Elk Vs Bow

[Ripple]

I am considering making the long trek west to fly fish either the Elk in Fernie or the Bow in Calgary. Timing would be August and I would hire a drift boat guide.

 

Which river would you say offers the most rewarding fishing.

 

Thanks.

[angler]

No comparison. THE BOW!!!!

[bcubed]

depends what you want..if you just want pure numbers..then the Elk. If you want good opportunities for big fish (and typically good numbers), then the Bow..

 

Also depends on the fishing you want to do (and the guide you get)...If you want to avoid the bobber plague, better pick the right guide for the Bow so they don't just throw it on in the boat launch.

[kevbine]

The Elk if you want big wild cuthroat on dry flies and beautiful scenery. The Bow if you want big rainbows and browns using a variety of techniques and a prairie landscape. You should do both...

[Muffin]

The Elk if you want big wild cuthroat on dry flies and beautiful scenery. The Bow if you want big rainbows and browns using a variety of techniques and a prairie landscape. You should do both...

Agreed probably should do both.

[ericlin0122]

I will do elk and its trib anytime over bow these days.

[WyomingGeorge]

They are both great.

 

The Bow is fickle, it is crowded in summer, and you would need to choose your guide carefully (I've posted before about quizzing them about the length of the fishing day and their willingness to rig multiple rods and do streamer and hopper-dropper fishing as well as worm-bobbering).

 

The Elk is gorgeous but the fishing scene there has some shortcomings.

 

Can you row? If so, there might be some forum members who, if they're around when you visit and are in a generous mood, might let you hop in their boat for free.

[troutlover]

If I was coming from out of town the Elk would be my first choice. Beautiful, Great town to hang out in you will catch fish. However I would want to do both Calgary is just a short 3 hr drive from Fernie. The bow will challenge you but there is the chance for a trout of a life time. August can be difficult on the Bow unless you are in the later part of the month. If you go to the Elk it is also a short drive to the Crowsnest river but again a little more of a technical river in August. I bet if you post here when you are making the trip you would be able to find some local guys to fish with for a day, if you want to avoid some of $$$ for a guide.

[FraserN]

I would choose the Elk river if I was going to come in August. The trout are easier to catch: they are about the same size, and it is a beautiful environment. The Elk river in summer is hard to beat, if you can afford going to B.C.

[reevesr1]

I love BC in the late summer. Fishing for cutts is one of my favorite things. Nothing like a big gorgeous fish taking a dry fly from a crystal clear stream. But that said, having a 22" rainbow turn your reel into a knuckle buster as he cartwheels through the air is pretty tough to beat as well. For scenery and aesthetics, the Elk. For the chance at a jaw dropping run, the Bow. I'm firmly in the both camp.

[Jayhad]

Three reasons not to fish the Elk:

BC

No browns

fishing for cutties makes you a weakier angler

[trailhead]

For both rivers nothing is guaranteed. Took a friend from out of town for a float on the Elk in August, we caught one fish. And everyone knows that the Bow can bust yer balls.

[Guest Sneaky]

Three reasons not to fish the Elk:

BC

No browns

fishing for cutties makes you a weakier angler

Ya those browns you chase sure are complicated fish....

 

Elk area is where i would go in that time, more so because august is a tough month for the bow. If it were any other month of the year(besides possibly september), i would pick the bow. I wouldnt necessarily drift the elk itself, because of heard its not as great as its cracked up to be.

 

Couple of rivers in the elk area that are great to spend time on. One starts with a W, the other starts with an M.

[SkwalaStonefly]

You may want to consider that the flood of last June had a pretty devastating affect on the Bow and many rivers in southern Alberta. I know we all hope to see the rivers here bounce back quickly, but it may well take a few years before the Bow is fishing at pre-flood levels. I have not been to southeast BC since the flood so I don't know if the Elk has been impacted to the same degree as the Bow. Perhaps others on the forum can comment on that. If it has not, the fishing may be much better on the Elk. Bear in mind that in BC they will rip you off $20 a day to fish the Elk, plus the cost of your license.

