May 22

Gone Fishing- Pine Coulee

Slump Breaker                                                 PHOTO GALLERY

1700 Pro Sport Fishing Boat $20,000. 2 Trips to Bass Pro Shop in Las Vegas $400.00. One Fishing license $22.00 3 trips prior to may 20 2007 and ZERO fish. I was getting ready to give up and sell all my gear on EBay if I didn’t start catching fish. I will admit that the weather in southern Alberta has been less than perfect this spring. My son Jake and I have been on three trips prior to Sunday and have not caught a fish!!

I know it’s early in the season and fishing with kids adds some challenge, but I knew I had to pick up some fish or I was going to lose my fishing buddy.  For kids, it’s a lot to do with catching and not so much about the fun of fishing. He is extremely good for his age and will spend long hours in the boat, as long as he has something to eat. They say, “A way to a man’s heart is through his stomach,” and this is true for kids like Jake as well. But I was starting to notice he was loosing motivation in spending a slow day on the water.

Sunday morning we left Calgary and headed for Pine Coulee west of Stavely. The Weather was cloudy and cool. I figured we might get out there and have to come back home due to rain. We arrived at the lake around 11am, the wind was calm and scattered clouds graced the blue sky all day. We started out drifting across a structural reef that goes from 25 ft of water to 13ft. I had a 3/8 jig head and a 4 inch plastic minnow on Jake’s rod, and I was bottom bouncing a Custom worm harness with a 6 inch plastic worm attached. We drifted this excellent piece of structure 3 times and nothing!

As We went around the corner and fished a point 25ft of water to 10ft in depth, We drifted off the first pass with a hit on the worm. Jake was busy eating potato chip’s so I started a quick retrieve with his rod and BOOM! Fish on! I passed the rod to Jake and hollered “reel em’ in Jake” and he proceeded to retrieve in our first fish of the day. The day got better and better with jigs and 4 inch plastic minnows being the hot ticket. We spent about for 5 hours on the water and it didn’t matter, what a day, fast or slow the fish hit the jig. Close to the end of the day I figured we would troll for some pike. Again I used 4 inch minnow by Rapala and didn’t pick up any pike but got 4-5 more walleye.

We got off the water around 4pm and we were both happy. I encourage you to head down to Pine Coulee; it’s an amazing fishery with the fish being relatively the same size. I’ve been here 2-3 times and had great results. I think it’s a great place to go with new people or if you need to break a Slump! All the best and keep your line tight!

Written By Ted. E.    (Edited by Bowriverblog.)

May 18

General Info- Bow River

Trout Fishing the Bow River!                     PHOTO GALLERY

With my fishing partner gone on a cross Canada tour to Newfoundland, it looks like I get the Bow River to myself for awhile. I sure am going to miss the great photos that he takes, inside joke there folks. We went out one last time before he left town for a month or so. I opted to use spinner bait exclusively yesterday but why only spinner bait and nothing else. Why not a plug of some sort? Why only spinners? The river has come alive with bugs of all sorts. Grasshoppers are flying into the water by the truck load now. Bugs, bugs and more bugs. So I choose to fish with bug imitations, I think you might see why I was using only the spinner yesterday.

There are so many styles and types of spinners available these days that a guy/girl could spend a ton of money on spinners alone. I personally pack lots of spinners with me wherever I fish. Not the junk you sometimes see on the Wall Mart shelves, but the high quality spinners you find in your local tackle store or by searching the internet perhaps. I use colors hardly anybody I talk to uses, and I guess that’s good for me because when I go shopping for tackle I find what I am looking for almost every time. Ok here is one color a guy should always keep in his box but don’t tell your friends this. Yeah right, like that’s going to happen. White, I know you have never even considered it but Rainbows can’t help themselves on this color.

