Apr 12

General Info

Cover (Part Two)                                              PHOTO GALLERY

I did so much talking about where trout find cover yesterday that I just had to go out today and look for some trout. I sought to find the weedbeds I spoke of yesterday to see if I could latch into some monster trout that the Bow River has to offer. I walked a mile up the rocky banks and settled into a nice stretch of river with weedbeds about eight meters out from the shore line. The water has risen as a result of the rain and snow we had here two days ago. These stained conditions sometimes make for some awesome trout fishing, provided the water is not too dirty.
 
As I knelt down to tie up my first hook I heard a big fish raise out of the water a make a big splash just behind me. Needless to say I sped up the pace in tying my hook up. I finished up and launched that hook to where I thought the fish came out. Nothing for the first fifty casts and I moved up the water column to a spot I know has a big weed bed. It also has a nice slow flow of water entering the weeds so this is a fish magnet spot in the river.

On my very first cast I latch into a monster Brown troutand he starts to do the death roll on me. I coaxed him back into the water and steered him out of the weeds so I could land him without getting hung up in the weeds. As I turned my rod away from the weeds he takes the flying leap to try and shake me but no way, this big boy is all mine. I moved him onto the shore line just out of the water and took this picture of him so you can see how fishing in weedbeds can pay off.

Notice this picture of the water moving in to a slower area of the river. This fish was also taken from the weeds in the current. I was able to hook five massive trout from this very spot, two 24 inch Rainbows and three 25 inch Browns.If there is any doubt that weedbeds can be productive than this should eliminate that for you and me. Seek the weeds and you too could find yourself yelling FISH ON BABY.

Apr 12

General Info

Just One Question                                            PHOTO GALLERY

It never ceases to amaze me how you see those fisherman in the same spot on the river time after time. I seldom fish the same spot in the river for various different reasons, one of which is that fish are always moving up and down a river system. I scratch my head in confusion as to why I see the same fisherman in the same spot constantly. As water temperatures rise and fall and their food source grows or depletes, fish will come and go as the conditions dictate. One day I will fish a hole or run and there will be many trout caught. Go back to the same spot a week later and there will be no trout caught? 

What influences this migration of fish in and out of different locations of a river system? Cover plays a very important role in this pattern. Available food supply has a big impact as well. Stream fish seek to find cover the second they hatch. These tiny fry are very small and are weak swimmers and unless they can find some type of cover to hide behind, they often get swept away by the current.

Take note here, Fish need larger pieces of cover to shade them and to conceal them as they grow. The biggest fish in a river/stream seek out the largest boulders and logs or the deepest undercut banks. Water that lacks this type of structure will usually only hold small fish! The best cover not only breaks up current, it also provides overhead protection. As a result, fish prefer slack water beneath an undercut bank to an eddy behind a boulder.

Every stream or river has several pieces of cover that I refer to as fish magnets. More often then not, these spots are inhabited by one or two of the rivers largest, most dominant fish. When you are able to catch one of these fish, another of about the same size moves in to replace it. The most consistently successful anglers on a river are those fishermen who know where several of these spots are located. This brings us back to the question I proposed earlier.

Here are some spots in a river I look for when fishing for trout. With some practice and patience you will learn to recognize these subtle visual clues that reveal their locations. Points or sharp bends of a river create major eddies. The longer the point or the sharper the bend, the larger the eddy that will form as a result. Another place to look is bridge pilings, they have eddies on the upstream and downstream ends. Quite often the cover is better than it looks because of the riprap piled at the base of the pilings to reduce erosion. And last but not least, weedbeds create a diverse current pattern and hold many types of food. Fish lie in the slow water in the beds themselves then they dart out to grab food drifting through channels between the beds. Look for these spots on any river system and you will have the upper hand on those fishermen that stand in the same spot over and over.

Apr 08

Gone Fishing- Bow River

A Guided Fishing Trip                PHOTO GALLERY

The clouds finally broke and the sun shone through here in trout country. I was fortunate to guide three very nice people from El Segundo, California today and we were able to catch some nice fish from the Bow River. We headed up to one of my favorite Brown Trout holes today and had some success while there. John latched into a very nice Rainbow Trout on the way up to the hole and this fish gave him a serious run for his money. He was able to battle this very hard fighter and reel him into shore where I helped him unhook the trout and take a quick photograph. The big smile on his face told the story as the trout here just seem to be a little bigger than other places in the world. His friend Josh was also able to hook into a couple of nice sized Browns as well.

