The Fish & Wildlife Division planted Crawling Valley Reservoir with 324,00 Rainbow Trout, 108,000 Brook Trout and 375 Brown Trout in 1985, the year the reservoir was first filled. The recurring narrative here seems to be that whenever a dam/reservoir is constructed in Alberta is the only time trout species enter the enhancement management plan and even then, it is for purely mitigation purposes and always fleeting. Crawling Valley at one time produced Huge Rainbow Trout up to 20 pounds back in the 1980-90s and Alberta anglers were all in and super excited about this opportunity. Then suddenly the province very quietly went about a huge change in fishery management direction and underwent the process of a massive introduction of an alternative fish species (Walleye) fishery. At what point the province decided many of our trout species were non-native/exotic which is probably true but over 90 years Brown Trout and Rainbow Trout have now become naturalized to many of our streams and lakes in the province and are both a very treasured species by many anglers. The native species really do require very special attention but that does nor make our other trout species any less worthwhile. 

Statistics clearly demonstrate that the opportunity to fish for Rainbow, Brown and Cutthroat will attract the most tourism, is also much more supportive for small businesses and will bring in a healthy revenue stream to Alberta than Walleye, Pike and Perch. This will also go a long way towards diversifying Alberta’s economy in an extremely environmentally friendly sustainable and renewable manner if managed with good intentions. Fly fishermen and serious anglers in general place the reward on the experience in general in blue ribbon fisheries and not for table fare.         

On the other hand, Walleye anglers (at least 80-90%) solely place the reward on table fare when angling for Walleye as they are the most palatable fish species in North America. For over thirty years the province has gone hog wild planting Walleye in almost 95% of the province geographically in unbelievable numbers they are now the most plentiful fish species in the province. The biologists then went ahead with a closely guarded plan to place total catch & Release restrictions on Walleye to further support the massive 30-year stocking binge. This management plan has resulted in Walleye catch rates that are off the charts on most of these lakes which are mostly all smaller cookie cutter size with fish conditioning factors ranging at the lower on the scale. The best Walleye lakes have very high populations of Walleye that have now become damaging to the other sport fish species present and the very forage base the Walleye feed on themselves. 

Even though angler catch rates are high and the chance to catch Walleye is possible anywhere in the province. The province has implemented a situation where the angler cannot retain a reasonable number of Walleye in fact the number is almost zero Walleye on any of these lakes. We say almost zero due to the fact that the only way an angler can retain Walleye in South Central Alberta which is on a draw tag basis which is limited and then you can only take one or two in a very specific size range. Anglers world wide fish for Walleye for table fare and the anglers of Alberta have made it abundantly clear to the Fish & Wildlife Division that this is also how they feel. 

The province itself constructed the Cold Lake hatchery solely to put out massive numbers of Walleye in order to plant lakes with Walleye. The Province has the opportunity to plant massive numbers of Walleye in lakes in the highly populated South-Central region of Alberta annually in lakes that Walleye are not native to and allow anglers to harvest a reasonable number of Walleye within limits. The way the province is managing Walleye fisheries in South-Central Alberta currently there is a reasonable belief that anglers would rather fish for trophy Rainbow and Brown Trout and be able to retain large Rainbow trout in some of these lakes than Walleye.  

Crawling Valley Reservoir is quite accessible and centrally located right along the main corridor of the Trans Canada Highway in the south-central region of Alberta. This is right in the middle of trout country and would make a great location to raise millions of trout in beautiful condition that would be basically wild in a large reservoir. The province could source a very special strain of both Brown Trout and Rainbow Trout that are vibrant can grow large and are appealing in nature to the angling public. By planting large numbers of diploid/triploid Rainbow and Brown Trout in Crawling Valley Reservoir the province could develop this reservoir as a brood lake. The province could construct a large enhancement building to raise eggs/milt sourced from diploid rainbow and Brown Trout that grow up in the Crawling Valley Reservoir. This management plan would eliminate the cost of feeding, raising and maintaining brood stock in a brood hatchery which is quite costly. It would also provide a much better quality of young trout for planting in trout lakes all over Alberta. 

