The winter sunlight hit the shimmering water early today, nine o’clock and time to rock. Time’s a ticking and the fish don’t catch themselves! We guzzled a few coffees and made the mad dash for the river. I’m not too sure why we were in such a hurry as we never encountered another fisherman all day long, you never can be at the river soon enough! The backpack zipper glided open and the first selection chosen, Rapala was the name and massive trout was the dream. I went to bed last eve thinking of monster browns and counted fish instead of the usual sheep. I always hope for the best and prepare for the worst, one can never come and leave empty handed. So off we went into the wild blue yonder and sunny blue skies to catch the dragons. Our target today was Browns and Rainbows and I was hoping to land as many as I counted in last nights dream.

John had contacted me pre-Christmas day and inquired about a guided shore trip to walk the banks of the mighty Bow River. His e-mail states “Just found your Blog a little while ago and really enjoy it. Your site is also a great resource for information on spin fishing the Bow, which is something I have not done. I generally fly fish in the summers and ice fish in the winters, but do not really enjoy chucking big flies so am thinking a spin cast approach to the Bow may be right up my alley. This thought, coupled with our ridiculously warm winter thus far, and your December 11 Blog have me wondering – do you ever do guided winter walk/shore trips or am I better off waiting until spring”? My reply was simply put, “I do offer winter shore fishing trips and winter is one of the best times of the year to fish the river. Hungry fish and minnow imitations make a great recipe for success winter fishing the Bow”. Continue reading

It ended just like it began!

If you live in a place that gets’ cold and snows in the winter, you then know how hard it sometimes is to make it out to your local river for some open water fishing. Lucky I live in Alberta where a Chinook is a welcomed friend and a warm companion in December. Every week that passes I get more and more cooped up, wishing I could be on the river fishing instead of on my couch waiting for spring to arrive. No way could I last one more day in the house!

I have wanted to fish the last month or so but it seems every time the weekend rolls around it gets to cold and another week comes and goes with no fishing. Today there was no holding me back. I packed up my gear and loaded it into the car; the dog was even scratching my leg to get out. I loaded him up too and drove to the Bow River bundled up and raring to go. The heart was thumping and the juices were flowing. I let the dog off the leash and he bolted straight for the river. I made the first cast into a drop in the river and retrieved the lure quickly as to not bottom snag. I was almost all the way in to shore and I caught sight of the brown trout that was in hot pursuit. I was not able to hook him and he then bolted back out into the river. It was time to travel and I walked upriver about fifty yards. The Livingston Lure looked like it was going to be the hot ticket for the day. I will be selling these lures via my website so I needed to test them out before I endorse them and sell them here. I will let you all know when they become available for sale here on the Blog. Continue reading