Swinging The Bow In Late August?

[steadyswingin]

Hello all,

 

Will be visiting Calgary for a week in late August and wanted to know if anyone has had success swinging files for rainbows/browns in late summer. From what I have read, the preferred style over there seems to be nymphing with hopper-dropper rigs or using dries.

 

I primarily swing for steelhead on Lake Ontario tribs with a single handed 8wt. and have only used nymph rigs a handful of times.

 

Are the resi trout too lethargic to chase a fly in the late summer heat? Are there particular stretches of the river better suited for swinging? Should I just suck it up and put together a nymph outfit?

 

Thanks for any feedback!

[bcubed]

You'll do well to very well swinging flies at that time of year, particularly into mid river bars and buckets. Clousers, geek leeches... Gideeyup

[scel]

Welcome to the board.

 

Most people will agree the key to success on the Bow is flexibility. If I am fishing the Bow for a full day, i will likely swing streamers, use nymphs, and dries. If your primary goal is to catch big numbers, nymphing multiple flies under an indicator is probably the most productive method. Sometimes, nymphing deeper runs in the middle of the day is the only method of catching fish.

 

Streamers can be deadly, but they tend to be inconsistent. When the streamer bit is on though, look out. Bow River rainbows are honorary steelhead. Streamers are probably the key ticket to the prize---the 24"+ brown. Streamers have been my recent favourite method of angling the Bow.

 

Personally, I only break out the dries on the Bow when I see rising fish. I find the Bow River trout annoyingly picky. But there is something amazing about a 20" rainbow sipping your size 18 Blue Wing Olive.

 

Your 8wt will do fine for streamers and nymph rigs, but it might be a bit big for any of the dry fly action. By the end of August, the bigger bugs might be coming to an end. There might be some hoppers, but you are probably looking at size 14 and smaller dries.

 

From the city of calgary, downstream for about 30km is packed with fish, but the river is not forgiving. The wild trout can be very moody. Because it is a big river, it often takes some footwork to find the holding water. If you are here for a whole week, it might be a good idea to get a guide to help you unlock a few of the secrets.

[TroutPanther]

One other suggestion: late in the summer/into the fall, trailing a prince or another boatman type imitation behind a swung streamer can be deadly if the boatmen have started to come off. If not, trailing a soft hackle can work well too.

[Dangus]

Scel, I think Hoppers should be til mid sept. They're around til frost.

[scel]

Scel, I think Hoppers should be til mid sept. They're around til frost.

 

You are right. I find hoppers to be really hit-n-miss and quite weather dependent---warm and dry (for growing conditions and for the hoppers to be active) and windy (to get the hoppers in the water). With all this rain and relatively cool weather, I doubt there will be a significant hopper 'hatch' this year. I hope that I am wrong, though.

[SilverDoctor]

For hoppers you do need to look for "hopper friendly" stretches. Grass meadows that come down to hit the water. We did loose a lot of these during the flood unfortunately, but there are many still there. The bow is made up of many sub-systems that make changing tactics as you move up/down river important.

[steadyswingin]

Awesome feedback - thank you all!

 

I definitely love the chance at bigger, more aggressive fish that streamer fishing provides. Also very intrigued by the idea of trailing a fly behind one

Will certainly pick up some hoppers and nymphs in town to keep things versatile.

 

If anyone is coming out to Ontario to fish for steelies in the fall, don't hesitate to give me a shout

[Dangus]

You are right. I find hoppers to be really hit-n-miss and quite weather dependent---warm and dry (for growing conditions and for the hoppers to be active) and windy (to get the hoppers in the water). With all this rain and relatively cool weather, I doubt there will be a significant hopper 'hatch' this year. I hope that I am wrong, though.

 

Ya this rain is brutal. Hopefully we'll have a nice September. I think the bows pick up another couple hp around that time anyways.