WyomingGeorge

An inch of rain on powder-dry, cracked ground such as I'm seeing daily northwest of Calgary would result in virtually zero run-off, especially with all the ponds, potholes and tiny creeks low. The land is able to absorb and store a considerable amount of water. If the rain is very intense, there may be a small amount of runoff lasting hours rather than days, hardly enough to fill a reservoir. Very odd on one level, but in keeping with today's religion of risk management, in which the mania of risk avoidance creates damaging consequences for others.

From his posts, it sounds very much as if our member Jayhad is the in-house guru on the Bow's urban reaches. I don't know much else about specific guides on the Bow, but as a frequent customer of guides in other areas I have found that what helps weed out the less enthusiastic, shall we say, is to ask whether the day includes a full eight hours on the water, whether the guide is willing to try all kinds of fishing (i.e., not just nymph worms down the middle of the river all day) and whether, if conditions are conducive, he'll stay out until dark or close to it. When I get too many negative or non-committal answers, I tend to look for another guide or shop. On the flip side, a lot of guides have come to expect relatively casual or even downright lazy or whiny clients who won't adapt, particularly won't fish streamers. If you like to fish streamers, it is worth saying so when you first call a given shop, because a lot of guides love it and don't get many clients who do it. Their enthusiasm often picks up markedly if their clients are willing to fish whatever works, especially chuck streamers. A successful day on the Bow will often require switching back and forth among double or triple nymph rigs, hoppers with 1-2 droppers, streamers and technical dries, plus sometimes wet flies on top of it, and to be ready to switch on a moment's notice.

Hi everyone: Sorry about the delay, yesterday I spent close to 20 minutes writing up the best description I could, and then the dog ate my homework (there was an interruption in Interweb service and my text disappeared). So thanks, Shiny Physician, for posting that description, pictures are indeed worth 1,000 words. The technique I learned is a bit different: --make a loop of string, not a length, using about four feet or 120 cm of string --loop one end around the bend in the hook, holding the other end in your dominant (throwing, writing) hand --do not depress or otherwise manipulate the hook. Instead, crucially, align the hook so the shank lies parallel to the skin (as will be the hook tip, lying beneath the skin) --use your non-throwing/writing hand to hold the hook in that parallel position --using your dominant hand, gently bring the loop to tension, i.e., don't "pull", but simply remove the slack to get a feel for where your extraction hand will be --tell the victim to get ready --the extraction move: still holding the loop of string, move your dominant hand smoothly but quickly all the way to the hook and just as quickly move it back out in a fast in-and-out movement that includes "follow-through", i.e., don't slow down, keep moving your hand past where it was when the string was tense --very likely, you won't even feel any resistance as the hook will fly out of the wound and off into the bushes or against the nearest wall Both times when my wife had a hook taken out this way, she thought the string had broken and the hook was still in place because she didn't feel a thing. Basically, the extractor's rapid arm movement builds up so much momentum that it becomes the equivalent of pulling on the hook as hard as you can with pliers, only the force applied is instantaneous, too fast to feel any pain or for the flesh/skin to be distorted/pulled outwards. A couple of cautions: --use twine/string, not thick cord, rope or anything elastic. Fishing line or stout tippet will work in a pinch --if you're going to do it, then do it -- don't get squeamish or bail at the last second --make sure the victim doesn't squirm or shift -- doing so could bring the hook or string out of alignment --personally, I wouldn't try this if the hook is embedded in or near the eye, or in bone or cartilage --key is creating a single straight line running from the eye of the hook, along the shank, parallel to the skin, and then outward along the tensioned loop of string to your extraction hand -- and then making the extraction move along that alignment. Let me know if any of this is unclear.

There's a fantastic, not-too-difficult and 100 percent effective way to remove flies, barbed or barbless, without any pain. Truly. I was taught the technique by a physician, watched it being performed on my wife, and the same season was given the, um, opportunity to try it out. It worked beautifully, even with me in charge, and I'm a clumsy guy with fumbly fingers. I'm not advocating people fish with barbs, but I have had barbed hooks lodged in my (face) cheek right beside my ear, in my fingers and in my quads, without any help nearby (i.e., not able to use the technique mentioned above), and was able to remove them myself quickly. The pain was intense but lasted only about a second. It was the fear of the coming pain that lasted for minutes -- but that's all psychological/emotional.

Flash: That was a beautiful, almost poetic post. Well said. One small observation about the speed with which fish adapt: fishing on an Elk tributary a few years ago, a stream running beneath two enormous coal mines, a road crew was installing rip-rap along a new bridge deck. There were small through large cutthroat situated in and feeding along boulders that had been placed only one hour before. So I believe that on our beloved Bow, the fish will readily locate the newly created structure. Of course, the fish that have been killed or stranded, and I suspect there are many, won't be adapting, they'll simply be gone. On balance, I'm with the optimists on this one: damage, but not annihilation, and signs of recovery by next year.

