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Thanks Northfork! We can recall taking a photo of a wood duck only once before, maybe 5 years ago. According to The Atlas of Breeding Birds of Alberta, the wood duck occurs "sporadically" in this province, "where it is at the northern limits of its North American range." In any case, it sure was a treat to spot this one. It was sitting on that log, in a small new side channel that was created by the current high water on the Bow River. It kept an eye on us as we moved around for a better shot, but never took flight.

Looking back along the Bow River - Season 2011 Every morning, we post a previously unpublished photo from Season 2011. We began this in November 2011. You can see individual photos here. We also post them to albums. Season 2011 Album #1 was capped at 167 photos. We continue to add daily to Season 2011 Album #2 which is currently at 54 photos. Today along the Bow River - June 2012 Every evening, we post a new photo from the current day, or the current month. You can view June 2012 here or here.

Horse training Fly fishing guide (white shirt) instructing clients Two Gents and a Lady Trout hunters See more May 2012 photos here or here. We post daily.

Wow! Some amazing shots. Thanks for posting.

Yesterday morning at Mac. See more May 2012 photos here or here. We post daily.

See more April 2012 photos here

This boat will be at the Bow River Shuttles Used Drift Boat Sale tomorrow morning, Saturday April 21 @ 10:00 am. (Same time, same location as the TUC-Bow River Chapter 'Tackle Swap') Beautiful McKenzie River Drift Boat. Glen-L design. Heavy duty Kevlar bottom makes this boat virtually indistructable. Composite construction,(Okume Marine grade plywood completely encapsulated with fiberglass and epoxy). Stable, with a very shallow draft, it’s the perfect platform for fishing the Bow, and similar waters. Newly painted interior, comfortable, refurbished seats, knee braces at the front and rear casting stations, adjustable rowing seat, with anchor line control. Tons of storage. Oars are Sawyer, graphite, and counterbalanced. The trailer is a “Karavan”, complete with mounted spare tire, two inch ball hitch, and 4 pin wiring. MUST be seen to be appreciated. Asking $4,900.00.

Tackle Swap & Used Drift Boat Sale TUC - Bow River Chapter 2012 Tackle Swap All photos: Copyright Bow River Shuttles 19th Annual Used Equipment Sale Saturday April 21. 10 am - 12 noon South Calgary Community Association 3130 16 St SW ***Garage Sale Format*** Call now to reserve your table $25 each. Limited numbers available Table set up: 9 am - 10 am Sale: 10 am - 12 pm Cleanup: 12 pm - 1 pm Sell your own used fishing gear $25 table charge, some restrictions apply You sell, you get the best deal possible To book your table, or for sale info, contact: Craig Robillard 403-251-4803 (h) 403-968-8788 © craiglr@gmail.com Bow River Shuttles - 8th Annual - Used Drift Boat Sale In conjunction with, and in support of, the TUC - Bow River Chapter Tackle Swap 2012 Same Date. Same Time. Same Location. drift boats, jon boats, pontoon boats, etc. Fee: $25 per boat Cheques payable to: "Trout Unlimited Canada-Bow River Chapter" Limited boat stalls available. To book a boat stall, contact: Michelle Magotiaux Bow River Shuttles 403-278-9165 michelle@bowrivershuttles.com

See more April 2012 photos here

This topic has received very little coverage in the Calgary media. We think it’s an important issue deserving of more attention. We hope you agree. Otto Langer, a retired federal fisheries biologist, released two weeks ago a leaked internal information spelling out planned changes to the Fisheries Act. A section that went into force in 1986, prohibiting any activities that could harm fish habitat, would be replaced by a ban on anything causing an "adverse effect" on "fish of economic, cultural or ecological value." For more information, and to take action, please click here.

