Have an Idea - SW Alberta Fish In

[Guy]

If you can put it together, I'll do my best to be there. Really hoped to get up to Alberta this past summer, but things just didn't work out. From the research I did for the trip I planned, I figured August would be the best time to fish up there. I was focussing on the Oldman and Livingstone Rivers, which I believe would be reasonably close to any spot you could find for a Fish-In near the Crowsnest ???

As to license fees, I just checked and as of 6-18-07 Alberta resident fees are $22.50 annually. Non-resident fees are annual $61.50, five day $41.50, and one day $23.50.

All license holders also must have a WIN which is $8.00 and is valid for five years.

All prices are Canadian dollars, and all purchases are subject to a 6% tax.

If the Fish-In doesn't come together, I may get in touch with you anyway to explore / fish some of your local waters !?

August is show time on the BC side of the rockies (Elk River Drainage) as well!

[JohnScott]

gonfishn -

Thanks for the update on passport requirements. Maybe crossing currently in the eureka area is easier than some of the busier areas ??? Which would include just about everywhere else - lucky you !!!

Guy -

I've heard great things about B. C. fishing and the Elk. But a couple guys ( other guys ) from Calgary that I ran into at our local fly shop in Idaho Falls last summer told me that fishing in B. C. gets a bit pricey, with daily fees on a lot of waters. Can you provide more information on that part of it ?

thanks -

John

[lestrout]

Bender and I were thinking of doing a Colorado grand tour in late July, but an Alberta FI could easily be substituted or incremented,

tl
les

[MikeL]

gonfishn -
I've heard great things about B. C. fishing and the Elk. But a couple guys ( other guys ) from Calgary that I ran into at our local fly shop in Idaho Falls last summer told me that fishing in B. C. gets a bit pricey, with daily fees on a lot of waters. Can you provide more information on that part of it ?

John,

On top of your standard ($50/week) BC license fee, you have to pay an additional $25 per river per day to fish the Fernie area. This means that if you purchase the $25 permit to fish the Elk one day and fishing is slow you have to pay another $25 to go fish a different stream that day. For a few days of fishing the fees can really add up...

[JohnScott]

Mike -

Thanks for the clarification. Pretty much what the guys from Calgary said, except the daily fee per river is higher than I remembered.

That was part of the reason I was keying on Alberta. B. C. is beautiful, and I would love to spend more time there and do some fishing, but I think I'll just hike in B. C. and fish in Alberta.

What river is that in the picture ??

John

[Guy]

Just a couple points of clarification. The daily rod fee for non residents on Class II waters in BC is $20 per day. Yes, this daily license is water specific but for your $20 you get to fish the whole drainage, not just one specific stream. Between the main stem of the Elk and the tribs, that is a lot of water to cover in one day!

You also do have to buy either one day ($20) or 8 day ($50 for US residents, $36 for Non BC Canadians) in addition to that.

It seems like a lot of guys have an objection to the principle of daily rod fees. Angling pressure on the BC side has dropped since the inception of the daily rod fees. Some of the accessible streams like Michel Creek and the Elk near Fernie still see a lot of angler traffic but it is also easy to find streams in the Elk drainage where you can catch big cutts on drys all day and never see another angler. Finding solitude on the Alberta side is getting harder to do and much more so since BC brought in the Classifed Water system to the Kootenays.

[flyfishfairwx]

Just a couple points of clarification. The daily rod fee for non residents on Class II waters in BC is $20 per day. Yes, this daily license is water specific but for your $20 you get to fish the whole drainage, not just one specific stream. Between the main stem of the Elk and the tribs, that is a lot of water to cover in one day!

You also do have to buy either one day ($20) or 8 day ($50 for US residents, $36 for Non BC Canadians) in addition to that.

It seems like a lot of guys have an objection to the principle of daily rod fees. Angling pressure on the BC side has dropped since the inception of the daily rod fees. Some of the accessible streams like Michel Creek and the Elk near Fernie still see a lot of angler traffic but it is also easy to find streams in the Elk drainage where you can catch big cutts on drys all day and never see another angler. Finding solitude on the Alberta side is getting harder to do and much more so since BC brought in the Classifed Water system to the Kootenays.

