When Trains Ruled the Rockies by Terry Gainer

Author:Terry Gainer
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: HISTORY / Canada / Post-Confederation (1867-)
Publisher: RMB | Rocky Mountain Books
Published: 2019-05-14T16:00:00+00:00

The Changing Ecosystem

Prior to the coming of the railway, the Vermilion Lakes area had been a huge backwater for the Bow River, flooding the valley during high water in the spring and early summer, creating three lakes and a huge wetland. The construction of the CP rail line in 1883 had proceeded west from Siding 29 (at the base of Cascade Mountain), through the Bow Valley toward Lake Louise. From the crossing of Echo Creek, for the next four miles, the rail line paralleled the riverbank, creating an earthen dam impeding the flow of water across the valley. To balance the water level on each side of the line, culverts were strategically placed, and this created new boundaries for the Vermilion Lakes. The lakes were connected by a network of canals created by nature’s own dam builders, beavers that thrived on the willows and aspen trees growing in the wetlands. This sprawling area of water, swamp, streams and ponds was a diverse ecosystem, attracting all kinds of aquatic animals, birdlife and insects, as well as supporting a thriving fishery.

At school, I had met another keen fisherman, George, son of Gus Baracos who owned the Banff Café. Mr. Baracos was a famous personality on the Banff scene and most evenings could be found playing his mandolin and entertaining his guests while they dined. More importantly to me, George’s older brother Andrew was a fly-fishing maestro and knew all the tricks about fishing the Vermilion Lakes. Andrew was home from university for the summer and one day agreed to take us fishing.

We crossed the railroad bridge over Echo Creek and then slogged through swamp and bush, finally reaching the outlet stream from First Lake. And there it was – the biggest beaver dam I have ever seen. We climbed up on the beaver dam and, looking down into a crystal-clear pool, saw so many fish that we could not see the bottom. Hundreds were schooling up, as if awaiting some signal to breech the dam and begin the migration to the spawning beds up Forty Mile and Whiskey creeks. Because a beaver dam is porous, the fish could easily pass through into the creeks and, twice a year, in spring and fall, every deep bend and undermined creek bank with a gravel bottom was thick with spawners.

The channel behind the dam was at least three yards deep and backed up about 55 yards. These were the bull and brook trout that spawned in late summer and early autumn. I later learned the same activity occurred every spring when the rainbow and cutthroat began their spawning exodus. The fishing was too easy: in went the lines and out came the fish. Although the dam was only a couple of miles from town, it attracted few other fishermen; it was tough to access unless you were prepared to slop through heavy brush and swamp like us.

Andrew introduced us to all his favourite spots, including the beaver ponds between Second and Third lakes and the beaver dam on the west shore of Third Lake.

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