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Overview This was a year of non experiences! We didn't get the usual wet heavy snow dump in May, we didn't get heavy rains in June and we didn't get run off. What we did have was a winter that would not end, a spring that was cold and wet, a summer that was late in arriving and a winter that came back too early. Snow pack was 87% of last years snow level. But run off never happened this year. The river remained clear and lower than normal through May and June (normally the run off window). Glenmore Reservoir did not dirty until heavy rains in July caused high flow warnings for the Elbow River. It wasn't until almost mid July that the river rose significantly and turned "run off brown". Until then the Bow was running at mid August flow rates. To view flow rates for the Bow River and tributaries Click Here More rain in early August put the river out again and trips were rescheduled (see images on the August stream flow page ). September recorded temperatures above normal for most of the month. October brought early winter as it was cold with rain and snow. We normally would have a few days of Indian summer - but not this year. The sub zero weather brought an abrupt end to the 09 angling season. April/May/June Typical weather for April and May - fluctuating temperatures and changing weather from rain and snow to a few warm spring days. The three river photos below were taken about mid June when the river should be in full run off mode and dirty brown. Not only is the Bow not dirty brown but the middle image shows no problem with visibility at the bank. Typically at this time of year there would be no visibility up to maybe 3 feet. Several times during June the weather forecast was for substantial rain but it failed to materialize. Temperatures were below average for much of the month. Place mouse on any photo and you will see a magnifying image. Left click and image will enlarge. Click again to shrink to original size.
June brought more cool days with rain and snow in the mountains. The snow packs melted slowly and instead of running off into the rivers they melted into the ground and became part of the "great east slope aquifer". To view information about the Bow River - where does it come from and where does the Bow River water go? - view Bow River Basin Waterscape. Here is an interesting fact about the Bow River. Bow Glacier contributes less than 1% of the Bow River water. The other 99% comes from snow melt and rain. Hmm, what does that do to predictions of the Bow River drying up due to global warming? To view further information on "A Great Canadian River", Click Here. Learn interesting facts about the Bow including the derivation of its name. July
Heat arrived about mid month and the 14 day extended forecast is for it to continue into August. Average temperature for the month of July is about 24 Celsius and we are expecting temperatures in the upper 20s and low to mid 30s. Hot fun in the summer time! Should be good hopper dropper fishing. Fishing on hot bright days has its own particular challenges. Trout tend to go deep and don't usually hit dries, except maybe hoppers. A father and son fished with me on one of these almost 30C days. We stopped in a back channel below Policeman's and hooked into a few nice browns that ate their Madame X hoppers. We landed a few good trout, lost a few and then proceeded downstream. Because of the heat we got a later start and the plan was to stay out later to get some evening dry fly. As we drifted we fished some good looking hopper banks and got no interest either on top or on the bead head nymph. We changed tactics and fished a deep nymph rig and began to pick up a few trout. Dad hooked into a big brown but on one of the jumps it threw the nymph and the same happened to the son with the big rainbow he had hooked. You win some and you lose some. They did land a few trout which justified the change in fishing style. After dinner I switched the son over to streamers and he promptly hooked up a fair sized rainbow at which point we got Dad streamer fishing as well. They threw the heavy streamer rods until the light faded and it was time to stop at a dry fly flat. Unfortunately the risers were sporadic and the flat failed to come alive. It was then time to row off.
