Frustrated With The Bow River

[Jerry]

Hey all,

 

I've been browsing this forum for a while now trying to soak everything in and get as much information out of here as I can. This is my seventh year of fly fishing, but only in the last 2-3 have I gotten serious about it. This season, a buddy and I are starting early and trying our luck on the Bow. I never really bothered with the Bow much and would usually head out to Crowsnest or the Oldman River because of the feedback I would hear about how difficult it is to fish the Bow sometimes. Since the beginning of 2008, we have been out to the Bow five times, on all-day trips. We have caught one fish between us both, and I'm getting very frustrated. I just simply can't figure it out, I've tried everything, except what works apparently.

 

Normally what I will do is rig up two nymhps, one SJW on the end of my leader, and another Prince Nymph or Evil Weevil on the end of a 12" tippet. I will usually put a weight in-between the two nymphs, or up above the SJW. I've tried many different variations on this rig (including three flies) and many different flies. I'll spend usually about a half-hour in one spot working the whole area trying to feel out any fish that might be there.

 

I must be doing something wrong, going out for 5-6 hours of straight fishing and not even getting a bite for the last 5 weeks in a row is very hard on the ego. Could someone please help me out and give me some pointers, or maybe even in-depth strategies that work well on the Bow? I'd love to enjoy going to the Bow, instead of dreading going like I do right now. Please help a guy out.

 

Regards,

 

Jerry

[Nick0Danger]

A couple questions are you indicator fishing? and how long is your leader? will start with that

[Jerry]

Yes I've got an indicator on. The leader is usually a 7-1/2 foot, and I usually have the strike indicator approx twice the depth of the water (from the bottom nymph).

[Nick0Danger]

where on the bow are you fishing?

[Jerry]

The stretch that I've been fishing is from Hull's Wood (22X) to about 4-5km south of Policeman's Flats.

[Nick0Danger]

well, then i think you have to hire maxwell for a walk and wade LOL.

[Guest bigbadbrent]

go deeeper...make that leader at least 9 feet long, and put that indicator at the top...

 

Don't let the bow disturb you if you're not catching anything in the winter..the winter is not an easy time to learn the bow.

 

 

Also,

 

make sure its at least a #8 wire worm, and start using smaller nymphs for the winter. like size 18 blood worms or chironomids

 

 

I'll be at the launch tomorrow at around 2:45, at the actual launch waiting to meet someone, if you're near, come by and i'll put you into a fish or two, or at least tell you where they normally are

[Jerry]

bigbadbrent: Thanks for the suggestions, I will give the longer leader and higher strike indicator a try. Right now I am using smaller nymphs, like size 16-20.

 

Unfortunately I can't head down to the river tomorrow afternoon, we've got some company coming over from out of town. If you're willing, I will definitely take a rain-check though.

[Guest bigbadbrent]

rain-delays are for baseball

 

but i can help you out later

[headscan]

Don't let the bow disturb you if you're not catching anything in the winter..the winter is not an easy time to learn the bow.

 

What he said. And Nick0Danger's suggestion of hiring Max isn't a bad idea ever. One of my friends who doesn't fish the Bow often summed it up perfectly - the Bow can be a cruel mistress.

[EdB]

I'd be happy to meet ya down there as well. I'm no expert but i seem to catch fish and i learned on the Bow. Actually have only fished the Bow. Will be going out thurs fri all day and mon tue. Shoot me a PM if your interested.

[maxwell]

sounds likyou need too work on you mending and striking dude..are oyu snaggin bottom much...or ever....your leader lengths should varry depending on were you are fishin same with your weight...but the biggest questions is....is your indi going down and are you hitting it every time......or waiting for it too stay down...if u have the right flies and right rig but your not hitting them takes quick..she can be a tough river.........

[Pythagoras]

The best advice I've had about the Bow came from these boards....keep trying, read the river, and set, set, set the hook...I'm still far from a Bow river ninja but those tips have helped.

[Jerry]

What he said. And Nick0Danger's suggestion of hiring Max isn't a bad idea ever. One of my friends who doesn't fish the Bow often summed it up perfectly - the Bow can be a cruel mistress.

 

It's so very true, I'm just hoping I can get 'er figured out soon enough.

 

Troutslayer: I will definitely send you a PM if you don't mind. This week is very hectic with picking up my new truck and getting the motorcycle out of storage. I'm going to try and get down to the Bow on Friday. Thank you for the offer also.

