There may be a lot of things said about the fishing guide industry here in Alberta some good some bad especially involving the fly fishing guide industry. One argument can surely be made it is not near as damaging to fish populations as illegal retention. There may be some added angling pressure directed at the fish, mostly though this ends up creating a situation where the fish only get more selective. Maybe there needs to be some changes made in some areas, on some fisheries in relation to both intense angling pressures and interactions between guides and local anglers as well as other end users and how these relationships out on the water affect each of their experiences. One thing is for sure though there are three sides to developing any program around fisheries one is the management side another is the guide’s world and yet another is the angler’s world. Aldo Leopold once said it is not the fisheries we manage it is more so peoples attitudes and human nature that must be dealt with.

There is no doubt if things are to be done fairly and constructively Environment and Sustainable Resources Development (ESRD), the guides themselves and the anglers should all have input towards whatever resolution would be forthcoming. Right now there are a few concerning issues that seem to be residual one is British Columbia guides coming over to Alberta waters in fairly large numbers once their rod days are used up in the Elk Valley. There is significant pressure from this situation especially on the Waterton River, the Oldman River below the three rivers dam as well as up in the Livingston, Oldman and Castle systems.

These British Columbia guides or any guide for that matter in Alberta does not contribute any funds towards a resource stamp in order to operate on Alberta waters. Even the commercial fishing operations pay $ 500.00 dollars annually plus $1.00 per net they make use of per water body. There are also no repercussions for the British Columbia guides coming over onto Alberta waters which may be a little concerning because there is quite a few coming into south western Alberta these days. On smaller streams like those up in the east slopes the added pressure can put fish down for the day and affect all anglers’ experiences paying or recreational.

Many anglers are always concerned about how much pressure great guides put on a fishery day after day all season long. There is some truth to this mind set, however as one guide explained to me just the other day it is the paying customer that is fishing not the guide. There are four types of customers that purchase guided trips, those that don’t want to run the expense of purchasing the truck, boat and trailer to fish big water. There are those that are just getting into fly fishing that are not highly accomplished who want to shorten the learning curve and get assistance in assuring they have a more successful outing. There are also those anglers that are getting older or have medical issues and would sooner let the guide do all the more tiring duties so they can more fully focus on fishing matters and more thoroughly enjoy the day.

Lastly there are those anglers that have money will travel and do have a passion for fishing. Many times it is business which usually brings them in and out of town quickly. At times they wish to mix business with a little pleasure and only have a day or part of day to fish and they are not familiar with the area so they hire a guide. So many times this concern is not as serious as it sometimes seems.

There is some real concern about how well the system of limiting guiding pressure through controlling the amount of rod days an outfitter/guide can legally possess on each watershed they guide on in the province of British Columbia. Many guides say it is not a fair system in relation to who and what sort of operation ends up with the most rod days. That it specifically affects some very accomplished devoted smaller outfitters and guides in a very costly manner. This may be a matter that could set off alarm bells within the guiding industry in Alberta if the topic comes up for discussion if so hopefully there may be alternative options that may be more appealing to everybody involved.

There does seem to be a requirement for some sort of certification process for a few very applicable and sensible reasons. This assures the paying tourist is provided with a quality experience by ensuring all guides are somewhat accomplished. It also provides assurances that all guides are conversant with boat handling skills, fishing skills, first aid and C.P.R., customer service and good guide/angler interaction are developed with local anglers on the waters they guide on. Dedicated and passionate guides also help somewhat to provide eyes out on the water for less than well intentioned activities that do occur and negatively influence fish populations, fisheries in general and the overall angling experience. Anyone involved at any level that affects policy, directives or has an affect on fisheries or others angling experiences must really make a concerted effort to look at the whole picture not just their little piece of the pie.

Guides don’t own the river they have the added opportunity of working and making a living through guiding it doesn’t mean only their concerns are important. Anglers also need to have a modest understanding that guiding is a part of the process out on the waters they fish on and there are pressures on the guides to produce so try to be a little more understanding when things get tense. This is not a massive undertaking to get things back on the track here in Alberta concerning the welfare and future of our fisheries having said that though it will take some concessions by all, understanding, vision and effort. The province can no longer sit and let these issues and concerns complicate matters even further and deteriorate our fisheries even more than the current concerning situation.

In this site Friends of the Red Deer River have focused on many issues and provided every venue involved with fisheries many facts, topics and issues to help create knowledge base to hopefully help make sound future decisions on what fisheries could or would look like in the future here in Alberta. Hopefully the site will entice accomplished passionate people back to the table to act positively towards getting actively involved to help shape a better fishing experience for all of Albertans and anglers that grace us with their presence when they come to fish our waters.