Apr 30

Fishing Trips- Upper Bow River

Off to The Mountains                                     PHOTO GALLERY

It was a beautiful day here in Calgary, and as a fisherman that usually means that I am on the banks of the river. Todd and I decided to give the Lower Bow a well deserved rest and head towards the mountains. This portion is what is considered the Upper Bow and can produce some hefty trout. It seems as the fishing has gotten a lot slower the last two weeks, almost like someone turned off the tap. So if there’s a will then there is a way and off we go to the mountains. We pulled over at the Eckshaw turn off and quickly noticed how crystal clean the water was. We drove up the road a little further and pulled over at a nice looking corner of the river.

I looked over to see what Todd was going to tie up and I decided to use the Blue Fox Vibrax Minnow Spinner in the black/gold color pattern. I have been told that there are some larger Browns roaming the waters here and big browns love this lure. We were in a deep hole that was on the bend of the corner and I fired the lure out as far as I could get it. This lure I retrieve slowly when the water is cold as it gives the sluggish fish a chance to grab it. I made roughly made ten casts and was into a 12 inch Brown Trout. This little guy put up quite the battle but was easily landed on shore. I worked the pocket of water for awhile until my next fish latched onto my lure. This fish was very hungry that was evident as the whole 3 inch minnow spinner was in his jaws.

This fish was a lot larger than the first and I was o.k. with that. I battled him and landed him with no problem, gently removed the hook and gazed him over for a few seconds. It’s quite surprising how trout from the upper Bow look a lot different than trout from the lower portion. This fish was considerably lighter with the spots more pronounced than the fish from the lower section. Beautiful looking fish for sure, great view of the mountains combined with a nice sunny day. It does not get any better than that!

Mike Robertson

Hello to all my fishing friends around the world. My name is Michael and was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. I have a deep passion for the sport of fishing and is what I live to do in my spare time. I have 20 years of fishing experience under my belt and started fishing when I was 10 years of age. I have recently opened my own guiding service here in Alberta and would love to pass on my knowledge and experience to my clients.

2 comments

    • Lance on May 2, 2007 at 10:54 pm
    • #

    Hey Guy,

    I was on the Bow at Exshaw with my wife, kids, and friend; you gave me your card.

    Great to hear someone caught something that day; we were out testing various baits and their casting weights. Caught nothing, but enjoyed the great day.

    We are looking to go fishing again this weekend; every weekend. I’m going to enlist you as a guide soon to do some easy fishing for good eats.

    Could you share with us on your great site a simple tip for catching edible trout between Calgary and the Mountains?

    Kindests & good fishing,
    Lance

  2. Hey Lance, great to see you out with your kids and your wife. I am still looking for a good woman who likes to fish as much as I do. Anyhow, the fishing tip you are looking for. I was searching for a deep hole along the river which was slow enough to hold trout. Slow meaning hardly any water flow.

    I chose to throw a minnow immitation made by Blue Fox called the Minnow Spinner. I was working the lure near the bottom retrieving slowly and twitching the bait slightly. With this little trick I was able to pull one 20 inch Brown and another smaller Brown as well. The portion of the river I guide is the Lower Bow River from Glenmore Tr bridge the way to the Carseland Weir. I would be happy to get you into some massive Brown and Rainbow that live in this section. Thanks for the comment and look forward to guiding you soon. Mike.

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