Hay to all
Now the fact is that this post is to get people together on a Fish in in SW Alberta, not who has the best water. The reason I have not retired in NB is because it is to far from AB/BC. Love them both, but my son decided to live in Lethbridge so that sealed the deal.

For the record I am not against the Rod fee, I was brought up in New Brunswick Can "Talk about your Rod fees"

And "GUY" there is no Prob finding solitude on the Alberta side, I fished lots this year and may have saw ten anglers other then my wife and son.


Hope all whom respond to this post are interested in the Fish in, as I am working on details and really look forward to showing off the water around here which include SE BC and the Elk.

That boundary does not have any meaning for the fish.

[MikeL]

Just a couple points of clarification. The daily rod fee for non residents on Class II waters in BC is $20 per day. Yes, this daily license is water specific but for your $20 you get to fish the whole drainage, not just one specific stream. Between the main stem of the Elk and the tribs, that is a lot of water to cover in one day!

Really? I could have swore that they wanted me to buy sperate permits for Elk, Michele and Wigwam last time I was up that way.

[Guy]

Mike, Michel is a trib of the Elk, you can do both on the same daily permit. The Wigwam is a considered a different drainage so you would need a different permit. Check out the following link for clarification:

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/fish/lic...ootenay_cw.pdf

Fairwx, please don't take offense, I wasn't trying to change the location, merely pointing out that anyone coming up all this way to fish might also enjoy a day or two on the BC side as well.

I don't want hijack the thread, but there is a lot of negativity (on the Alberta side) towards BC over the day license thing. BC was attempting to address a perceived crowding issue and it has certainly redistributed the angling pressure, much of it shifting to our side of the Rockies.

I also agree that if you know where to fish, you can still get away from the crowds in Alberta. I have also been fishing SW Alberta since the mid 70's and the reality is we have more and more people in this province with a lot of money and a lot of recreational toys (ie. quads, RVs etc.) The demand on the Alberta side is growing tremendously and many of our popular streams and their valleys (such as the Oldman in the Gap and above, the Livingstone and the Westcastle) are seeing high recreational usage. Still the fish seem to be hanging in there despite it all. I hope everyone who comes up has great fishing on whatever side of the BC / Alberta border they wet their line in!

May your loops be tight in 2008!

Guy

[flyfishfairwx]

Mike, Michel is a trib of the Elk, you can do both on the same daily permit. The Wigwam is a considered a different drainage so you would need a different permit. Check out the following link for clarification:

http://www.env.gov.bc.ca/fw/fish/lic...ootenay_cw.pdf

Fairfax, please don't take offense, I wasn't trying to change the location, merely pointing out that anyone coming up all this way to fish might also enjoy a day or two on the BC side as well.

I don't want hijack the thread, but there is a lot of negativity (on the Alberta side) towards BC over the day license thing. BC was attempting to address a perceived crowding issue and it has certainly redistributed the angling pressure, much of it shifting to our side of the Rockies.

I also agree that if you know where to fish, you can still get away from the crowds in Alberta. I have also been fishing SW Alberta since the mid 70's and the reality is we have more and more people in this province with a lot of money and a lot of recreational toys (ie. quads, RVs etc.) The demand on the Alberta side is growing tremendously and many of our popular streams and their valleys (such as the Oldman in the Gap and above, the Livingstone and the Westcastle) are seeing high recreational usage. Still the fish seem to be hanging in there despite it all. I hope everyone who comes up has great fishing on whatever side of the BC / Alberta border they wet their line in!

May your loops be tight in 2008!

Guy

No problem or offense, I think if the fish in is a week long then a day in BC on the ELK would be darn near the HIGH Light of the week. Love Cutts on the dry.

I agree that there is much more pressure, with all the oil money, but most of the Quad'ers ect.. are just riding and thankfully not stopping to fly fish. How ever there are the few, that do, and done right it is not a bad way to get around if you are mobility challenged.

The AB negativity is mostly gone even from N. Waugh, as he and most folks have seen the positive effect on the fishery. I think the guiding folks that were perhaps not on the up and up were the biggest foes of the fees.