Fly Fishing Alberta's Ram River Canyon - Fly Fishing MASTER-CLASS: Locating Canyon Cutthroat Trout.

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Cutthroat trout are gorgeous, sensitive trout that thrive in cold waters associated with high elevation and mountainous environments. In this video we pursue cutthroat trout in the canyon of Alberta's Ram River. Through the decades we find cutthroat trout in the exact same locations - the exact same rocks and in-stream features. We have found that canyon cutthroat trout everywhere thrive in the exact same features in canyon reaches of other cutthroat trout rivers. This is a master-class, meaning that we deep-dive behind the scenes with a full article and supporting write-up of all the neat moments in this video at our Patreon page below!
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[@user-qm3ct1wi8s]

The work you do to educate and preserve one of our province's greatest natural resources is incredible, and appreciated. Most of my flyfishing time has been spent in the Crowsnest area, and I have not yet had the pleasure of exploring the central eastern slopes but it is definitely soon to come. I would politely challenge your argument that the irresponsible handling of a few 20+ inch trout is to blame for our declining populations, however - while this is certainly an issue, it seems to me that a more important fight is with the commercialization of these remote areas (habitat/breeding destruction from logging, mining, etc), not to mention the consequences of a changing climate on these sensitive ecosystems. It's not hard to imagine how lower water flows paired with increased silt and stream temperatures can lead to lower/altered insect productivity and decreased oxygen stores in these pristine headwaters. Maybe I am a little biased from the drought conditions and time-of-day angling restrictions that have become necessary in southern AB - but at this point, it seems to me that our conservation energy is better spent in lobbying for systemic and industrial change to protect what we have been blessed with, as opposed to tightening up against the non-environmentally aware fly anglers that are already the exception instead of the rule. Again, thank you for all that you do in showcasing and advocating for our sport and province. Fantastic as always. EDIT: Since making this comment, I have watched several more of your videos, in particular the "Passionate Discussion" video. It's clear to me that this perspective is not lost upon you. Again, but now from an even more sincere place, thank you for your significant efforts over the last several years. As a "young" fly angler in his 20's, and a steward of this resource, I hope that I can play even a small role in carrying the torch that you have lit for us.

[@jensenflyfishing]

Hi and thank you for the note. I wanted to give a little time to a reply and we've hit a very busy time recently. I think in your second paragraph, first sentence you missed what I was saying: I wasn't referring to mishandling of 20+" trout. I was stating that we have reached the point on these waters that have incredibly low carrying capacity and the #1 carrying capacity limitation being wintering habitat that we can no longer afford to allow poor trout handling because they'll never get to 20+". Poor handling and the death of any trout in a river that tends to hold fewer than 30 - 50/km, to see so many dead fish in one day, is simply not going to sustain the population and we'll soon revert back to the state it was in before C&R. The caveat is that back then it was harvest removal that decimated the population, today it is sheer #s of C&R with poor handling killing fish. So, just to clarify. The reality is that the habitat there, as well as the Blackstone, Cardinal, upper Red Deer are all similar and quite different than the Oldman drainage in how desolate they are by comparison. They're all fragile and sensitive fisheries, however, they are already low productivity and used to the low water limitations. Mining doesn't much exist as yet up through there and the logging can actually help extremely cold water, non-native fisheries with a productivity boost of slightly warmer water and organic deposition. Really, to date, you can't really say logging has impacted the Ram, Blackstone for example as their populations are relatively intact as they have been. It really is pointing at our handling treatment of individual fish, though the Blackstone seems to suffer major recruitement issues in flood years, that's where the clearcutting exasperation comes in a little bit, certainly. Up in central AB we're not talking env friendly, aware, conscious ff types... we're literally talking 60 - 70% hardware anglers on ATVs. It's a distinctly different angler. Now, south of Hwy #1. Yeah, 100% to what you said. Sorry, I just got pulled away again and distracted so hopefully what I've shared helps the why I said as I did here. There are different cultures and slightly different ecosystems and environments but at the end of the day the big one is the need for an East Slopes Trout Ecology & Handling course as a pre-requisite to a license on these waters, for me that's 100% need. All the best, Dave

