Back in September 2022 I started a thread discussing the BC classified water system to give you Alberta fishermen some insight on how to possibly protect the heavily pressured waters there.
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=414246
In the thread I mentioned a river a good friend of mine from AB and I used to love fishing. We both made the decision to stop fishing this river because every fish caught was had torn up lips and missing chunks. It was a few years after this that the BC government changed the classification of this river so that out of province anglers had to book their days online ahead of the season, and limited the number of days. I started fishing it again in 2021 and was very pleased to see the fish numbers up and the fish all looking much better. Fast forward to this year and I have to say that this particular body of water has become my favourite river/stream once again. The fish are the fattest healthiest looking cutthroat I have ever seen (the bulls are pretty sweet too). I caught one fish that had a scarred up mouth, he was also the biggest. A battle scarred old warrior that was still willing to take a dry fly and put up a great fight.
Pics of this years catches:
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=433509
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showthread.php?t=433542
In summary I will say this, the classified water system here has worked, and I believe worked well. Also a correction to a typo, I stated that my yearly classified license was $20, actually it is only $15. A cheap price to pay for the privilege of catching these beautiful fish in a pristine area.
Tight lines all!
Classified Waters - Update/Summary
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