Hector and Mark, arrived in town from Cincinnati looking forward to spending a couple of days on the Bow River and one on the Oldman. The Bow proved to be very slow on the 9th and 10th, with strong winds wreaking havoc at times. Despite the slow days on the Bow, both Hector and Mark landed some great looking fish and also lost a couple of good sized rainbow trout. The highlight of the trip was an outing to the Oldman River on the 11th. Much to our disappointment, we arrived at our starting point in the mountains to a bitter, roaring wind. By the time we hiked down to the river, the winds had calmed and we ended up enjoying as spectacular a fall day as one could hope for; the sun was out, the sky was a deep blue and most importantly, the fish were very cooperative. Both Hector and Mark landed a number of fish on both dry flies and nymphs. I really enjoyed the time spent with Hector and Mark and hope I get an opportunity to spend some time again in the future.
Policeman's Flats to McKinnon Flats
Air Temperature: 23° C ~ 73° F
Water Temperature: 16° C ~ 62° F
Water Level: 1.152 m
Water Flow: 82.24 m3/s
We've had several trips to the mountains and the Bow River that I haven't reported on, so it's time to get back to the updates. The Bow River seemed to be a little slow, if not unpredictable, the last couple of weeks. On days that it wasn't slow, it seemed that we were catching a lot of smaller fish, so I was wondering what today would have in store. Joining me today were Justin, who is new to fly fishing, and Dennis, who has been fishing for years. Keep reading →
Grave's Landing to Policeman's Flats
Air Temperature: 11° C ~ 52° F
Water Temperature: 16° C ~ 62° F
Water Level: 1.297 m
Water Flow: 109.00 m3/s
Kent (Vancouver) was in town to meet with Mark (Airdrie), and made arrangements for a drift on the Bow River for the two of them later in the day. We launched under cloudy skies at 3:00, and by 4:00, a light rain was falling and would continue pretty much for the remainder of the drift. Today was easily the slowest day I've had on the river all season. We threw a variety of nymphs, tried some dries but had Keep reading →
Policeman's Flats to McKinnon Flats
Water Temperature: 16° C ~ 62° F
Water Level: 1.281 m
Water Flow: 105.80 m3/s
My brother is in town from Yellowknife for a few days with his family, and today we took the opportunity to get out on the Bow River with our friend Quinn. The fish were quite active earlier this morning and we had a lot of hits and several fish on and Keep reading →
This weekend was put aside for a trip to the South Ram River with my two sons and son-in-law. We chartered a helicopter and arrived at a very scenic location along the river's edge. The river was still a little murky from the previous week's rain but fishing was still good and apart from a pretty good thunderstorm and heavy rain Saturday night, the weather was perfect. It was great to get out and spend time with my boys and plans are in the works for another trip to different location in the Canadian Rockies next summer.
Check out the slideshow for a look at what proved to be a very enjoyable weekend.
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! Keep reading →
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 Keep reading →
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.
Hector and Mark, arrived in town from Cincinnati looking forward to spending a couple of days on the Bow River and one on the Oldman. The Bow proved to be very slow on the 9th and 10th, with strong winds wreaking havoc at times. Despite the slow days on the Bow, both Hector and Mark landed some great looking fish and also lost a couple of good sized rainbow trout. The highlight of the trip was an outing to the Oldman River on the 11th. Much to our disappointment, we arrived at our starting point in the mountains to a bitter, roaring wind. By the time we hiked down to the river, the winds had calmed and we ended up enjoying as spectacular a fall day as one could hope for; the sun was out, the sky was a deep blue and most importantly, the fish were very cooperative. Both Hector and Mark landed a number of fish on both dry flies and nymphs. I really enjoyed the time spent with Hector and Mark and hope I get an opportunity to spend some time again in the future. 
Grave's Landing to Policeman's Flats
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! 
