With the boat put away for the winter, the time has come here in Calgary to switch to shore fishing. Winter has arrived indeed, but we are blessed to get those chinooks that break up …
With mild temperatures running into the second week of November, and snow finally blanketing the ground today, I think its time to winterize the jet boat and close the 2024 boating season. Once again, it …
Fall fishing in swing and today we are joined by the best receiver in the CFL, Mr. Reggie Begelton and his teammate Mr. Tre Odoms-Dukes. As most of you know, Reggie is a seasoned angler …
Recently I have seen an increase in poaching on the Bow River while out fishing. Poaching is bad for our fisheries and can cause severe decline in fish populations rapidly. Not only is it against …
My girlfriend Charlene and I decided to switch it up from trout fishing and head out to Milo to fish McGregor Lake. Before leaving the city, we stopped to get some worm harnesses and some …
It’s that time of the year when the water temps have gotten much colder. There is snow on the ground and the fish are heading for their over-winter holes. These are locations in the river where the water is deep enough, and the river cannot entirely freeze solid to the bottom. The fish are getting slower now, and so should your presentation!
Jordan sent me a text during the week and asked if I would like to join him on Saturday to fish the Bow River. We had arranged to meet at noon in Douglasdale to fish one of the over-winter holes I just mentioned. This spot is about eight feet deep and slow-moving current, the perfect location to find hungry fish. The bug life has mostly all dried up, making the river perfect for chucking large, suspending crankbaits. As some of you readers know, I started my own business last February selling high quality fishing lures. These lures have been crushing it all year, and Jordan has been doing extremely well with them! Anyone who has purchased these lures, has caught amazing fish all throughout the Bow River basin. Jordan asked me to bring him more lures to the river so he could purchase them and use them the day of our trip. Unfortunately, he lost several of the lures the last time he fished and needed to stock up.
I pulled into the parking lot near the river and Jordan was already there getting his gear ready for battle. I gave him the lures he needed; we both tied up the 4.7-inch cranks and hiked down to the rivers edge. Jordan was smashing trout on the lure I call “The Green Goblin” all season, and that was his first choice of the day. I stayed down low in the slow water, and Jordan walked up the river into a seam coming off a nice rock bar. It was not long before he was hooked up into a beauty brown. I came running up with the net and scooped it up for him. His first of many big browns was in the net.
For me, its rewarding to see other anglers catch amazing fish, consistently trip after trip on the Robertson Tackle lures. Jordan has caught some of the best fish the Bow River has to offer, and I honestly could not be happier for him! I am grateful he asked me to come out fishing with him and was very glad he caught all the big fish of the day. We will definitely do that again soon!
After having issues with my boat this past week, I got repairs done to the steering cable and we were back in business for the weekend trips. This past Saturday, I had a trip with a long-time friend from my old hood. We lived on the same street in Dover, where I grew up here in Calgary! Tony and his brother Doug, whom I had not seen in many years, were set to tussle with the Bow Rivers finest fish.
It had been many moons since Doug had fished the Bow River, even though he lives here in Calgary! I thought it was very cool that Tony had asked him to come out, and I wanted to make sure he did well and caught a pile of fish. I stocked the tackle box with all my new Robertson Tackle crankbaits the night before the trip, making double sure we had a smashing day on the water.
As we made our way down river, both Tony and Doug were able to hook some great trout. The “Raunchy Rainbow” was lighting it up again out there, getting many rainbow trout to the basket. After the midday point, and after digesting one of my home-made sandwiches, we decided to pull into a back pool known for monster pike. I added steel leaders onto the 4.7-inch crankbaits and before long, Both Tony and Doug were into some amazing Northern Pike. It was very awesome to watch the boys battle those monster river Pike. After catching several epic fish, we moved on and finished our day trout fishing!
There is always something special about seeing old friends and spending time on the water doing what we love. I appreciate you both coming out with me. I also deeply appreciate what Doug said to me at the end of our trip at the boat launch; “You are an amazing fishing guide Mike”.
Thank you, Doug, from the bottom of my heart. Until we meet again next year. Hope you both have a safe and happy fall season.
This past weekend, I had my good friend Rob Clarke come down from Edmonton to fish with me. Rob brought his friend Ron with him on this adventure. Ron has not fished the Bow River in almost twenty years, so to say he was excited is an understatement!
