Jul 09

Fishing Trips- Floating The Bow River

Having your eyes on the prize.                 PHOTO GALLERY

When I plan to fish any body of water I stay focused and keep my days goals in perspective. Before I plan a day trip on the water, I organize my gear and double check all my tackle. It’s very important to have my gear working in tip top shape while I am honed in on the task at hand, slamming trout all day long. I plan properly for the day ahead which means I organize all my tackle so it is easily assessable when I need to switch lures, or loose a hook on the bottom snags. I check for things like bent or damaged hooks, broken bills on plugs and minnow imitations, old line still attached to eyelets of hooks, bent spinner blades and many other minor problems that I avoid by preparing before I am on the water.

This came in handy as I was able to float the ever clearing water of the Bow. I have been watching the water clear up for 2 weeks now and had to get that inflatable wet once again. We drove the drop off vehicle at the Carseland weir and launched out of a spot known to locals here called Policeman’s Flats. The day was nothing short of blistering hot but many layers of SPF 30 sunscreen was applied and re-applied. The fishing was as good as the weather with 15- 20 nice Rainbows and Browns taken on Panther Martin spinners. I tried other forms of baitfish imitations but nothing seemed to match the shiny silver and yellow combination I love to use here on the Bow. Another color pattern that always produces quantities of fish here is the solid silver Panther Martin in the sizes 9 or 15.

As we spent the day taking in the sun and reeling in the trout, I was privileged to be able to get a five year old his first ever trout.What a sheer blessing for me to see the smile on young Liam’s face as he hauled in what was to be the largest Rainbow Trout of the day, moreover the largest fish of the day period. He was on fire out there and kept his cool very well for a five year old little boy. As he pulled in one trout after the other I reminisced on days past spent with my grandfather watching and learning how to hone my skills as a fisherman. I showed young Liam the art of bottom bouncing spinners behind a slow moving watercraft and thoroughly explained why this natural presentation is very effective for catching trout. He paid close attention as a five year old could, but soon found himself reeling in another fish as my tips seemed to fall on somewhat deaf ears. It’s ok my new little fishing buddy, lots of time left this summer to practice and practice some more.

Jul 02

Fishing Trips- Bow River.

Back In the Saddle Again.                             PHOTO GALLERY

I decided enough is enough and moseyed on down to the Bow River to see what kind of shape it was in.  Spinner fishing the Bow River has always been one of my favorite things to do when I have time on my hands. I opted to bring along my fishing rod and tackle just in case the river was ready to fish. I arrived at the river at seven o’clock and made the short hike though the tall grass that is now lining the banks along the rivers edge. I have not been even close to the Bow River in over a month, so needless to say I was a little revved up to get my sparkly gold minnow spinner into the tea stained water. As I tied my hook up I paused to inhale a deep breath of crisp clean rocky mountain air, ahhhh that familiar smell of summer cannot be beat.

I knelt down beside the rivers edge and tied my first offering up with great haste. The Minnow Spinner by Blue Fox usually does the trick I thought, which proved to be correct only four casts into my evening. I heaved the three inch spinner/minnow imitation up the river and a 21inch Rainbow Trout clobbered my present. This fish was one hard fighting trout and flew out of the water to shake my Eagle Claw hooks. He was successful in spitting my hook out but made me grin from ear to ear while doing so. Tough little sucker I mumbled under my breath. I moved up the river ever so slightly and three casts it was fish on once more. This time your mine I said out loud, you’re not getting away from me. I slowly coaxed this sizeable trout to the bank and gently popped the hook from his mouth. I was starting to have fun but, today I was after the elusive Salmo Trutta or otherwise known as the Brown Trout; and left that deep riffle alone.