My main goal today was to get Dave and the boys into some larger Bow River trout and this Rainbow was a welcomed site for both me and my clients. I try my very hardest to provide the best possible experience for my client/clients at all times. As we made our way up to the big trout hole we had a nice talk and got to know each other better. That’s the thing about guiding is you get to meet great people from all over the world. While talking with Dave I got the feeling of just how lucky we are here in Alberta to have a river system such as the Bow right out the back door.

We were able to hook some nice Browns in our destination point but today’s trout we just not hitting as hard as I have seen in the past and kept popping off our laser sharp hooks. I guess every fisherman has his day, but it would have been nice for me to see Dave pull one of those bigger fish he had on into the shoreline. Never the less I had a blast guiding these great people today and I hope they share the same feelings as we parted company. I hope to see you back again Dave as there are bigger trout here just for you. Thank you so much for letting me be of service to you today.

Apr 05

Fishing Etiquette- Where Has It Gone

I Could Not Have Said It Any Better

Fishing etiquette, sometimes I have to wonder if anyone’s ever heard of such a thing. The word etiquette is defined as: The forms required by good breeding, or prescribed by authority, to be observed in social or official life; observance of the proprieties of rank and occasion; conventional decorum; ceremonial code of polite society.

So why is it that as soon as I get on a river, I invariably end up fishing near someone who has never heard the above definition? It seems as if as soon as people get into a fishing situation, all rules of society are thrown out the window and it becomes a free for all. I mean it says, right in the definition, ‘ceremonial codes of polite society’. When it comes to fishing, especially on a river, one of those ‘ceremonial codes of polite society’ is to allow other anglers there personal space just as you would afford them in any other social situation. I mean, for God’s sake, just because were out on the river fishing it doesn’t mean that we have to become complete inconsiderate idiots, does it?

I’m of course referring to a situation that I got caught up in, not too long ago, on one of my local rivers. I had been fishing along a very nice stretch of water for about twenty minutes, when a couple of other fishermen came walking along the river. They kept there distance as we exchanged friendly glances, and they began fishing about fifty yards from where I was.

This is how things are supposed to work when two anglers meet on a river. But then I caught a fish. Then another one and this second fish was quite nice. A nice eighteen to twenty inch Rainbow. I released the fish and went on about my business, continuing to fish this nice stretch of river, which incidentally was no bigger, the average driveway.

The next thing I knew, the other fishermen were in my freakin’ back pocket! I mean these guys surrounded me like I was trying to do something horrible to one of their children. Then the interrogation started. What are you using? How big was that fish? Do you always catch fish here? This is what I’m talking about when I speak of fishing etiquette. When I’m out on the river, and I’m sure most people would agree, I want to relax, enjoy nature, and if I can manage it, catch a few fish. I don’t need to give a fishing lesson to anyone. And, as far as I’m concerned, no one needs to give one to me. If I see you on the river and you catch a nice fish, good for you. I might give you a thumb’s up or something, but that’s all the information we need to exchange.

I’ve never understood why people think that if a fish is caught out of a spot, that’s the only place on a given stretch of water that contains fish. And the spot or area that they’re fishing doesn’t! That’s the only explanation as to why these two guys muscled up on me like a bully on the smaller kids in the schoolyard. They had to think that they had a better chance of catching a fish where I had just caught a fish than where they were originally fishing. And just to clear the air, this is not the case. It’s a fallacy, and this kind of behavior needs to stop.

Give other anglers the space they need to fish when you’re out on the river. Using a little fishing etiquette out on the water will make our sport better for all of us. As I eluded to earlier, just afford people the same courtesy you would on a busy elevator. Just because were standing in a river, it doesn’t mean we can’t practice basic etiquette.

Trevor Kugler – Co-founder of JRWfishing.com Trevor has more than 20 years of fishing experience, and now specializes in ultralight trout fishing.