Delray

Heartwarming. Thank you.

Hi Adams, The morning of my last day with Maxwell, the scenery was even more visually stunning with a dusting of snow on the trees and hillsides and after 10 mins of fishing around 10.45 am or so, I could scarcely feel my fingers; it was b....dy freezing. We had a couple during this very cold period, which made the day as it was the only encouragement we had to continue. By 2.30, it was a balmy 3 degC, and all was forgotten with the fish waking up. By 4.30, a halcyon day had been had (had been had??). As I'm typing, my juices are getting going and I'll be checking flights pretty soon, but not BA. Last thing, in case any 'outsiders' are reading this; apart from the fishing, The Crowsnest Pass has plenty to keep you interested besides the fishing including some great cafes (Gary; the Morning Bagels from the Fly Shop Cafe are outstanding as is Susan's welcome), at least 1 excellent pub, (Rum Runner) and some interesting and tragic history. Not forgetting the hiking, although at between 4000 and 5000 feet, I did get a bit breathless on occasion. Cheers all. Del

What a trip!! I'll keep it short..... The Bow was not so good; all the boats on the 10th Sept seemed to struggle that day, but a good day getting to know Maxwell. 3 days total on the Oldman and the Livingstone with Maxwell and the weather got colder and colder until on the Friday we had a high of 5 degC or so, but the fishing (and fly hatches) were brilliant. Fished a dry pretty much all the time and got lots of Cut-throats and some hybrids, all (compared to home) of a good size, largest probably 18 inches, smallest around 10 inches and all lovely plump, fit fish. Missed almost as many as I caught, lost quite a lot, including some big'uns! When you read reports and watch youtube videos, you get the idea it's easy and for some it may be so, but I had to work hard as 1) I'm not used to these wonderful 'gin clear' mountain streams/rivers with odd flows, back currents etc, 2) I'm of average ability, and without Maxwell, I would have spent 2 days just getting used to what's going on, but with his 'tutelage' I was able to do 2 afternoons on my own catching a few more to brag about when I got home! Fantastic trip although I'm sad to say I didn't get up to RMH (and Prairie Creek), in fact over the weekend of the 15th I went down to Montana to get warm, and back up on the 17th to fish the Livingstone and Oldman again. British Airways's performance on the way home was dreadful, but there you go; s..t happens. I'd love to say I'll repeat next year, but International flying is no fun (especially through time zones), but hopefully that memory will recede and the fishing memories will hold on. Cheers fellas! Thanks for advice and comments, and just one last aside; I passed through Okotoks and Black Diamond on the way back to Calgary; 2 really nice looking places, BD providing me with a lovely sausage roll and cup of coffee at a bakery. Best regards, Del (I didn't keep it that short did I?)

Hi professori; many thanks for your suggestion, but it came in on the day i left so I wasn't able to follow it up (only checked mails when away), and in any case with the weather change that occurred around the 12th, 13th 14th (depending on where you were), I stayed in the South anyway. Only just got home after another Brit Airways 'balls up'. A wonderful time was had in your beautiful province, Maxwell was both great company and guide, and I'll do a more complete report when my head recovers. Cheers all, Del

Over here a 'pram' is something in which you wheel the baby around. Grabbed my attention...

Cheers Gary, the support I'm getting is very welcome. Now, how about this....? Just gone 9p.m here and flicking around the limited sports channels I have, looking for some viewing, and live (I think) on UK TV is Edmonton v Calgary in the CFL! Calgary leading 13-10 when I had a quick look. I've still not decided what to do, but suspect that over the weekend I'll make my way up to route 93 and follow that up to route 11 stopping overnight wherever there's a room and hopefully find a meal and a beer or 2. Best regards, Del

Thanks so much for taking time to 'write' all this stuff up; I really appreciate it. Northfork; thanks for the comment on Medicine Hat! Hunting for Bighorn Sheep eh? I watched some videos of them perched on canyon slopes; good luck chasing them around on that! All the very best, Del

