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, Keep reading →
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, Keep reading →
Air Temperature: 20° C ~ 68° F 
Water Temperature: 11° C ~ 52° F
Water Level: 1.183 m
Water Flow: 2.38 m3/s
I headed back to the mountains today and hiked several kilometers to fish a section of Cataract Creek that I have never been on Keep reading →
Air Temperature: 24° C ~ 65° F
Water Temperature: 10° C ~ 50° F
Warren and Jesse, who have never fly fished before, joined me for a day in the mountains. Our first choice was the Oldman River, but again, strong winds had us moving further into the mountains to the Livingstone River. It was an odd day today with a couple of weather systems passing through. Warm periods were interrupted by gusting winds, quickly dropping temperatures and rain. At one point it looked like we might have to pack up and leave but the system passed quickly and we were able to continue. Keep reading →
Air Temperature: 24° C ~ 76° F
Water Temperature: 15° C ~ 60° F
Water Level: 1.453 m
Water Flow: 144.36 m3/s
I got down to the Bow for awhile this evening with the intent of casting to rising rainbows and browns. It was a clear, calm, warm evening, but unfortunately, there wasn't much of a hatch for the fish to key in on. By the time I headed for home at 11 PM, I had lost two fish and landed one. The two fish I lost were entirely my fault. Keep reading →
Air Temperature: 24° C ~ 76° F
Water Temperature: 6° C - 10° C ~ 44° F - 50° F
Water Level (Oldman R): 6.029 m
Water Flow: 27.04 m3/s
While Dave (Calgary) is an avid Bow River spin fisher, he had never fly fished before, and was eager to get out and give fly fishing a try on our mountain rivers. Joining him was Will (Ontario) who was new to the sport as well. With run-off and recent rains, we were uncertain as to the condition of the rivers and although the rivers were running high, the water was gin clear and we if we picked our spots, we were able wade across the rivers in several locations.
Our first stop was on the Oldman River near The Gap, and after a bit of casting instruction and practice, we headed down to the river. A strong wind arrived and chased us into the mountains and further upstream on the Oldman. Our next stop was the Livingstone River where the fish were much more active. Keep reading →