After arriving at a deeper, slower hole; I tied up a silver bait fish imitation and launched it into the murky abyss. I slowly pulled it across the water column and no action for twenty minutes. I moved up the river into a slow calm area where I figured there would be trout feeding, as it was late in the evening. I re-casted and slowed down the presentation considerably and BANG a fat Brown Troutexploded onto my Berkley Frenzy. I left the trout in the water and gently removed the barbless Eagle Claw hook from his mouth. I snapped a quick photo and he was on his way. It sure does seem to me like the fishing here on the Bow River will only get better as time goes by. I believe it’s time to deploy the inflatable and float the river once again.

Jun 15

Gone Fishing- But Where Are We Going ????

It’s Almost That Time Again.                     

It is that time again in the province of Alberta when all the rivers and creeks are about to open for another fishing season. June 16 to be exact. With so many excellent rivers to choose from here, where does one begin? It looks like with the late run off we are having it could be two to three weeks before these fisheries will clean up and be fishable once again. I have been keeping a close eye on the progress of our rivers and feel that it will be an awesome year here in Alberta for Trout fishing.

I will be exploring new territory this year and have many stops on my fishing list. One of these special places will be the Livingstone River where it’s rumored the Cutties grow large and fight hard. A great tool to use when selecting a prime fishing spot is Google Earth. This ingenious invention lets me see where roads intersect with various different river systems which removes the guess work out of the equation entirely and saves me time driving when I can be fishing instead. Another river I will surely try this year will be the Old Man River. This river is just begging me to float and I will head the call. One thing that gets my juices flowing is the element of surprise and this river will carry is fair share I’m sure.

I myself, like any other die hard like me always looks forward to this time of year. It’s kind of like Christmas but only in the summer. I am making a point of driving down south and stopping at the Castle River this year as well. With the Alberta Cutt Throat Trout being taken here, I would like a shot at the title. I dabbled here last year but never gave this river a fair chance. There are so many places I could list off here that my fingers will go numb from typing. The bottom line is, so many places so little time!

Jun 01

General Info- Fishing Tips for Beginners

Playing the Waiting Game                           

I have just arrived back home from the Bow River after sizing up the situation from the shoreline. I know there are fish down there somewhere in between one side of the river to the other. I even know which lures will catch me one of those Bow River fat boys; I know how to work the lure properly and which speed to retrieve it. All this does not seem to matter much right now as the water is just to fast to fish correctly. I guess I could stand there and take some casting practice but I already know how to do that also. This waiting game is never a game I have liked much, or at all really come to think of it.

So what does a guy/girl do when his or her favorite river is not worth fishing? He or she could stay home and pout, like I am doing right now, but I would not recommend that to you people out there. O.H, I know what you should do, pick a different place to fish for a couple of weeks and be happy we have so many nice places to fish here in Alberta. I think I will take my own advice and do just that. I am due back out on the shoreline at Crawling Valley Saturday and get to fish all day long. Here is what I am going to start out with when I am there. First, I will stop at my bait shop tonight and buy three tubs of frozen minnows. The minnows I like to buy are medium sized and unsalted. The reason I prefer medium sized minnows is that the small, medium and large fish will take this size of minnow. I have found that if I use small minnows smaller fish will be prone to take them and if I use large minnows, larger fish will be inclined to take them; so I stay right in the middle.

Here is the set up I use most often when bait fishing. First you will need a Pickerel Rig or otherwise known as a Crappie Rig. Open the package and set the hooks aside on your tackle box. Stretch out the line that has the wire guides attached to it until it becomes straight and has no curl left in it. Do the same with the hooks and then attach your two hooks to the wire guides that are on the main line. Clip your weight/weights onto the bottom and tie up the Pickerel Rig to your main line and you are now ready to attach your minnows to the hook. I put the point of the hook through the eyes of the minnow and bury the hook a little under the minnows dorsal fin which makes the minnow stay in the upright position at all times. And now you are ready to make your cast and catch some fish. One more little tip, I will only leave my bait under water in one spot for thirty minutes and then I will recast to another spot. I change the minnows after forty minutes as I like to always have fresh bait attached to my hooks. Then I sit back and catch fish all day long. What a great life I have!