Bow River Blog

Going Back For More

Last week I was able to blow the dust off of my inflatable boat and float down the Bow River. We saw just how much damage those pesky beavers can do to the trees that line the banks of the river. We also were able to get a feel for where some of the Bow Rivers finest Trout are hiding out. We made frequent stops along our five hour float in some deeper holes.

Last Friday we came to an island with a deep hole just in front of it, with water flowing into the hole slowly. We decided to stretch our legs and give our arms a rest; we had to row the boat often today! I gazed at the cloud covered sky and opted to use a lure that is very shiny. I looked out at the water and chose a place to drop my minnow spinner. I made a long cast into the wind and just as the lure hit the water I clicked over my bail. I picked up the slack of the line and made four revolutions of the reel when wham-o, a monster Brown rolls to the surface and slaps his fat tail. He then turned toward the opposite bank and left my lure in the water. This was no 15-20 inch fish, oh no- this was a 25- 30 inch brute! My friend Todd looked over and I think the expression on my face told the story of dejection.

“Hey Todd you see that thing” I muttered in frustration. “Yeah I saw that thing” he replied. “What happened there? I explained that the trout was hooked lightly and got away. I now know where he lives so we went back the next day to knock on his door to see if he wanted to come out and play again. I spooled up a full reel of my favorite monofilament and casted the same minnow spinner onto his doorstep. No answer for the first few tries but low and behold he came to the door and the fun began. I set the hook on him firm and he took off down stream. He gave four strong tugs to try and give me the slip; no way I said and began to reel him in. He then turned back upstream and started to do the famous roll Browns are notorious for. Todd kept hollering “get that thing in here now, don’t lose him”. The fierce battle came to an end and there he was, all 27 inches of him. I stood and looked him over in awe, and then gently removed the barbless Eagle Claw hook from his big toothy mouth. That was worth coming back I exclaimed to Todd, and he concurred.