Gil Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 I've noticed on occasion people will provide the exact location of a nice spot on this forum. While I'm for sharing knowlegde, experience etc. I'm opposed to providing exact locations of sweet spots. I've spent countless days on the river to figure out a few nice spots. I really hate to see people post spots, which are then swarmed by those that haven't put in thier time. If you feel you must share please PM the person. Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlashGordon Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 I don't have much for sweet spots yet but there is a cpl places I'm somewhat comfortable with but I usually move on to a new place I've never been after that in hopes I'll have some knowledge down the road.There were/are days when I would have like to have someone point me in the exact right direction but in the long run I'd rather scope it out for myself. I'm totally happy with all the help that is out there otherwise as far as rig set-ups etc go...people are great to say what they have had success with what kinda hatches they are seeing come off etc etc....that alone if you think about it is a wealth of knowledge.The rest is just footwork.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxwell Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 i agree gil 100% i jsut dont get why people post em.. popular, well known spot or not send a freakin pm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
orvisonly Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 I've noticed on occasion people will provide the exact location of a nice spot on this forum. While I'm for sharing knowlegde, experience etc. I'm opposed to providing exact locations of sweet spots. I've spent countless days on the river to figure out a few nice spots. I really hate to see people post spots, which are then swarmed by those that haven't put in thier time. If you feel you must share please PM the person. Thoughts? Great point. Could not agree more. I have this great spot that produces large rainbows every time I go to it. I went there often this year and never saw anyone else or even any sign of anyone else. Lots of drift boats would go though and very often I would have a large fish on. One day I park at the top of the road by McKinnons Flats as usual, walk down the fence line to the west as usual, then walking along the ridge to my secret spot. It takes me 1/2 to walk the 2.1 km, so you can understand my surprise when I get there and some person is fishing my spot. Worse, he isn't even fly fishing. He is using some great long bait tossing pole, that he has rigged up with a fly reel the size of a large coffee can and he has three crudely tied "flies" with about 5 pounds of lead, barrel swivels and the works. He is of course catching nothing. I keep my distance, but the fellow approaches me and asks how I found this place. I explain that I have been fishing it for some time, and remark that I have not seem him before. That's when he tells me that his good friend was drifting by with a guide a week earlier, and they saw this guy catching a huge rainbow at this exact location. Here is the kicker. His friend had sent him the exact GPS coordinates of the spot (50.811819 N 113.727851 W). Can you believe someone giving away a great spot like that? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gil Posted November 9, 2008 Author Share Posted November 9, 2008 Great point. Could not agree more. I have this great spot that produces large rainbows every time I go to it. I went there often this year and never saw anyone else or even any sign of anyone else. Lots of drift boats would go though and very often I would have a large fish on. One day I park at the top of the road by McKinnons Flats as usual, walk down the fence line to the west as usual, then walking along the ridge to my secret spot. It takes me 1/2 to walk the 2.1 km, so you can understand my surprise when I get there and some person is fishing my spot. Worse, he isn't even fly fishing. He is using some great long bait tossing pole, that he has rigged up with a fly reel the size of a large coffee can and he has three crudely tied "flies" with about 5 pounds of lead, barrel swivels and the works. He is of course catching nothing. I keep my distance, but the fellow approaches me and asks how I found this place. I explain that I have been fishing it for some time, and remark that I have not seem him before. That's when he tells me that his good friend was drifting by with a guide a week earlier, and they saw this guy catching a huge rainbow at this exact location. Here is the kicker. His friend had sent him the exact GPS coordinates of the spot (50.811819 N 113.727851 W). Can you believe someone giving away a great spot like that? So nice of you to post. Fortunately, I know the area well and still have a few in the region in my pocket for now at least... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxwell Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Great point. Could not agree more. I have this great spot that produces large rainbows every time I go to it. I went there often this year and never saw anyone else or even any sign of anyone else. Lots of drift boats would go though and very often I would have a large fish on. One day I park at the top of the road by McKinnons Flats as usual, walk down the fence line to the west as usual, then walking along the ridge to my secret spot. It takes me 1/2 to walk the 2.1 km, so you can understand my surprise when I get there and some person is fishing my spot. Worse, he isn't even fly fishing. He is using some great long bait tossing pole, that he has rigged up with a fly reel the size of a large coffee can and he has three crudely tied "flies" with about 5 pounds of lead, barrel swivels and the works. He is of course catching nothing. I keep my distance, but the fellow approaches me and asks how I found this place. I explain that I have been fishing it for some time, and remark that I have not seem him before. That's when he tells me that his good friend was drifting by with a guide a week earlier, and they saw this guy catching a huge rainbow at this exact location. Here is the kicker. His friend had sent him the exact GPS coordinates of the spot (50.811819 N 113.727851 W). Can you believe someone giving away a great spot like that? ROFLMAO that is a gooder dude.. im beginning too liek u.. tripp sense or humor.... CLASSIC!!!!! kinda reminds me the day someone posted a google map of fishcreek but blacked out teh whole river and said that the secret spot was right "hear" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Taco Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Can anyone tell me how to get here?? I heard it was a pretty good spot Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
