relk19

I am looking to hook into my first Bull this weekend, looking for a good place to go. I am not interested in the Livingstone or Oldman area, as I have heard those areas get extremely busy in the summer months. Was thinking the Kootenay River in BC in Kootenay National park, but was curious if there are any better streams nearby (Calgary area) for Bulls?

http://www.calgaryherald.com/news/edmonton/Four+species+added+Alberta+threatened+species+list/10075860/story.html I was under the impression the Bull trout was already on the list, no surprise there. Can't say I have caught any of the three fish species added to the list, hoping to check a bull off my list soon. Hope to see these species make a comeback in the coming decades.

One of the best tools I used when learning (in my second year atm) was Orvis' how to's. Covers pretty much everything. http://howtoflyfish.orvis.com/video-lessons A good book for learning how to read water, and where the fish might be, is "Reading Trout Water" by Dave Hughes. I would recommend Alberta's Trout Highway as well. As mentioned, the bow is not an easy river, but don't get discouraged, because when you finally land that big rainbow that just jumped 7 times, it makes all the frustration worth it.

Don't think you would really be able to cast with it attached to a fly line, but could see it being pretty cool to use when sinking a chronie to the bottom of a lake. Only 480p though...

Welcome! Don't get discouraged with the Bow, its not an easy river. It all makes up for it when you finally have a good night on it! I have been skunked on around 60-70% of my outings this year on the bow (only my second year fly fishing), but those couple times I hooked into fish, boy was it worth it all in the end.

Thanks for the help guys. I have taken half a dozen trips out to various creeks (highwood, racehorse, etc...) and had a lot of success on the dries on those creeks, but when it comes to the bow I am stumped. I think the guide option will be the best bet, so I will be looking around for that. Thanks again!

Hi All, I started fly fishing last year, got myself a beginner TFO NXT rod (5/6 weight) and fished a lot of dries on smaller streams. Tried the bow river numerous times with no luck on the fly rod. I am currently trying to decide between two options: 1) Buy a new 7 or 8 wt rod to toss streamers or 2) Buy a new reel (or just spool) with a sink tip line on it for nymphing and streamers with the 5/6 wt. My question is would buying a heavier weight rod help with tossing streamers out, or is it just my technique with the 5/6 wt? If i did get the new rod, would it still give me good results (compared to the 5/6 wt) while nymphing? Pretty much my goal is to have a viable option to nymph or streamer with, as I have found I have been having problems casting out a weighted nymph rig (or just getting the nymphs to the bottom without the weight), would the sink tip line be hard to cast too? Thanks for any and all help.

At first, I was striking on the rise. Then i decided to see what was happening, and they would approach it, but it doesn't seem like they take it. Its as if they are nudging it over and over. Ill go out and buy some smaller BWO, see if that makes a difference.

I was out at a local pond in Lethbridge the other day. Lots of little fish rising, saw lots of BWO on the water, threw one on myself and started casting. I would get a bunch of nibbles (pretty much every cast), but the fish would never take it. Its my first year fly fishing, and I haven't ran into a situation like this before. Are they swimming up to inspect the fly, and then simply not taking it? Are they too small to swallow it enough for me to set the hook? I am just a little perplexed at the moment, looking for some advice. In terms of the fly, I was using a size 18 BWO. The ones I was able to catch on the water were smaller, probably size 20, maybe even 22. Could that be the case? Thanks for any help!

First season fly fishing for me as well, was wondering how you guys fish your streamers? Do you just let it swing around with the current, or do you strip it in as it is travelling downstream?