Sep 19

Gone Fishing- The Lower Bow River

Trout Fishing in the Fall.

Fall has set here in Alberta and the leaves are already turning their annual colors from green, to yellow and red. I left the house today in search of peace and quiet and those big trout that seem to be hungry around this time of the year. Fall can be one of the best times of the year to fish for trout. If there are Brown Trout where you live than you very well know that Browns spawn in the fall and always look to fatten up during this season. I always take full advantage of this knowledge and search out pools where I suspect these trout will be occupying. I always pack in more gear than I usually use in a day but it never hurts to be fully equipped now does it?  My back pack which I substitute for those ugly plastic tackle boxes, now weighs approximately 50 pounds. Why so much gear you ask, well why not a wide variety to choose from. If you limit your gear to only one type of lure than you limit the odds of catching fish. What happens if the fish want spoons that day and you only have spinners? What if they will only take bait fish imitations and no spinners or spoons. Do you see my point? 

Today as the leaves were falling into the water and the afternoon shower had subsided, I chose to tie up a pure white spinner and cast away into the tail end of a riffle known to produce big browns and rainbows as well. It seemed as though the browns were just not there but the rainbows were interested in my presentation of dressed spinner bait. I set the hook firmly into the first fish and slowly began to gain ground on him, taking in the slack he peeled off. This fish was wily and was doing his very best to shed that hook. He became air born three times as I battled to keep him in the water. You do this by turning your rod down toward the water. After several minutes I finally landed this aggressive trout on the rocky shoreline. This was only the beginning of what was to come. I moved up river and duplicated my cast slowing up my retrieve speed to let the hook sink deeper into the river and bang, another rainbow was battling to get free. This fish was larger than the first and taped out at 23 inches and had that lovely dark red stripe from head to tail.

I switched lures again after great success with the Bang Tail to a Minnow Spinner. The color I selected was silver with a silver spinner blade. I figured if they were taking the all white spinner, than they would surely take the silver minnow spinner. I casted straight upstream and reeled in the minnow bait when my sixth rainbow of the afternoon took flight from the chilly water. I landed him and snapped a couple of photos. I had an excellent day out on the river bank and tried an assortment of lures while fishing today. I chose lures that were perfect for this time of the season and landed six fish for my efforts. I guess it goes to show you that the better the selection of tackle, the more fish you will catch.

Sep 12

General Info- Online Fishing Tournament

Well, it looks like all you fisherman are going to get a chance to put your money where your mouth is, and in turn win up to $1000.00 for your efforts. Here is the challenge to all my friends here in Calgary and in the province of Alberta; catch a longer fish than me and you will win $1000.00 cash. How will this happen you ask, well click onto Bountyfishing.comand read all the details. Here is the short and sweet version, you sign up for either a one day tournament $7.00 US Dollars or a one week tournament $19.00 US Dollars. You choose whatever week you wish to fish. They want the longest fish for the species of fish you are fishing for, and if you happen to be the lucky guy/girl to catch the longest fish for that day/week than you win $1000.00 cash, it’s that simple; or is it?

Bountyfishing.com requires their contestants to register for their website (FREE) and than you are eligible to enter their tournaments. You will receive a code from Bounty Fishing which will be valid for that day/week you choose to fish. You then proceed to fish for the day/week until you have caught your longest fish possible. You are required to measure the fish on a flat surface with a ridged tape measure placed beside your catch. You then will take a picture of the fish in this position and then they require you to take a picture of you holding your catch as close to your chest as possible. You then submit your photos to Bounty Fishing for review and if you catch the longest fish that day/week for the species you have chosen to fish for, 1000.00 is coming your way.

I wish all those who participate in this online tournament the best of luck as there seems to be some stiff competition out there. Also, make sure you are not cheating as they claim to have the world’s most advanced digital imaging forensics software. This software is based on counterfeit digital image detection used by the world’s top law enforcement agencies. Bounty Fishing’s patent pending measurement technology is used to verify the accuracy of competitive photos and declare authentic winners in the tournaments. If you are sending falsified photos into this website, in my books they call this fraud so get ready to go to jail. Good luck and hopefully your name is up on the leader board.

Aug 15

Ask Mike – Tips and Advice

Big Browns in the Twilight, Or At Night PHOTO GALLERY

August here in Alberta is prime time to be fishing Brown Trout when the sun it getting ready to set. I packed up my fishing gear and headed straight for the river. I think it’s funny how I tell people, usually experienced fisherman that fishing Brown’s in the dark is the best time to fish, and they look at me and laugh. I have taken many long time experienced fishermen out in the dark and wiped that smile clean off their faces. I even like to go out and prove my statements all by myself, just to prove to myself that the biggest Brown’s will be caught in total darkness.

After driving for five minutes tonight I arrived at the Bow River in a quiet spot along the south bank. Just as I am arriving everyone is packing up and walking out toward their vehicles, “Perfect”, I say to myself, and hike up to a prime location alongside the river. Before I walk up the river bank I have already tied up my Minnow Spinner by Blue Fox and de-barbed the Eagle Claw hooks attached to it. It is very frustrating trying to tie your hook up in the dark, I do this prior to leaving the house that way I am ready to fire away anytime, anywhere! I chose a spot where two channels converge which leaves a slower back eddy along the south bank. Now here is the trick to success for me when fast water meets slower water, make sure you cast well into the faster moving water and slowly come into the deeper slower water so not to spook the big fish sitting on the edge of the seam; or in the middle of the slower water. As I was reeling from the faster water into the slower water I was hooking fish, big fish practically every cast with a slow retrieve speed. Remember, Browns have the best eye sight of all the trout species and combined with a lure that makes sonic vibrations or rattles, can be highly effective when fishing at night!

I stayed on the bank of the south side for two hours, 9:00 PM until 11:00 PM and had an awesome evening fishing. I landed three 22 inch Rainbows and had at least 10 fish on, not including all the bites I was getting. All was well and I made a super long cast into the fast water and slowly worked my lure below the clear blue water. As I was twitching and reeling I latched into what I think was about a 25- 30 inch Brown. There was still a little light left in the sky and this monster Brown loved what I had offered. He smashed my hook and started to battle like a true gladiator, he came to the surface and suddenly I felt the line go limp? Puzzled I reeled in my hook which was still attached to the line to investigate. Low and behold this massive specimen bent my split ring almost bone straight and the hook attached to it was gone. Now that was the big one that managed to get away. The moral of the story here is even though people will not buy into what you say about fishing in the dark, you will be the one with the big smile across your face and not them. Until next time, happy fishing and stay safe when fishing in the dark.