Our Dinner Auction is May 14th, 2020

Tay River Restoration Project is Off to a Great Start

Trout Unlimited Canada (TUC) organized a workday on the Tay River; an important tributary of the Clearwater River, on Saturday, June 8 as a riparian restoration project.

TUC biologists as well as 12 other volunteers from Red Deer and Calgary came together to plant live willow stakes and brush layers to help stabilize the river bank and improve habitat for native fish species. This work as well as other work projects scheduled for the Tay River are designed to not only improve the river’s riparian health but also improve important fish habitat for Bull Trout, Plains Suckers and other native and naturalized fish species. 

It is important to acknowledge the work that is being done on our streams and rivers to ensure healthy fish habitat. It takes planning as well as people to come out and volunteer their time to  make these workdays successful. Please check out this blog as well as TUC’s website for future field projects.

A Visit to Mitchell Pond at Heritage Ranch, ... a great place to teach kids about fly fishing!

Karen and I regularly run through Heritage Ranch as part of our regular exercise program. The pond at Heritage Ranch is named after Barry Mitchell, one of the most dedicated conservationists in Central Alberta. Barry wrote a book called The Trout Highway,  a great reference while fly fishing the Forestry Trunk Road. Barry also published The Alberta Fishing Guide on an annual basis. Barry spearheaded many projects throughout Alberta in an effort to protect our flowing waters. As Don Andersen said to me, he was a great friend of the trout in Alberta.

Today we decided to visit the pond with our fly rods for an hour and a half. We wanted to see if the ACA had stocked the pond. The answer is YES!

Mitchell Pond is a great place to practice your fly fishing skills. There is lots of room for casting practice. It is also an excellent place to take your kids and grandkids.

A small micro leech like Glen's Leech or a baby damsel about 3 to 5 feet under a strike indicator will get you some action. Also try to fish the same patterns without a strike indicator. Great fun. Remember that this is a "put and take" lake so individuals do take home their fish and hopefully eat them although for the most part, the trout are small.

Get a little exercise and walk or bike down to Mitchell Pond. Take your fly rod, some kids and picnic lunch. My grandkids ahave all fished the pond. We always had a great time. You will be glad you did!

Tay River Bull Trout Recovery Project

Hi Everybody!

Lesley Peterson Head Biologist from Trout Unlimited Canada was in Red Deer this week to address the Central Alberta Chapter of Trout Unlimited. It was a great opportunity to see some of the upcoming projects for Central Alberta and also talk about several important issues in our area! I hope many of us in Central Alberta will embrace the project and give it the full support it deserves. Thanks Leslie, Elliot, John Tchir, project biologists, and Conservation officers who came out along with our membership and several members of the fishing public who came out to take part!

Great News About the Porter and Drake Properties on the Raven River

Dear partners and supporters,

We have some exciting news!  Earlier this month ACA staff conducted surveys to look for trout spawning activity within the roughly 4 km of the Raven River that flows through the recently purchased Porter and adjacent Drake conservation sites. Previous studies did not identify these areas as spawning locations so we were pleasantly surprised to find numerous trout redds (simple “nests” where female trout lay their eggs). See the attached file for a couple examples of what we found. Here is also a link to ACA’s Facebook page where we posted the terrific news for the public to see:https://www.facebook.com/AlbertaConservationAssociation/photos/a.435111282461/10156160768677462/?type=3&theater.

Evidence of trout spawning activity throughout this section of river is both exciting and it’s also encouraging to see we focussed our conservation efforts on important habitat worth protecting. We’re hopeful the careful management of these conservation sites will continue to be a success story for the Raven River and it’s beautiful trout inhabitants.

More Restoration Work that is Part of the Piper Creek Restoration Project

Another step was taken today in the Restoration of Piper Creek just south of the Red Deer Landfill! This is the 4th work day that we have participated. Today we planted 100 Coyote Willows. The willows were a donation from the 2019 Canada Games Committee. Another great legacy left behind because of the 2019 Canada Games. The willows were planted by city staff, Central Alberta TU members and Red Deer College students.

More work will proceed tomorrow afternoon if anybody wants to get out and help! Thanks Sara from Rethink Red Deer for organizing the restoration work!

Piper Creek Restoration Project

October 4th in the afternoon and October 5th. Come and Join us!