Jim Crawford fishing the Bow River in Alberta, Canada Update

BOW RIVER UPDATE
by Jim Crawford, TIA Reporter
Calgary, Alberta – Jan. 20, 2003

My first ever cast into the Bow River resulted in a 26" brown, which started a love affair that endures to this day. That was 20 years ago, and while I can’t report that all subsequent trips I’ve made had the same outcome, I can say there have been enough excellent days on this river to keep me coming back at least once every year since.

2002 was a good year!
I was fortunate to have a consulting contract with a Calgary company, and part of my fee was fishing time on the Bow. The fellow who owns the company I work with had a young friend who just happened to be a licensed Bow River guide, so I was able to make several drift trips in August, September and October. His name is Chris, and I’d mention his full name but an unfortunate and serious fall on rocks along the river late last year ended his guiding career and nearly his life. I wasn’t on that trip, but I know a fly fisher who was. It was not a pretty picture.

I fished the sections from just below downtown Calgary, south about 25 miles with Chris. The best area was from Highway 22X bridge at the southern edge of the city to Policeman’s, a drift of only a few miles and easily done in an evening. There are also access points all along that can be reached for wade fishing, and during low water in summer, many good runs can be reached this way.

A good place for maps, directions and up to the moment fishing reports is Country Pleasures, the Orvis Shop in Willow Park. Those guys fish somewhere on the river almost every day, so you can depend on accurate information.

Most fishing in August was in the evening during prolific caddis and trico hatches. We averaged a dozen nice rainbows and browns each night. But the biggest fish were taken on San Juan worm patterns fished in deep runs. During the hottest days this was the only way to take fish until the sun was long gone.

"Guys fish somewhere on the Bow River almost every day."

In early September we started using hopper patterns, and had excellent results, although again evenings seemed to be best, especially on clear days, while windy, overcast days produced fish all day. Because the water didn’t cool down until late October last year, almost all fish were taken right in or along the edges of fast, well-oxygenated water. We always took fish, though, and hoppers worked until the first snows hit in October.

After the weather change, we switched to size 6 or 8 weighted bright lime green or black Marabou Buggers and Muddlers, and caught a couple of monster browns, one over 28 inches, as well as good numbers of smaller rainbows and browns. But October also brought large floating mats of grass and moss that made fishing with weighted patterns nearly impossible. Surface patterns like the

Muddler were easier to use, but hooked fish that went deep often pulled the line into the path of the mats causing breakoffs. I’ve seen these clumps over the years, but they seem to have become more prevalent since the 90’s.

I’m one of those guys who always has to have the latest and greatest new fly fishing stuff, including flies. But even with all the terrific materials and realistic patterns available now, it’s still difficult to beat the Muddler for consistent results in moving water, including the Bow. The best Muddler pattern I have has a deer hair head, clipped flat on top and bottom, body-length brown turkey wings with some longer deer hair mixed in, gold Mylar body, and a short tail of brown turkey.

Other body colors to match predominant baitfish, like silver or olive work well too, with the same head and overwing. And for the record, I prefer whitetail deer hair as it’s usually finer diameter and more uniform. This is an easy pattern to tie and it’s very durable.

"*It is still difficult to beat the Muddler pattern"*

WUsing this fly is really simple, too. The deer hair will keep it in the surface layer of water, and the flat head will cause it to dive slightly and wiggle when retrieved, especially against the current. The rivers that I fish near my home in Montana and in British Columbia and Alberta are mostly fast flowing freestone rivers, with prominent rock ledges and outcroppings, and gravel bars. It can be cast in among rocks and worked back, or across open water and retrieved against the current. This latter method has resulted in many of the biggest fish I’ve caught in the Bow over the years.

The best setting would be a fast current that flows over rocks or a rocky dropoff. Cast straight across the current and keep mending upstream so the fly drifts naturally with the streamflow. As it starts to swing at the bottom of the drift hold the line so the fly moves back across the current. When it’s straight down below you, drop your rod tip so the fly settles back a little, then hold it steady for a few seconds before you begin a slow, hand-twist retrieve, keeping your rod low. The majority of strikes will come just as the fly swings in straight below you or during the retrieve back upstream.

Another method that is very successful is a modified Liesenring lift, so named after the fly fisher who wrote about it years ago. He used both floating and sinking patterns cast downstream, letting his fly float over or swim through a specific spot. If he didn’t’ get a hit, he would lift his rod enough to bring the fly back upstream several feet, and then drop his rod back down so the fly would go down through the same area, repeating this several times.

"Cast straight across the current and keep mending upstream so the fly drifts naturally"

With the Muddler, and with sinking patterns as well, you can use this same method at any stage of your retrieve, though I’ve found better success by varying the speed and keeping the fly moving all the way in. One fly fisher I know in Montana uses this method almost exclusively. By walking downstream, or during drifts, he only casts straight or quartering downstream and rarely out into mid-stream. He’s one of the most successful fishermen around.

January 20th and still very mild!
As I write this, it’s January 20, 2003, and the weather here in Calgary is still very mild. There has been virtually no snow anywhere on the eastern side of the Rockies, and snowpack in the mountains here, and in Montana, is far below normal. We still have at least two months of winter remaining, and certainly there could be some good levels of snow and moisture…in fact a large storm is supposed to hit here tonight. I sure hope so, but even if snow levels are below normal this winter, don’t hesitate to make the Bow River part of your schedule in 2003.

It’s a tailwater fishery with the most amazing insect hatches I’ve ever seen, and depending on snowpack this winter, fishing could be excellent from May right through the fall…although it’s usually early to mid-July before the river is at fishable levels. Check in with Country Pleasures, or any of several other fly shops in town for the hot spots, best flies, and guides.

You can also go on the Internet to travelalberta.com and it will eventually take you to fishing in the province, as well as accommodations, camping and RV resorts, restaurants, etc. I also went online and typed in bowriver.com and a guiding company popped up, but I don’t know a thing about it, and I’ve never met the owner, so I certainly can’t recommend it. If you do check out this last one, I’ll let you be the judge of how good your experience might be when you read the information writeup.

All the best in 2003!
Jim

TIA Reporter: Jim Crawford
Flathead Lake, Montana