If April showers are supposed to bring May flowers, why do I see snow and not flowers?
Can we just get on with spring please and leave winter far back in the rear view mirror. But this type of weather is the norm here in Alberta where the Rocky Mountains seem to always add surprises to all seasons of the year. So NO MORE unpleasant snowy surprises please. One nice thing is due to the mild winter we have experienced here in Calgary, the river is wide open from the Western Head works Diversion Weir to MacKinnon Flats which means there is lots of wide open water and fish to be caught, so why can I not seem to catch any lately. The April fool’s joke is over already please!
According to several reports I have read, the boat launches are ice free for the most part except for MacKinnon Flats which always takes longer to thaw due to low level sunlight on the north where the boat launch is located, if you want to call it a boat launch at all. Realistically it is just a bunch of rocky shoreline that needs to be converted into a proper launching site as it sees many boats each and every season. The boat launch sites Graves Landing (Glenmore Trail), 22X and Policeman’s flats are good to launch and dock at. That leaves the upper stretch of the river floatable now but this stretch of river will not be the most productive portion of the Bow River. The rainbows have moved downstream during this period of the year to meet up at the Highwood River junction.
The Highwood River is the major spawning tributary for the resident population of Bow River Rainbow Trout. Anglers fish this junction before the thick ice that fully blankets the Highwood River melts off and enables the Rainbows to bolt up the Highwood River and do their yearly spawn. Many of the Bow Rivers Rainbow population do spawn in the Bow River and if you do catch a trout in spawning mode it is important to keep the fish in the water at all times. Sometimes if you squeeze a spawning female to hard you will release the eggs held inside her, this is why a good rubber net is ideal to land your fish. Keep the fish inside the net in the water and gently remove the hook form the trout’s mouth. Make sure you revive the fish properly before you release it into the river.
I plan to float the Bow River this coming weekend for the first time this season, I absolutely cannot wait to get the boat into the river and unleash the lures I have amassed over the winter. I plan to take many pictures of the trip and also do a fishing report once the trip is over. I am quite sure the fishing will be productive but one never knows exactly what the fish will do! One thing is for certain, I does not really matter how many fish I catch; what matters most is its spring once again and summer is just a short turn around the corner.
Bring on plus twenty degree and sunlight till ten thirty at night!!
