Bow River Conditions July 6th 2007

  Well, by all accounts the fishing on the lower Bow river between Calgary and Carseland has been very good.  River levels are still high, and the river actually has higher turbidity than the Highwood river, so the river visibility actually improves downstream of the confluence which is definately not the norm this time of year. 

 Look for trout up against the banks, and in current breaks. Nymphing, working streamers and drifting streamers are all working equally well.  Our guides are seeing good numbers of Big Browns, and they are also seeing very good mature, post spawn rainbows that are fattening up quickly. Many who fished last year recognized the abundance of fish in the 12-16″ range, well those fish have grown, and this year is shaping up to be a great year for BIG trout.

  If you are interested in information about taking a guided drift down the Bow river, or a walk and wade to one of our many High mountain streams in the Kananaskis area, please contact us and we will gladly answer your questions. Tight Lines…

Sheep River and Highwood River Conditions July 6 2007

 Fishing season is back, and things couldn’t be looking better. The Sheep and Highwood rivers are clear and totally fishable, they are both running even clearer than the Bow at the moment. Those who know how to find straggling spawning rainbows in the Sheep and Highwood know that there are few spawners left in the Bow tributaries, but worth a try none the less. Hooking and landing a 24″ rainbow in a river as small as the Sheep can be quite an exhilerating experience.  Even if you don’t find Boss Hogg, there are plenty of smaller rainbows and cuttbows who will eagerly attack your offerings.

  Good Luck out there! If you have any questions, or are interested in booking a guided drift on the Bow river, or a Kananaskis stream walk and wade, please contact us.  We would be happy to answer any of youer questions.

Looking Forward to the 2007 Fishing Season on the Bow River…

  Another year has come and passed, and on I would like to personally thank all of our guests in 2006 for spending time with us pursuing the quiet sport. We had a fantastic season,  and the photos and reports below show many happy faces, and a few chubby trout too.

  This is definately a dynamic season on the river basin in the year to come, new launches, bridges,a water treatment plant, and now, an improvement to the ugly and dangerous Bow river wier in S.E. Calgary. Not to mention the many interest groups lobbying for and against development along the riverbanks southeast of Calgary.

  I am optimistic about the future of the river. After dealing with Alberta Environment on a daily basis during the expansion of the Fish Creek boat launch facility, I am convinced that the provincial gov’t is doing it’s utmost to ensure a sustainable future for the river. The handling and exacution of both the bank restabilization, and the boat launch expansion was impressive, while stricktly protecting the population of trout in the river, and making sure the guides and pleasureseekers alike had access to the launch.

  As the river has rebounded nicely from the flood of 2005, the populations of trout in the 12-15″ range seemed to explode in 2006.  Which leads many to believe that 2007 is going to be an excellent season for big trout!

 I have decided not to post the 2007 season rate until March 31, 2007. I would like to give some time for my new and returning customers to book a 2007 trip at the the old rate, as I assure you the rate will be going UP on April 1st.  I encourage you to take advantage of the early seasons savings and book a trip with us! Remember, if you have any questions or comments, or you just want to talk fly talk, drop us a line.

Tight Lines…

Rob.

Bow River Fishing Report Sept 28th

After having such a great day with my sons yesterday, and seeing the great weather forecast for the next few days, I planned a float with my longtime pal and fellow guide, Dennis Messer of Calgary. Today was one of those days that will be forever inmprinted in my mind, a day that only be described as supernatural!

We floated the fish creek to McKinnon flats stretch, and found eager trout absolutely everywhere! The action was non-stop, and we hooked so many trout that I would be a fool to even try to put a number out there…but… when I got home tonite, there were 68 new photos in my camera, more than a few of them sporting trout.

  We found the combination of short line nymphing, and the Leisenring lift proved to be INCREDIBLY effective today. We also saw lots of water boatmen throughout the day, and some big october caddis later in the day.  We were so exausted by mid afternoon, luckily we had planned ahead to have a hot shore lunch, and man did it hit the spot!