 

maxwell: I think I've got my mending down, I don't think that would be a problem. Every time I see the indicator move erratically I usually strike, so it's usually quite a bit. I'm always snagging bottom, and adjust my strike indicator length about 100+ times a day it seems.

 

I'll keep at it, and thank you all for the advice. One question though, does my rig, flies, and technique seem solid for the Bow? As long as it is, I guess I just have to put the time in...

[Guest bigbadbrent]

Sounds solid to me..

 

The river has slowed down in the last couple weeks, mostly due (in my mind) the super-low water levels...City needs to release some water, and the fishing will get better...Low water, and not great visibility isn't fun to try and fish....me and another board member were out today, wading out far enough to fish where no one else would be able to cast (we also know the run really well, so know the wading path out), we both hooked 2..usually this spot puts out double digits per person..

 

 

I think you can confidently fish a 9' leader without moving the indicator, and catch a lot of fish...just gotta put in the time now.

 

If you're snagging bottom and using SJW's dropping small midges, you'll be catching fish when the river improves a bit

[headscan]

Yeah, water levels are super low right now. Today I saw a guy standing almost in the middle of the river and it was just above his knees. This was right around the foot bridge at Burnsmead.

[Guest bigbadbrent]

heh, i saw a lot of guys more about halfway..me and gary included

stupidly low

[Red]

Hire Max. I went out with him last fall, I had never nymphed before and he taught me a ton. I was into fish within a half hour and ever since I haven't been skunked nymphing. He makes it very logical, you won't be sorry.

[Hawgstoppah]

Every time I see the indicator move erratically I usually strike, so it's usually quite a bit. I'm always snagging bottom, and adjust my strike indicator length about 100+ times a day it seems.

 

 

Just some observations here. 90% of fish takes will *NOT* make it move "erratically"... so you must hit everything that makes it move, period.

 

Second observation. You say your always snagging bottom. Adjust your indicator for the run your fishing so that you only occasionally snag bottom. Fish are about 6 feet deep right now in slow water, there not in riffles until mid afternoon (if it's a sunny warm day). Try heading out on a sunny day at 2pm, and fish some 4 foot deep chop with your setup, with 2 BWO (or phesant tail) nymphs size 18, and a #4 sjw on the bottom as an anchor to the whole rig. Good luck out there. If all else fails having max show you around for a bit definately will make a difference.

[OneMoreLastCast]

Just stick with it as you figured out. Your rig sounds okay, but as the season goes on, pay attention to this board to see what the fish are on.

 

I was lucky enough to hit the river on Saturday and maybe I am just lucky because I found the fish to be very co-operative.

 

I believe that knowing where the fish are is 33%, Fly selection is 33 % and presentation is 33% with luck being the other 1% at this time of year.

What I'm saying is that you could have the perfect flies on, but if you are casting to places that the fish aren't or possibly not presenting the flies correctly, you are setting yourself up for disappointment/frustration.

I often pass by anglers casting into water that I know doesn't hold fish. I used to offer advice, but there are just too many people out there now, plus, ego often gets in the way of their learning how to fish.

 

I was on the water early Saturday and personally found the fish seemed to take just about anything offered to them. They were in deeper, slow water right on the bottom. I did get a couple along the "seam" in faster water, but found most of the fish were deep for the most part.

As it got warmer, (and I had to leave...), the fish started looking up and I saw a few sipping midges off the surface, so that would open up your options as well.

 

The most productive flies I found were midges/chironomids size 16/18 and black and brown size 10 Buggers dead drifted below an indy, swung at the end of the drift and stripped back up.

 

I'm old school like Hawgstoppah as far as setting my depth. If I use an indicator, I like to set it so I am "Tapping" the bottom, not "Dredging" it. I constantly change my depth to suit the section I am fishing.

 

Simplify how you fish the Bow. A lot of people are intimidated by the Bow because it is so "Big", but if you just sit back and break it down into small sections, you'll find it can fish very similar to a lot of smaller streams you are more comfortable on.

 

Good luck.

[rusty]

Your problem is probably reading water. Most of the water in the river doesn't hold fish, and that's never more true than in the winter. Focus on the slower seams or the end of the long runs. I've seen so many guys out there fishing where there are no fish - that's never going to work. On the warm afternoons you may find some fish moving into the faster chop to eat nymphs or midges. Also, many of the rainbows in the river will start moving to stage for spawning soon.

