Bow River Blog – Page 68 – Is Your Fishing Resource For Spin Fishing The Bow River

Sep 03

Float Fishing The Bow River

By Mike Robertson in Fishing Trips

Rainy Days and Sunday’s

I know that is not the name of the Carpenters song but we were out fishing the Bow River Sunday so I chose this title. It was raining and cold but Chris still wanted a shot at some Brown Trout. I asked Chris if he still wanted to fish in the rain and he never hesitated. We launched out at Policeman’s Flats and casted away into some fast flowing murky water. The river had to have come up at least four to six inches overnight. I figured it was going to be a productive day but boy was I wrong.

Usually when the water is stained a little I have good luck fishing trout in the Bow River. The trout can still see and hear the lure but cannot quite identify it resulting in more strikes. We tied up a mid depth crank bait and a spinner on the other rod. We started with the spinners and heaved the crank bait into the deeper pockets of the river. No such luck with either choice. I figured that it was the colors I was choosing to use. I proceeded to try almost every color option known to man kind and still no trout to be caught. Puzzled and confused I went to yellow spinner with a salamander spinner blade and finally after two hours caught a decent rainbow.

I was quite disappointed at the lack of fish we were not catching. I have had really good luck after a rain fall when the sun is shining and the temperature warms up. I rarely fish when it is raining and it looks like that trend will continue. Believe me when I say it was not for a lack of trying today. Chris finally latched into his first trout on the day three hours into the trip. He was happy to get the smell of skunk of off his cold hands. A feisty brown trout leaped out of the water after he hooked it, fought to shake the hook and was successfully landed. That would have been rotten if the fish popped off before being landed.

We were shivering and casting as we struggled to keep warm. The rain was starting and stopping all day long. The day ended with only three fish landed, a disappointing day out on the Bow River in my opinion. I would advise you to stay home and watch a fishing show when it is cold and raining, you will be glad you did. However if it stops raining and turns sunny and warm, grab the rod and a buddy and cruse on down to the river. I’m sure you will have more success fishing than we did today.

Aug 25

Fishing for Brown Trout

By Mike Robertson in Brown Trout Info

Fall Fishing for Brown Trout

As we enter the fall season in Alberta, Brown Trout fishing on the Bow River will pick up. Those elusive Brown Trout will show up on the end of our monofilament fishing line. Brown Trout will start to fatten up for their spawn making for good fishing for this species. So how are we to hook into these lovely specimens? The answer I believe lies in their diet!

Young Brown Trout feed on insects and other invertebrates, but the larger fish are active predators of other bait fish including young Brown Trout, suckers, White Fish and Rainbow Trout. Larger Brown Trout will also feed on small animals that fall in the water from shore. This is a hint as to where to cast your lure when fishing from a boat! Brown Trout usually do not become active or feed until the late afternoon or early evening but when the weather is cool enough they will feed during the day as well. The largest Brown’s of the river feed under the cover of darkness, so stay out on the river bank a little longer than most fisherman dare too. Brown trout can be caught with artificial flies, spoons, jigs, plastic worm imitations and lures.

When I target Brown Trout I use lures with natural looking colors to imitate their natural diet. I select lures that look like Rainbow Trout, Rocky Mountain Whitefish and Brown Trout during daylight hours. It is very important to key in on these colors to have good success fishing browns when there is cloud cover. Browns have better “dim light” eyesight than most other trout. However I find success with brighter colors during the cover of darkness. Use the most natural of bright colors and you are sure to land a trophy brown in the dark.

On the Bow River I have found you need to stay fishing well past dusk, an hour past the last light is usually when I start to hook up trout. There is a slow period between twilight and total darkness on the Bow River. I use this time to conserve energy and prepare for what is about to transpire. I make a habit of checking my hooks for any damage, bent hooks or dull hooks will be dealt with at this time before complete blackness arrives. If I need to change a hook out I will do this before there is no light left. I like my hooks strong and very sharp, Eagle Claw hooks is what I prefer over any other hook manufacturer. There are a few other companies I like also but Eagle Claw is my selection when I trout fish the Bow River.

Plan your time to fish browns accordingly and make sure you use lures that are close to what the browns are feeding on. Find deep holes in the river and present your lure at the top, middle and tail ends of these holes. Try different speeds of retrieve and you will catch these wonderful hard fighting species of trout!

Aug 10

Testimonials

By Mike Robertson in Testimonials

Mike, I wanted to thank you for the great time I had floating the Lower Bow River with you on August 8th. I’ve been following your blog site for a while and I’d been pretty successful using your tips on lure selection and equipment, but I was still having trouble with changing weather, lighting conditions and varying types of water and structure.

Showing me how to match the spinners to the natural food that the fish were taking and how to read where the fish were feeding on that hot, sunny day made a big difference in the number of fish I caught. And your instructions on how to present the spinners and how to bottom bounce them produced more fish in one day than I’d caught in many days of fishing on my own!! You can bet I’ll be telling everyone about your site and recommending your guiding service.

Chris B.

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Aug 09

Float Fishing The Lower Bow River

By Mike Robertson in Lower Bow River

A Story of A Dedicated Fisherman

As I arrive home from work I make a habit of checking my e-mail, this is something I have done ever since I got my computer and started Bloging. I like to see if anyone has commented on my website and I also like to check for other messages as well. Last week I saw that someone filled out my booking form and was looking to spend a day with me fishing the Bow River. It was Chris who has posted many comments on my Blog as well as asked a ton of great questions. I quickly e-mailed Chris back and the deal was done, a one day float trip to float the Bow River.

I arranged to meet Chris at the local watering hole; the Tim Horton’s off 114 Avenue at Six Am. Chris gasped at the early morning time but agreed that this would be suitable for him. We fueled up on coffee and headed down to the river to launch out of Policeman’s Flats. We arrived at the river bank refreshed from the coffee and somewhat awake from the jolt of caffeine. I then went through with Chris what spinners we were going to use today and why. The Caddis Flies were swarming around the tall weeds that lined the banks at Policeman’s Flats which played a factor in our spinner selection. We dropped the boat in the water and we were away on a clear sunny August morning.

We started our conversation as Chris casted his spinner into the choppy water of the east bank of the river. Chris had informed me that he visits the Blog very often and reads all the articles that are found here. He had stated that as a result of doing his homework he has successfully been catching fish every time he visits the Bow River. Many people would be proud to say that, but the Bow River can be kind and then it can be stingy to even the most experienced anglers. The one thing that I believe puts Chris in front of the pack is his hard work and dedication to the sport of trout fishing. He reads articles on the topic from the internet and books, he hikes farther that many I know to get to secluded places on the river, he takes suggestions very seriously and he put what he has read into practice every time he is fishing. That translates to a winning combination Chris! And boy did he win today.

Chris started counting how many fish he had landed and by the time we arrived at McKinnon Flats he had reeled in twenty nice Rainbows. I advised him he might lose count by the time we finished our float at the Carseland Weir but he never stopped counting. Chris is a very quick study and he caught on to everything I explained to him very quickly, thus resulting in over thirty fish landed on the day’s trip. What a day it was, hot and muggy and full of non-stop action. Rainbow’s and Brown’s were the catch of the day. Chris and I had a great time all the way to the weir. I would like to thank you for letting me be apart of a wonderful fishing day floating the Bow River Chris. Let’s do it again sometime soon shall we!

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Float Fishing The Lower Bow River

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