Feb 05

Locating Fish

[kml_flashembed movie="http://youtube.com/v/6MyVyhpLA4g" width="425" height="350" wmode="transparent" /]Locating Fish in Rivers and Streams.  Part Two

Choppy water known as dancing pyramids, are known to hold many feeding fish of all types. Where slow water meets the faster water, a series of small or medium sized, stationary, dancing waves will form. This is where food will drop to the bottom of the river or stream and large lazy fish will inhabit these patches of water provided there is enough depth. More often than not, if depth and cover are not sufficient, fish are still known to feed in these places at dusk or into the night.

Overhanging objects such as trees or bushes. It is common sense that a fishes main predators attack from above, Eagles and Hawks are common here; and fish prefer some type of overhead cover. Overhanging foliage or deadfall will provide fish protection as well as the shade they need on a bright hot summer day. I will throw minnow imitations into these areas with awesome hook up success. If the water is shallow I will use a minnow imitation that I can keep on the top of the water column.

Why is it you see a fisherman out casting immediately after a rain storm in the dry summer months? Rising water is the reason I fish right after it rains. Many rivers or streams seem to slow down and not produce during low water and hot summer days. If you plan your trip to arrive at the river after it rains, you can have great success this way and fishing at this time can rival the best fishing you had in the spring season.

These locations in a river or stream may hold many fish, large fish for that matter. The proper lure may aid in this search. Confidence in your skills and ability to locate trout and catch them is by far the best lure you have in your tackle box! A fisherman must have complete confidence in what he or she is doing and the lure you are using. What I am speaking of is a mental attitude and it can make a world of difference in catching fish or not catching them at all.

To be truly successful at trout fishing or any other type, you must work at it! There are no miracle tricks, no secret lures on the market, and no half measures to the thrill of a fish striking your hook. This is why your attitude must always remain positive. You must truly believe that the next cast or retrieval speed will be the correct one! Believe me, it is not easy for me to be confident at all times, because I can’t really trick myself into thinking I have it. Instead it is crucial that you work at developing a mental attitude that is positive and proves to be so important to success.

The main objectives here are, never get too discouraged and continue to believe that your approach is the best one for YOU. If you happen to fail one day, go home a review the procedures you were using that day and the places you were fishing. Tell yourself that the next time you fish will be different than the last. Above everything else, reassure yourself that the reason that you love fishing is that your quarry can be so unpredictable. Let’s face it, if trout fishing were routine you would soon tire of it?

Feb 04

Locating Fish

Locating Fish in a River or Stream.        PHOTO GALLERY

Where do you look for fish when you arrive at your Local River or stream? Where do fish usually like to hide out in a river system? It has taken me a few years to figure out this riddle but as we grow and learn more about fish patterns and behavior we are able to narrow this down somewhat. Here are some of my favorite places to locate fish in a river or stream.Mini-Eddy

1. Feeder Streams or Brooks. Where the junction of a small stream meets with a larger one is often a prime fishing spot provided there is a reasonable amount of depth and cover nearby. There are two reasons why this location will work in your favor, the currents funneling food to the fish and the cooler water to attract fish in the hot summer weather.

2. Current Edges. Wherever you see a rock, Small Island, piece of debris like a tree that pokes through the surface or out into the flow of the river, a short drift line is created. A fisherman can often notice them by lines of drift matter or bubbles in the river. Provided there is enough depth or nearby cover, fish will work these natural food funnels and feed in these locations.

3. Mini Eddies. These are created when there is a small or large island jutting out into the river or a large rock that is sticking out of the water or close to the shoreline, behind these obstacles a mini Eddie is created. Clumps of grass, rocks or small indentations in cliff faces will create small eddies downstream that break the river currant and collect food. Fish often hang out these places for both comfort and for food. These places can sometimes be hard to see but keep your eyes open for them and you will have great success.

4. Shady Areas. On hot summer afternoons when the rest of the river seems unproductive, you can often fish that are interested along shady areas of the shoreline. Steep cliffs or tall grass along the shoreline are prime locations to launch a hook. These places are often the perfect locations to fish on a hot summer day!

