Post flood thoughts?

[robson3954]

How does everybody's experience match up post flood? In the waters where I spend most of my time, it certainly doesn't measure up to the last couple of years.
Granted, I haven't been able to visit some of my favourite spots to do a great comparison, so maybe my reckoning is off.

Spent several days in the Blackstone area a couple weeks ago and felt that the streams certainly weren't living up to their reputations. Even well off the beaten path it was tough work to get a very rare take and hardly any fish to hand.

I have a feeling a significant amount of fish in foothills streams were killed.

What do you guys think?

[rycoma]

about the same as last year caught a lot of fish early in the year and slowing down a bit now as the water levels have dropped but still decent. Most of the streams I have fished this year were all affected by the flood

[BeeGuy]

The fish are doing great imo

[fish gunner]

My beats have numbers up, size down have caught less than five brookies in five +years . Have caught five from one pool this year. Larger fish 20"+ have been non existant . Hopeing the larger fish make an appearance late in the year.

[slivers86]

In the southern ab waters that I fish, I've noticed the fish to be very healthy, and opportunistic feeders at the moment. Not difficult to catch fish on the fly this year in some places. I'd say habitat has changed a lot for them, but they are fine! What I wonder is how badly damaged the spawning habitat is... mind you nature has its way of fixing things so when the old gets washed away, new areas open up!

[BeeGuy]

Originally Posted by slivers86

In the southern ab waters that I fish, I've noticed the fish to be very healthy, and opportunistic feeders at the moment. Not difficult to catch fish on the fly this year in some places. I'd say habitat has changed a lot for them, but they are fine! What I wonder is how badly damaged the spawning habitat is... mind you nature has its way of fixing things so when the old gets washed away, new areas open up!

Spawning habitat has been greatly improved imo

[Don Andersen]

Beej...


IMO, your full of beans!

All rivers took a massive hit. These years class is gone. Floods tend to straighten out river making lousy habitat. Sinuosity is where fish do well. The teenage fish probably survived well with both young of the year and older fish dying.

Don

[WhitefishLady]

Originally Posted by Don Andersen

Beej...


IMO, your full of beans!

All rivers took a massive hit. These years class is gone. Floods tend to straighten out river making lousy habitat. Sinuosity is where fish do well. The teenage fish probably survived well with both young of the year and older fish dying.

Don

I think it's a bit of both. Flooding causes damage to fish habitats and improves it other ways. Flooding adds cover like woody debris and cleans off spawning areas. I noticed there isn't much didymo this year in the bow. Just my opinion and natural events tend to have both positive and negetive effects. Kinda like forest fires.

[FlyDog]

I only fished the Blackstone this year. The area I go to is well off the beaten path as well and my experience was similar to yours. Numbers were down, although I managed about 20 fish, but I had to travel far and put in a full day to get those 20. But the size was definitely down. Used to pull some beautiful cutts out of that area and this year my biggest was probably 15 inches.

[ADIDAFish]

My experience with the Bow and Sheep are lower numbers and a smaller average size.

[mikeym]

did about the same on the N Ram first week of Sept as i did about the same time last year. basically same amount and sizing of fish and most water that looked like it should hold fish, held fish. the river has changed dramatically as the river was completely different from last year and all the old holes and runs were completely different. but the fishing was about the same. where the river really dramatically changed course, like from one side of valley to other, it was pretty devoid of fish, but areas where the river made new channels and pools, the fish were there.

you have to remember that fish have been living thru floods for 1000's of years and are pretty adapt at surviving all but the most epic of floods quite nicely.

rgds
Mike

[BeeGuy]

Just my experience on the bow and tributaries close to the city, but I have observed clouds of fry and smolts.

Of course there have been impacts.

But they are no where near the apocalypse suggested by some.

I have caught many mature trout, char and whitefish and pb's in all 3 categories post flood.

Note Don, that I wrote 'spawning habitat'.

The fish around here are healthy and abundant.

[BeeGuy]

Originally Posted by WhitefishLady

I think it's a bit of both. Flooding causes damage to fish habitats and improves it other ways. Flooding adds cover like woody debris and cleans off spawning areas. I noticed there isn't much didymo this year in the bow. Just my opinion and natural events tend to have both positive and negetive effects. Kinda like forest fires.

[lannie]

Originally Posted by Don Andersen

Beej...


IMO, your full of beans!

All rivers took a massive hit. These years class is gone. Floods tend to straighten out river making lousy habitat. Sinuosity is where fish do well. The teenage fish probably survived well with both young of the year and older fish dying.

Don

I think the south west faired much better than other areas if it is that poor elsewhere. What i have seen that is surprising is some areas where average size caught is much larger than in the past. What i have noticed with the exception of less bulls this year compared to previous years where the numbers of bulls have been increasing for me. I do target them every time out when they are available. It has been a really exciting year really because so many of the rivers that i felt i knew well have changed drastically. Kind of like going to a brand new river in some cases. Hows this- I believe there are way more new undercut banks that are great lies. Lots of areas are way wider and they are the down side IMO. Its not that I have caught bigger fish than before, just big ones much more often. The only river that for sure i have seen lower average size is the Crow but there seems to be a zillion small ones so in time we should be back to speed there too. I am no biologist but get out very often and find the beeguy very believable. There is a zillion minnows everywhere i go.

