Fishing Around Bowness

[Parry]

Hey was just curious as to how the fishing around the Bowness area in Calgary is? I can honestly say that I have never fished it. However recently my Aunt and Uncle purchased a house that has the lovely bow river right in their backyard. So I was thinking that my summer, or much of it would be spent learning every run, riffle, and fish that resides in their little stretch of heaven. Any who, any advice on this section of the river would be awesome. Thanks for the help guys

 

 

Dustin

[Din]

theres a few places that produce. IMO it fishes unlike the lower bow...more like the crow i'd say. I tend to catch more whites than anywhere else. hard to fish on a hot day as the rafters are in plenty. nice to get out if you have only limited time (if you live in the NW), but if i have the time i always head south... don't want to give out exact spots..

[Lundvike]

I fished it a few times last year and Din is right it is really unlike the lower bow. Numbers wise I did ok but all the fish were small and the real difference to me was the seeming lack of insects compared to downstream, still worth fishing if you don't have time to go south.

[headscan]

I live in the far NW (Citadel) so I usually fish this stretch if I only have two or three hours in the evening after work. There are some decent spots and good sized trout. I have yet to hook into a white up there but maybe I just haven't tried hard enough. I don't think the dry fly fishing is quite as good as the lower portions. Haven't seen any caddis hatches that were dense like the ones down south. Nymph and streamer action has been good for me up there. Since I usually go in the evenings the rafters aren't as bad as during the day. I have had more people throw their dog a stick or ball into the water I'm fishing than I have at Southland or Fish Creek, though.

[bigbowtrout]

Lots of great water to be had and it can be unreal for big browns just explore and have fun.

[maxwell]

yea theres no fish up there dustin...head south...

[monger]

My buddy who was born and raised in Bowness says the number of whitefish around has drastically decreased in the last few years. He does quite a few "snorkeling surveys" to check to things out. He is not sure why the numbers are down. He has told me of snorkeling adventures in late summer/fall when there was so many whitefish you couldn't see the bottom in some areas. I would imagine the loss of whitefish fry must have an effect on the rest of the fish in the river. We used to have great fun nymphing for whitefish with a fish a cast about 20 years ago. There is also some very big pike that live in the river near Bowness Park.