We may need to learn to launch Montana-style: wherever you can find a two-track running up to moving water, that's where you drop or retrieve the boat. In Missoula on the Bitterroot there's a "launch" that consists of a flat grassy area and a nearly vertical, 20-foot-high gravel bank. You back the trailer up to the edge, run your webbing line down to your driftboat, then drive forward yanking the boat up the bank and onto the grass, before cranking the boat onto the trailer. All your gear has to come out of the boat first, and when the boat's hull hinges on the edge of the bank there's incredible force on the webbing, so you don't want anyone standing below the boat. But it works. Maybe we'll be able to do similar things up here on the Bow, such as driving as close to the river as possible at Policeman's, and skidding our boats the rest of the way to some new side channel. The tough part will be when the water recedes and new side channels that have punched out the access roads dry out again, then it could be a rather long skid to and from the main stem.

Much of what we call run-off in Alberta is due to rain in our generally damp late spring period. The snowpack just isn't that deep or dense on the east slope of the Rockies to sustain high water flows through snowmelt alone. In most of B.C. and the high mountain areas of the U.S. Rockies, there is a vastly deeper and denser snowpack (but much less spring rain in the U.S. mountain states), so that in those cases the run-off really is mainly melting snow. If you look at the Alberta Environment river basin maps, and bring up the "figure" or graph version of the Bow at Calgary, you'll see that the river typically peaks in early June and holds at that level into early July. That's an average, of course, so most years vary in some way -- like this current rain. When we have a hard, cold rain like this one, which comes down as snow in the mountains, the snowmelt such as it is temporarily shuts down, so what we are seeing is almost entirely rain-related. What does that mean for fishing? True snowmelt would tend to remain sustained for a couple to a few weeks, whereas after a major rain, the rivers drop fairly rapidly. Second, worm and streamer fishing can become very productive, since millions of earthworms are washed into the river, and there are wounded or disoriented baitfish and young trout available to the large hunters. So, big streamers tight to the bank, and worm patterns, especially at storm drains. Several years ago I drifted into a small eddy beside a storm drain, and the boat almost hit a giant brown positioned next to the storm drain, facing the outflow current, i.e., at about 90 degrees to the main river's current, facing away from our approaching boat. He was intently focused on eating the free meals coming out of the storm drain. The river was high, fast, off-colour and rising, but we managed to catch several very large fish with streamers. Fish Tales sells (or used to sell) a "worm cluster" pattern that can be used in these conditions.

Policeman's Landing downstream is good wading, probably four good spots in the first mile, including a very long (and obvious) inside bend with a wide entry riffle and long run that holds fish all over. Take the Deerfoot south to Dunbow Road, head east for about 1.5 km, turn left onto Bow River Bottom Trail (NOT to be confused with Bow Bottom Trail, which is inside the city and branches off the Deerfoot), and when this small road flattens out in the river valley, turn right into the obvious parking area beside the river. Also, heading south on the Deerfoot just before you get to Dunbow Road, many people park semi-legally in the Deerfoot freeway median. There's lots of nice fishing upstream on either riverbank. It's quite busy, though. Within the city, your fishing experience is limited only by your ability to read the Google map and find little roads or bike paths that go near or skirt the river. Upstream of the Harvie Passage whitewater park is closed to fishing right now. Downstream, there are many nice spots. Fish Creek Park has some nice fishing, but gets busy most evenings and weekends when the weather is nice, with anglers virtually lining the banks. Good luck!

Goatman: GREAT news that the access road is owned by the city, that's simply fantastic. It also explains the rather tentative attempt at closure, i.e., no enormous No Trespassing signs, chain-link fence, etc., just a little wee chain. Thank you so much for your work on this, to our benefit. This next point is speculation, but I would think that if there was an agreement in place authorizing the closure, that the physical closure itself would be more vigorous/physically imposing.

If it's a light chenille worm, then for sure it needs shot. Wire, depends on the water speed and depth. Some worms come with beadheads, but if you're fishing in deep and/or fast water, even those might need a shot. I have to admit I never fish a single nymph, only double or triple-nymph rigs.

