trailhead

Shhhh (yes the quarry was in Canmore).

Having done this type of thing in the past, don't tie big flies and don't tie small ones. If you want to make it real simple get some cheap flyboxes and put in a "beginner Bow River" selection of 4 X 3 flies. It looks artistic and you can do as many up as you want and charge $20+/box.

http://s108.photobucket.com/albums/n11/vur...nt=BUSH0300.jpg Went to the Highwood Saturday and all the spots I wanted were taken, caught this guy on a highsticked prince, a measured 20", only fish I caught. http://s108.photobucket.com/albums/n11/vur...nt=BUSH0301.jpg On Sunday I ended up getting this female grayling, not sure of the size but she went aerial a couple of times, got a smaller male a little later in the day.

Yea those are the directions for that spot, been to it a fw times. You are also right in that the fishing isn't that good there. i have caught a lot of little fish there but the biggest would have maybe been 12 inches. Though I did have a double header, one on the dry and one on the nymph, thought that was a big fish until I saw what was on my line. Nice spot, but the locals do go down there to partie.

Okay let's get back to the fact that all fly fishers are liars, they don't catch as many as they say, and they aren't as big either!

My buddy with a Castle Cutt, he caught his first flyrod fish on that day Action shot from the Highwood Oldman Cuttbow Another action shot All and all not a bad summer. Just not stellar

Some summer shots A March Brown A spring rainbow A brown from... you know where Another one And one more First dryfly fish of the season A little cutt from a little stream

I think that the numbers that people post are generally close, within reason. But I firmly believe that the sizes are boosted by an inch or two.

WOW those are some beautiful shots. Especially of the lights. I have found that the Caribou up there are quite easy to sneak up on, they even are curious about new sights and sounds and will come close to investigate. It is a incredible part of Canada, thanks for posting.

Because of this post I did a direct comparison of the two markets and Crossroads is definitely lower, Mac apples $.99/lb at Xroads, $1.99/lb at Currie, acorn squash $.79/lb Xroads and $1.69/lb at Currie. As for the boxes, I noticed that there were stacks of Chiquita banana boxes full of BC peppers. Looked to me that they are using the boxes to pack their produce around.

Just to show how variable the weather is, today it was dead calm in that very spot. Oh by the way are there any fish there? I have tried that spot on more than a few occasions and have yet to even have a sniff.

I was just up in the area and noticed this letter to the editor was published in the local paper under "Open letter to Mel Knight". I hope it helps because the rural votes are worth something like 8 times more than the urban ones. I also saw something that I am a bit confused about. Are random campers allowed to cut down trees for firewood? Because in this area there had been obvious tree cutting going on, not massive cutting but whoever it was had selectively cut trees within the forest. They had an area down out of view where they had cut the trees into smaller pieces, a good sized pile of sawdust was left behind. Along with the usual assortment of beer cans, water bottles and an empty bait minnow container.

That's a common meeting place for people going hiking or skiing depending on the season. And also for workers heading west and there is a bus that drops and picks up there so a variety of reasons. I have noticed that the amount of cars does decrease when the weather is poor, and in the shoulder seasons.

Last time I got skunked on the Bow I saw a Osprey dive down and pick up a decent Rainbow (12") Then a immature Bald Eagle chased the Osprey to try and get it to drop the fish. I never saw the outcome as they flew off upstream and around the bend.

Yes it is very trendy to go to the Calgary Farmers Market. It's a nice place with lots of pricey vehicles in the parking lot. I prefer the Crossroads one, and there you have opportunity to buy from the grower, whether it's one of the Hutterite colonies or the East Indian families from BC. I have also noticed the prices are lower too.

That's the place.

What kind of nymphs would you swing?

You have to go to an SRD office and they tell you where you are allowed to cut the wood. The office I went to is on the west side of the city, on the road to the Bearspaw dam. Off Nosehill Drive NW, don`t have the exact address.

Looks like a Dolly Varden, from Kootenay Lake.

That is a real tough experience. I can believe that would happen up in that area. Just so you feel better I have been up there twice now and still have no goldens to show for it.

I think I've seen that guy on the Bow.

Yea me and the boys came upon what we thought was a black bear feeding on the huge crop of Sasks that are out this year due to the optimum growing conditions, ie lots of rain. Didn't see it but for a flash of black and the crashing of bushes. And not in that high of country either, the Crowsnest along Hwy 3.

Looks like a great trip, thanks for the stories and pics

No those are flavors that come from the ageing process, and also from the sugarcane that the molasses that rum is made from. Kind of like how different locales will produce a different flavor in wines made from the same type of grape.

Yes in Calgary we are incredibly fortunate to have two fine trout streams.