fishbait

Never thought about bringing extra socks and such... good tip thanks!

I like polar fleece too, although not much helps when you're neck deep in the water lol. I didn't get cold, just soaked. Once the water fills the waders you're kinda screwed. If I venture out in the winter I'll have to be very careful. Might just stick to spinning from shore.

Great way to spend the last nice day of the year...I went for a swim in the Bow! Slipped on a rock and went down, couldn't get up right away and got soaked. Fortunately it wasn't too cold and I got home quickly to dry off. I had my cell phone with me in the "waterproof" pocket of my waders but it still got wet. I took it apart at home and dried out out, fortunately it still works.

Thanks. On Wednesday I was seeing fish surfacing about every 5-10 minutes, and even though I was hitting the run fairly consistantly with nymphs I wasn't getting anything. If I see it again I'll try a dry. Think I have a midge fly or two in the kit, though they migh be too big. Sounds like a 16 or even 18 would be best?

Should I be trying a dry fly, or still nymphing?

HIt the bow again this morning, with a SJW and a trailing prince nymph. Was getting good depth and flow, but no bites. May have had one legit strike but just weeds otherwise. However, my cast and mending were working great and it was a nice day. I saw a few fish come to surface, but not sure what they were after. All I could see on top were some very small pseudos(?), nothing I could imitate.

Again, I really appreciate all the frank advice Fly fishing is technically challenging and requires a lot of knowledge and experience, which makes it a difficult sport to take up. Don't think I'd get very far without a little guidance and encouragement. Thanks very much!

Probably a guide is a good idea, if I had the time and money. Like golf, leaning the wrong way and then practicing those bad habits isn't the way to go. The book sounds good, I'll have to look for that. Interesting, I saw the odd fish jumping up today which I haven't seen much of lately. I didn't see much on the surface but maybe some pseudos? Nothing I had a fly to imitate anyway. Stuck with my pheasant tail and water boatman set up.

So I made a catch today! Caught my cheek with a #12 Water Boatman. Hook went right in barb and all, but I got it out with minor injury. Otherwise a non-productive outing aside from a possible strike or two that may have just been weeds. At least the patch job on my waders worked and I stayed dry.

Thanks for all the advice and encouragement. I was out today with a double nymphing rig - split shot with a pheasant tail about 6" down, and a water boatman another 12" past that. Was casting out at 45 degrees upstream in about 2 1/2 to 3' of stream, getting good drift for about 10-15 seconds with mending. Pretty sure that it was getting down in the water as the split shot or pheasant tail occasionally had some weed on it. I had to cut it short as I had a leak in my waders (needed a patch job) so I was only on the river for about 40 minutes. I may have had a strike which got away, either that or a weedy imposter...still a nice outing and I was pleased with my cast.

I've been on the bow for a couple months now, just getting into the sport and practicing my cast and mending techniques. I've caught a couple, but mostly have just been learning the hard way. I don't know the good spots or best flies, and have just been looking at some on-line fly fishing reports for advice. Still enjoying it though and having some fun on the river. I couldn't find any reports or "guide" tips on the site here, and have been reluctant to ask anyone to give up their secrets, but I'm at a point where I feel like I'm not progressing anymore. I generally head out just south of the Sue Higgins bridge off the east bank as it's close to home...maybe that's just a dead area? I've thought about venturing further south from there but not sure. I've tried up north of the bridge but didn't find it very productive. Just looking for a bit of advice or general comments. Is there a good site for up-to-date guide reports? Thanks!

Thanks, ya I'm sure there's a place for using an indicator and probably there's better and worse ones. I'll keep them in my kit. For my purposes I found that I was too fixated on the indicator and not paying enough attention to mending and just feeling for strikes. Every little bobble I was tugging on the line. I think it may have not allowed the nymphs to sink enough as well, which didn't help.

Well after a couple weeks of practice and learning more, I had a real breakthrough morning today! Weather was perfect so I headed down to my favorite spot on the Bow and caught 3 browns in one hour. I had been getting frustrated with not catching anything and losing 3 or 4 flies each time out, but this easily made up for all of it. My cast is way better and just my feel for strikes. I was using an indicator which I gave up on, hating the way it cast and probably spooked the fish. I just use a 6 wt rod with 3x leader and tippet, and a double nymphing rig with a couple bb shots. Loving it!

I'm new to fly fishing so I just signed up on this site. I've been spinning some of the lakes around Calgary, but live right near the SE Bow so fly fishing makes sense. My first time out I caught a small brown with a prince nymph, but I'm pretty sure it was beginners dumb luck! Still, it certainly made me a quick fan of the sport. Hoping to get some pointers on here and stay up to date with the good spots and flies. Thanks!