Fishing For The Bow River’s Largest Brown Trout

When It Rains It Pours!

Last Wednesday I watched out my living room window as the clouds and crappy weather rolled in. That’s just great I thought to myself as I sipped Tim Horton’s coffee and wondered what the next few days of predicted rain would do to the river. I then went over to the weather network to check the expected rain fall for Thursday and Friday. My fishing trip with Ed Rawn was set for Saturday morning at eight o’clock. I was hoping that the rain would stop late Thursday so the river had a chance to clean up by Saturday. It was looking really dirty on Thursday afternoon when I checked its condition. Finally the rain stopped on Friday and the sun came out. I was running some errands on Friday and decided to stop in under the Glenmore Trail Bridge and have a look once more. This helps me select colors patterns for the trip and make decisions on what systems I am going to use.

I left the river feeling confident Saturday was going to be awesome for catching tons of the Bow Rivers finest specimens. I then headed over to Wholesale Sports to pitch an idea I’ve been hashing out for a few months now. I have wanted to do some trout fishing clinics at Wholesale Sports which will help all anglers learn the basics of trout fishing a river or stream. My idea is solid and I went and spoke with the manager of the store to pitch my idea. He was receptive to it and gladly accepted my business card. Hopefully soon you will see me in Wholesale Sports talking to you about the best ways to catch trout in a river or stream. My goal is to do a clinic there once every three months as the seasons change. After talking briefly with the store manager, I headed over to the lure shelf and picked up some Rapala’s for our trip.

I arrived back home and pulled the rods out from the basement. New line was added to all three rods Ed and his brother Larry were going to use. I then prepared all the new lures with Eagle Claws hooks then organized my back pack I call a tackle box. I know you have heard this before here but I will say it again, I only use laser sharp Eagle Claw hooks when I fish the Bow River. After all the gear was ready to go I decided to call Ed and let him know my thoughts on Saturday’s trip. Ed was very excited to hear my report in regards to Saturday. “Edward, Mike here how are you. Tomorrow looks really good for fishing buddy. The water is a little stained but not so dirty that we need to reschedule. By tomorrow the river will clean up even more and it’s going to be a great day for sure”. Awe Mike that’s good news buddy, I was hoping that the rain was not going to affect our day. That’s great news; we will see you tomorrow at eight”. I could tell by Ed’s tone he was jacked up to go fishing and had a surprise in store for his brother who was coming in from Hamilton. Ed was originally going to fish with a friend but his friend cancelled out on him and decided to surprise his brother instead of fishing by himself.

I awoke Saturday and loaded all the gear into the car. Then I hit the road to meet Ed and his brother. Once we met up we burned down Deerfoot and pulled into Policeman’s Flats. I instructed Ed and his brother on the best ways to fish a Rapala Countdown in the Bow River. I gave them some pointers on where to cast, how to use the lure and what speed is working the best for this time of year. Then we shoved the boat out into the current and we were off. It was a little cloudy in the morning and kind of chilly as well, perfect conditions for Bow River Brown Trout fishing. As we rounded the first bend in the river I instructed both Ed and Larry to get ready to cast into a drop zone. I also loaded my rod for a quick demonstration on how I like to present the Rapala Countdown lure. “Fire away boy’s, the closer to the bank the better”. The lures landed and they were both cranking the Rapala down towards the bottom. I also made a cast a little further downstream and let my lure sink to the bottom. I then made contact with the bottom and started my retrieve with slow speed and a three second pause. Once my Rapala was half way back to the boat I hooked up, an eighteen inch rainbow. Both Ed and Larry started in on me, “oh yeah Larry say’s, first cast and you get a fish. Ed then pipes up and says, “Let me have one of those fancy lures you get from Germany and we will see what I catch”. The lure is only half the reason you can catch fish, the other half is where they are in the river, and how they want the lure presented to them. Ed was using a Brown Trout Rapala to start the day and I tied up a Brook Trout pattern for Larry. The offsetting colors help me to decide which colors will work the best for the day’s water conditions.

Only twenty minutes into the float and Larry gets action, what I believe to be a rainbow is scrapping nicely. Larry does a superior job fighting the fish keeping steady pressure with a tight line. I scoop up the fish and remove the hook. Upon inspecting the fish I see the classic orange markings of a Cut Throat on the lower jaw. I say it was a Cut bow but there is no way of really telling for sure. It could have been a pure bread species but it sure looked like a cross to me. I snapped a few pictures and we released the fish. Then it was Edward’s turn, he hooked into a juicy rainbow just a few minutes after Larry’s first fish. It was turning into a fantastic day early on, a sign of which was to come later in the day. We pulled off the river to stretch our legs and have a late morning snack. After a quick energy bar and a juice, we hiked up the river to fish from the bank. I demonstrated my shore fishing techniques and watched as Ed and Larry tweaked their offerings beneath the surface. “Give it a nice long pause I said to Larry, and then lift the rod tip up after you let it float down the river”.

Larry asked me if I could make a few casts and show him my tricks. I fired the Rapala out into the middle of the river which was the first quarter of a slight drop in the river. After a few casts in this area showing Larry how I work the lure, a monster rainbow slammed my Rapala. I landed the fish and both Larry and Ed were in awe of this brute. It was a big fish and I kind of felt bad that I, and not Ed or Larry hooked the fish. Ed reassured me that it was ok and Larry kind of rubbed some salt into the guilty wound. We then decided to shove off and float again. The action was just starting to heat up and the boys were popping fish every ten minutes or so. I was very impressed on how Ed was reading the water after two hours of fishing; this guy is a force to be recon with.

We made a quick stop for lunch a little above where the Highwood converges with the Bow. After lunch the fishing action slowed a little but was still fair. We were getting closer to McKinnon Flats with only about an hour left; we entered an area of the river I personally have good success in. I pointed out an area beside the bank where I knew a fish would dwell. I asked Ed to put his Rapala at the top of the break in water and retrieve it down through the seam. Ed landed his lure precisely where I would have cast. Two or three revolutions later and I saw Ed’s rod bend fiercely. This was the fish I was looking for all day. The trout stayed deep which made me believe it was the big brown I was hoping for. Ed did a perfect job fighting the fish and bringing him to the boat where I had the net ready to land the fish. Once he was tired enough I swooped in and bagged him into the mesh. Believe me when I say, this was a heavy beast of a fish. A trophy fish for the Bow River! Many fish the Bow for many years and never see or catch a fish this large. I made sure to take several pictures of his trophy so he could remember this experience for many years.

What a wonderful day once again with two wonderful souls. I can honestly say that the Brown Trout fishing is just getting started here friends. Feel free to give me a call at 403-921-6998 or send me a message if you want in on the Brown Trout fishing action. Let’s get ready to rumble!