TUC - Bow River Chapter 2012 Tackle Swap 19th Annual Used Equipment Sale Saturday April 21. 10 am - 12 noon South Calgary Community Association 3130 16 St SW ***Garage Sale Format*** Call now to reserve your table $25 each. Limited numbers available Table set up: 9 am - 10 am Sale: 10 am - 12 pm Cleanup: 12 pm - 1 pm Sell your own used fishing gear $25 table charge, some restrictions apply You sell, you get the best deal possible To book your table, or for sale info, contact: Craig Robillard 403-251-4803 (h) 403-968-8788 © craiglr@gmail.com Also: Bow River Shuttles - 8th Annual - Used Drift Boat Sale In conjunction with, and in support of, the TUC - Bow River Chapter Tackle Swap 2012 Same Date. Same Time. Same Location. drift boats, jon boats, pontoon boats, etc. Fee: $25 per boat Cheques payable to: "Trout Unlimited Canada-Bow River Chapter" Limited boat stalls available. To book a boat stall, contact: Michelle Magotiaux Bow River Shuttles 403-278-9165 michelle@bowrivershuttles.com

Hi everyone, I’ve copied below my signature a PM I received from Fly Tyer. Congratulation to the two winners: fishinglivin (for matinee) and bcube (ro evening). Special ‘thanks’ to Flytyer for overseeing this draw. Thanks to all the others who put their name in for this ticket draw. I encourage each of you to consider purchasing some Back Cast FFFF tickets for yourself. In doing do, you’ll be: - Supporting the work of Project Healing Waters Fly Fishing Canada. Net proceeds from this event are donated to PHWFFC - Supporting the development of local amateur fly fishing film makers, including The Humble Fisherman (Jay Jones) and Jenson Fly Fishing Productions (Dave & Amelia Jensen). Their never-before-seen-in-public films, “Glacial Bull Trout” and “New Zealand Cuthroat”, will be screened and are vying for honours as ‘Best Film’. The winner will be chosen by you, the audience, and will receive $500. Please come out to cheer them on and vote for your favourite film. - Supporting our local food banks. Cardel Theatre provides complementary use of their theatre for charitable-type events like Back Cast FFFF, and ask only that theatre goers please bring along an item for the food bank. - Enjoying a number of full length films, by some of the very best fly fishing film makers from both yesterday and today. Advance Online ticket purchase is available until midnight tonight Thursday Feb 23 2012. After that, tickets will be available at the door. For more information about “Best Film of Back Cast FFFF Competition, click this link. For more information about “Fly Fishing Movie Classics at Back Cast FFFF 2012”, click this link. For more information, including the entire lineup of films, plus film synopses and film trailers, click on this link Finally, you can follow our daily "Countdown to Back Cast Fly Fishing Film Festival", featuring exclusive photos from the film producers, on our Bow River Shuttles Blog, Back Cast Fly Fishing Film Festival Facebook Page and Bow River Shuttles Twitter feed. Thank you. Michelle Hi Michelle My apologies for running late for the draw; I have been under the weather for the better part of a week and I have done a lot of resting. I did get the draw done and sent out for contact info which is as follows: matinee draw won by fishinglivin evening draw won by bcube Once again my apologies for running late. Cheers Ron

Michelle & Ron (Flytyer) It was great to be part of the Expo's 10th anniversary year! I was able to spend only a limited time at my display booth over the weekend. However, it was good to say hello to several members of this board, including Ron (Flytyer) and to meet a number of my shuttle clients. We were able to keep an eye on FlytyerKyle over the weekend , as his booth for the Canadian Youth National Fly Fishing Team was right next to mine. The Bird family got a chance to salute their patriarch, Gary Bird, with a special presentation near the end of the second day. Thanks to the Bird family, the fly fishing community has had this special event to look forward to for the past decade. Here's to the next ten! Michelle There are more photos from the Expo at this link. Members of the 'Broken Tippet' team FlytyerKyle (left) Bird family celebrating 10th Anniversary of Western Canadian Fly Fishing Exposition. (from left) Jennifer Bird, Chris Bird, Derek Bird, Sandy Bird and Gary Bird.

Take a look at the ‘pinned’ thread “Fly Fishing Film Ticket Giveaway“ at the very top of this board. There are four tickets up for grabs: Two free tickets to the Canadian Premiere of ‘CONNECT’ and two free tickets to the Canadian Premiere of the 2012 ‘INTERNATIONAL FLY FISHING FILM FESTIVAL’. The draw is for BOTH sets of tickets. The draw is tomorrow, Tuesday January 10 @ 8PM. You can enter by replying to that thread. Now, go have a look.