[@flyfishingjunkie5891]

From someone that has only been fly fishing for a year and loves it more than life itself, thank you. I'm so grateful that you pointed out that how taking even 1 fish can make a huge impact on an area. Since I eat,sleep, and breath everything fly fishing I agree that people will be the death of our sport. I hear of people killing bull trout for no reason and people over fishing everywhere. I'm in the U.S. so that's not surprising right! Thanks again

[@jensenflyfishing]

Well with 8 billion people in the world we have an impact. There's no getting away from that, but enjoying and caring for the resources we still have does buy us a bit more time to appreciate what we do have.

[@Riverbugger]

Absolutely awesome!! The mighty Ram River!! What a day Dave and Amelia!! What a gorgeous river and gin clear water!! Beautiful Cuttys!! Thanks for sharing!! Enjoyed every second!! So true of what you said Dave about handling fish and taking care of our waters!! I’m 56 and our days will be gone and it’s up to the younger generation to take care of it. Well said!! Cheers guys!!

[@jensenflyfishing]

It is all of that and more - that's the beauty of home waters and waters you grow up on :) And that applies to kids fishing it their first time today as it did for me back in about 1977 when I first fished it :) A gorgeous piece of the planet to be part of :)

[@greatbigdiddy]

😂😯 Haha Dave ... "10 or 12 inch fish ... bigger than 9 anyway cause I got a pretty good reference ahh anyway" LMAO!! Dave Dave Dave!!

[@jensenflyfishing]

Yeah that cork handle on my rod 😉🤫😊

[@mrpoopypants9586]

@@jensenflyfishing You should be careful handling your cork. Cheers PP

[@teamlosi11]

I knew I liked this channel 😏

[@mladenv5311]

Beautiful as usual! It warms me up on -35 in Calgary these days.....Thanks guys!!

[@jensenflyfishing]

Aw man, yeah... good not to be home now! 😆🍻

[@peirules154]

Cutthroat rivers are the best. An older gentleman told me the same advice couple years ago. Just because someone fished a hole in front of you doesn’t mean you won’t catch playing follow up. Just enjoy the day and scenery!!

[@jensenflyfishing]

100% truth. Especially as we consider that these waters are usually not big, essentially large creeks by fall, and there can only ever be so many trout to enjoy. A good walk in nature interrupted by a few hrs of playing with friends :)

[@KEYVAN.M.G.]

You have created new insights into the fishing system and technique, as well as loving nature 🌹🙏

[@jensenflyfishing]

Thank you 😊🍻

[@yvindsolstad8719]

Love the way you talked about caring for the fish and the stream. This is the most important message to send to the watchers, great work guys! Come to Norway, would love to see you fish Rena river 🙂

[@jensenflyfishing]

thank you - glad you enjoyed it and appreciate the angles we try to incorporate in our videos. Hopefully we can get to Europe in the coming years :)

[@timgrahn3112]

Your videos are great I really like seeing places I go to as well as the exotic from your trips. I especially like when you don't disclose the location and I know it!!

[@jensenflyfishing]

It's neat to be able to share from a variety of locations as we work to travel :) This one's fairly straight-forward for sure. Glad you enjoy as we share.

[@rumenstanev7747]

Golden words, brother! Let those fish grow!

[@jensenflyfishing]

You bet.

[@OG-Paul-Valentine]

I love that you guys do this nearly 365 days a year and I can still feel your passion for this sport in this video. You guys are awesome and one day I'd love to meet ya'll!

[@jensenflyfishing]

:) We love what we do for sure and love that every single interesting fish remains a project and a puzzle to solve. Life on the water is pretty amazing :)

[@trevorwaligursky962]

@@jensenflyfishing beautiful video as always! I’m curious have yous ever been to the U.P?

[@jensenflyfishing]

@@trevorwaligursky962 :) thanks and great to hear. What is the UP?