CG1977, did you means swinging a wet fly just below the surface, or dead-drifting nymphs? You stated wet flies but the technique described sounds like nymphing. Anyway, swinging a wet fly in a riffle or tail-out can be very effective when the fish are on the prowl, which they tend to be in late spring, summer and early fall when there's something to chase (caddis or mayfly). Typical flies would be caddis sparkle pupae in sizes 12-16 and various classic soft-hackled patterns. A caddis behind a streamer swung through fast water can also work very well and grab some huge fish, making you wonder what was wrong with the bigger meal in front. But the fish aren't active all day long, nor in the really cold months, so then you need to deep nymph. Some days the fish don't hit much, but if you are skunked regularly then, sorry to say, it is the "operator" and not the fish. You need to get to depth fast, you need to drift drag-free for the most part and if the big attractor-ish stuff doesn't work you might need to go all-small, i.e., 2-3 nymphs in size 16-20 in midge, baetis, other mayfly or caddis patterns. With an all-small rig you absolutely need split-shot. Usually a good approach to start a typical day would be one nymph that's on the larger end (stonefly, prince, SJW or small leech) and one on the smaller end. If you get slashing hits to the big one, then you can go double-big (but that can end as soon real nymphs go on the move before a hatch). And if you get fish only on the small nymph, then go double-small. If a rig with a big nymph gets no hits at all, then also go double-small. Remember to vary your location. In a large feature fish everything: the fast entry riffle, the guts of the run, the edges, the shelves/drop-offs, and the tail-out, and do so systematically and with patience. Whatever depth you fish at, you should be getting hung up on the bottom at least occasionally, or you're too high. That's assuming the fish aren't visibly active. If they are, you can shorten your leash in stages in case the fish are somewhere higher in the water column or are going after rising bugs. That's it for now. Hope that helps and good luck.

Fantastic, Goatman!

Thanks Jayhad, you're very well-informed, appreciate the insight, as depressing as it is. Has anyone had any interaction/discussion with the developer?

Jayhad, are you sure about your point about the gravel road being privately held land? If that is the case, how have fire/rescue boats (as well as recreationists) been able to access the launch all these years? Is it possible to have private land so close to a major roadway? I.e., might not the gravel be part of the legal road allowance? It would be great if that were so. Regarding an earlier point about becoming locked in, the alternative method is to pop in there with your boat ready to go, launch within a couple of minutes and get your vehicle out of there, parking at Pierce Park and asking the shuttle service for as early a pickup as possible, or even running your own shuttle immediately. That minimizes the chances of an unpleasant encounter. It's still an imperfect solution, of course. And on a wider level, disturbing that much of the Bow has become an essentially no-float zone.

There's quite a lot you need to know about nymphing. It isn't so much knowing "something", as you ask above, but that even if you know a few things, if one important thing is still missing (depth, type of water, pattern, presentation, reacting quickly to every movement of your indicator, and several other factors) you are unlikely to catch many fish on the nymph. It takes most people quite a while to get good at it. Some people think they know how to nymph but still don't do very well at it. I would recommend you reading a book on nymphing, or perhaps visiting fly fishing magazine websites and reading articles on nymphing. Also, some of the better fly shops, not only here but on the major trout streams in Montana, will run excellent articles that cover important aspects of nymphing.

Pipestone: A real dirtbag I knew in the Alps over 30 years ago, before many people had transceivers, used to go to the butcher shop each morning, buy a garlic coil and stick it down his pants. Not only did he look like a rock star, he was convinced the avalanche dogs would find him first should he be buried, although he never seemed to consider what zone the dogs would be digging for. At the end of another day of skiing avalanche terrain without knowledge or equipment, he would celebrate his survival by consuming said garlic coil along with a couple of beers. Last I heard, he was still alive. Thanks for the reminder to push air out of waders. See? There's lot of rational advice on the internet.

Probably dumb of me, really really dumb, to wade into this one, but having read this lively exchange without participating so far, what strikes me is that we ought to recognize that individuals vary in strength, balance, agility, risk perception, risk tolerance, and many other attributes. Some people can wade thigh-deep in very fast current on slippery rocks; some can't. Some are certain they can swim if knocked over (and may have the experience to prove it); some are certain of the opposite. Some have the clear need for a PFD, some don't, and still others may need to transition at some point (I will). The earlier comment about having survived an avalanche brings up the analogy that some people today wouldn't ski powder without an ABS system, while many wouldn't. Some like the Avalung, many think it's useless. Since the Bow is ankle-deep in the middle in some places and chest-deep in others, jumping out in the middle to shoot video might lead to a bruising more than a dunking. In any case, people declaring that nobody ought to wade beyond a particular depth seems misguided, given the variety of river conditions. One other issue that will sound facetiously meant but isn't: with people recounting the experience of having air-filled wader legs holding their heads down, is the conventional wisdom to wear a tight wading belt incorrect? Agreed that water-filled waders multiply one's mass and make swimming slow and tiring, but isn't a head-up position the most important thing of all? (And the buoyancy of air-filled wader legs might exceed that of a smaller pfd.)

