Environmental impact of Wading in rivers

[BeeGuy]

Naw, we can just increase the treated effluent outflow based on the number of anglers registered to fish on any given day to maintain water levels.

Problem-o solved-o

[goldscud]

There are places already in Europe where you can't wade and you can't catch and release. We just need a few more million people here so we can start having more restrictive rules

[Sundancefisher]

Originally Posted by goldscud

There are places already in Europe where you can't wade and you can't catch and release. We just need a few more million people here so we can start having more restrictive rules

I conversed with a guy from Switzerland. It is against the rules to catch and release...he said they mostly accidently get away.

[Lornce]

I wear waders but seldom wade, just to cross the odd area and keep my old butt dry when I sit down. Funny thing is I see most guys on the bow standing and wading where the fish where.

[BeeGuy]

Originally Posted by Lornce

I wear waders but seldom wade, just to cross the odd area and keep my old butt dry when I sit down. Funny thing is I see most guys on the bow standing and wading where the fish where.

hahaha for sure!

The nymphers are always standing in my shore line riffle!

[fish gunner]

I have brought fly to quite a few bow river fish feeding,not much more than 30 minutes after another chap has vacated a run. often with in feet of where he had positioned him self in the river.I enjoy sitting for 15- 20 before wetting a line. hoping to see the best fish in a run.or what I call sneaky specialist a fish I can pick off of with the minimum impact on a run.

[slivers86]

I can see how maybe 10-15 people walking the same beat on the river could present a slight amount of damage, but in the bow, especially below the treatment plants, it is thriving with aquatic life and a few people stepping around aren't going to change a lot.

Hit the upper highwood, sheep, oldman, elbow and have the same traffic though, and I'll agree that there could be serios consequences.

I'd just like to respond to the atv/4x4 crossing a creek part.

I see no problem in a controlled crossing as long as your vehicle/atv is in good running order, and not leaking oil/antifreeze/fuel into the waterway freely. I used to quad a lot in the mclean creek/indian graves before my step father passed a few years ago, and found a steady cross of the creek didn't stir up too much silt, none more than a horse crossing. That being said, I will agree that the idiots who enter the waterways and 'bathe' their machines in them, should be punished and I would support reporting those people.

[BeeGuy]

Originally Posted by slivers86

I can see how maybe 10-15 people walking the same beat on the river could present a slight amount of damage, but in the bow, especially below the treatment plants, it is thriving with aquatic life and a few people stepping around aren't going to change a lot.

Hit the upper highwood, sheep, oldman, elbow and have the same traffic though, and I'll agree that there could be serios consequences.

I'd just like to respond to the atv/4x4 crossing a creek part.

I see no problem in a controlled crossing as long as your vehicle/atv is in good running order, and not leaking oil/antifreeze/fuel into the waterway freely. I used to quad a lot in the mclean creek/indian graves before my step father passed a few years ago, and found a steady cross of the creek didn't stir up too much silt, none more than a horse crossing. That being said, I will agree that the idiots who enter the waterways and 'bathe' their machines in them, should be punished and I would support reporting those people.

It's tough to regulate which vehicles are worthy of crossing streams and which are not. Combine this with the damage they do cause, and potential issues such as stalling etc etc and it is clear that quads and trucks should not be in rivers, nor should they be in the alpine IMO.

It does take the fun out of being a redneck though. I bet hauling up a creek is hella fun.

have a friend who wants a jet boat.

do these things damage streams?

doesnt the running stream itself do much the same?

[BeeGuy]

Originally Posted by pelada trochu

have a friend who wants a jet boat.

do these things damage streams?

doesnt the running stream itself do much the same?

This is the topic of discussion. What do you think?

Like everything, the devil is in the detail.

Running in 5' of water maybe not. Running wide open in the shallowest possible navigable water, maybe.

Depends on the type of river too.

Siltation usually occurs in the spring and is minimal during the rest of the year.

Is it wise to be running a bunch of boats up shallow water through pike and walleye nurseries causing significant siltation out of season? Maybe not.

I don't know.

[fish gunner]

grrrrrrrr hatem hatem. as with all things a responsible jet boat owner will have a minimum impact on a river,at low water it is a different story. it is my opinion fish tend to spawn at the low water period eg true trout in spring before runoff and char fall after runoff the red above sundre takes a beating some years.I do not wish to restrict any other river users how ever I wish they knew enough to stay off at low water.mho