As some of you may know, I started my own little fishing lure business this spring. I called it Robertson Tackle, and you can find the ecommerce website here. I was excited to let both Rob and Ron try the 3.5 inch crank baits and the 4.7 inch lures as they work extremely well. The “Raunchy Rainbow” was producing very well on both days of our trip, as was the “Bad Brown” color pattern. Under clear skies and clean water conditions, natural color patterns are key!
We had a complete blast on both days of our trip, producing great fish and enjoying many laughs along the journey. It was great to meet Ron and get him onto some great trout the Bow River has to offer. The boys went back up to Edmonton with a smile on their faces!
Thanks for the great laughs and the epic memories gentlemen.
Good day everyone. As per the Alberta Governments bulletin, the TOD restrictions for the Bow River are now in place. The restrictions will start today, August 20th and run until August 31st. No fishing on the river from 2pm till 12am during this time period.
Protecting fish in Southern Alberta during periods of low flows and high temperatures.
During the 2022-23 Sportfishing Regulation Engagement, feedback was collected on restrictions to angling during low flows and water high temperature events. After considering feedback provided from Albertans, Alberta Environment and Parks (AEP) has developed a flexible approach to protect fish during periods of lows flows and high temperatures by creating a time of day angling restriction.
A time of day angling restriction is when angling is not permitted from 2:00 PM to midnight (14:00 to 24:00) at specified locations.
Between July 01 and August 31, a time of day angling restriction may be put in place for:
all rivers and streams (flowing waters) in fisheries management zone ES1, including the Bow River downstream of Banff National Park to Bassano Dam (this includes Ghost Reservoir, Bearspaw Reservoir and Bassano Reservoir)
St. Mary’s River mainstem (including tributaries) below the St. Mary’s Reservoir in fisheries management zone PP1
Implementation of Time of Day Angling Restrictions
Time of day angling restrictions will be implemented when water temperatures and flows reach certain thresholds. As such, AEP will monitor temperature and flow data from flowing waters across southwestern Alberta; however, all decisions on time of day angling restrictions are made based upon conditions recorded at the Bow River monitoring station at Carseland. This station provides real-time water temperature and flow information, which allows AEP to compare real-time information to the thresholds set to protect fish during these high-risk periods.
The thresholds that have been set to protect fish (based on the protection of trout) are:
when water temperatures exceed 20°C for three or more consecutive days and,
when flows in the Bow River are below the 25th water flow percentile for 4 or more days at that time of year as measured at the Carseland monitoring station. As early as July 1, AEP will implement time of day angling restrictions when the above flow and temperature criteria are met and the forecast does not indicate improvements to the conditions in the immediate future. When implemented, a time of day angling restriction will be in place for a minimum of 14 days. During this period, AEP will continue to monitor water temperatures, flows, and long term weather forecasts. Based on this monitoring, AEP will determine whether time of day angling restrictions will continue for an additional 14 day period or be lifted. On day 28, a decision to continue or reinstate time of day restrictions will be made which will remain in place until September 1.
The intent is to remove all restrictions as of September 1.
A time of day angling restriction was in place from 2:00 PM Saturday, August 20 to midnight on August 31, 2022. Thank you to all anglers who helped our fisheries and observed the restriction.
Communication of Time of Day Angling Restrictions It is up to every angler to know the sportfishing regulations of the waterbodies they plan to fish. If a time of day restriction is implemented, updates will be provided on the My Wild Alberta Fishing Advisories, Corrections and Closures webpage, and through AEP social media channels: If a time of day restriction is implemented, updates will be provided on the My Wild Alberta Fishing Advisories, Corrections and Closures webpage, and through AEP social media channels:
Know before you go – check the Fishing Advisories, Corrections and Closures before fishing, as these will be updated to notify anglers of time of day restrictions. These same mechanisms will be used to communicate when closures have been lifted.
The importance of protecting our fish and fisheries This approach aligns with approaches in other jurisdictions and recognizes the importance of conserving the riverine fish and fisheries during times of low flows and high temperatures in southern Alberta.
It is important to note that the overall goal of a time of day angling restriction is to reduce angling effort and associated fish mortality due to hooking and handling during periods of warm temperatures and low flows when fish are already stressed. If angling effort is not reduced or is shifted to other sensitive areas, such as streams and rivers in Eastern Slopes, Zone 1 (ES1), it is unlikely that we can achieve the desired level of protection for these fisheries.
AEP will evaluate the 2022 implementation and improve the approach for subsequent years.
