Apr 02

A Friendly Bow River Fishing Trip

 

Fishing the bow river for large trout.

A Friendly Adventure

Spring is upon us now; winter never really had its firm grip on us to begin with. Mild weather combined with minimal snow has brought spring ahead of its normal schedule. Mother Nature has been kind to us here in Calgary, Alberta which is a warm blessing to the fishing conditions. Tom, my friend since we were five, had discussed a day on the river and yesterday was the perfect day to hike and fish. Warm weather combined with two old friends is always the perfect recipe for success. Tom met me in the south end of the city where I loaded my gear into his truck and off we went, two friends with one mission. A short drive on paved clean roads and it was not long until we arrived, excited and happy to be close to the river once more. Continue reading

Mar 31

Trollin’ On A River

Easy Troller From Savvy Boater.

The EasyTroller Trolling Plate

Whoa, slow down. Haven’t you heard? Speed kills, baby, speed kills. Especially when you’re out on the water trolling for fish.

Too much of the old mph and your chances of attracting and landing that prize salmon, trout or walleye are well, sunk. When trolling, bait or lures are drawn through the water behind a moving boat. But that boat needs to be moving pretty slooowww. Engines larger than 30hp can’t slow down enough to troll baits at much less than two miles per hour. Depending on what you’re fishing for, and at what depth, productive fish-catching often requires trolling speeds below that (sometimes as low as .8 mph!).

So, what are your options for reining things in and maintaining an optimal trolling speed? Well, you could pony up for an expensive trolling motor, or you could opt for a trolling plate, like the EasyTroller from Savvyboater.com. Trolling plates work by diverting some of the propeller’s thrust when lowered, allowing anglers to reach reduced speeds of one mile an hour or less, while maintaining steering control.

The EasyTroller mounts directly to the cavitation plate of your motor, a few inches behind the propeller (hardware included). The EasyTroller’s spring loaded design allows you to raise and lower the plate with a handy drawstring. Springs drop the plate to the down position and lock it into place, allowing you to slow your boat to under one mile an hour! When it’s time to head back in, simply pull the drawstring to unlock the plate and throttle up. The prop thrust pushes the plate back into the up position, where it locks. How easy is that!  And with it’s split in the middle design, should you forget to pull the plate up when you throttle, the springs will pop before the plate is bent. Under power, prop thrust can bend or damage the typical trolling plate.

So does it work? Just  ask salmon, trout and walleye fisherman Greg Sprague.

“This thing is built like a tank when compared to the competition,” Greg said.” It is easy to install, fool proof, and operates like a gem. I know it will get the job done where other plates have failed.”

Manufactured in the U.S.A., the EasyTroller is constructed out of marine grade anodized aluminum and stainless steel and comes with a one year manufacturer’s warranty. It’s offered in two sizes, short, for 30hp-45hp motors and standard, for50hp-300hp motors. Plus, the EasyTroller is available with optional hydrofoil fins for improved performance and fuel efficiency, giving you the benefits of both a hydrofoil and a trolling plate! The daily double!

 

The EastyTroller flexes to divert the prop thrust downward, preventing damage to the plate so slow down. Take it easy and relax. Let those big ones catch up to you. If you’re looking for an affordable, convenient and efficient way to troll, check out the EasyTroller trolling plate.

Lee Hammerschmidt is an outdoors blogger for Savvyboater.com, which sells boat seats, boat covers, boat fenders and buoys, and other boating supplies.

Check out other blog posts at http://blog.savvyboater.com.

Mar 11

Bow River Fishing Report March 11 2012

Bow River Brown Trout Fishing March 9 2012

Bow River Spin Fishing Report March 11, 2012

Hello fishing friends, a quick post to let you all know how the Bow River is fishing this month for me. I was fishing this past Friday afternoon on the lower section of the river below the highway 22X overpass. I arrived at noon and had a Rapala Countdown Silver CD-9 tied up before I hit the river bank. I decided to cast in an area just below a drop off with rapids entering into a small deeper hole. The lure would land in the shallow rapids and I would let it float into the deeper hole before I put any action on the lure. Only four casts and I landed into a twenty inch brown.

I then made my way upriver picking apart every hole and run along the walk up but was unsuccessful in hooking any fish. About 100 yards upriver, I decided that the fish were looking for a slower presentation and switched lures. Off went the Countdown and on went the Minnow Spinner in the gold and black color combination. With this lure choice, you can really slow up the retrieve speed so those sluggish feeding fish have a chance to catch the offering and wrap their tooth lips around it. Shortly after my switch up, I was into another large brown, this one taping out at 24 inches; he took the minnow after the swing and on the way into shore. I was spinning very slow giving him lots of time to strike the gold flashy minnow. Continue reading