Bow River Blog – Page 29 – Is Your Fishing Resource For Spin Fishing The Bow River

Feb 29

February Fishing Fun on the Bow River

By Mike Robertson in Winter Fishing the Bow River

The Fish Get The Best of Me

As the month comes to a close the river is now wide open and totally ready to fish. After several days of having the flu, I finally felt better and was really ready to get out of the condo and onto the banks of the river. I posted on Facebook that I was looking for a fishing partner to slam some of the Bow River’s finest, and Doug Replied promptly that he too was ready to get out. I picked him up at 11:30 at his house and we swiftly headed south on the Deerfoot to a location I always have success in. After arriving we witnessed five trucks in the parking location and thought the river banks may be lined with anglers. I immediately though I was not the only one who felt cooped up. Once we hiked down to the river bank, we had the river all to ourselves; I guess the other anglers were further downstream.

We veered over the bank and I noticed we needed to walk a little further down river to get to the primo locale. The bank is steep and my wading boots have no spikes so it was a little tricky getting down the hill. We finally made it to the bottom and I could not wait to unload my Rapala Countdown into the wild blue yonder. Doug opted to bring his fly rod and had a nymph tied up with an egg on the top of his tandem rig. We both had our waders on so I let Doug wade out and I walked down river to give him room to heave his flies out into the top riffle. I walked the bank down to the middle of the run and then waded out to maximize my cast. I was working my minnow slow, with long pauses and small tweaks of the rod tip, and before long I had a strike and a few on, all but briefly. The fish spit the hook seconds after it grabbed a hold. I got to see the fish and knew it was a brown trout. I was sure hoping he was not the lone ranger of that stretch of river. There is lots of room and water here to fish, so I was hoping there were a school of fish hanging out.

Quite a few more empty casts and I decided it was time to get out of the water and stand on the bank to snap a few pictures and take in the beauty of the day. It is also wise to give the location you are fishing a rest, and either tie up a new hook or rest the one you are casting. Even a few minutes rest will produce another fish in the exactly same location you were just casting. I watched a golden eagle glide over our location, gracefully and silently then banking off and landing into the far tree line. It was exactly why I got outside and down to the river. I put both feet back out into the cold flowing water and began to cast again using the same retrieve speed and method and before long, another taker smacked my lure, and again evaded capture. Some days this really bothers me but today was not one of them. I chuckled to myself and brought the lure back into hand. The fish always tell me a story, and that is what makes most of us experienced anglers catch more fish I believe. I don’t say this to be egotistical, rather to let you know that you can learn lots when even the fish hit and get away. What my initial thoughts were was one of two things.

1. My hooks were dull and they needed to be swapped out for laser sharp Eagle Claw hooks.

2. My retrieve speed was too fast with the Rapala Countdown and I needed to switch hooks to slower moving bait. Continue reading

Jan 31

Open Water Fishing The Bow River At Last

By Mike Robertson in Winter Fishing the Bow River

Bustin loose straight to the Bow River

It has been way, way too long since I was able to cast a lure into the river. I think the last time was November of 2015. That is far too long for long for a complete fishing addict like me to be dry! Moreover, it has been a few years since I was able to hook up with my best friend Tom and fish the Bow. Tom and I grew up together since we were five, and have fished most every river and lake in Southern Alberta together. You know how that goes, life and children get in the way of fishing every week like the good old days when we were out there every week slamming trout, or Walleye, or Pike from a lake or river somewhere off the beaten path in Alberta. I am just both happy and grateful Tom and I could connect for those few hours and fish once again.

For me, coffee always precedes a day on the river, and that usually means we meet at a Tim Horton’s somewhere close to the river. Nothing says “I am Canadian” quite like a meet up at Timmy’s. I had to rack my brain a little as to where we were going to start our day on the river. Generally I pick slow deep holes in the winter where I feel fish will have spawned or will stay to over winter. My gut told me to bypass these places and head for some water that had weed beds. Weed beds in the winter provide both food and cover for the fish, and is always a great place to target lazy winter trout. I decided on a nice long stretch of deep slow water at first, which is nice and close to the house. If there were no fish holding or feeding in this area, I had a second spot picked out further downstream. We rushed out of the truck and double timed it to the edge of the river. I let Tom fish a spot close to the bridge, fish always seem to hold either in front or behind the bridge pillars. Tom has not had a fish on his line in almost a year, so I gave him the best spot in the river to start out fishing. After all, that’s what friends are for right. Continue reading

Dec 30

Itchin For Some Open Water Fishin

By Mike Robertson in Winter Fishing the Bow River

The cabin fever blues

As the snow falls downward, blanketing the once brown grass of just a few months ago, to now pale white, I look out the window and dream! Dream of the fish in the river that lie waiting, slowly swimming near the bottom or slowly rising near the edge of the banks to get a tiny morsel of larva. I miss the summer time! I miss the smell of the dew on the tall green grass. I miss the early sunrises and watching trout sip caddis flies off the seams of riffles. I miss watching the golden, and bald eagle’s souring in the wind, scanning the river for their next meal. But most of all, I miss the people I fish with in the summer time. The memories that we make out there, and the fish we catch and release are priceless to me. Memories that remain, not only in my mind, but in my heart forever!