[rycoma]

I think time will tell. We might have a great season this year but we have a long winter ahead of us and if the fish haven't bulked up enough we could have a dumpy couple of years ahead of us.

[MK2750]

Originally Posted by rycoma

I think time will tell. We might have a great season this year but we have a long winter ahead of us and if the fish haven't bulked up enough we could have a dumpy couple of years ahead of us.

I have had a great year but couldn't agree more with your post. Some types of insects are nonexistant in many areas and the hatches were very light compared to other years.

The caddis really suffered on the Red Deer and they are an important food source through out the summer.

Thankfully there was a good number of hoppers when things dried out and hopefully that will fatten them up for winter.

[Don Andersen]

Lannie,

Are any of those zillion minnows trout?

Beej..
just for arguments sake, if another flood happened next year followed by another, what use would this spanking new spawning habitat you referenced be good for?

And others

There is certainly no question that floods occurred in the past and trout survived but you must also consider the other effects on trout. If you stress trout populations by idiot management decisions, lousy habitat protection, crappy road crossings and any other idiot activities thought up by man, trout have a far lessor chance of survival.


Don

[lannie]

Originally Posted by Don Andersen

Lannie,

Are any of those zillion minnows trout?

Beej..
just for arguments sake, if another flood happened next year followed by another, what use would this spanking new spawning habitat you referenced be good for?

And others

There is certainly no question that floods occurred in the past and trout survived but you must also consider the other effects on trout. If you stress trout populations by idiot management decisions, lousy habitat protection, crappy road crossings and any other idiot activities thought up by man, trout have a far lessor chance of survival.


Don

You sound angry Don. Looking at a half full BOTTLE?

[Don Andersen]

Lannie,

None drinker or at least partly. One beer/day - docs orders.

Back to the question - were the zillion minnows trout or for that matters any game fish?

Don

[Doc]

The Blackstone was my little piece of heaven with corner pool after corner pool. Now looks like a bomb went off. A lot of straight river with pocket water and very few corner pools. Entirely different river now with not even close to the same catch rates.

[fish gunner]

One thing I have noted .the fish appear to have relocated to winter habit early this year (or where flood waters forced them) caddis have been for the most part absent. All other hatches seem normal. Minnows abound in the areas they normally hold . Bigger fish still absent ? White fish are showing in lower numbers than "normal" years. Less braiding on the channel more single channel with deeper fast water. My obseevations

[BeeGuy]

I think there is likely some disparity in impacts between secondary and tertiary streams and the main stems of rivers.

Don,

Yes, Juvenile salmonids. Have also seen clouds of pike fry in a local trib.

[slivers86]

Fished a favorite section of the sheep yesterday... the old whitefish pool is still there... the last 3 years it has been PACKED with whitefish, this year... empty.

didn't bother fishing in the pools where they sit, as they were completely empty.

On the plus, I did see a smaller bull that looked pretty hearty, I left him alone though, was out looking for whites and a couple rainbows for dinner.

[Flyrod1970]

Gotta agree with Don on this one, although only time will tell. Average floods do help spawning habitat by clearing off gravel beds and opening up new spawning areas but this flood was no "average" flood. Like Don mentioned in a previous post, big floods tend to straighten out rivers and that is surely the case on the bow. There are many more long, straight, flat, featureless runs now than before. Hopefully these will hold fish, but in my experience they seldom do.

[tight line]

Originally Posted by FlyDog

I only fished the Blackstone this year. The area I go to is well off the beaten path as well and my experience was similar to yours. Numbers were down, although I managed about 20 fish, but I had to travel far and put in a full day to get those 20. But the size was definitely down. Used to pull some beautiful cutts out of that area and this year my biggest was probably 15 inches.

x2. numbers down for sure. caught a bunch in the 12-16" and taped one 18" yesterday, but watching the pools, and didnt see any bigger. i marked a spot on a cliff and the water was about 15' high!

[bowness]

Beeguy makes a good point about the impacts being different depending on what part of the watershed you focus on.

The bow does seem to have less holding water and typical trout habitat but the creeks and streams I have fished this year have some incredible new pools and lies. I would say on some the number of good lies has more than doubled. Also lots of good rearing areas for young fish.

That being said my success on most of these smaller water bodies has gone down. That could just be me

[DuckBrat]

The Fish have been around longer than humans and have endured floods through the generations. There is a constant ebb and flow, while nothing ever remains the same. Flooding and droughts are to be expected and our fish and wildlife have the tools to endure, that is until human disturbance (industry, sprawl, or useless flood controls) ruins their habitat.

[Okotokian]

Post flood I've fished the Sheep, Highwood, and Three Point Creek. I've had some success but it's been limited. I have to relearn the rivers. Also, I just don't enjoy fishing them as much. The shores are blown out and nothing but rocks and hard to walk, and all the brush and trees in the river now eat a lot of flies.