[@trevorwaligursky962]

@@jensenflyfishing Michigans upper peninsula

[@jensenflyfishing]

@@trevorwaligursky962 Ah - no, not yet. I think that region has to come next year! :)

[@Detroit3Pistons]

Awesome story about “Big Mama” and the lesson on how old these great fish can be!

[@jensenflyfishing]

Isn't it neat? And the personal experience can really only happen with a 100% OCD personality at a younger age in an era of MUCH cheaper fuel :) ;)

[@BlindmanOverland]

another great video you two! Just love your vibes!

[@jensenflyfishing]

Thanks so much!!

[@rumenstanev7747]

And again. You are welcome in ,Bulgaria! We ends a season in 30 of September. Welcome!

[@jensenflyfishing]

Thanks for the invite. Might not be able to make it there this year, but maybe in the future:) Enjoy your fishing over there.

[@jaymill9036]

Love the water you can walk for miles and explore

[@jensenflyfishing]

Us too! 😊

[@KEYVAN.M.G.]

Jensen and Amelia you are always great ❤

[@jensenflyfishing]

🙂🙃thank yoy

[@conorlinehan4434]

This is precisely what I needed this morning.

[@kevinrawding6730]

100% agree

[@jensenflyfishing]

Hopefully it gets you geared up for the long weekend 😎🥳🍻

[@jensenflyfishing]

😊🍻

[@conorlinehan4434]

@@jensenflyfishing I am headed to a few alpine lakes early this next week so I’ve been tying flies ha!

[@jensenflyfishing]

@@conorlinehan4434 hope it is great!

[@garyrafferty7625]

“Eventually, all things merge into one, and a river runs through it. The river was cut by the world’s great flood and runs over rocks from the basement of time. On some of the rocks are timeless raindrops. Under the rocks are the words, and some of the words are theirs... I am haunted by waters.”

[@jensenflyfishing]

😊❤️

[@juanperez1613]

Increible lugar !!! Precioso !!

[@jensenflyfishing]

Glad you enjoyed them:)

[@kenlloyd5195]

your enthusiasm for the fishery is awesome can you bottle some and send it to newzealand we have a number of waterways that should be catch and release but we still have many in the fishing community who see it as their right to have feed then they moan as the fishery goes into decline

[@jensenflyfishing]

Thank you Ken. I do know that in talking to Steve Terry @ F&G NZ that the bulk of their hesitancy comes from the concern of the perception that anglers are merely playing with wild animals when it comes to C&R. This comes in to play when groups like PETA begin making waves and F&G sees having retention limits as one measure to point to when that comes. But really, it will be an interesting next couple of decades as NZ trout habitat continues to shrink thanks to industry (Ag, power) as well as what mgt tools F&G puts in to limit our impact on the trout. My suspicions are that limiting the # of anglers will come long before C&R, starting with tourist types then on the special location designations for all anglers, and maybe then down the road C&R. Again, to change that to the present adopting of C&R would likely require a change at the top of F&G policy and that only comes as result of public pressure for sure.

[@burtchirp7161]

Love the Ram! Thanks for the video and all you’ve done to protect it. Just wondering if you guys are going in above the falls (along Hummingbird) or below?

[@jensenflyfishing]

It's a beautiful river for sure:) Both above and below, depending on the day.

[@Toddcm]

Thanks for sharing your memories from years of fishing the Ram. Does the hike in and out limit the pressure on the river at least somewhat?

[@jensenflyfishing]

To a point but the hillsides to get down make it fairly straightforward for those willing to go for a day hike 😊

[@joncothranphotography9375]

Another simply awesome place with some awesome fishing! Thanks guys! I get aggravated here in that there's not much catch/release in the state and people just clean out the trout when they get stocked without leaving any for the streams.

[@jensenflyfishing]

It's a gorgeous river & canyon and it films well too :) The put & take aspect of waters like where you live have to be so frustrating - the dream of what could be and a different management is ever-present.

[@KEYVAN.M.G.]

