Balanced Possibilities with Phil Rowley's Bruised Leech

I enjoy playing around with a tried and true combination and trying some variations. Below you can see Phil Rowley's highly successful Balanced Bruised Leech tied three slightly different ways. Which one do I tie on first? ...the Ruby Eyed Balanced Bruised Leech!

Balanced Bruised Leech #1

Hook: Knapek Jig Hook Size 10

Thread: Black 8/0

Bead: 1/8th tungsten gold

Tail: Black Marabou

Body: Black/Blue Semi Seal spun with a dubbing loop on small red ultrawire

Balanced Bruised Leech #2

Hook: Knapek Jig Hook Size 10

Thread: Black 8/0

Bead: 1/8th tungsten rainbow

Tail: Black Marabou

Body: Black/Blue Semi Seal spun with a dubbing loop on small red ultra wire

Balanced Bruised Leech #3:Ruby Eyed Balanced

Hook: Knapek Jig Hook Size 10

Thread: Black 8/0

Bead: red silver lined glass with 5/32nd tungsten cone head

Tail: Black Marabou

Body: Black/Blue Semi Seal spun with a dubbing loop 

Off to the Bow River

The IF4 Film Festival was last night and it was quite satisfying to see such a tremendous turnout from Central Alberta. Way to go everybody!

Byron Stearns and I hit the Bow River today. The weather was warm and a wind came up from the south west for the afternoon but it really did not bother our fishing. We fished a stretch downstream of 22x that looked good. We got our way down to a run that looked great and rigged up. I wanted to swing streamers and Byron wanted to nymph! We both hooked up right away. I was casting Kelly Gallop's famous articulated fly and a decent brown smashed the fly right at the end of a swing. I used my spey rod because I could cover lots of water. It was a good choice. Byron did very well nymphing with smaller nymphs. We caught lots of whitefish and a few trout. We covered lots of water today and found out that where we started our day was the best fishing in the area. The river was busy. That was to be expected on such a nice day! We also used the ring road to get around Calgary. It was fast and we avoided the rush hour tangle in both directions!

AERATION UPDATE – MARCH 1, 2016

Despite our best efforts and a significant amount of time and energy put into the project by ACA staff, our aeration program for 2015/16 has not produced the results we were hoping for. As stated previously, because of criminal liability issues associated with Sec 263 of the Criminal Code, we changed our aeration program this winter from the usual surface aeration to a sub-surface diffuser system. We hoped that by using the sub-surface diffuser system, we would be able to continue to provide enough dissolved oxygen (DO) into the water column to maintain fish over the winter, while at the same time containing the opening in the ice created by the aeration, through the installation of a dock and chain-link system.

Our original plan was to aerate only a portion of the lakes this winter to test the sub-surface diffuser system; however, at the request of the Minister of Environment and Parks, we proceeded with the implementation of aeration systems at all the lakes we would normally aerate. Fortunately, Alberta Environment and Parks was able to take over aeration using surface aerators at two locations, along with two municipal governments and one private individual. You will note in the table below, with the participation of these groups, five of the fifteen lakes that ACA would normally aerate over winter were aerated using surface aeration. 

Unfortunately, we experienced more difficulties with the sub-surface diffusers than we had expected. Containing the hole created in the ice within the dock system proved to be a difficult task, particularly with the warm winter conditions we experienced this year. As a result, in many instances we were forced to reduce the amount of air being pumped by the diffusers into the water column. While this change allowed for the hole to be contained, it appears in most cases it reduced the amount of oxygen entering into the water column to the point at which the aeration was ineffective at maintaining adequate DO levels.

We are currently working with Alberta Environment and Parks to resolve the aeration issue to ensure that surface aeration can be re-implemented at all lakes in 2016/17.

The table below provides an update as to the aeration system and effectiveness at each lake as of March 1, 2016.

NAME	AERATION SYSTEM	COMMENTS
NORTHWEST REGION
Cecil Thompson Pond	MD surface aeration	DO level good. Good potential for fish to survive.
East Dollar Lake	ACA diffuser	DO low. Limited potential for fish survival. Dead trout have been observed.
Figure Eight Lake	AEP surface aeration	DO level good. Good potential for fish to survive.
Spring Lake  (Grande Prairie)	Fall aeration only	This lake is normally only aerated in the fall. DO level good. Good potential for fish to survive.
Sulphur Lake	AEP surface aeration	DO level good. Good potential for fish to survive.
Swan Lake (Grande Prairie)	County surface aeration	DO level good. Good potential for fish to survive.
CENTRAL REGION
Beaver Lake	diffusers shutdown Feb 5	DO becoming a concern. Potential for some fish loss.
Birch Lake	No aeration	DO still ok. Good potential for fish survival.
Fiesta Lake	diffusers shutdown Jan 28	DO low. Limited potential for fish survival. Dead minnows have been observed.
Hansen Reservoir	No aeration	Low DO levels prior to equipment being installed as a result aeration was not initiated. Limited potential for fish survival.
Ironside Pond	Diffusers shutdown Feb 5	DO becoming a concern. Potential for some fish loss.
Mitchell Lake	Diffusers shutdown Jan 18	DO still ok. Good potential for fish survival.
Millers Lake	ACA diffuser	DO low. Limited potential for fish survival. Dead trout have been observed.
Muir Lake	ACA diffuser	DO becoming a concern. Potential for some fish loss.
Spring Lake (Stony Plain)	Private surface aeration	DO level good. Good potential for fish to survive.
SOUTH REGION
Coleman Fish and Game Pond	ACA diffuser	DO are a concern. Potential for fish loss.

  

Please contact TODD ZIMMERLING at todd.zimmerling@ab-conservation.com or 780-903-3377 with any questions or concerns.