FraserN

I often see them around the large shoal just upstream of Crowchild Bridge. Big, black, hooked beaked birds. Not a pleasant sight.

I do believe they learn how to throw a hook. Can't count the number of decent trout, especially rainbows, I have lost on the Bow. They do this thing underwater with opening their mouths and the hook pops out more often then not. Browns have this trick of reversing and running straight at you. It produces instant slack in the line leading to a foregone result. It can be very frustrating.

The last photo is amazing.

I agree about the sheep. So much pressure on the easily accessed pools now. Not like it used to be 15 years ago, when you could get your bullie out of the first pool you came to anywhere above Turner Valley.

I had a 17 inch rainbow on the crowsnest below lundbreck falls take a wooly bugger, and then take a leap over 3 feet high. It was in september of 2007, and I still remember it like it was yesterday.

It had a pattern of spots on the cheek, adipose fin, and spots along the sides were all the same size and spacings, sort of like you see in the comparison photos shown above. My fish also had a notch on the upper gill plate and same leader marks on the body, meaning it had been caught many times before.

I have had this happen in the NW stretch of the Bow, several times. I caught a 17 inch rainbow in 2011 on a streamer in July, then another the same size in August on a dryfly about 200 yds downstream. When I compared the photos of the two fish, they had identical spot patterns. It is pretty neat.

I bought from them at the western flyfishing exposition. Great hackle. Cheapest price I have ever paid, also.

I am in the same place. One fish this spring, Trips to Bow, crowsnest, and oldman rivers. Very mean trout for me this year on nasty rivers.

The pike have always been in the Lower Elbow, and the trout and whitefish seem to do fine. Target the deep, slow pools with heavily weighted streamers and you will catch a pike sooner or later.

My favorite dry fly pattern to fish is an elk hair caddis, followed closely by a PMD; and in the fall months, I really like fishing tiny BWOs.

I would choose the Elk river if I was going to come in August. The trout are easier to catch: they are about the same size, and it is a beautiful environment. The Elk river in summer is hard to beat, if you can afford going to B.C.

Amazing shots. The picture of assinaboine pass brings back a flood of memories. I don't know how many times I stood on that exact place at Marvel lake, hoping to get one of those huge Cutthroat trout on the end of my line. It was now over 20 years ago. I really need to get back there some day.

For neoprenes. Aquaseal is perfect. For small holes, clean the wader area with alcohol and apply directly on. Bigger tears require taping the back and keeping the seam level. It works very well. I fished the entire season on waders that are ready to be junked. Just kept repairing them.

I agree. I am much more careful nowadays. I have gone in the river a few times, but my big fear is hurting my knees. I hurt my ankle this year but it is manageable. So many people have hurt themselves on those greasy rocks. As for winter fishing, I no longer do this because of the dangers involved, as well as the slow angling success.

The first one has beautiful shades of purple. Now I remember why they were my favorite fish when I was little.

I have used pheasant feathers from my bird hunts for many years. There are a multitude of uses from nymphs like teeny flies, to streamers and dries. The pheasant feathers are so versatile, their use is only limited by your imagination.

There are small, hammer handle sized pike there. A size 2 or 4 yellow or green bucktail imitating a perch might get you a fish, but I find October at the reservoir to be very slow fishing.

A good read. It is rather fascinating: the differential mortality on fish species a severe flood event can have. On the Bow river in NW Calgary, I noticed numbers of large dead brown trout after the recent flooding. In over 20 trips I only caught 4 brown trout, which was more than some capable flyfishermen, who got none. The rainbows, on the other hand, faired well. I got more bigger (16"+)rainbows this season than in several years combined. And they all were in good shape. Being originally a California steelhead stock made these rainbows far more capable of handling the massive torrent, than the browns, which appear to have taken a very substantial reduction in numbers.

Two legends fishing famous waters. Amazing.

I like the city picture. We have an amazing skyline.

I have not fished the Elk river since 1999. After the B.C. government introduced the trophy fees, it became too expensive. Sadly enough, the experience of fishing the Elk was indeed a high quality one which I got a lot of satisfaction from. Hearing these stories, I am not sure when, or if, I will fish the area again.

I always wear socks, but even with that, I have a permanent smell in my waders that cannot be gotten rid of, even with ammonia. Over time, neoprene holds odors of all kinds. I'll have to replace them soon.

Just bought some fly fishing materials there. It is great to have a fly shop this close to me.

I have caught a few whitefish on nymphs this year on the NW stretch, but I think its just being in the right place at the right time. More or less a bit lucky. The numbers on this stretch went down years ago, and have not yet recovered. Just my opinion, though.