Christmas has come and gone once again, and a Chinook is forecasted for the next few days here in Central Alberta. Dreams of massive rainbows and bull dogging browns will soon become reality. As I sit here and sip warm coffee from a new cup, a Christmas present from a friend, I can’t help but dream of those trout that lay just below the icy cold surface of the Bow River. Some people are into ice fishing, and are waiting for the water on the lakes to freeze enough to drill holes and jig lures. Not me, I am waiting for the Chinook to roll in so I can walk the banks of the river and power fish Rapala’s, or some Live Target Lures.

Thank goodness the Bow River does not completely freeze over in the winter time, due in part to the three water treatment plants that pump chemicals into the river all season long. Is this a good thing you ask? I am not sure about that but I know it keeps the river open in the winter time, and to me, that is a good thing! I hope you all got your ice fishing augers and ice shacks from Santa this winter and do well sitting in your huts, catching all those fish you missed this summer. Me, I am going to hit a nice deep pocket of water on the river and slowly, quietly crank a rattler deep down into that hole and hopefully pull out a piglet.

Some techniques I like to employ in the winter are slow presentations of the lure or spinner. I love to tweaks the lure a few times after it sinks down several feet, followed by long pauses and more subtle tweaks. To do this, on a tight line, I lift the rod tip up slightly with just a wrist action, then let the current of the river carry the lure downstream, repeating the process until the lure comes back into my feet. Another technique I use is with a large spinner, say a number 15 Panther Martin. I cast the spinner way upstream and let it sink all the way to the bottom of the river. I bounce it a few times and then lift it off the bottom and slowly reel it up, repeating the process again until the lure is back at my feet. You must remember that the water is very cold and the fish do not react as fast as if you were fishing in the spring, or summer months! Keep the retrieve slow and put fish in your net when the water is cold.

Its way past time I made a cast into the river. Watching the snow fall and drinking coffee in my condo is getting old fast! I need to put on the waders and some warm clothes and get after it. The cabin fever blues has to end, and end soon. I absolutely cannot wait to walk the river bank again and fire away at will. I just hope the fish are willing to chow down on my offerings. They say “the tug is the drug” and boy do I ever need the tug. Who else is dying to go fishing? Where are you going, and what are you fishing for?

Please leave your comments for me. Happy fishing my friends!

Dec 07

Trout Fishing The Waters Of The Bow River

By Mike Robertson in Gone Fishing

A Look Back On the 2015 Fishing Season

The 2015 fishing season started early for me this year. The mild winter we had in Calgary lead to anxious anglers wanting to wet a line before the rest of the crowd dashed towards the banks, eager to set the hook into a willing trout’s yapper. I was contacted by Ben in March to row his low-pro Hyde drift boat for himself, and his good friend Barkley in just the second week of the month. The banks were still lined with a five to six foot ice shelf, but who really cares when you have fish on the brain! The river was clean and clear, making the trip a big success that early in the season. Ben was casting lures and Barkley was using a San Juan worm set up on his fly rod. We had a stellar day for that time of the year, after all the boat should have still been in the garage.

The weather continued to be pleasant and warm into April, and I had another two successful trips that month, with some great fish being caught and released. I was blown away at the fact I was guiding clients that early in the year. Normally I don’t start guiding until the end of June, depending on how much run off we see coming out of the mountains. Typically the river is unfishable for two to three weeks as the water turns to chocolate milk coloration. This year the river went dirty for just over a week, and then turned fishable in early June. June started with Bill and Renee Mains. Renee bought a fishing trip for her husband Bill at Christmas time. She played a few tricks on Bill when he went to open his gift. It was like a puzzle until he reached the third box which contained the guided fishing gift certificate to come battle large trout on June 27th. What a trip it ended up becoming! Both Bill and Renee had a 5-10 fish day, respectable on any river at any time. We all had a blast and the weather was spectacular. Continue reading

2 comments

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