ghellard

Hi folks - I've done the drift from Fishcreek to McKinnon's a number of times but have never launched from Graves. Can anyone give me rough timing for the float from Graves to McKinnon's? Thanks!

Hey folks - I did a search but didn't find the info I was looking for so decided on a new post. Essentially I have questions on using an anchor with a pontoon boat on the Bow. First - anyone have any issues using an anchor to hold position while in a pontoon? Is there anything in particular you need to watch out for? Second - what type/size of anchor seems to work best for people? For information it would be used on 9' River Tamer (Water Skeeter).

I'm new to fly fishing - this is my first year in the sport. I don't have a family member to learn from or a mentor who can teach me what they know about the sport. I've taken casting lessons, had the opportunity to spend a couple of days with a guide on some rivers off the trunk road, and have read numerous books to understand how to better my skills. I'm the guy you've seen fishing in the wrong spot. The guy who's trying to teach himself where the right spot is. I'm the guy who goes to Fish Tales and looks to be spending a long time searching for that perfect fly when in actuality I'm using the time as an opportunity to listen to other fly fishers chat so I can learn something new. I still don't think of myself as a true fly fisherman because to this date I have yet to catch my first Bow River trout. After numerous attempts - more numerous than I care to admit - I remain troutless. Today, however, was going to be the day. I knew that my wife was only going to give me a small window of opportunity to get out today so I was up very early - having a 2 year old and a 6 month old doesn't make for a lot of spare time to get out fishing. All my gear was loaded in the car and I was off. I parked at the Deerfoot extension on the east side and was planning on walking down to a spot just south of Policeman's Flats. After about an hour I got to the spot I was looking for - a little side channel cut off the main part of the river. It looked perfect and I knew that it held my first Bow trout. "Have patience", I said to myself. I decided to go about 150 feet past the spot and start working my way back up. I wanted to work the water below that bend and savour the moments leading to the place that I knew held my first Bow trout. I was working my nymphing rig - a SJW tied below a brass Copper John. My depth was perfect, the SJW was just bouncing off the bottom. The weather was perfect, it was nice and quiet, just me methodically working my way up the 150 feet to where I knew that trout was waiting for me. Now I'm 100 feet. I practically want to run up ahead but I'm being patient - perhaps there are a few fish here that are waiting for me as well. Now 50 feet, I can almost hear that trout calling my name. Forty feet, oh baby I'm right there. This is it. All the reading, the lessons, the eavesdropping to learn from those more skilled than I - I am ready! Suddenly I hear a noise cut through my perfect moment. "Put your fly right there - right at the bend". I spin my head up stream to try and figure out what has interrupted my perfect moment. The next sound was the sigh of anguish escaping my lips. Not 30 feet ahead of me a guide in a boat put his clients to land and pointed them right at the perfect little spot I was working my way to. I was in full view, I was right there. Yet apparently the promise of a pay cheque had overridden simple etiquette. The client's first cast brought up a fish. His partner asked if he had caught it on the worm or the Copper John. "The worm", he shouted back. The knowledge that my rig was the right one for that spot caused another brief sigh - now more of frustration. A few casts later and the client landed his second. High fives all around. They then began to work their way down right to me - I couldn't even have the 30 feet left to myself. The next sound was that of a blood vessel popping in my brain. Unfortunately I was not lucky enough to bag my first Bow River trout this morning. My wife asked if I learned my lesson after hearing the story. "What lesson is that?", I asked. "To always go right to the good spots to beat everyone else". I thought about that for a moment and realized that I wouldn't have done it any differently. I can still enjoy the knowledge that I read the water perfectly, had the right set up to make the catch, and had taken the right approach to methodically work my way to where I knew I wanted to be. To consider myself a fly fisherman I had set a very specific goal for myself - to catch my first elusive Bow River trout. I didn't catch that fish today but perhaps the lesson I learned is that I am a fly fisherman after all.

I was up at Summit Lake a couple of weeks back and the fishing was decent. It's about 1h30m further along Hwy 6 just before Nakusp. For shore fishing there is an RV campground - if you can park in their visitor lot and walk to the lake you should be able to spot a stream that feeds into the lake.