Glenmore to Policeman's Flats
Air Temperature: 12° C ~ 54° F
Water Level: 1.363 m
Water Flow: 122.20 m3/s
Jim (Coquitlam) is a repeat customer of sorts. We had made arrangements to get him out on the Bow River last summer, but circumstances led to a cancellation being necessary. Plans were again made to get him out this summer but it looked like nature might conspire to keep him off the Bow once again. Last night, Jim called to let me know that just east of Calgary where he was hunkered down, a huge thunder storm was letting loose. We discussed the conditions on Bow (poor) and the forecast (rain, rain and more rain) and decided that Jim should think it over for awhile. Jim mulled it over and called back to say that we should probably go ahead since he didn't know when he might have an opportunity fish the Bow again. When we got to the river this morning, it was raining steadily and the river was quite dirty, with visibility at less than a foot, and as luck would have it, the rain continued until about 2 pm. The plan today was to throw streamers at the bank and it proved to be a decent choice. Jim had many hits throughout the day and ended the day with three brown trout and one rainbow. The fish we landed today were all a good size with these two browns easily falling into the "hefty" category! (more...)
Policeman's Flats to McKinnon Flats
Air Temperature: 18° C ~ 64° F
Water Level: 1.335 m
Water Flow: 120.60 m3/s
A huge storm blew through much of central Alberta last night, with devastating results in some areas. Reports of baseball sized hailstones came in from a community to the north of Calgary and, in the city of Airdrie where I live, a good deal of damage was caused by an intense hail storm. As a result of all the rainfall from Sunday night's storm, the Bow River (more...)
I had a great time with Mike and his son, Michael (San Diego) who joined me for 5 days of fishing on some of Southwest Alberta's finest rivers. Rather than try to provide a written account of the outing, I thought I'd rather just show you some of what Mike and Michael experienced.
Policeman's Flats to McKinnon Flats
Air Temperature: 28° C ~ 82° F
Water Temperature: 20° C ~ 68°
Water Level: 1.278 m
Water Flow: 105.20 m3/s
Chris and Brian (Maryland) were in town for a family wedding and since they are both avid fishers, they didn't want to pass up the opportunity to get out on the Bow River for a day. After a few fly changes, it was obvious that the fish were really liking a brown chenille worm pattern and a sample from a fish confirmed that worms were definitely on today's menu. Fish were hitting steadily pretty much all day which kept things interesting. Both Chris and Brian were very impressed with the incredible fight of our rainbow trout and the huge jumps that so many of the fish were making today. All fish today, regardless of size really made the guys work to bring them in. Many fish were lost to long distance releases and by the end of the day, one brown was landed and I'm not sure how many rainbows were brought in. The river is in great shape as are the fish which are really starting to thicken up. As water temperatures begin to rise, it will be important to land and release fish quickly.
I got out to the Crowsnest River to check out some water that I hadn't been on before. While most of the fish I landed were not large by any standard, it was a lot of fun and a lot of fish were caught. Only a couple of trout were taken on a dry fly while the rest were mostly taking a rubber leg copper john. I landed rainbows, cutthroats, a brown and a couple of whitefish. The Crowsnest River is a beautiful mountain stream that you will want to spend some time on if you have the opportunity.
Policeman's Flats to McKinnon Flats
Air Temperature: 28° C ~ 82° F
Water Temperature: 15° C ~ 60°
Water Level: 1.390 m
Water Flow: 128.52 m3/s
Several months ago I donated a trip to help raise funds for an orphanage in Cambodia, and today, Brent, who purchased the trip, and his good friend Craig joined me for a drift down the Bow River. Neither had ever cast a fly rod before so after some dry land instruction and a few pointers, we were off. Brent landed a rainbow trout fairly soon after we got started, but it was Craig who had the upper hand by the time the day was over. We had a lot of hits today, many fish managed to shake loose before they saw the net and several nice rainbow trout were landed. Fish were taken on a variety of flies today including dead drifted leach patterns and various bead head nymphs. A warm, humid and beautiful calm day day on the water was exceeded only by the great company.