   After lunch at cottonwood, we drifted the bottom stretch of the river only stopping to release fish, which was often. Dennis switched to a streamer late at dusk, and managed to boat a nice big brown and a big ‘bow too.  As we got to the takeout to a beautiful sunset, I couldn’t help but relish the last moments of what was an incredible fishing experience…even for us lucky enough to know the river well.  All in all it was one of those days I will cherish, one of those days I will never forget…

Bow River Fishing Report Sept 27th

I was lucky enough to fish with two of my favorite people in the world today, my two sons Stephen (above), and Christian (below). It was a nice day to float, so I pulled my boys from school and we spent the day floating from glenmore trail to fish creek park.  The weather couldn’t have been better, and we enjoyed each others company as much as we enjoyed the fishing. We stopped and explored every island along the way, and caught a few fish too. Christian caught a beautiful brown trout but dad lost it before we could get a good pic (Oops!). Christians secret weapon? Mepps. One of the great days in my life…

Bow River Fishing Report Sept 18th

    Break out the fall gear! Waders, polar fleece and gore-tex were required to survive today on the river. Temperature at the boat launch when I arrived at 8:30am was 0 degrees celcius, we could see our breath until about lunch time. A cold, biting headwind that occasionally gusted reminded us that summer is definately on the way out…

After three straight days of rain and snow, and a massive low pressure sytem moving in, we are all anxious to get back on the river. My guest today is a really good Pal and fellow guide, Dennis Messer of Calgary. I guess I guided him (since he landed most of the fish) today, but my long distance release technique was in top form if I do say so myself.  Anyway heres a shot of Mr. (I think I landed every fish I hooked today) Messer.

 The river conditions are quite good, the rain has increased levels nicely after weeks of relentless heat, and the cooler water temperature has made the the trout as energetic as I’ve seen them.  Every fish fought unbeleivably! Multiple runs and leaps, in the true character of the fiesty Bow river rainbow. Heres Denny with just one of the many big rainbows he battled with today;

We had success with both nymphing and streamer fishing, although I would have to say that small nymphs with rubber legs caught most of the fish today. All of the trout we caught were incredibly healthy, with big girths and power to spare. Even the smaller trout fought incredibly well, seemingly never giving up. Here’s Dennis reviving for release, a beautiful specimen;

 Please feel free to Contact Us if you have any questions or comments, as we’d love to hear from you. Tight lines…and get ‘em on the reel.

Bow River Fishing Report Sept 10th

 Well it was another hot day in Southern Alberta.  My guests today were Chris Johnston of Calgary and his son, Colin. With the high, bright sun today we saw very few risers. Once again, we spent most of the day dead drift nymphing, with some pretty decent results. Here is Chris leaning in for a shot with a nice bullet.

  And here is Colin with a nice ‘bow.

   Even in the hot afternoon sun, we managed to find some fish, although mid afternoon is typically the slowest part of summer days on the Bow.  Don’t be afraid to try the hopper dropper in the afternoon, and stick with nymphs in the 12-16 range.  As Always, we welcome any questions or comments that you may have, please feel free to contact us.  Tight lines…and get ‘em on the reel.

Bow River Fishing Report Sept 8th

  The weather has certainly been spectacular this week, I don’t think I’ve seen a cloud for days!  We drifted the city stretch of the river today, from Glenmore trail to Fish creek.  The visibility is excellent, with relatively few weeds for this time of year. We saw very few rising fish today, but the numbers of whitefish in the city are on the rise for the run, and the browns are beginning to run as well. Our guests today were the staff of Pilot Energy LTD. of Calgary, Ab.  A great day to cruise the city stretch of river.

 All of the boats saw fish today, although there were few over 18″ hooked. Todd Lemieux, (below) hooked and landed this fine 20″ rainbow just north of fish creek park.

 Thanks again to our guests, please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or comments, we’d love to hear from you.

Bow river fishing report Sept 7th

Hello again, today we drifted a corporate outing with the IT department of Baytex Energy Trust. The conditions on the river were very good for our trip from McKinnon flats to Carseland Weir. 

  With a forecast high of 26c, and not a cloud to be seen, it was only smoke from far away forest fires that reduced visibility and created a haze at times. The water was very clear, and there were relatively few weeds for this time of year.  There was very little surface activity today, and we found all of our fish on the bottom, dead drift nymphing with small nymphs.

