Bow River Near Banff

[threepwood]

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.

 

 

[ÜberFly]

Contact Pipestone or Nachako or mountainriverwalker they all live within the area!

[SanJuanWorm]

There's lots of sunken logs in the stretch below falls to seebe. Nymphing would get expensive.

[SilverDoctor]

It can be good, the fish there are very structure orinted.

[angler]

River is very low right now, and about as crystal clear awe s it gets. Be prepared to put in quite a bit of hoofing time. As the doc said, very structure oriented. Look for log jams etc. Be prepared to lose a few - flies! We did not get as much severe damage as the Bow downstream of Canmore, but......

Nymphing can get expensive, but can be very effective. Personally, I'd be swinging smaller streamers near the junk, or hoping for a small hatch, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it to start.

Access is limited. I'd take a walk along the golf course below the falls. The loop road is still closed so have to park at the falls and walk. Or, you could become a tourist attraction and fish the pool(s) just below the falls.

Be aware that the bears are awake.

Enjoy.

[jpinkster]

River is very low right now, and about as crystal clear awe s it gets. Be prepared to put in quite a bit of hoofing time. As the doc said, very structure oriented. Look for log jams etc. Be prepared to lose a few - flies! We did not get as much severe damage as the Bow downstream of Canmore, but......

Nymphing can get expensive, but can be very effective. Personally, I'd be swinging smaller streamers near the junk, or hoping for a small hatch, but I wouldn't hold my breath waiting for it to start.

Access is limited. I'd take a walk along the golf course below the falls. The loop road is still closed so have to park at the falls and walk. Or, you could become a tourist attraction and fish the pool(s) just below the falls.

Be aware that the bears are awake.

Enjoy.

That pool below the falls looks like it would hold a few healthy sized bulls...

[upperbowtrekker]

fish the pools below the falls. Olive or white bugger with a bead head should do the trick...

[treeplanter]

Since the great trans-alta sucker rescue of 2013 there are a few big lakers between Banff and Canmore. Apparently they were running low on heli-time so they took the last few loads to the river instead of back to the reservoir. Try smelts (lol) in the flats up from where the cascade power plant outflow dumps into the river.

[Nachako]

That pool below the falls looks like it would hold a few healthy sized bulls...

Actually I have caught more whitefish there any anything else in past years.

[jpinkster]

Perfect, that's all I know how to catch.

 

That stretch does look like some dangerous wading, especially under the falls.

[Nachako]

It's not bad it's pretty clear and has a real deep run on the right hand side.