toolman

Cool Dave, excellent underwater shot. Look forward to the rest of the photo album. The water temps down there are likely +10F warmer than the Bow would be right now and that may account for the scrappy nature of the trout you hooked up with. Cause we all know, lb. for lb., the Bow River Bullets...are the current World champions....

Awesome, thanks for the info. H2O, I'll be swinging one by Thursday evening.

I would recommend the TF 1264 DC... 12' 6" 5/6 wt. for the Bow. Great for nymphing, swinging, streamers and even drys. Yes, you heard me... Dry Flys...small ones too.

Birchy, I've been waiting for 5 months for these new TFO's to get here. Fish Tales are bringing them in very soon and I will be casting them as soon as they arrive. I heard a few reports from Spey casters who were involved in the developement and testing and the word is...awesome rods. Thanks for posting.

There are many excellent leaders that you can buy at the local fly shops. I prefer to use tapered nylon leaders for most applications and DC Polyleaders with 2'-4' of tippet added, for sub-surface use, in a few different sink rates. You can also make your own leaders to suit the size of the flys you are casting and the type of leader needed for its application. The heavier the fly, the larger the leader butt needs to be to turn the fly over properly. Some applications, such as in low clear water, may require a longer leader and possibly a Fluro carbon section at the tip. You can customize to your needs, as you did with your pike leader.

Yes, cms or ...cu/m/sec or even ... m/3/sec ...all one in the same. I've also noticed this week that the trout are feeding in the evenings on the Bow and kind of quiet in the daytime, even with decent hatches occuring most afternoons this week, at varying flow rates. An important detail to consider when looking at the complete picture of flow rates, visibility, water/air temp., wind speed, feeding times/patterns and hatches.

I prefer flows on the Bow river that are less than 240 cms. I fished on Friday evening when flows were at 236cms and the fishing was very good. I was out today and flows had increased to 301 cms and the fishing was slow. Same story last year, the Bow fished well when flows were under 240cms. As for the fish feeding behavior, that's difficult to say. Friday evening there was little insect activity on the water, but good fishing. Today, there were prolific hatches of PMD's, from 1:30pm- 6:00pm, but slow fishing.

I agree that there is a problem with the irresponsible use of ATVs and the trail of destruction left behind. We had a similar problem a few years ago in the Wiaporus Wilderness area with ATVs, random campers etc. The solution was simple...Enforcement. The other issues I mentioned, as having a greater impact on our province, are mired in the political/economic self-interests of government and industry. They are much tougher to deal with.

I think we have bigger issues in our environment and fisheries than ATVs. Including, loss of habitat, poaching, pollution, consumption, irrigation & water diversion and the list goes on. Go fishing with your ATV and have fun.

grin....

quantity...

over...

quality...

in...

beleive...

I...

Welcome to our new friends at FlyFusion Magazine and Flyangler.ca... Keep the good stuff coming folks.

Enjoy Mike...You are indeed a lucky man. "Ahhh her brother is single"....LOL!

Spey casts, such as single spey and double spey, are easy to perform on single handed rods. Spey casting with a single hander will give you many advantages when working tight shorelines with little backcasting room. Of course, nothing beats a two hander, IMO. Better line control, easier casting, longer casts, ability to cast big weight & sinks tips to incredible distances, extra reach when high sticking, better fish fighting ability, a wider variety of lines/tips/leader arrangements, reduced casting stress/ injuries to elbows, wrists, back, greater casting/line control in strong winds and the list of benefits goes on. You won't know what your missing untill you try it. ps. There are no stupid questions in flyfishing, as they are the same ones we have all asked at one time or another.

Hi Gordon, I'm looking forward to your return to Calgary. Just want to mention that we are discussing a Spey Section bieng created at FlyFishCalgary and not another seperate forum. Just a place where we can discuss all things Spey and maybe help new Spey Fisherman with any questions, to get them started. That kind of thing.

Beautifull photos. Did you manage to take video again this year? Were the fish taking any dry flys? What insects were hatching? Thanks for posting DutchDryFly.

No, No, NO...it was a giant Brown...grin

A few photo's of our day for all to enjoy and re-live. Thanks for everyones participation and support. We are considering a clinic for early July, if there is interest, that will be a little different. It will focus on the Bow river and the different strategies to use for the common Hatches (Mayflys, Caddis, Stoneflys, Terrestrials). Techniques will include High Stick Nymphing, Fishing the Swing with wet flys, emergers/pupa, Streamers and Dry Flys. Photos by B. Hurt Nothing was going to swim past these guys... Lets talk Knots... Fish On! Bow Rivers Finest! Next lesson, Entomology! The Bow River hatches are proflic. Many underwater samples were collected. Some lessons are best learned with a hands on approach. Fish On! Giant Bow River Brown Trout... Grad Class 007' .....See you on the Bow

A Spey Fishing category would be great and you can count on my contributions. Spey fishing is unique and gaining in popularity. You will see many reports from me this season when things get swinging (pun intended) on the Bow.

Well, my experience casting big weight on a rod that is too light, has been broken rod tips, over stressed, stretched/cracked lines and general poor casting performance. Rods/lines/leaders/tippets/flys, all need to be balanced, to achieve optimum performance. Secondly, there's the hit to the back of the head to consider as well.