toolman Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Way to go OrvisHomely...now I gotta find another secret spot...dam... I'm runnin' out of water... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snakeman Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 I've never seen a spot that takes 'countless days' to find talked about on the forums, but maybe I missed it, can you share an example? Also how does 'putting in their time' make an angler more qualified to fish a certain hole? I really hate to see people post spots, which are then swarmed by those that haven't put in thier time Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tungsten Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 Can anyone tell me how to get here?? I heard it was a pretty good spot any other questions.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanJuanWorm Posted November 9, 2008 Share Posted November 9, 2008 I usually fish between 22x downstream. I walk a lot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
maxwell Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 I've never seen a spot that takes 'countless days' to find talked about on the forums, but maybe I missed it, can you share an example? Also how does 'putting in their time' make an angler more qualified to fish a certain hole? i think he means wondering around and finding teh spot on your own.. or maybe with a little direction from a pal os ok too.. hell even a pm were only u and the person u are telling knows is alright.. but once u tell one or two people and they tell a few and so on and so forth alot of pressure can get put on a peticular spot stream or lake for tha tmatter....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swede Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 When i lived in Rocky Mt House 20 years ago i knew about a little tiny creek, it was on the way out to the N. Ram river. where it crossed the road it was only about 2 feet wide. But if you stopped a few clicks back and bushwacked for about 1 KM you would find an old beaver dam. This old dam had once made a pretty good pond , but the beavers where gone so the pond was slowly draining as the dam wore away. You could start at one end of it wade out to the old creek channel and work your way down the channel to the dam , just throwing out a small black woolly bugger you could catch oh 35 to 40 Brook Trout in about 1 1/2 hours . The smallest been about 2 pounds, most about 3 and a few that where over 4 pounds. and when you hit the dam you got out of the water and had a puff and a cigerette , give it about 1/2 hour and you could fish it again So one day am headed out to the N. Ram with my brother in law and i tell him about this place and make him swear to never tell a soul if i take him there. Of course he is like oh ya i wont tell anyone. well to make a long story short him and his frends destroyed that place in, oh about a month they had caught and killed every brookie that was in there. Plus there was a nice little spring, you could take a break at. Have a nice cool drink or cool off a few pops in there. Thats where him and his friends cleaned there fish, next time i went out there fish heads and guts all over the nice little spring i used to take a break at. Its amazing how fast a few pricks can destroy a little gem like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trailhead Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 There are secret spots and then there are secret spots. The Bow has no secret spots, you can make book that your secret spot there has regular visits from any number of anglers. Now the spot that GrnDrake mentioned is a secret spot and in hindsight he should have kept it to himself. I have a secret spot that is a creek big enough to jump across in most places. It has an amazingly large population of large cutts. I don't take anyone there. I know other people fish it because I have seen tracks and the odd cigarette butt. I don't smoke so I know it isn't mine. This kind of like the wild pot plantation in BC that an old acquantance of mine used to visit in the seventies. He'd go there and smoke a few leaves take a few back with him and usually just mellow out. One day he shows up just as three other guys do to. They all started to rip the plants out yelling "their mine" and that was that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rehsifylf Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Of course he is like oh ya i wont tell anyone. That sucks. Must make for interesting family get togethers. Secret spots are tough to find and tougher to keep. I have two that I go to (maybe once a year each) that are within 2 hours of Calgary. I imagine one of these times I'll get there and either find someone there, find sign of someone being there, or find that the fishing is suddenly bad. Thats why I always try to keep two. As someone said - if you are willing to bushwhack (not following trails) for 1-2 km - there are good spots out there. BTW - have you ever been way in the hell back off in the middle of no-where and wonder to yourself if perhaps you are the first person to set foot on that ground? Then about two minutes later you find an old beer bottle. I swear that has happened to me about four times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtoad Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 I've asked before on this forum for general locations on the Bow because I am from out