 

Don't be so hellbent on fishing tons of weight either - we got out a few times last week and had excellent nymph fishing using longer light leaders and very little weight. That low water will move the fish around and if you don't adapt accordingly it can seem like they've shut right off. Fishing heavy gear in slow water will make the flies drift unnaturally and will get you on the bottom before you can get a nice long drag-free drift. Don't spend time changing the leader length so much either - all that time that you're messing with the rig, the flies aren't in front of the fish. Good nymph fishermen maximize the amount of time the flies are in the zone.

 

I'm a firm believer that the flies under that indicator are far less important than the way you're presenting them.

 

Also, don't be afraid to try a streamer, especially if there's cloud cover or it's early and late in the day. Rig up a nice big bugger with a good size split shot right at the head and tie it to a 9 or 10 foot leader. Cast, mend upstream, give the fly some time to sink, and slowly retrieve it. Bring the fly in until you can see it and repeat. Streamers let you cover a lot of water and as it warms up a bit more the fish will move a good ways to pick them up.

 

Keep the faith - it took me over a year to catch my first fish on the Bow.

[reevesr1]

To expand on what Rusty said about low water moving the fish around:

Yesterday afternoon the fish were not where they have been pretty much every afternoon for the past month. The water was much lower than what I'm used to and the fish seemed to be much further out. The water was still pretty slow out there, but I've never waded it so I'm unsure of the depth but assume 4 ft+. The low water seems to have them moved around some.

 

I had the same problem last year you are facing right now. I can't recommend a Walk and Wade with Max enough, and he has it on special right now (Max, I'll call for my cut later). Best money you'll ever spend to fish this river, IMHO. It's not an instant fix, but it will give you the knowledge you need to start to catch fish on this river.

[vhawk12]

Yeah, water levels are super low right now. Today I saw a guy standing almost in the middle of the river and it was just above his knees. This was right around the foot bridge at Burnsmead.

 

Ha ha, I saw probably that same dude out in the middle of the river on Family Day when the water levels weren't that low...musta caught something out there once, I dunno. Let me just say Jerry that last year I was in the same situation as you. I swear the fish keep a tally and make you put in a certain amount of hours before you start catching. I still don't catch many, and I don't feel like I'm doing much differently, but I think reading the water is a big thing, especially since your rig sounds decent enough to get you into a couple fish it's a whole different ball game compared to the crow and oldman etc. Wait till you hook your first 20+ broonie, it's a great feeling!!

[Hawgstoppah]

Also, don't be afraid to try a streamer, especially if there's cloud cover or it's early and late in the day. Rig up a nice big bugger with a good size split shot right at the head and tie it to a 9 or 10 foot leader. Cast, mend upstream, give the fly some time to sink, and slowly retrieve it. Bring the fly in until you can see it and repeat. Streamers let you cover a lot of water and as it warms up a bit more the fish will move a good ways to pick them up.

 

I second this. Also, when doing this, make sure you also try, add weight, cast upstream (slightly), mend upstream, tighten line, feel tapping along bottom, let flies stay on bottom and swing in without stripping at all until there right below you, when you feel a good tug set, most times it'll be just bottom tugging at you but soon enough you'll have something tugging back. Make sure you have enough split shot on to bounce bottom about 5 seconds after you mend. This works best where a long riffle section slows down a lot and gets deep (sort of just where the "chop" ends and the river glides along slowly and deeply) ... walking speed water...

[PlayDoh]

The fish in the city are much more active then those away from it. All the waste water warms up the river quite a bit, and from my limited knowledge and advice can make a huge difference in your catch/active fish. I've only been fly fishing for a few months, but I've read and studied it intensely. I went down to the river near Caresland a couple weeks ago, and it was an ice world. The banks were covered with 20-60 feet of 4-6 foot deep ice, and the open water was fast moving. The ice banks were a great way to practice some single handed spey casts, but I'm sure I would have had to hike for miles to find a winter hole from where I was.

 

I think more then ever, during the winter you need to know where the fish are, and in the Bow that can be tough. Then you have to bounce a 'happy meal' right off their nose to get them to mouth your fly, then ninja strike. Or so I've been told, lol.

 

I'm sure you have most of the skills down, but one thing I've done to ease the frustration is to try something new everytime out. That way my only goal isn't catching fish. I'm not sure if its something you could do, but until it warms up a bit more I wouldn't feel too bad about not catching alot, especially where your fishing.