  Everyone caught fish, and had a great time! My client Svetlana (below) bested ALL of the men by hooking and landing double digit trout, it seemed she had a fish on every 15 minutes!

  Remember to use small (16-18) nymphs and a 5-6′ leader if you’re headed out to the river. The hopper dropper in the afternoon is always worth considering.  There are some surface opportunities for those who look hard enough, and are willing to stalk with a watch and wait attitude. Thanks for visiting our site, check on the links to the right for river flow rates as well as some of our favorites.  Please feel free to contact us if you have any comments or questions.

Upper Bow River Fishing Report Aug 28

 Well it has been a great August weatherwise, and so far the fishing has been pretty good too.  Today I was involved in a corporate trip with the folks at Elk Valley Coal Mining Corp.

  The trip was a short 10k float from Exshaw to Seebe. With the water lower temps and less nutrients in the water, the upper Bow is definately more challenging for the fly fisher as there are simply less fish to cast to. We did manage to see some trout, but nothing of lower bow preportions. Please visit regularly as we update often. Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions or comments, or would like to book a float trip with us for the remainder of the 2006 season.

Bow River Fishing Report Aug 24th

   Recent weather has been unstable, and some strong winds and thundershowers greeted my overnight trip on the river earlier this week. Today turned out to be a pretty good day and the number of rising fish was the best it has been in about the last week or so . Nymphing with small nymphs like evil weevil, copper john, midge and of course ALL stages of caddis will get you into fish.

  My guest today was Mr Jim Scott of Coquitlam B.C.  The weather held held up fairly well for us, and although we didn’t see any big browns today, we managed to boat our share of 20″+ rainbows. In fact, Jim caught one so large, he could barely hold it up for a snap shot. I enjoyed the day I’m sure almost as much as Jim, and I thank you Jim for being our guest today. As always, we welcome  questions or comments from ALL of the visitors to our site:) Tight lines…and get ‘em on the reel.

Rob.

Bow River Fishing Report Aug 17th

  Wrestlin’ rainbows

What an absolute Hog!

The barometric pressure is up, and sun is back! A fabulous summer day to fish the river.  There were about four different hatches going on steadily all day today, but not too many obvious rising fish about. My guests today were Washington Capitals of the NHL Asst. Coach Jay Leach (top and above left) and his longtime friend Kim (above right and below), from New Hampshire U.S.A.  We saw a good number of fish today, including this slob of a brown trout and some fine, scrappy rainbows too!

Nice Silver Rainbow.

The weather forecast is calling for sun, sun, sun! Check out the weather link on the top right as well as links to some of our favorite people.

   Remember, get to the river as early as possible, think small nymphs, and switch to the hopper dropper on the dog day afternoons. We will be accepting bookings until September 30th, so Contact Us soon for that day of fishing you’ve dreamed about….Tight lines.

Rob.

Bow river Fishing Report Aug. 16th

Well, a low pressure system moved in the last 24 hours causing cloudiness, showers and scattered thundershowers on the river. That did not seem to have a major impact on the fishing.

  My guests today, Cody (above) and Dan (below right) of Calgary both had a fantastic day, as both had personal best days on the river. The fish were oout there for those willing to brave the cold, wet stuff today.

  As always, we’d love to hear any questions or comments that you may have, feel free to contact us. Tight lines…

Rob.

Bow River Fishing Report Aug.12th

  The Bow River downstream of Calgary has been fishing well as of late. Scattered dry fly opportunities can be found if you look closely enough.  Below is a photo of my client Dr. Henry Bianchi of Tucson, Arizona, with one of many fine rainbows he caught today.

  Try nymphing with small (14-18) nymphs, and hopper dropper on dog day afternnons. Tight lines…

Rob.

Bow river Fishing Report Aug 9th ‘06

 Well the weather has certainly been mixed in the last 36 hours. Cloudy with showers this morning, and a sunny afternoon followed by a rainy evening. A full moon… and the fishing is good. Less rising fish today than in the last week or so. Small nymphs were the key today, fewer fish rising but some excellent trout to be had. Here are a few photos of my guests today Kelly and Corey, landing some nice fish.

   As always, we’d love to hear from you, feel free to contact us if you have any questions or comments. Tight lines…

Rob.