If You Had A Month In Calgary....

[onthefly7]

I am visiting Calgary for July, and would like to pack the most Canadian fun into those 30 days as possible.

I am willing to drive however far it takes! (within reason)

 

 

So where is the BEST place to camp for quality fishing?!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks! andy

[Teck71]

for the month of July.

 

first gotta hit Stampede. second find a backroads map book, find the forestry trunk road. Drive up and down it, see water fish it.

 

You could not posible properly fish all the water there in a month but would be worth a try.

 

 

Teck

 

 

 

[reevesr1]

In no particular order, in the south.....

Livingstone, Crowsnest, Castle system, Upper Bow (for the unreal beauty of it), Lower Bow (for the big ass fish), Upper oldman.

 

And that is just the south. As Teck said, you can fish every stinkin' piece of water Hwy 40 crosses and rarely if ever be disappointed. If it was me, I'd get myself a copy of Barry Mitchell's "Alberta Trout Highway." Read it and fish whatever strikes your fancy.

 

I've camped at Livingstone falls, and there are campgrounds nearby (Racehorse Creek and Dutch Creek) that open up all of the south.

[Hawgstoppah]

spend at least 5 days on the Bow too. Don't miss out on those fish. Not quite secluded, but the lower bow r valley has quite a scenic appeal, it's a wonderfull river full of fish.

 

others to hit

 

N Ram,

Red Deer

Crow

Oldman

Livingstone

 

If I were you I'd slip into BC and try some of the Elk R , and tribs there... only 2.5 hrs from calgary.

[Tungsten]

I thought you moved to Calgary a year ago?

[onthefly7]

haha I was planning on moving but then I decided to stay in houston and I visit my dad in calgary every summer

 

 

thanks for the input

[onthefly7]

I decided that the factors of scenery and such are not important compared to... GOOD FISHING! (beginner friendly)

[onthefly7]

I fished cataract creek last July which was easy fishing, but the fish were very small so I am hoping for a little bigger than 4-5" this year

[putzer]

for all of the southern alberta rivers mentioned above this post there are great campgrounds provided by one company called rocky mountain camping, just google rockymountaincamping.ca and you will see what I mean.

[onthefly7]

Is the elk river forgiving to beginners? What flies are recommended?

[gokaroach]

There are a couple of fly shops on the main street of Fernie that you should stop into and ask them what is hatching and working. Last year in July we had an amazing day on green drakes. A great river to float!

[onthefly7]

Which rivers are beginner friendly?

[jksnijders]

for the month of July.

 

first gotta hit Stampede. second find a backroads map book, find the forestry trunk road. Drive up and down it, see water fish it.

 

You could not posible properly fish all the water there in a month but would be worth a try.

 

 

Teck

 

 

This man is wise. Follow his words carefully...

[onthefly7]

I think that could lead to a lot of frustrating wasted time as I am a beginner and would not know the first thing about fly selection, fishable water, leader length, or indicator rigging

[jksnijders]

 

 

Many people have learned exactly where he describes.

[johnbransfield]

Cutt's on the trunk road are extremely forgiving, the're the gentleman's fish meaning they love to feed from 10am to 5pm and arn't hungup on presentation. The bow's another story, the fish arn't too hard to catch but for a beginer, man spend your time on the trunk, you will thank yourself.

 

John

[SteveM]

I think that could lead to a lot of frustrating wasted time as I am a beginner and would not know the first thing about fly selection, fishable water, leader length, or indicator rigging

 

Heck, I don't let all those shortcomings bother me none!

 

[Teck71]

I think that could lead to a lot of frustrating wasted time as I am a beginner and would not know the first thing about fly selection, fishable water, leader length, or indicator rigging

That water is alot easier to read than the bow and on most days you will see the cutts rising, for flies

stop in at fish tales or south bow they will set you up but safe bets are

drys

stimmies size 8-12

Elk hair caddis size 10 - 16

adams size 12 - 18

royal wulff 10 - 16

 

nymphs

beaded pheasant tails 12 -16

gold ribbed hairs ear 12-16

copper johns 10 - 16

 

streamers (go big)

clousers minnows (black, olive, red)

Zonkers (white, natural)

wooly buggers (black, brown, white)

muddlers (brown, wine)

 

dry and nymph fish up stream, switch to the streamers for the trip back to car for some bully action.

if you can carry 2 rods (1 3-4 wt for cutties, and a 6-7wt for bulls)this way you can have both rigged for a quick switch if you see a bull while fishing for cutts. if not a 6wt will cover both situations.

 

have fun take a tonne of pics.

 

Teck

 

[onthefly7]

Thanks everyone, that trunk road sounds good! What river does it run along and is there any camping there?

 

I will definitely stock up on the listed flies Teck, thanks alot

[Teck71]

Oldman, livingstone, racehorse creek, dutch creek, highwood, sheep, cataract creek, fallen timber creek, red deer river, James river, raven river, ram river. reaally too many to list. the trunk rd runs from hwy 3 in coleman up north to past 16 I believe.

 

that is the great thing about it if one river is not fishing well, move to the next 5 mins down the road.

 

www.rockymountaincamping.ca any of their campsites will put you in the thick of it.

 

[acurrie]

First off, I don't believe there is really any SUPER EASY fishing anywhere. I mean if you say you don't know the "first thing about fly selection, fishable water, leader length, or indicator rigging" then I would grab one of Jim Mclennan's Books, preferably "Trout streams of Alberta"

link: http://www.mclennanflyfishing.com/ for starters. The book also has a lot of maps, access points, campgrounds, flies etc etc.

 

I don't know of to many places where you can tie on whatever fly you want and catch 100 fish/ day. But trying some different water and techniques should get you into a fair amount of fish. It might also be a good idea to start off with a guided trip down the Bow just to get your feet wet.

 

Just my 0.02

 

Good luck,

 

Drew

[onthefly7]

Actually, I have already gone on 2 guided bow river trips and 2 guided texas coast redfish trips and I have been fly fishing for 3 years. I can cast fine and warmwater and saltwater fly fishing have been no problem, but trouting on my own has proved particularly daunting. I am hoping to figure it out this summer, and I was just asking for some more friendly spots, not some stupid-easy places for someone who has never cast

[onthefly7]

No thats okay Id like to get it on my own.

 

Thanks for the input on the Trunk Forest Road and the Elk River, I really like the sound of those. But is the elk river special enough to warrant its own trip or is it too similar to the Forest Road streams?

[rusty]

Saying that the Elk is too similar to the forest streams is like saying that Angelina Jolie is too similar to Marilyn Monroe to...well...you know.

 

Honestly, with the limited amount of experience you have there is just no way you could become jaded with this area. You're talking about a full on binge in some of the best flyfishing country on the planet. Get real!

 

Here's what I'd do given a month to fish like a man possessed:

 

Week 1: South FTR - Cataract, Liv, RH, OMR, Dutch, etc.

Week 2: Crow, Castle, Waterton area

Week 3: Koots - Elk, Wiggy, tribs. Bring cash.

Week 4: All Bow and nothing but the Bow.

 

I would also try to find some time in there to hike into some of the higher mountain lakes in K-Country, like Rawson, etc.

 

If the water stays high put the Bow week first and move everything back a week.

 

You could easily fish a different stream every day and eat up a month without fishing some of the finest streams we have to offer.

[acurrie]

But then you leave out Stauffer, Ram, Clearwater, Red Deer, Prairie Cr, Fallen Timber, Little Red, Bullshead, ...etc etc It's just way to hard to pick! I know I couldn't do it. Just move here man, and make life easy for yourself