopping off at a fellows place in east calgary to buy some live minnows , we put them in a large glass pickle jar , no plastic them days either , and head down the bow , even with a live minnow it was a challenge to catch one , but in the right pool they worked well .
There was never any catch and release nuts back then , everyone was out to catch a fish supper , and if you had a big one on and it got off , that was a bad day , and there were some big ones in the lower bow back then , my largest was 12 lbs , caught where the highwood meets the bow , we drove right down to the rivers edge from the north side at that time , now some nester owns all the land and has fenced it up , the road is barely visable now do to erosion , sad , that was a nice spot.
As more and more people moved into Calgary we began to see them on the banks of the bow , fancy gear and all , years later outfitters moved in , lobbied the govt for changes , catch and release , then came the barbless thing , it wasnt about conservation it was about preserving the fishery for the wealthy , like outfiitters and their American clients .
Was lots of fish back then , still is , but not from catch and release , lots of them die after the fact , bow is a self renewable resource , next time out just look at the thousands of minnows in the pools .
Not sure if the bow is stocked now , havent fished it for years , to many idiots on it now , can only keep 1 small one , barblees hooks , and with flyfishing , that means fish off on first jump even with a tight line , so whats the point , you fish kissers can have it now ,
We have fish hatcherys today to replenish our waters , so l dont see why your all so worried about our future fisheries , there will always be fish even if we keep them for supper , at least 4 anyway , anything less then that is a waste of gas to get out to catch them.
lf l want to get off with a tug on my line , l,ll tie my dog to it , and release him after l play him in , same thing , any fish l catch goes into the pan because l love fish , lots of people hate fish , thats why they let them go.
l,m old school , and proud to be one , life was easy back then , less rules , less bull crap , just plain ole pole fishin with a worm or whatever , now every place l go , if l throw a line in the water l,m poachin somewhere in the regs , getting as bad as hunting , sold half my guns now because of the crap that goes along with hunting today , its not fun anymore.
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