of town. I don't have the time to spend every waking moment on the river. I get there 4 or 5 times a year. I've appreciated the advice that people have offered me. However, I totally agree, if people want to get specific, then they should send a PM. Most of the time I'm just interesting in knowing where the fish are in the river... ex. what KIND of water will they be found in? Not WHICH pool or run. Being from out of town, its humbling to go the Bow one day and stumble on a few fish, make a mental note where and what they are eating and go back there a week or even a day later and not find them where they are at. Again, I just want info on what kind of water to start fishing. There's a lot out there and I can waste a lot of time fishing the wrong water in the right way with the right stuff. Last thought... I think it needs to go both ways. I fish Prairie and Stauffer quite a few times in the spring and early summer and am totally willing to give people that haven't fished there at least a start in the right direction. I'm not going to give them the exact locations of every sweet spot, but I want them to have enough info to be successful. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reevesr1 Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 I actually don't think that many people post locations, other than vague references like "Policeman's" or "SDP", or "Fish Creek". Usually people will just say "The Bow" and give type of water and flies they used. Other than that, the reference to locations are few and far between. When they do happen, the person tends to be pretty new because the amount of *hit that rains down on him, either via PM or on the thread, discourages him from doing it again. Bigtoad, did you get out? If so, how did you do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brunsie Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 The Bow River has no secret spots, however some people post expecting to be told what rock to stand on. When I first started fishing the Bow, a buddy took me out and basically showed me how to fish it, not where. It was up to me to figure out access and location. I still enjoy looking for a new pece of water that might hold fish. At present there have been 525 people view this thread. Post about a spot that is relatively unknown (not the Bow) and see how many of the 525 viewers fish that spot in the next two weeks. I don't have any secret spots, just a few known places that are good fishing. If you look back since I started posting on boards, I've never posted a fishing report but I have sent people PM's and Emails offering locations. If you want to see your favorite spot full of people, post a fishing report or location on here and see how long it is before your spot is too busy to fish. My $.02 BK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weedy1 Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 At present there have been 525 people view this thread. Each view on this board is not necessarily unique to an individual. I have viewed this thread several times and each time counts as a view. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanJuanWorm Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 Brunsie who are you fooling....you can't catch fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bigtoad Posted November 10, 2008 Share Posted November 10, 2008 I actually don't think that many people post locations, other than vague references like "Policeman's" or "SDP", or "Fish Creek". Usually people will just say "The Bow" and give type of water and flies they used. Other than that, the reference to locations are few and far between. When they do happen, the person tends to be pretty new because the amount of *hit that rains down on him, either via PM or on the thread, discourages him from doing it again. Bigtoad, did you get out? If so, how did you do? I did make it out. I caught a couple of whities, saw a ton of Redds with some bruisers on them (my first time seeing Redds. I tried to keep my distance). Had a nice Rainbow on but long-released him and caught this nice brown. There weren't any Redds around and it was directly below a riffle. I was trying to be as respectful as possible. Released it quickly. Was pretty slow but a fantastic day to be out. Also saw this fantastic whitetail at about 20 yards. Beautiful day. Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Weedy1 Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 ... and it was directly below a riffle. I know that spot. Shhhh, be vewry verwy quiet. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gil Posted November 11, 2008 Author Share Posted November 11, 2008 i think he means wondering around and finding teh spot on your own.. or maybe with a little direction from a pal os ok too.. hell even a pm were only u and the person u are telling knows is alright.. but once u tell one or two people and they tell a few and so on and so forth alot of pressure can get put on a peticular spot stream or lake for tha tmatter....... Correct...The fact is that some areas are definitely better than others on the Bow and while there are no truely secrets spots there are areas that get alot less preasure than others. After walking/floating the river a few dozen times you start to know the river. While I'm more than willing to share such info with friends and the people I fish with, I'd hate to see all such spots broadcast over the net. If you are new to the Bow spend some time and get to know the river first hand, meet some friends and do your homework. Bottom line is post what you like , however don't complain when you can't find descent spot without a line up... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigalcal Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 Well, I have a favourite spot and it wasn't known at all until some one put up this sign. Now everyone is fishing it!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SanJuanWorm Posted November 11, 2008 Share Posted November 11, 2008 Al do they sell bait down this road? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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