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Angling Season 2007
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Overview 2007 was a good angling year. Trout were in fine form and had wintered well. Runoff hit about the 20,000 cfs level scouring the river bed so there was not a problem with weed growth all year. The high average snow fall kept the river flow rate high through the July heat wave and beyond. We had sufficient rain to maintain flows and freshen the river when needed. If not for good flows we might have had a fish kill during late July as the air temperature was in the low 30C range with the water temperature reaching about 70F by mid afternoon. Trout were active and ate dries, nymphs and streamers. Some of the best fishing of the season was streamer fishing to the banks in early September. Good things happen when the fly is delivered accurately to the target. Unfortunately the Alberta government still has not repaired or replaced Policeman's access but the Provincial Parks people did a superlative job upgrading the Fish Creek Park access. It is now without a doubt the best access on the river. Visit this page for a "review" of the river access points from Highway 24 upstream to Fish Creek Park. http://www.thebowriver.com/present_state_river_access_points.htm I'm told that work has just now begun (sometime in late October) on the "New" Policeman's Flats access. Apparently it is just downstream of the destroyed access and upstream of the "private" access. It will be great to finally have this access back for the 2008 season. I only hope that the new Policeman's is finished by the start of the 2008 season and is as good as the Fish Creek access. One never knows when government is involved! March, April & May Ice came off around mid March. These are big snow months and it was true to form as the mountain snow packs for the Bow River drainage
registered snow in the high level of normal. All river recording stations for the Bow and its tributaries up and recording flows by mid April. The month of May saw
precipitation as both snow and rain. Flows continued a steady rise through the month as
Run Off approached.
June It takes a few days to reach the Bow in the Calgary area once the river in Banff colors up with snow melt. By the end of the first week Run Off had arrived. The river reached the high flow of 556 cms. To view flow rates for the season visit http://www.thebowriver.com/stream_flows_south.htm From here you can view stream flows for the Bow and its tributaries by year and by month. We had hot weather the first week of June and then heavy rain. Flows were fluctuating a great deal through out the month as the snow packs continued to melt and there was not much happening on the river. Everyone from guides to fly shops and shuttle companies were eagerly waiting for the river to stabilize and to start clearing. By the 3rd week this started to occur. This is a magical time of the year when big trout are regularly caught fishing streamers up against the banks. The high dirty water pushes the big trout to the banks and into back channels trying to escape the spate. If one can time a float to coincide with these conditions large rainbow and brown trout are regularly duped into smacking big black heavy flies. It is extremely exciting angling and when the trout are on big trout and big numbers are possible. July
The last week of the month a buddy from Colorado came to fish and to hang out for a week. The timing was unfortunate as this was exactly when we had the heat wave. Air temperatures were in the low 30C range with bright sunny weather. The water temperature started out in the mid 60s F in the morning and by mid afternoon was dangerously close to 70F. Any warmer and we could be looking at possible stream closures or God forbid - fish kills. It was at this time that the head biologist for the Bow River had a planned vacation and was out of the office for the duration of the heat wave. I'm not sure just who might advise the Government to close the streams during the heat wave - but it was a real possibility. In our effort to beat the heat we hit the water earlier and earlier each day trying to take advantage of the overnight cooling of the river. Another problem my friend had was for medical reasons he was not able to wade at all. Also his medication caused an adverse reaction when he got too much sun. This presented quite the problem. Marshall covered himself up from head to toe and we fished from my jet boat for most of the time. This would allow us to get off the water quickly if need be. It seems that one guy in particular had a problem with this and called me to voice his objections. I listened politely, explained my situation but it didn't seem to register with him. He believes that the river is a drift boat only river. That means no inflatables, no car toppers, definitely no jet boats, no canoes, no bank fishermen - nothing but drift boats. I got the impression that he thought the river belonged to him. Nothing could be further from the truth. Not one group has any more right to the Bow River than any other group. Every one must co-exist and do so in a respectful and friendly manner. I try very hard to do this when in my jet boat but find it difficult especially when encountering this type of single minded angler. August August was cooler than July but we still had some heat during the month. We started to hear grasshoppers on the south facing banks - always a welcome noise. As a result the trout were looking up. Not sure if they knew they were hoppers or maybe thought that they were adult Stone flies. Whatever the reason for the hopper eats, it is just good to see the trout looking up. Lee was back again. This time he brought Randy as an angling partner. Lee is also an experienced and competent angler. Randy was new to fly fishing and was initiated with his first Bow River trout being a 20 plus inch rainbow. Not bad for getting your line wet. Another duo new to fly fishing were Anthony and his 80 year old father. Both boys had fished before but never fly fished. The learning curve was steep, the day was warm and bright and the trout were elusive. Regardless they had a good time and are committed to fishing again.
September
The first day of September and I guided Dean and his father-in-law Ed. Ed was celebrating his 70th birthday and his family booked a trip on the Bow. Having fly fished all his life in the Maritimes Ed was no stranger to casting a fly line. He was however new to fishing for trout on a river but quite quickly made their acquaintance. Dean was a fly fishing virgin and after lunch hooked and landed one of the biggest rainbow trout I'd seen all year. We were floating the city stretch and in a hole by a storm drain lived this huge rainbow. He ate Dean's dropper and after a tremendous battle was brought to net. Photographic proof can be found in the 2007 photo gallery section. http://www.thebowriver.com/photo_gallery_2007.htm The weather took a turn for the worse about the time John and his fishing buddy Lee arrived in town. Sunny warm weather turned to thunder storms, big wind and cold. As bad as the weather was - the streamer fishing was electric. John had prepared Lee to expect quality trout because that is what the Bow is know for. He told him this fishery was all about quality - not numbers. Not only did the boys hook and land quality trout that had some serious attitude but I kept hearing them exclaim, "Numbers, baby", to each and every smaller trout hooked. To say they had some great fishing is an understatement. John's prediction came to fruition as well as good numbers. They will be back next fall. Next up was ladies day. Janet and Tina were the lucky winners of a float trip provided by a local company at their Stampede function. These ladies had never fly fished before but were game. Unfortunately they both were a little under the weather. The trip became a sight seeing event after lunch but a good time was had by all. It was a welcome distraction for me to have two attractive ladies in the boat for a change. Late in the month "Little Dick" fished with his son-in-law Gary. Gary is a gentle giant standing about 6'4". I wisely put him in the front of the boat. For anyone that has ever rowed a drift boat - it is understood that the big guy goes in the front. It is just a lot easier to row the boat. Gary was also new to fly fishing only having fished for trout on Skitchine lake in the Kamloops BC area. We had a great time on the river and we were able to get Gary into a hot rainbow. I'm not sure just who was more pleased, Gary or father-in-law Rick. Suffice to say that they will be back next year. Late in the month I got a referral from one of my clients from Ontario. Vic suggested to Serge he call me to arrange a trip. We did a shorter piece of water given the time of year and spent time fishing a couple of back channels. The boys did very well - especially Serge. The trout seemed to like his version of the Evil Weevil. He hooked six trout on six successive casts. Again photographic evidence can be found in the photo gallery section. October
Once again it is time to reminisce about days spent on the water this year, to anticipate days to come next year and attempt to remain sane through the long winter months of tying. If you want to talk fly tying this winter feel free to give me a call as it breaks up the monotony of commercial tying. I will surface about next May eager to float the river. Until then, stay warm, travel safely and have a very happy holiday season. Best Regards and Seasons Greetings, Tom |