As earlier in the year, many thanks for the personal messages (so far, Yonderin, DXH and Gary), they are much appreciated and you lot on here are obviously very passionate and knowledgeable about fly fishing your streams and rivers. Apologies that I didn't state what Maxwell has in mind for me! 10th, float the Bow, then 11th to the 14th drive South to the Crowsnest Pass area (staying at Kai's place, Eckardts Tecumseh Mountain Guest Ranch) and fishing wherever Maxwell tells me to fish and doing whatever Maxwell tells me to do; strange that, as when I was a kid, i never ever did as I was told. I have a niece in Fernie, so will take a day out there, but not fishing as don't want to buy a BC license as well as an Alberta one. The weekend I will spend touring; I really fancied driving to Medicine Hat as i may never have the chance to visit a town with a name like that again, but I'm not yet decided. Checked out a couple of websites that mentioned Black Diamond and Nanton as nice places to spend a few hours in, and they are obviously closer and easier to do. That leaves Monday and Tuesday the 17th and 18th to find somewhere to fish for a few hours, and it seems the advice is to stick around the South West Alberta area, but I'm not discounting driving up to Rocky Mountain House quite yet as was looking forward to the drive up there as a day out in itself. Once again, many thanks for the advice and for reading my posts; I'm getting 'right up' for this trip now it's only a week away. Cheers and regards to you all, Del

Good morning! Well, it's been 7 months or so since i decided to visit Alberta, and with a week to go until I fly to Calgary I think it's time to ask some questions and do some planning... Actually as i mentioned before, Monday the 10th Sept to Friday the 14th is all sorted with Maxwell, it's just I'm not sure after that, but after reading an old thread on a forum over here I've got this urge to do a bit of a drive, a very scenic drive, and end up in Rocky Mountain House, fish somewhere up there on Monday and Tuesday the 17th and !8th Sept. Does anyone know a thing or 2 about the town and about the fishing? The forum thread to which I referred mentions the Ram and the Blackstone Rivers, amongst others, but by that time, cash will be low, I really won't be able to afford a guide and I can't find much info on access places to those rivers (or any others if anyone has suggestions). I don't think going any further North will be practical; that can be next year.... Finally, I hope you've all had a great spring and summer on the rivers, and that you've left a few un-caught fish for me to have a cast at, and here's the question I kind of don't want the answer to..........what sort of condition are the streams/rivers in? Doesn't really matter, I'm coming over, I'm going to fish, I'm going to have a great time. Cheers everyone, Best regards, Del

What can I say? Thanks so much for taking time to reply to my intro, making me feel so welcome and positive the trip will be a good one!. It's a 9 day trip of which I've 'engaged' Maxwell (I don't think I need to mention his surname...) for 4 days, and I fly in to Calgary on the evening of Sept 9th. Just as an aside, I only chose September and Maxwell after 1) reading a report from a brilliant guide/angler from England (Jon Barnes) after his visit to Alberta in September last year, and 2) looking at MR's website and finding a photo of Jon being guided; I figured a guide being guided must be a high recommendation. I can't make further fishing plans yet, but I hope I can fit in a meeting with 1/2/3 etc of you guys. Once again, thanks for your replies, they are very much appreciated. My best regards, Del

Hi, Delray here. I live in the UK just outside London, I'm the wrong side of 60, falling apart at the seams, fortunate to be recently retired, live a simple life of watching Rugby, walking my dogs, drinking UK ales and fly fishing (well, I call it fly fishing; others may disagree...). That's me summed up. I've signed up to this forum as I've booked myself a fishing trip to Alberta this coming September and thought it would be as good a place to learn stuff, although I'm going to be guided so will by and large do as I'm told to do. I won't be posting too much, and hope you guys and girls won't mind me asking the occasional question, but mainly, I'll just be reading and absorbing. Cheers and best regards, Del