Articles - Staff Inflections
Look for new articles every month from staff, guides, and other noted authors
on fly fishing related topics. Articles on where anglers have fished (near and far),
interesting stories about fishing our waters, and general musings about fly fishing related
topics.
This months featured article:
2008 Fishing Recap (mostly Bow River)
January to April: 2008 seemed to have a milder winter in general, and the Bow had some incredible days when it was warm out. The river stays unfrozen from around the Calf Robe Bridge to just below Policemen's, depending on how cold the winter is. The great thing about winter fishing is that as soon as you find one trout, you have normally found at least a dozen. The usual rig is a 9 foot leader with at least two nymphs, with one of them being heavy enough to get the other down. My favourite rig for the winter is a small, black, tungsten stone fly, dropping a small red midge larva. Don't forget your gloves or a midge box for the chance of landing a fish on a dry with snow on the bank!!
May and June: May and June seemed to take back what the winter months had given us for good fishing. The late snow in May seemed to squash any hope of a good spring caddis hatch, and the constant rain kept the river running high, and dirty, or both for most of these two months. Nymphing big stoneflies and mayfly nymphs was productive, but not quite as good as past years. June was fairly typical for the Bow, high and dirty water, though fishing streamers in the city produced some of the biggest brown trout caught all year. Luckily what the Bow did not provide, the lakes surrounding the city certainly did. Bull Trout fishing was spectacular during late May after the late ice melt, and Pike fishing was a great break from waiting for the rivers to recede.
July: July fished extremely well. It seemed that the Golden Stone hatch was almost never ending, and the fish were happy to eat big foam bugs for most of the month. Streamer fishing is still one of the most rewarding types of fishing at this time of year, especially when there is just a bit of visibility in the water. Caddis fishing in July took a little long to get going, but those willing to stay up late were rewarded as the month went on.
August: August continued with amazing dry fly fishing. The Trico hatch was one of the heaviest we've ever seen. One could fish Tricos in the mornings, Hoppers during the day, and Caddis in the evening for a full day of dry fly only fishing. Streamer fishing continued to be good, especially on the dark days.
September, October: Trico fishing continued into September and Caddis seemed to go on forever. Mid-month saw large numbers of Water Boatmen extending through October and into November. Streamer patterns, with a Boatman pattern trailing behind, is an effective technique during this time. By the end of October, the browns were getting into spawning mode, and a lot of fish were finding their way into wintering holes. Overall, as with earlier in the year, fall 2008 provided great fishing.
Brent Piché