Thank you to those who have contacted me personally to 'sign up' for this event, as well as to those who have registered online via my Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup page. The deadline to register online has now passed. However, if you would like to pick up some garbage this weekend, and be part of this nationwide event, just shot me an email (michelle@bowrivershuttles.com), and I'll send you the Liability Waiver and the Data Card. Happy fishing (and garbage picking)! Michelle

The 2nd Annual "Blue Ribbon Bow River Cleanup" Courtesy: Yellowstone River Cleanup Love your shoreline, love your community Join the Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup The 2nd Annual "Blue Ribbon Bow River Cleanup" September 17 & 18, 2011 The Bow River, between Calgary and Carseland, has a well-deserved reputation in the fly fishing community of being a world class "blue ribbon" trout stream. However, there are some who float the Bow who seem oblivious to this, and who treat our river as a garbage dump. One long time fly fisher, Peter C., sent us a fishing report. At the end of his report, he wrote: "It is disappointing to see all the trash left by weekend floaters - broken glass, food hampers and left over float tubes and clothing. My dog was lucky not to cut his feet. I wonder what the landowners think? Will we get banned from using the river bank? By the time I reached McKinnon's I had a garbage bag full of junk. It just p--s me off to see the abuse of the river bank. All we seem to be able to do is pick up other people's trash." Courtesy: Yellowstone River Clean-up We invite all Bow River fly fishers to join hands in a "Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup" (GCSC) event scheduled for the weekend of Sept 17 & 18 - The 2nd Annual "Blue Ribbon Bow River Cleanup". Take along a pair of canvass gloves, a few garbage bags and a pen or pencil on your float trip that weekend. See if you can match Peter C.'s efforts by leaving your reach of river a little bit cleaner that you found it on that particular day. If you're planning a walk and wade trip anywhere along the lower Bow River, consider doing the same. This event applies to any section of the river, from the Glenmore Trail/Graves Landing boat launch to Johnson's Island at Carseland Weir. To be part of this event, GCSC asks each participant for two things: 1. All participants MUST sign the Liability Waiver 2. Participants fill out and submit their Data Card, which is a record of what garbage was picked up. After your participation in this event, I would ask that you please scan and email your completed Waiver forms and Data Cards to michelle@bowrivershuttles.com. As the volunteer "GCSC Site Coordinator" for this event, I will compile the results from the Data Cards into the Group Summary Card and submit that to GCSC. We encourage everyone who is planning to be on the Bow River on that weekend to make of point of signing up and being part of this national campaign! To register for this event, please contact me with your interest as soon as possible. I will send you the Waiver form and the Data Card. Finally, here is a link to our GCSC page: Blue Ribbon Bow River Cleanup Thank you. Kindest regards, Michelle Magotiaux Garbage Pickup: a) Fish Creek Provincial Park and Wyndham-Carseland Provincial Park: The managers of the Provincial Parks have notified their respective contractors that there might be extra garbage at those boat launches on that weekend. b McKinnon Flats: Alberta Conservation Association has advised their contractor of the same. c) Policeman's Flats and Legacy Island: Bow River Shuttles will pick up extra garbage at those sites. The Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup is the largest cleanup in Canada and one of the largest cleanups in the world contributing to the Ocean Conservancy's International Coastal Cleanup. Since inception of the program, nearly one million kilograms of shoreline litter has been removed from our fragile ecosystem. Great Canadian Shoreline Cleanup Courtesy: Yellowstone River Cleanup

Yes, that is the same Hank. Prior to the Shell on Elbow at Southland, he was further south on Elbow in Canyon Meadows. And before that, on Elbow at Heritage. Nice to hear of your family's good experience. Michelle

Government of Alberta, Information Bulletin - June 24 2011 Caution urged near Bow River weir in Calgary - Area remains closed until 2012 Calgary Herald, August 03 2011 Paddlers must wait for revamped weir opening

You will find some good information at this link: Truth Prevailed - For The Fly blog Kindest regards, Michelle

We've dealt with Hank Isaak at Kingsboro Auto Service since about 1972. Hank worked for his father-in-law, who owned it at that time. Now, his son Paul will answer the phone. It will be a bit of a drive from McKenzie Towne, but well worth it. A couple of years ago, they did an emergency trailer wheel bearing job for a visiting Idaho client, while they floated the city section. Tell him Michelle sent you. :-) 4674 MacLeod Trail SW, Calgary, AB T2G 5E8 403-281-1303 403-252-4554 Here is a recent 'review' (Oct 2010) from a car forum