Oh right, then there are the foam stick-ons. They are nice for short-leash nymphing, running two small nymphs high in the water column when the fish are in transition before surface-feeding. They can't be moved, leave an annoying residue and require attention to avoid littering, but for that one narrow application they are ideal, far less obtrusive than the bobber. Sometimes they even get eaten.

Thingamabobber, usually white on the theory that it looks more like a piece of natural water foam than the bright ones. Of course, looking up from below they might all appear as menacing silhouettes, floating landmines of doom, but who knows? Some of the Montana and Wyoming guides tie on the true balloon indicators that inspired the plastic Thinga. They are demonstrably more sensitive in detecting subtle strikes on tailwaters where you are presenting tiny nymphs to picky trout. Being a somewhat impatient sort when it comes to the time-consuming gear details such as hand-knotted leaders, etc., I personally use the Thinga on regular commercial leader, although I order away for the Rio indicator leader (mostly tippet, short butt). I find even the medium sized Thinga can float three small to medium sized nymphs plus two small shots, or a large nymph plus two smaller ones and no shot. The larger Thinga's are very hard to cast and are downtright embarrassing to look at, like those over-sized telephone keypads for 90-year-olds. Of course, on that other thread about nymphing, a few people would say all indicator fishing is embarrassing, or should be. But even having written about last year's swkala hatch and the dry fly action, the dry fly component of the day was anywhere from 30 minutes to two hours, streamer fishing one hour and nymphing about seven hours.

That's one of those beguilingly simple questions that could unleash magazine-length articles, like "At what ski area am I most likely to find powder?" But to get the discussion going... An argument could be made that being limited to 10 flies means you might as well leave out dry flies altogether in favour of a fuller nymph selection, since being off by one size, shape or colour factor with the dry often means you might as well not fish at all. I can already hear the screams of dispute and derision building up, so assuming the 10 MUST include some dries, here goes: Dries: --big yellow foam hopper --tent-winged brown/buff caddis, size 14 --olive spinner (not dun), size 18 (I find a spinner will take fish feeding on duns, but not vice-versa, so since it's about ruthless choice here...) Nymphs: --SJW, not wire but chenille or chamois, tan/brown or dull red rather than bright red (I find brown works great on bright days and so-so on dull days, but the bright red usually only works on dull or off-colour water days) --rubber-leg stone or "turd", mottled brown (hard to pick one colour here) --flashback pheasant tail beadhead, size 16 --zebra midge, size 20 --soft-hackled caddis pupa (can also be fished as a wet fly on the swing), any colour, size 14 or 16 Streamers: --Coffey's sparkle minnow, tan/olive, any size --Sculpzilla, olive with red gills, larger size Merely writing the list makes me realize how much I'm leaving out. I use at least 20 nymph patterns on the Bow that would be core or go-to patterns rather than just occasional uses. Probably half a dozen streamers over and over. But with dry fly fishing, the list is almost endless, not so much the number of basic patterns but the variations of size, colour, hackle and wing treatment that you need, with tiny changes often making the difference between success and failure. But every fly fisherman knows that. OK everyone, now start jeering!

I believe they did already, using the fish ladder that was reportedly beside the weir. I heard from numerous fishermen over the years that their are spawning beds under the Centre St. bridge due to water upwelling (making good spawning conditions), as well as up the Elbow, accounting for the seasonal closures. One could infer that the Harvie Passage will improve communication between the sections, encouraging more fish to travel upstream. I recently came across the young construction engineer who supervised construction of Harvie Passage and he said he had observed numerous fish travelling up the Class II section in early spring.

Dutchie's advice mirrors my own experience in bringing a driftboat up from the U.S. I would add a couple of points: --if you can find out the serial number of the boat and trailer you're going to buy before you go, you can get fire/theft, etc. insurance for it before you leave, and even without the serial numbers, you can get a binder letter from your insurance agent --you should indeed insist that the boat dealer fill out as much of the paperwork as they can to speed up the border crossing --if you're getting the boat in Idaho or Montana, consider crossing at a less travelled border crossing, such as Peigan/Carway south of Cardston. It's much less busy than the freeway crossing at Sweetgrass and should be faster --in addition to the Canadian Tire inspection, the trailer (or boat, I can't remember which) must be federally registered with the Registry of Imported Vehicles, after you cross into Canada. This can be done on-line and I think costs about $100. After I brought my boat home somebody told me I could have insisted that Customs do this for me. In my case, the agent told me I had to do this on my own My personal experience is that the savings from buying in the U.S. were more than merely considerable and ran into the thousands. Also, if you buy from the factory it's easier to customize and upgrade, e.g., galvanized trailer, higher-end oars, etc. Lastly, you can turn it into a fishing trip in its own right. In our case we bought the Clackacraft in Idaho Falls, had the maiden voyage on the Henry's Fork, then fished the Missouri and made it home the same night as our last fishing day. Good luck with it!