Aug 20

Time of Day restrictions now in place for Bow River

Good day everyone. As per the Alberta Governments bulletin, the TOD restrictions for the Bow River are now in place. The restrictions will start today, August 20th and run until August 31st. No fishing on the river from 2pm till 12am during this time period.

Here is the information as per the Alberta Governments website.

Time of Day Angling Restrictions

Protecting fish in Southern Alberta during periods of low flows and high temperatures.

During the 2022-23 Sportfishing Regulation Engagement, feedback was collected on restrictions to angling during low flows and water high temperature events. After considering feedback provided from Albertans, Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) has developed a flexible approach to protect fish during periods of lows flows and high temperatures by creating a time of day angling restriction.

A time of day angling restriction is when angling is not permitted from 2:00 PM to midnight (14:00 to 24:00) at specified locations.

Between July 01 and August 31, a time of day angling restriction may be put in place for:

all rivers and streams (flowing waters) in fisheries management zone ES1, including the Bow River downstream of Banff National Park to Bassano Dam (this includes Ghost Reservoir, Bearspaw Reservoir and Bassano Reservoir)

St. Mary’s River mainstem (including tributaries) below the St. Mary’s Reservoir in fisheries management zone PP1

Implementation of Time of Day Angling Restrictions

Time of day angling restrictions will be implemented when water temperatures and flows reach certain thresholds. As such, AEP will monitor temperature and flow data from flowing waters across southwestern Alberta; however, all decisions on time of day angling restrictions are made based upon conditions recorded at the Bow River monitoring station at Carseland. This station provides real-time water temperature and flow information, which allows AEP to compare real-time information to the thresholds set to protect fish during these high-risk periods.

The thresholds that have been set to protect fish (based on the protection of trout) are:

  1. when water temperatures exceed 20°C for three or more consecutive days and,
  2. when flows in the Bow River are below the 25th water flow percentile for 4 or more days at that time of year as measured at the Carseland monitoring station.
    As early as July 1, AEP will implement time of day angling restrictions when the above flow and temperature criteria are met and the forecast does not indicate improvements to the conditions in the immediate future. When implemented, a time of day angling restriction will be in place for a minimum of 14 days. During this period, AEP will continue to monitor water temperatures, flows, and long term weather forecasts. Based on this monitoring, AEP will determine whether time of day angling restrictions will continue for an additional 14 day period or be lifted. On day 28, a decision to continue or reinstate time of day restrictions will be made which will remain in place until September 1.

The intent is to remove all restrictions as of September 1.

A time of day angling restriction was in place from 2:00 PM Saturday, August 20 to midnight on August 31, 2022. Thank you to all anglers who helped our fisheries and observed the restriction.

Communication of Time of Day Angling Restrictions
It is up to every angler to know the sportfishing regulations of the waterbodies they plan to fish. If a time of day restriction is implemented, updates will be provided on the My Wild Alberta Fishing Advisories, Corrections and Closures webpage, and through AEP social media channels: If a time of day restriction is implemented, updates will be provided on the My Wild Alberta Fishing Advisories, Corrections and Closures webpage, and through AEP social media channels:

Know before you go – check the Fishing Advisories, Corrections and Closures before fishing, as these will be updated to notify anglers of time of day restrictions. These same mechanisms will be used to communicate when closures have been lifted.

The importance of protecting our fish and fisheries
This approach aligns with approaches in other jurisdictions and recognizes the importance of conserving the riverine fish and fisheries during times of low flows and high temperatures in southern Alberta.

It is important to note that the overall goal of a time of day angling restriction is to reduce angling effort and associated fish mortality due to hooking and handling during periods of warm temperatures and low flows when fish are already stressed. If angling effort is not reduced or is shifted to other sensitive areas, such as streams and rivers in Eastern Slopes, Zone 1 (ES1), it is unlikely that we can achieve the desired level of protection for these fisheries.

AEP will evaluate the 2022 implementation and improve the approach for subsequent years.

Jul 16

Sport fishing the Bow River July, 2022

As the water flows start to dissipate along the Bow River system, and the water cleans up each and everyday, the fishing has begun to improve dramatically. We have been launching early morning at the crack of dawn. For me, its always a blessing to watch the sunrise on my way to the river. With the music playing softly in the background, I get to see the fantastic hues of tangerine orange sky’s as I pass the yellow fields of canola on my way to the boat launch to meet me clients. Sometimes its life’s simplest pleasures that help me wake up that early in the morning. I always say to my clients, I get up earlier to go fishing then I do to go to work! I guess it’s the thrill of the chase, combined with the tug of a hard fighting fish that keeps me coming back. Coffee helps that situation also!