Gladiator داریم We love you 🛡️👸⚔️

[@jensenflyfishing]

Always try 😊🍻

[@thelittlesparrows]

You've mentioned the "coppertail hare's ear" in the last couple videos. Is that just a regular hare's ear, but with some copper antron for the tail as a "shuck"? Thanks for all the great videos, and all you do for conservation!!

[@jensenflyfishing]

:) literally 3 or 4 strands of copper krsytal flash as a tail :) Glad you enjoy our shares :)

[@thelittlesparrows]

@@jensenflyfishing Right on, thanks for that!

[@jensenflyfishing]

@@thelittlesparrows all things are simple on this channel :)

[@inthemomentflyfishing1394]

that was the same fish u both caught for sure..I stopped the vid checked the markings there's a 4 cluster of spots dead center ..exactly same marking on both fish..awesome

[@jensenflyfishing]

Neat stuff when you stop to look at the details of each trout isn't it?! 🙂

[@inthemomentflyfishing1394]

@@jensenflyfishing yes sir..By the way..You guys are great ..Tight lines brother

[@jensenflyfishing]

@@inthemomentflyfishing1394 thank you! 😊❤

[@MacDaddyDoubleD]

@jensenflyfishing Is there a reason for Amelia twitching her line when drifting dry flies? Looked super effective but I have never seen it done before

[@jensenflyfishing]

Mostly because most insects aren't static critters and between giving life to the fly and trigger some attention in certain situations it can be extremely effective. You might find this page quite helpful www.patreon.com/jensenflyfishing

[@benjaminneumann3687]

The rivers of the eastern slopes either need to be designated fly-fishing only (which will likely never happen) or have a strict ban on trebles and barbs imo.

[@kevinrawding6730]

My thoughts are to ban treble hooks and make it mandatory to land fish in nets or keep them in the water while they are being landed. That would prevent people from swinging their catch onto the jagged rocks and prevent the use of a lot of oversized lures. Certainly fly fishing only would be a benefit to the fish but I think that would shy a lot of people away from the sport as most people start off as spin fishermen.

[@benjaminneumann3687]

@@kevinrawding6730 agreed. The root problem here is lack of enforcement. Fish & wildlife are way too stretched thin in the province. I know there are many rivers out east that are fly fishing only to protect sensitive brook trout populations and it seems to work. We also have a problem with the ingrained idea that we fish to eat. I don’t know if it’s just an Alberta problem but it seems prevalent here. Frankly, if people want to eat fish, they should buy it from the grocery store or go to a stocked lake.

[@jensenflyfishing]

the days are coming where something has to change. The kick will be for the fishing community to come forward and demand that there be an east slopes trout handling & ecology course before being allowed to fish the east slopes - the days of our rivers and streams being able to out-produce what we do to them are over.

[@TheSilver9r]

I may have asked this before, in that case I don't recall the answer. Your beetle pattern looks like a chernobyl ant in the few brief glimpses, is this right? If so, what size are tying it on?

[@jensenflyfishing]

You might enjoy the deep dive of information on this video in particular - the true master-class of info is at our patreon page www.patreon.com/jensenflyfishing That's on anything from a #6 to 14 2x shank. 🍻

[@David-uj2ms]

I enjoy videos you guys make. With that being said I know you did not just say that we need to release every fish while stating you've caught the same fish 45 x??? I never Target the same fish twice no matter how big it's gotten. To each their own but you got a lot of balls!

[@jensenflyfishing]

To correct your statement - you've likely not noticed recaptures but if you fish low productivity trout waters you almost certainly have. If you haven't fished these kinds of waters then you likely wouldn't understand. Most of our northern cutthroat waters and our marginal brown trout waters and other similar brown trout waters on the eastern reaches of the rocky mountain chain from New Mexico through Alberta and the majority of locations like New Zealand's S Island back country have finite carrying capacity held in a few trout. If you fish them you are likely recatching the same fish every single time you fish them for as long as those fish live - in the case of the Ram the cutts can live as long as 24 years so you either choose to not fish it at all or fish it knowing you are re-catching that specific fish. The rub is that you are catching them; the greater rub is that if you kill one you've removed 10 to 25 years of growth. It's an interesting thing to have first studied through a few select fish back in the day but projects forward as we fish these kinds of water and pay attention. It's always interesting to hear people that don't fish these kinds of water or don't pay intimate attention voice any opinion while not first understanding. Cheers

