Oct. 31st 2014 - Last Day for the Small Rivers & Streams

 On the October 31st; the final day of the season for the smaller rivers and streams here in Southern Alberta,  we were blessed with 19 Celsius weather and some big fish! 19 degrees is unheard of here on the last day of October, but catching big angry Bull Trout is usually a normal occurrence.

 After the 2013 flood many of us were concerned that the Bull Trout may have taken a large hit to its population. However looking at it now, it seems that they were just later than usual. Most likely due to the water pushing them further downstream than they would have liked, and coming back upstream to spawn took a bit longer to get where they were headed. I must say however, it was worth the wait…

 Now that my favorite areas are closed, it’s time to head back to The Bow River to do some exploring again. Winter fishing on the Bow River in my opinion is the best time of year as long as you have your battery operated socks :)

Have a look at some of the highlight Pics of the day…

Tight-Lines,

John

Swirling Clouds & Evening Rainbows

Things your parents used to tell you; look both ways before you cross the street, don't run with scissors, don't wave a 9 foot Graphite/Carbon fibre rod in a lightening storm!!!...Wait, what???

 I tested that last one tonight:

 Turns out that this weather really stirs up the activity in the river. Once the lightening started I also started to get bite after bite. This was great fishing, but a bit scary as I was fighting the last fish when the lightening was going on, trying to keep the rod tip low enough so that I did not attract the flashes of lightening.

 I finally got this one in and then quickly packed it up and headed back to the car:

   Nice colors on this Rainbow and an exciting evening all in all.

Good Times,
Tight-lines,
John

Father's Day Bull Trout June 16th 2013

 Well, it's been a while since my last post but today June 16th, 2013; being that it's Father’s Day today I was inspired to get out and cast a line.
Let me just say, it is so nice to get out and 10 minutes from leaving my house to be on the water!

 It seems we all wait patiently for Opening day to come, hopefully with minimal high water run-off such as this year. Here's hoping for a nice long gradual run-off rather than in past years where the mountains pounded down water, and the spring rains added to the mess.
 This year looks very promising so far, and although there is rain forecast in the area this week, today was an exceptional day for fishing.

 The morning started early, and I was on the water at 8:30AM after having a short conversation with my neighbor; he was envious that I was heading out, and he had to stay and paint his house. But after telling me about his 100 fish day last year on the Oldman river, he wished me luck and reluctantly went back to work on the house.

 I must say that my landing percentage needs improvement as while hooking 5 Bull Trout and 1 Rainbow I only managed to land one Bull. I did however have a very good look at all of them as the water clarity is very good for run-off conditions, and I managed to get them all close enough to see what they were, and which fly that they were taking...all took the smaller trailing Streamer.

 Here is a couple pictures of the nice healthy Bull Trout:



 This was the first year in many years that I have had Father's Day off to enjoy for myself and I must say, this was a perfect morning on a Perfect River. The weather was amazing and so was the fishing.

Tightlines,
John


  

Winter Fishing on the Bow River

 I had to run some errands in Calgary today and since I had my gear in the truck and I was in the south end of the city, I decided to hit Fish Creek Park and see what’s-up...

 It was a beautiful day to be on the river and it was fairly quiet for a Wednesday, however there were a few anglers on the water. Nevertheless, it seemed that the fish were winning. No one was getting any bites; including myself. I must have tried ½ of my fly box before putting on one of my variations of a San Juan worm.

 Well it was on my second cast with the new fly, a rocket of a rainbow trout catapulted out of the water when I noticed that my indicator had disappeared and set the hook. It gave me a good fight on my new Redington 5 wt, and with the Amundson reel screaming out line, I turned up the drag and proceeded to see what the new rod would do.

 It didn’t take very long before I slipped the net under it, and admired the likes of this beauty…

 They say where there is one there is usually more and after a couple of that Rainbows younger brothers to the net, I had to call it a day…the gates were about to close at 6:00 PM at Fish Creek, so I had to pack it in and get out of the Park.

Winter fishing on the Bow River, you’ve gotta love it!

Tight-lines,

John

Late Fall Brown Trout on the Bow River

Another Healthy Release.FlyFishen Adventures
Calgary Alberta, CANADA
The Website:
http://flyfishenadventures.tripod.com/
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Tight-lines,

John

So, it’s back to the Bow River.

For the last week or so, I’ve been putting my motto (below) to the test and have been getting out super early to see if I can hook up with the bigger cruising fish. They tend to be a lot more willing to feed in the wee hours of the morning trying to catch their first meal of the day. In addition, they usually commit to the fly much better in the early A.M.

 Streamers were the key. Here’s a couple from the past week or so…

P.S. The Brown’s are coming back to their winter holes now.

Tight-lines,

John
"The big ones bite at night"

Bull trout on the fly - Flyfishen Adventures

 I was out today enjoying the Sun and fishing from about 3PM to 7PM. The fishing started off amazing with a tank of a Bull Trout right off the bat…have a look at the video:

 Afterwards I decided to check out some new water and found an excellent spot for next year. If I don’t make it back before the end of the season this year, this spot will be first on my list for next season.

 Although I hooked into some nice fish, I didn’t get any photos or videos of these fish because of the aggressive takes and the size of these fish. They either broke me off, or I couldn’t get the camera out to get a good shot quick enough without stressing them out, so I just did a quick release so that I can see them again next year.

But man are there some big fish in this system this year!

Tight-lines,
John