Flyfishen Adventures - Walk and wade Fly Fishing Adventures on the Bow River and other Pristine Southern Alberta Rivers and Streams in Southern Alberta. flyfish@telus.net FLYFISH WITH US !!!
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.
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!
This is definitely my
favourite time of year here in Southern Alberta, Canada. Ah yes, October is here and
the Bulls and Browns are on the move to get to there destination and do their
thing.
On their way, they
stop by one of my home rivers and have a quick bite to eat before they continue
on their trek upstream.
I have enjoyed this
same routine for years now, and it’s usually October that the biggest fish is
brought to the net. This year is no exception.
While I had a couple
of hours to kill while the family went shopping on October 10th, I
headed to one of my favourite spots close to home. There are usually both Brown
trout and Bull trout hiding out in this area, and after a couple of casts, this
beauty latched onto my offering:
After a short battle
with this beauty Brown, I gave it an adequate revival period and then let it go
to do battle again next year. I lucked out with this video, as the Brown was
very cooperative:
After battling with these larger fish, I always re-tie just
in case there are any weak spots in my tippet.
Then it was off to
see if the Bull trout were there waiting to play. One was, and it liked my
offering. It was a beast; pushing 27 inches, and it had a real attitude once it
realized that I had hooked it. Nevertheless, after a bit of a fight the Bull
came in for a quick picture and then off it went back to sulk in the deep hole
that it was pulled out of:
After these two
brutes and a couple of small Whitefish to the net, it was time to head back home.
It’s been a very busy 12 days and it has been difficult to get out and do any fishing for myself. With Life getting in the way of my favourite pass time; vehicles needing to be fixed, and business commitments needing to be fulfilled, today, I finally got to get out in the morning to have the river all to myself.
I decided to sleep-in until 8AM and then I went to the river hoping to do battle with another hog. When I made it to the river, I noticed that it was much higher than it had been in previous years, so I decided to put some extra weight on the line to get it down deep, and as it turns out this was the right idea.
After a couple of casts into one of my exceptional spots, I found out that an outstanding Bull Trout wanted to play. Here's a shot of the fish:
In addition, here is
a shot of my backyard playground:
After around 2 hours of being on the river and catching a few more small Rainbows,
I decided that I was not going to do much better than the first fish, so, feeling
content that one of my favourite rivers did not disappoint I headed back
home with a smile on my face ready for another busy two weeks.
I’ve been, and
continue to be booked up for quite a while this summer with only limited half day trips still available. If you're itchen to get out and do battle with one of these brutes email flyfish@telus.net and I'll see what I can do for you.
So, after a 12 hour shift I came home and the wife suggested that I try
the river now that it has finally cleared up. I told her that was the
best suggestion I've heard all day and away I go...9:15PM I'm on the
river and by 9:25PM I'm battling this fine young Bull Trout:
Then after a few smaller Rainbows I head back home feeling refreshed. Its amazing how this sport can make a day from hell at work disappear and make you forget about your day at work, but it works every-time. It sure is nice living this close to Paradise.
Since the rivers are mostly chocolate milk with Run-off going full swing, I've had some spare time to finish the Spool Holder Idea. Here's what it looked like before I added the Stain and Polyurethane:
And here it is after Staining and Polyurethanewas finished and dried:
And finally, here is what my creation looks like next to my new fly bench:
So far I'm happy with how it is turning out,and it seems to have more than enough room to hold my various spools.
Although I'd rather be fishing, my second favorite hobby (Woodworking) is still a lot of fun.
I found time to do the finishing touches on the bench. After a few coats of Natural Stain and Polyurethane here's the final result:
The tying station:
Now I think it's time to do something with the side tables. I'm thinking something to do with a spool holder and possibly something to hold the large hanging items such as flash. Stay tuned...
Well, with all this rain I decided to make another Fly Tying Bench. Here’s my first attempt that I made a while ago:
I found there was not
enough elbowroom on the first attempt, so I decided to get a bigger desk and custom made a table top
Bench. Here are some pictures of it not yet stained:
So far it fits pretty well...Stay tuned for the final pictures once I'm done.
Although visibility was a bit crappy it was not Run-Off type conditions as the water levels were still pretty decent today.
The fishing however was also decent. Nymphing was key and I went two for four in the three hours I was out.
Here's the largest of the day:
March 30th, 2011 1:30PM. Temperature on the river was 13 C, blue sky and sunshine, and very little wind at the start of the day. What a great day to be on the river.
I tied up a different variation of a stonefly that I wanted to try out and I’m happy that I did. First cast bam-fish on, but I wasn’t paying attention and lost him. Moved up the river a bit and tried again…bam a nice rainbow showing off his colors...
After letting him go I thought I’d stay and see what else was in the pool and lost a couple that were very large. Losing them mainly because I was getting bored with looking at that Little Orange Ball (Strike Indicator) and was looking elsewhere when they hit. After loosing the second one, I went back and grabbed my other rod from the truck with the sink tip.
It turned out to be a good move. I went right back to the same pool and BAM Fish-on. A nice fat rainbow all dressed up and waiting to go to the dance…
Total for the day was 2 rainbows and one brown and three long distance releases. Back at home and cooking steaks on the BBQ by 5:30PM, fed and watching the Flames by 7:30.
It was a great day off.
Tightlines,
John