5. Tails of Pools. When fishing late in the evening, often when it gets too dark to see, fish will drift down the pool and feed at the lip where it breaks out into the next set of rapids. This can sometimes be a poor location early in the day, but it can offer the best fishing of the day on a late summer evening. Look to fish these places in the dark as well as fish will tend to stay here and feed well into the darkness of night.

Stay tuned for more prime fishing locations !!

Jan 14

Winter Fishing on the Bow River

Is it possible? Is the water not completely frozen over? How many fish can you catch when the water is that cold, if any? These are all good questions which I will address within this article. Many people believe that the river is totally frozen over and unfishable. I drove over the Memorial Drive Bridge today and looked over at the Bow River, ice covered from one bank to the next, and if I did not know any better I would have come to this conclusion; no fishing for the next three months around here. Yeah this is true, no fishing around the weir at Memorial Dr unless you have an ice auger, but not downstream of it. Why is there open water that is fish-able further down the river?

The city of Calgary has a water treatment plant called the Bonny Brook water treatment plant which is located directly beside the Bow River. They treat the solid waste here and purify the water at this facility. Once the water has been treated and cleaned up they dispel some of this water into the river system. As a result of this and some other factors, the water is warmer from here on down the Bow River system. This provides many anglers with some open water fishing opportunities from the Glenmore Trail Bridge all the way downstream well past Policeman’s Flats. Good news for those of you who think there is no fishing until June!

I packed up my fishing gear, put on some warm clothes and ventured down to the river this past weekend to try my luck. January fishing the Bow River can be a month when you can catch the biggest and fattest trout that live in these cold waters. I looked for some slower moving water and settled in for three hours of fun. I choose minnow imitations in the winter and fired out and three inch long gold lure. It does not usually take long to latch into some massive Brown’s or Rainbows at this time of year. Ice on the water for weeks straight combined with a low food source is a recipe for success. Big hog Brown’s and some really decent Rainbows was the catch of the day.

My best fish taped out at 26 inches long and was one of the fattest, most clean looking Browns I have ever laid eyes on. This fish was a big male and to say he was hungry is a huge understatement. These fish do not love tap your hook, they hammer it. To most of you this is not new news but for those of you that do not know that the winter months provide awesome fishing, get dressed, get your winter boots on and bolt straight for the river. After all what do you have to loose, a couple hours of your time. What do you have to gain……monster Browns! That’s what.

Jan 03

Fishing Trips Gone Bad

Fishing Trips Gone Bad. Story By Ari My Fishing Friend.

The story goes like this. I would just like to give you an update of latest fishing nightmare on Dec 24th, 2007 as you might appreciate this one. I drove to my local lake through a huge and unforeseen blizzard, we arrived at the lake three hours later only to find most of it was under ice, especially the areas where we normally put in our boat. We then went off driving up the mountain in search of open water and a better place to launch our boat.

Well here is where things go from bad to worse, we slid off the road in the middle of nowhere and had to walk three miles to borrow some shovels to dig out our vehicle. After tracking down the shovels, we spent the following three hours digging our car out. I did not go through this not to fish, even if just for a few hours, so we found an area where we walked all gear ( 2 batteries, zodiac, electric motor, food, tackle etc..) 150 yards down a steep slope in deep snow to open water.

It was then I suddenly realized that there was leak in one of the chambers of our inflatable and needed to be repaired fast. I was lucky enough to have repair kit but this took another 30 minutes before we could put the boat into the water. Once in the water the winds suddenly picked up to gale force and before we could get all the gear in the boat there was a good 10 inches of water (from the breaking waves) in the boat. We were sinking on shoreline! A massive wave then hit the boat throwing my buddy over the side into the water, not deep, but very cold! It was only then that logic prevailed and I looked at my buddy soaking wet in the water and said “Today is not a good day to die! Let’s go home and cut our losses!”

With that we packed up all the gear, walked all the way back up the Sisyphean hill with all the gear, and drove the long cold ride home. It was the toughest day of fishing without even wetting a line…….The crap we do for our browns! I am going to re-attempt to fish again tomorrow because it was just NOT meant to be today.

If you have a fishing story gone BAD then send it here to me and I will publish your story here at the Bow River Blog. I will share one of my fishing trips gone bad with all of you in my next post. Stay tuned for my horror story.