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.