[@David-uj2ms]

I dont understand. Dont fish a pool in which you have caught a fish 45 times. How many pools on how many rivers do you have access to? I don't understand, why slug a pool to death. Spread it out a little bit. I have fished the same waters. If you have caught a fish 45x plus everyone else catches said fish 45x... that fish is wishing for death... if he's not already. The problem is you don't get it! Cheers x 45!

[@jensenflyfishing]

@@David-uj2ms Actually you don't get it at all but that's ok. You've already pre-judged it and know all there is to it rather than taking the time to understand the whole of the scene of low population trout streams. All the best.

[@dankochanek8056]

Cutthroats, by far the prettiest of the species.

[@jensenflyfishing]

definitely love them - and please make note that this is also not a sight-fishing video. :) Lots of them in our feed.

[@dankochanek8056]

@@jensenflyfishing Stop. I know this now. :)

[@rhonda837]

@@dankochanek8056In the prettiest places.

[@adamwells1740]

👍👍♥️Cutthroat Lives Matter!!

[@jensenflyfishing]

Every day 😊

[@adamwells1740]

@@jensenflyfishing ♥️

[@Fly_Revive]

I actually never want to watch your videos since I felt like the destinations are too great and unattainable for the normal man. However, I really enjoyed this one and listening to the insight and passion you have

[@jensenflyfishing]

We definitely now get the initial sentiment. Reality for us is that we're barely a low income couple with no kids, dogs or vices that just live to fly fish and experience the outdoors and work to make that happen. Our goal has always been to simply share that trout are trout and no matter where we fish the principles and basics of stream & river fishing are essentially all the same. Glad you enjoyed this one. 😊🍻

[@DopeFishAlberta]

Good job. Is this from last year I guess or Jun 2022? Thank you

[@jensenflyfishing]

Hiya - a couple years back now. A special note to our channel is that unless it is a job assignment project, our videos are filmed 1 - 4+ years prior to alleviate people's hot-spotting. All the best.

[@DopeFishAlberta]

@@jensenflyfishing thanks awesome

[@JOHND224]

What do you carry for protection

[@jensenflyfishing]

An air horn and bear spray in some mountain streams but in over 35 yrs of fishing this particular canyon we've never run jnto a bear once. Saw the back end of a cougar one time is all.

[@evanhammond7305]

That's why the 6" fish are always nine inch fish lol

[@jensenflyfishing]

As AK Best said, you just gotta step on 'em to get that extra couple inches ;)

[@meienthing8856]

16:37 now hold up a minute

[@jensenflyfishing]

;)

[@big1dog23]

Most fly fishers are responsible, practice good fish handling and C&R. But how do you stop a couple of high school kids with a can of worms and split shot? Really hard to keep things as they should be. Anyway, beautiful canyon with interesting geology.

[@jensenflyfishing]

Well, really, those are the ones that fishery managers plan for in the 'incidental mortality' phase of planning - that 5% of the population that just won't follow the rules. The good news is that the opportunity for influencing is ripe given their age 😊

[@mikejessmax]

I've fly fished for almost 40 years and used to live for fish pictures. I cringe when I look back at some - out of the water, laying on the grass and rocks before I released them and wonder now how many survived and how many did I kill. For a lot of years now, not many fish I catch get photographed, they are always landed using a net and released never taking them from the water. Just a few easy things to give them a helping hand....these days they need all the help they can get

[@KurtL1776]

Beautiful location. Decent editing. Too much rambling. I am not sure how this is a master class. Not like any master class I've attended, but the scenery was nice.

[@jensenflyfishing]

😊 it's a master-class for our patreon supporters where we do a deep-dive behind the scenes of the video. www.patreon.com/jensenflyfishing