[DonAndersen]

Ripple,

 

Do both. You will probably fly into & out of Calgary if you are coming from eastern Canada. From NE USA, lots of folks fly into Great Falls and drive up.

As others have said, the Bow can be very crowded. Wilderness fishing it isn't. Depending on your launch point you might not get away from traffic noise all day.

The Elk is somewhat quieter although there can be a lot of boats on the water as well. The guys from the "Crowsnest Angler" located along the Crowsnest River guide the Elk.

A combo trip might include a day or so on the Bow staying in Calgary, a day or so on the Elk while staying in the Crowsnest Pass area, plus days either in SW Alberta or SE BC while still basing yourself out of the Crow.

Lots of options. Just need time and money.

 

Don

[WyomingGeorge]

Ripple: Probably the biggest single thing you can do to make the experience best for you, on either river, is ensure that you are here mid-week. Both rivers get busy on weekends, and that can include some grumpiness at the ramps, and some very close cutting in on the river -- both by clueless newcomers and people who know better but do it anyway.

 

I would also classify Friday as part of the weekend, with the number of flex days, etc., that people have these days. If you can fish sometime Monday through Thursday, you'll find dramatically less boat traffic on either river.

 

Regarding the guide, having someone willing to stay out until dusk is absolutely key. Getting behind the flotilla will let you fish slowly and deliberately in key areas, and being out at dusk hunting the giant sippers is simply magic -- going for a 22"+ fish using a small caddis, pmd spinner or even a Griffith's gnat is unparalleled fly fishing and will be a lifetime memory. You'll also be out for the suppertime streamer bite. If you go with the standard random 9-5 guide, you are likely to miss the day's best fishing.

[fishinglibin]

Do both and hire Maxwell for the Bow, and Adam Richard for the Elk. Have fun!!

[PAV]

The Elk was blown out just as bad as the Bow this year and the dry fly fishing was off for

much of the summer. I was there in Aug and guides were nymphing in the middle of a hot

sunny day. When I questioned the guide he said the hatches were not good and the fish

were looking down not up.

[WyomingGeorge]

And the extra super-beauty of the B.C. fishing scene is that you'll always be a single-fly purist whether you feel like it or not!

 

Nymphing with one fly: the dictionary definition of awesome.

[kevbine]

The last place on earth you need to be fishing more than one fly at a time is the Elk. Cutties may be the easiest trout in the world to catch, we only nymph for them in desperate times. Of course last summer was different as the river was drastically altered by the flood and the dry fly fishing was hit and miss until the middle to late August.

[mcleod52]

I would say hit both spots. Take a guide on the Bow (or find somebody with an open seat) and pound the banks on the Elk - lots of easy access.

 

I typically hit both when I make my pilgrimages from Seattle back to cowtown (3 time last year). I can tell you this, I always stop in Fernie, even if to pound the banks for few hours. The $20 access fee is a minor money grab but worth every cent (in my opinion). I love the dry fly action.

 

I fished it last year in late July and early August and found the river had changed a lot from the flooding, but the fish were still in all the spots you'd expect them. Things were a bit slower for me compared to other years, but still great fish to hand. In addition to dry fly fishing for cutties, the Elk also has the added benefit of some massive bull trout you can catch by swinging streamers.

 

The Bow is a much bigger river with not the same bank opportunities as the Elk - at least in my experience (I am certain others will disagree). There are areas that I pound the banks but to truly enjoy the river I always take a guide. There are even guides that can find an open seat in a boat, which help differs the cost and gives you the opportunity to meet a new fisherman and guide :-) ... In my experience, and as some have mentioned above, a lot of the Bow drifting involves nymphing rigs with some dry-fly action thrown in. I've been lucky that all the guides I have had do full day floats with pulling onto the trailer in the dark.

 

My ramblings on the subject.

 

Stew