threepwood

Welcome! Be sure to search the forums for older posts on gear and strategies for beginners - there's a wealth of info available. The two pieces of advice you're likely to hear first: take a casting lesson if you have the time and spare money, and don't buy a rod without casting it (and preferably a bunch of alternatives). You don't have to break the bank to catch fish, especially as a beginner - decent starter sets (rod/reel combos) can be had for under $200 - well under that amount, in some cases. And don't try to start on the Bow - head into cutthroat territory and you'll have more fun. Good luck!

That would be nice. Let's hope the tow trucks get some good business.

You, sir, are a maniac

Don't be like me. I drove out to the Highwood last night to camp, hoping to get an early start on opening day. I arose, bright-eyed and bushy tailed, with visions of cooperative cutthroats and perhaps a rainbow or bull trout dancing in my head. When I opened my bag, what did I see, but no pair of waders looking at me. I tried to make the best of it, but it was way too cold to wet wade. I did some exploring all around Kananaskis instead, and caught a couple of tiny brook trout on a new stream with a little fiberglass rod in howling winds. Nonetheless, it was not the day I had in mind. I hope you all do better than me, and don't forget your waders.

It's my understanding that whitefish and trout are often in different places in the river and the water column. As a rule, whitefish tend to stay in deeper, slower water than trout. Try a slightly shallower drift, and if it's not winter move out from the slowest, deepest pools. You can nymph in water that is quite shallow.

This sounds like it might be the case. Not highly contagious to other fish I hope?

Hi all, I was out in the side channel of the Bow by Bankside, in Fish Creek Park this afternoon, and I saw a bizarre fish. It was mottled in large blotches, light and dark, like you might see in a koi. It was cruising through the area and freaked out when it saw me, and leaped out of the water once. It was a fairly sizable fish - I'd guess 17 inches or more. I didn't get a great look at it, but its coloration was different than anything I'd ever seen in the Bow. So what did I see? It went too fast for me to get a photograph, but the random jumping made me worry it was some kind of invasive species.

$325 on item 2

Just took a chance on one. We'll see how it goes.

I hope this is appropriate for the forum - I thought I would share a very positive customer experience that I had today. I ordered some flies from Icky Fly Works a while back, and Canada Post managed to lose them. The guys at IFW told me they'd send a replacement batch, free of charge. I fully expected to get them in the mail in a few days time, given it's the weekend. My doorbell rang this afternoon. Ben, I believe his name was, from Icky Fly Works hand delivered my flies. I was floored. Anyway, it's so easy to give feedback when you have a negative experience as a customer, I thought I'd try to balance things out by spreading the word because I had a particularly good one. If anyone from the company frequents the forums, thank you.

I used to live a block away. This is correct - the name recently changed (well, a couple of years ago) from South Calgary to Marda Loop.

I think it's at the Marda Loop community association hall, which has a very large parking lot, and the inside is pretty wide-open. Should be sufficient unless turnout is huge.

I was hoping to get some advice from the community on fishing the Bow near Banff. I'm going to be there for the weekend, and may have a short time to get out and fish. Tributaries are closed, but the main river is open for business. I did a forum search, but there hasn't been much posted on the area since the flood. So, what say you? Should I look for bull trout above the falls, toss streamers for whatever's willing, or should I make some attempt at nymphing? Any advice on locations to try is welcome, although I'm probably limited to staying fairly close to the townsite. Tips on what flies are working this time of year are likewise welcome. Feel free to PM if you don't want to put things out there publicly. Just looking for general areas, not your secret spot at Frenchman's Creek.

You can also get SpiderWire fluoro in various weights fairly cheap (try Amazon). It isn't as high-quality as the Rio stuff - less abrasion resistant, I've found - but for the price you could do worse. If you're on the Bow you can probably use 10 or 12 lb test fluoro (about 0x equivalent) for a good portion of your leader, then use a tippet ring or a little swivel to tie into some lighter stuff (3, 4, or 5x) for the last 3 or 4 feet before your flies. You can also use the heavier stuff for streamer leaders.

Got a personal-best rainbow on the Crowsnest today. The fishing was good, and I thought I saw a couple of BWOs out there, plus some huge stonefly nymphs in the shallow water.

This is getting ridiculous. It's time somebody called the cops. If you fish that area, bring a camera and film if that guy shows up.

If you mean the 1 trout under 35cm part, it was in there last year. Still, seems like good policy to preserve trophy trout.

I've done ok recently by using a small swivel as sort of a tippet ring. Heavier line to the swivel (maybe 4-6 ft.), then light, thin fluoro from there to the flies. Seems to help keep tension on the indicator while letting your flies get down faster. Sort of an in-between between tight lining and regular indicator fishing. I also got my biggest rainbow yet on a clouser streamer today. Maybe not huge for the Bow, but good for me (20" or so). So, try lots of things. Sooner or later it'll go your way, and if not you can always consider lying :-D

For your budget, if you like a medium-fast action rod give the TFO Impact a try. I recently picked one up in a 6 wt and I really like it. Runs around $400-$450.

Thanks to Murray for teaching this thirty-something kid to tie a fly. Fly Fish Calgary was well-represented at the show.

Good idea! Thanks for sharing.