Unsettled weather the rest of the week. Warm days and evening thunder showers. River rising due to rain and water released from damns. First week of August the heavens open up and we are expecting a ton of rain. August 3rd through August 8th, if the weather man is right - which he seldom is, we could get as much as 100 mm precipitation. If that happens, there goes the neighborhood. The river would be out and fishing non existent. Well the weatherman was wrong yet again. The 50 mm of rain for Friday never happened but there was enough precip to put the river out for the week. Glad I rescheduled the trips this week as there clearly is little to no visibility. August
Next up were a couple that won a days fishing as a Christmas party draw. Very nice people but absolute neophytes. Hooked trout but had trouble getting them to net. Had a very enjoyable day on the water. "Little Dick" and his son-in-law fished. Fishing was somewhat slow. Garry hooked and landed his first hopper trout. Started with hopper/dropper but Rick soon tired of the nymph. Later in the day we went with a caddis and hooked a few more. Late in the month I did 3 days for another Outfitter. It was a last minute thing - the clients were very nice people. Unfortunately the weather was warm and bright which adversely affected the angling. We also did a city stretch for 2 of the 3 days - not sure why! I finished the month with Grandpa Gerry, Grandma Doris, son Jeff and grandson Liam. All were novices, very easy going and Randy and I spent 2 enjoyable days with them. Liam fished with his grandpa in my boat the first day and told me I had a hole in the boat. He then handed me a drain plug. Fortunately Liam was a youngster and not a 200 pound man. We didn't take on a drop of water! September Dave and Chick fished the first week. They were both competent anglers and did well. We opted to fish McKinnons to Carseland to avoid the Oil Men's fishing event. They apparently had 45 boats on the upper reach. Although it was windy, we didn't see any oil boats and had our pick of water. We stopped in one particular back channel and nymphed up several decent trout. Time passed all too quickly and it was soon time to move downstream. "Little Dick" and his buddies Marc, Ross and Gary fished the second week. Once again Randy and I were trying to avoid a large group of boats - Fish and Chips. They also fished the upper stretch so once more we were on the Mac to Carseland run. The trout were looking up and we got a bunch of hopper "eats". Little Dick and Marc fished with me - Marc had a Shark Skin line that made a most peculiar noise as it moved through the guides of the rod. It intrigued me so much as it shot line with ease - that I had to cast it. I stepped up front by Marc and he handed me the rod. At that precise moment a trout ate the hopper. He shouted, "fish." I struck, got the trout under control and handed him back the rod. We all had a good laugh over that one. As I didn't get to cast the line the first time I tried again. As luck would have it - the event repeated itself. I handed Marc the rod once more and he landed another trout. He promised to brush up on his angling skills and try to hook his own trout next year. Here come da judge! Next up a retired Colorado criminal court judge. He was a very interesting guy and I bent his ear asking questions about the "so called" legal system in Canada and the US. He seemed amused at some of my views on various problems our two countries had in common. Our discussion was interrupted by trout now and then. As he landed one 19 inch rainbow we had a gallery of kids from a group of canoes that had pulled off the river for a break. One young guy commented that it would make a good meal. You guessed it - I went into the reasons why you don't kill wild trout. He didn't seem to understand and thought it would taste good so I asked him, "Do you marinate your steak in the toilet bowl." He got this confused look on his face so I had to explain further. I explained that a million plus people flush and it ends up in the river. The light went on. The pros from Memphis returned during the 3rd week of September. Unlike the two previous years, we actually had some pleasant weather and not the nasty, rainy, thunder and lightning, soup for lunch days. It was warm to hot with very sunny skies and lots and lots of wind - not the best of angling conditions. John and Lee did not want to drift the middle of the river and watch a little orange indicator all day long consequently we found fewer trout. Most were quality fish - some brought to net and some not. John, in particular, hooked a couple great trout that ran into the backing and somehow got some slack line and threw the fly. Bummer! Both these trout - one Rainbow and one Brown were awesome fish. All the usual signs (bend of the rod, aerial acrobatics, speed of the upstream runs, and visual estimations by all those in the boat) screamed great trout. Ah..... the ones that get away keep us coming back again and again!
Third time was lucky. Lee had been rescheduled twice due to poor river conditions and finally got on the river late in September with his nephew Zack. Zack was new to fly fishing but learned quickly and hooked up and landed a feisty rainbow while nymphing a back channel. A few large trout were hooked and lost by Lee in this back channel before we moved downstream to "Oh Shit Corner". A few more trout came out to play and Zack caught his first streamer fish. The weather cooperated until late afternoon when a strong wind blew in and made it next to impossible to cast. I mentioned to Lee that a front was moving in and he understood and suggested we call it a day. We jetted back up to the access, loaded the boat and headed home.
October What can I say - winter came early. Much of the month was below normal temperatures. We had rain and snow early in the month and at the end of the first week the air temperature was minus11 with a wind chill of minus 20 Celsius. Any enquiries about fishing the Bow were short lived. I mentioned the weather and no one, myself included, were eager to float the river. My best advice to these people was to book next year sometime between July and September. I've seen snow in August, thankfully a rare occurrence, but this is Calgary and the weather is very changeable. The most stable of weather and river conditions will occur from July to September. Typically run off happens any where from mid/late May through June and I don't usually book trips at this time. My guiding ends with the first snow fall which generally happens later in the month. But not this year! Once again I turn my thoughts to fly tying. It is now early November and fly orders will be arriving shortly. Time to re-acquaint myself with the tying desk and to turn out a few thousand flies. Thank you to everyone that fished this year - I enjoyed having you in my boats and I hope to see you again in 2010. Have a safe and prosperous winter. Click here to view the 2009 Photo Gallery
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