Yesterday I chose to fish a spinner called Bangtail which has a long body and is dressed, has white hair around the hook. This spinner also has holographic tape on the spinner blade for that added flash and attraction trout of all kinds cannot resist.This spinner has no sonic capabilities added to it but seems to hammer trout none-the-less. Here is one other tip I have for you, cast this lure hard and far upstream and let the current of the river work to your advantage. Let this lure bounce on the bottom a couple of times and then gently pick it up reeling slowly as well. You will be yelling FISH ON more than once a day.

May 14

General Info- Bow River

General Fishing Information                    PHOTO GALLERY

I would like to welcome all the new visitors to the Blog from the Fishing Alberta Television’s website. Scott has been one of my favorite people to watch on T.V the past few years. I fish the Bow River on a weekly basis and in the summer months, a daily basis so all the info you will find on this site is current and accurate. I noticed a comment on Fishing Alberta’s website regarding access points and felt compelled to share my knowledge. Not all Calgarians keep secrets by the way folks. I believe we all need to share some information and help our fellow fisherman.

In regards to accessing this fantastic river system, Fish Creek is a good starting point for any out of town fisherman. Here are two great spots in the river that can be accessed by car or truck and are right beside the river. Both sides of the river in this area offer great fishing with the first spot listed being a little less fished. McKenzie Meadows golf course road is a good way to access the East bank of the Bow River. Take Deerfoot Trail to 22X and make a right or left turn, depending on which way you are traveling onto McKenzie Lake Blvd and turn at the first left onto McKenzie Meadows Dr S.E which is the road that will take you to the golf course. Google Earth will help you here. Keep going straight until you reach the Bow River. I fish just a little upstream of the bridge as the water is deeper and slower in this area.

The West side of the river (Fish Creek Park) is accessed via a neighborhood called Deer Run. Bow Bottom Trail south will take you into Fish Creek Park and will get you within 10 yards of the Bow River. Fishing on this side of the river is iffy at best as this spot is heavily fished. Head downstream of the 22X Bridge as there are some nice deeper holes here. The Alberta fishing regulations state that all trout over 35 cm must be released and the use of bait is prohibited here on the Bow River. I hope this helps anyone who likes to fish but is unfamiliar with the city. Any further questions can be asked under any post of the Blog. Feel free to ask any question pertaining to fishing and I will be happy to answer all your questions. Happy fishing, Mike.

May 12

Gone Fishing- Crawling Valley

Jack off the Rocks                                            PHOTO GALLERY

Fine day weather wise here in sunny Alberta means I have gone fishing somewhere. Today I chose to go back and do some Walleye/Pike fishing with the famous Todd P. We finally had some calm wind and opted not to fish the Bow today. We pulled into the inlet cannel at Crawling Valley and piled or gear down to the shoreline. When I fish here there are usually many people fishing this fine chunk of real estate.

I asked a fellow fisherman how his day was shaping up and if he had caught any fish. A big smile came across his friendly face and kindly replied he had caught three Pike so far. I asked him if he had caught any Walleye and no was his answer. I turned to walk back to where I was sitting and happen to look into the water at his catch and my eye balls surely were about to pop out of their sockets. This was no 20 inch Pike my friends, this Pike was the biggest specimen I have ever laid my blue eyes on. Abbaga was kind enough to pose for this picture for me. His awesome Pike taped out at 47 inches long and weighed in at 27 pounds. Truly an awesome specimen folks. I thanked Abbaga with a handshake, for his time and the photos; and made my way back to my cozy lawn chair.

This fish sure made my juices flow and I could not get my frozen minnows onto my hook fast enough. I calmly threw my bait into the water and sat back in anticipation of the bite. Shortly after my bait was into the water I saw the rod tip dancing and I made my way over to my rod. One thing you need to know is if you try and set the hook too soon you will miss the fish every time here. I waited and turned my reel over one full turn, he then took the bait and I was reeling in a nice Walleye. I was able to land six Walleye today and I saved the best fish for last. He was 22 inches and weighed in at 5 pounds. I sure do love Walleye fishing and I will be back out at Crawling Valley very soon for some more great fishing.