I tell the truth and say I am busy. I was busy; but not in the way most people comprehend. I was busy watching the fish rise. I was busy clearing my mind and my heart. I was busy calming my soul near the ebb and flow of the river. I am busy telling myself I am worthy, and I’m worth it! Often, this is my busy. I make no apologies for it, for my spot on the river brings me great happiness! After all, I get to meet the most amazing people and help them catch fish week after week after week. It’s a big part of my life, and it brings me great joy and inner peace.

Here are a few Images of the “happy place” and the smiling faces I choose to spend my time with. I hope you get to spend your time doing the things that bring joy to your heart, and peace to your soul!

~Mike

Jun 25

Fishing and football

This past weekend I had the pleasure of fishing with Calgary Stampeders slotback receiver, #84, Mr. Reggie Begelton. I follow Reggie on Instagram and saw that he loves to fish. I noticed that he had several images of himself fishing back in Texas, where he is from. After seeing one of his catches, I made a comment on his post asking him if he would like to join me on the Bow River for some trout fishing when he got back to Canada, before the CFL season got started. He replied to my comment and gladly accepted the offer to fish!

Unfortunately, the Bow River has been in full run off mode this month, and we were not able to fish the Bow. I asked Reggie if he would like to fish one of the lakes close to Calgary, for either Walleye or Bull Trout. He had said that walleye was on his bucket list and would like to target that species. He also asked if he could bring some friends to join him and film the trip, as the Stampeders were doing a video series for their social media accounts called “My Passion”.

I met Reggie at Lake McGregor Lake in Southern Alberta, along with Spencer the camera man, and Natashia who conducts the interviews for the football club. We headed out from the boat launch and started bottom bouncing large jumbo dew worms. It was not long after the worms hit the bottom of the lake, our first Walleye crushed the offering and Reggie had his bucket list fish. After trolling a few areas of the lake, Reggie put at least twenty fish in my EgoS2 slider net.

It was a blast getting to know Reggie, and fishing with him as well. You can see the video footage of our trip at the top of the post. Next month it will be power fishing for trout on the Bow River. That will be a super fun trip for Reggie and I.

~Mike

May 14

The Road Less Traveled

There’s something about getting extremely far away, away from people, and often away from my own thoughts that is attractive to my inner core. Getting in my boat and carving a path up the river where only Antelope roam, and rattle snakes slither along hoodoo walls that line the riverbanks. Not many people have been here, and you can tell, but its just the way I like it most days.

Sitting in my boat, anchored in the middle of the river; the wind crashing against my face and only the sounds of the water gently lapping against the side of my vessel. I get lost here, mostly lost in thought as I stare up at my rod, looking for a living dinosaur to slurp my worms up into is mouth. Like the fish below the waters surface, the wind even feels stronger here, like it too has not been touched by time !!

Even though I come here with my good friend Tony, his voice is sometimes drowned out by deep thoughts of only one Lake Sturgeon engulfing my jumbo worm offering, sending me up off my seat and setting the hook hard into the vacuum shaped mouth of these prehistoric creatures. These fish have lived an exceptionally long time, and even getting one is a blessing and a chore some days. I often ponder, while deep in thought, maybe it’s not just the fish I am here for after all. Maybe it’s the solitude, maybe it’s just the peace and quiet I am searching for.

The older I get, the more I realize that life is all about quality over quantity, and the simple things in life is what means the most to me. Simply sitting out there watching for the bite or watching the cumulus clouds come and go hour after hour. Simple easy conversations with Tony as we laugh and joke about fishing trips past, we have taken here. Simple music playing low in the background as we gaze out at our rod tips, day after day. It’s that simple flavor that keeps me coming back here, year after year.

There is an old saying, “nobody buys a drill because they want a drill, they buy one because they want a hole.” It is not always what you want in life, but what you ultimately need that drives our desires. It has been said this way “Many men go fishing all of their lives without knowing that it is not the fish they are after”. If that is the case, what are we after. Is it the relaxation, is it a spiritual rest, is it bonding with a close friend like Tony? For the commercial angler or guide, it is a living he is after. It is money to have a home and to feed his family! For the sport fisherman it is often the getting away or the seclusion of a place like the badlands of Southern Alberta. Many people often think, including me, that they are going fishing but in reality they are seeking something the fulfills their life and their dreams.

I love to get lost, so lost that I find myself over and over again. The badlands is the place that I get lost to find myself! Where do you get lost to find yourself? Feel free to leave a comment and let me know what, or where it is for you!