Here is a brief fishing report from earlier this week, on a Mac to Cars trip. Kindest regards, Michelle

Kudos to the Provincial Park officials who promised that the boat ramps would be in shape for this weekend! Please click on this link for details and photos Kindest regards, Michelle

Thanks to several days of warm, sunny weather, the muddy bog that fronted the Carseland boat ramp (the one closest to the bottom of the hill) a few days ago has almost dried up. More Information and photos at this link Kindest regards, Michelle

The McKinnon Flats road has experienced some erosion (again). Legacy Island is free of wood. The road to the Carseland boat launches is now open. Please click on this link for details and photos. In a Fly Fish Calgary post from earlier today, cqvguy asked about the conditions of the ‘boat ramps’ themselves. The boat ramps are in extremely poor condition, as can be seen in the photos that I provided. You have to decide whether you have a water craft that you are willing, and able, to lift/carry/haul/drag across whatever obstacles are shown at each boat ramp. For the ‘alternate’ boat ramp at Carseland (closest to the bottom of the hill), the problem is not silt, but rather the very large mud flat in front of the concrete ramp. Just a reminder that SRD has advised me that both Carseland boat ramps will be repaired in time for the July 23/24 weekend. So maybe it would be best to be patient, and plan your trip for later. In the case of accessing Legacy Island itself, given the layer of silt on the road and parking lot, a 4x4 is a must have. After a big rainfall, I’m not sure that even a 4x4 would get you out of there. Hope this helps. In addition to the special email “news update” that we sent out late last night, this information was also posted last evening to my Blog, Facebook Page and Twitter feed. If you value this kind of timely information, please consider supporting my efforts by making Bow River Shuttles your shuttle service provider of choice. Kindest regards, Michelle

Legacy Island Cleanup - Volunteer Work Evening All Photos: Bow River Shuttles Date: Monday July 11, 2011 Time: 5:00 pm Participants: TUC Bow River Chapter Bow River Shuttles writes: "Who is TUC Bow River Chapter? If you walk & wade the Bow River, float fish the Bow River, guide fly fishing on the Bow River, then YOU are TUC Bow River Chapter. Legacy Island Cleanup #1 on May 07 produced 6 volunteers, out of a possible total of over 1,000. We can do better than that." :-) If you would like to see photos of the damage at Legacy Island, and also at Johnson’s Island (Carseland), please click here. Brian Meagher writes: Just to let all those know who have offered, we would now like to set a date to do the initial clean-up effort on the Legacy Island to remove the trees that are blocking the road and boat launch. Please feel free to pass this on to anyone that also may be interested- there is no need to RSVP for this event, but if someone has equipment then I would appreciate an RSVP from them to understand how many and what will be out there. I would like to set this for Monday July 11th I will bring a bbq and some hotdogs, chips and pop to entice you, Please bring a refillable bottle and I will bring water and some juice or pop, We will need people to bring gloves, Mosquito repellent (they will be bad), If you have a chain saw and safety equipment then we could use you, If you have a come-a-long that too would be useful I will be on site shortly after 5pm, please drop by if you can make it; if you can only stay for a short time that is understandable. We will focus on: 1. Removing the trees that are on the roadway 2. Clearing the debris from the guide fencing 3. Collecting garbage (there is very little as a major clean –up was completed a month ago) 4. Some minor silt clean up above high water mark if required by hand only in specific areas Directions: From the Intersection of Hwy 24 and Hwy 22 - Head south until you reach the Bell Power Pole intersection (6.53 km or 4 miles). Continue south on gravel another 3.7 km (2.3 miles). Turn west and go past the residential driveway. Then proceed down the hill to Legacy Island. Map courtesy: TUC Bow River Chapter Once again, the actual removal of silt from the boat launch and roadway may take a little longer as we will require new permits from Alberta Environment for this. I have already started this process, but it does take time for them to go through the process. There still may be an opportunity to get this done with a different type of permit and I am looking into that. Thanks for your interest on this. ____________________________________________________________________________ Brian Meagher (P.Biol.) Provincial Biologist Trout Unlimited Canada #160, 6712 Fisher St. SE, Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2H 2A7 O/ (403) 221-8360 D/ (403) 209-5185 F/ (403) 221-8368 C/ (403) 875-3264 E/ Bmeagher@tucanada.org www.tucanada.org