Paul and Cody, in town on business from Cold Lake, wanted to get out on the river after work and our half day drifts from Glenmore to Fish Creek Park are perfect for an evening outing. Even though the Bow River was running high from recent rains, it was still in great shape. Flies were thick over the water pretty much through the drift but very few risers were spotted. No single fly seemed to be on fire tonight so we tried a number of variations and combinations, and even though fishing seemed to be a little on the slow side, we had enough hits and fish on to keep things interesting. Paul held the hot hand tonight and among the fish he landed were these two, very nice trout that pushed twenty inches. The rainbow, the biggest Paul has ever landed on a fly rod, was taken right in the seam of a great looking outside corner. The brown was taken in slack water along a bank of boulders. Fish Creek was coming in very dirty and as a result, the west side of the river clouded up pretty quickly. Thanks to Paul and Cody for a fun evening on the Bow River.
Today was a very wet day on the Bow River, and Kenny, who is visiting the area from the UK, mentioned that he could have stayed home for weather like this. The rain and wind lasted for probably 4 or 5 hours today and, for awhile, the rain was coming down in buckets. At one point, the lightening chased us off the river and we ended up huddled under a tarp for a good hour. Hits were fairly steady today despite the rain, but keeping fish on proved to be a bit of a task. Shown is a nice, hard fighting rainbow trout that Kenny landed. About half way between Policeman's Flats and McKinnon Flats, (more...)
Bow River: Policeman's Flats to McKinnon Flats
Air Temperature: 25° C ~ 77° F
Water Level: 1.330 m
Water Flow: 115.60 m3/s
John joined me for a great day of fishing on the Bow River. We were into fish almost immediately after launching from Policeman's Flats, and had hits pretty steady until later in the day. Most fish were taken in the faster current and many were taken in drop-offs right below sets of riffles. Only one brown was brought in and I'm not sure how many rainbows were netted, (more...)
Glenmore to Policeman's Flats
(rain, rain and more rain) and decided that Jim should think it over for awhile. Jim mulled it over and called back to say that we should probably go ahead since he didn't know when he might have an opportunity fish the Bow again. When we got to the river this morning, it was raining steadily and the river was quite dirty, with visibility at less than a foot, and as luck would have it, the rain continued until about 2 pm. The plan today was to throw streamers at the bank and it proved to be a decent choice. Jim had many hits throughout the day and ended the day with three brown trout and one rainbow. The fish we landed today were all a good size with these two browns easily falling into the "hefty" category! (more...)
I got out to the Crowsnest River to check out some water that I hadn't been on before. While most of the fish I landed were not large by any standard, it was a lot of fun and a lot of fish were caught. Only a couple of trout were taken on a dry fly while the rest were mostly taking a rubber leg copper john. I landed rainbows, cutthroats, a brown and a couple of whitefish. The Crowsnest River is a beautiful mountain stream that you will want to spend some time on if you have the opportunity.
Paul and Cody, in town on business from Cold Lake, wanted to get out on the river after work and our half day drifts from Glenmore to Fish Creek Park are perfect for an evening outing. Even though the Bow River was running high from recent rains, it was still in great shape. Flies were thick over the water pretty much through the drift but very few risers were spotted. No single fly seemed to be on fire tonight so we tried a number of variations and combinations, and even though fishing seemed to be a little on the slow side, we had enough hits and fish on to keep things interesting. Paul held the hot hand tonight and among the fish he landed were these two, very nice trout that pushed twenty inches. The rainbow, the biggest Paul has ever landed on a fly rod, was taken right in the seam of a great looking outside corner. The brown was taken in slack water along a bank of boulders. Fish Creek was coming in very dirty and as a result, the west side of the river clouded up pretty quickly. Thanks to Paul and Cody for a fun evening on the Bow River.
Today was a very wet day on the Bow River, and Kenny, who is visiting the area from the UK, mentioned that he could have stayed home for weather like this. The rain and wind lasted for probably 4 or 5 hours today and, for awhile, the rain was coming down in buckets. At one point, the lightening chased us off the river and we ended up huddled under a tarp for a good hour. Hits were fairly steady today despite the rain, but keeping fish on proved to be a bit of a task. Shown is a nice, hard fighting rainbow trout that Kenny landed. About half way between Policeman's Flats and McKinnon Flats, 
Bow River: Policeman's Flats to McKinnon Flats