Yes, this would require dealing with the Pike, Walleye and Perch numbers so the alternate more resourceful planting of trout could occur. In order to reduce the number of Pike, Walleye and Perch which were never native here anyway the Province could open these fish species to liberal retention for all anglers legally so numbers could basically be seriously reduced. Triploid and diploid (50-50% split) Brown Trout could be planted in very high numbers in the Crawling Valley Reservoir. The province could then place catch and release restrictions on all Brown Trout so they can grow very large and keep the number of Perch etc. to a minimum and serve as the provinces source of brood trout for planting. Diploid and triploid Rainbow Trout (25% Triploid-75% diploid) could also then be planted in substantial numbers with a limit of one fish per day allowable harvest over 20”. This should allow some harvest of Rainbow Trout and still have a healthy number of Rainbows for brood trout to milk annually and raise to young trout for planting all over the province. 

Yes, there are a lot of anglers that enjoy fishing for Pike, Walleye and Perch in the Province and there are many places for them to do just that. This does not make Cutthroat Trout, Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Tiger Trout and Brook Trout any less valuable to the Province. The Province for so many years felt that trout planted in Lakes were solely a put and take fish and has had a difficult time getting away from that perception. Through vigilance and sustained pressure in the late 1990’s some serious anglers pushed Alberta to develop what was termed (Q.S.F.) Quality Stocked Fisheries in the Rocky Mountain House area. However, these are all tiny or quite small lakes Beaver Lake is the larger lake, while Fiesta and Ironside Pond are the two tiny ponds. They are all great fisheries in their own right although they are shallow enough to still require aeration and if the angling pressure is to heavy on a given day angling can get quite slow.            

Is it not time Alberta take the next step and develop a more advanced concept of developing a few really large and fairly deep lakes that do not require aeration? Lakes with a great food base and large enough surface area that large numbers of trout can be planted that will grow large and healthy. Ones that can both take a lot of angling pressure and do double duty as a brood lake. Our group has tried to take all sportfish species and anglers interests into consideration throughout all these documents presented to (A.E.P.) Alberta Environment and Parks. Alberta needs to seriously attempt to strike a balance between healthy fisheries, increasing angling opportunities, dispersing angling pressure substantially, and sensible enhancement to fulfill angler demand and desire. Along with a much more effective enforcement program and legislate much higher minimum fines for both the act of illegal retention and per fish retained illegally in order to provide anglers with a quality consistent fishing experience. 

The real limiting factors are lack of recruitment, rampant illegal retention and no (sensible) mitigation/enhancement for the loss of fish due to this rampant illegal retention, 100-year floods, whirling disease and the way the province has treated our watersheds. However, not just the rivers have a part to play in increasing angling opportunity and dispersing angling pressure, planted trout lakes will play just as large a part if developed properly. The province must branch out and become reasonably objective towards the place Cutthroat Trout, Brown Trout, Rainbow Trout, Tiger Trout and Brook Trout can have in diversifying Alberta’s economy in troubled times. The potential for tourism dollars is tremendous Montana after the movie “A River Runs Through It” came out in 1992 made 6.8 Billion annually for six consecutive years through the fly-fishing industry alone. The Henry’s Fork River in Last Chance Idaho brings in 47 million dollars annually for that area through fly fishing tourism and keeps many small businesses flush through reliable tourism dollars. 

This is the new way of doing business in a changing world that must be environmentally friendly, sustainable, renewable and these ideals are very acceptable to the young generations now growing up in environmentally troubled times. Anglers world wide will travel to Alberta to fly fish both rivers and lakes if the province provides the product they require and they will spend when they come. The trout need not all be native naturally reproduced trout many of the accomplished anglers and associations we have talked to in the United States love the ideas our group has discussed throughout these documents. The anglers of the world view enhancement through wild genetics in both rivers and lakes not as a compromise but as a very acceptable reality. It is our hope that the province will in some way wake up and get on with diversifying the economy and one of these areas that has really ran Montana’s economy is fly fishing tourism. 

The days of Alberta’s astronomical oil revenue may well be behind us and the alternate source out of the tar sands probably could stream considerable dividends in the future but it will never be the same as the 1980’s -1990’s ever again. The elected officials, industry and the citizens of Alberta need to face the facts and embrace the realities that now face us and move towards diversification. Our group believes that we have as many special rivers and lakes (if developed properly) here in Alberta as Montana does and the fly-fishing tourism revenues for the province could be in the billion-dollar range if not more for the province. This will not replace the oil revenues but it sure could help the province boost much needed revenue stream in the future.