Trout Fishing The Waters Of The Bow River

A Look Back On the 2015 Fishing Season

The 2015 fishing season started early for me this year. The mild winter we had in Calgary lead to anxious anglers wanting to wet a line before the rest of the crowd dashed towards the banks, eager to set the hook into a willing trout’s yapper. I was contacted by Ben in March to row his low-pro Hyde drift boat for himself, and his good friend Barkley in just the second week of the month. The banks were still lined with a five to six foot ice shelf, but who really cares when you have fish on the brain! The river was clean and clear, making the trip a big success that early in the season. Ben was casting lures and Barkley was using a San Juan worm set up on his fly rod. We had a stellar day for that time of the year, after all the boat should have still been in the garage.

The weather continued to be pleasant and warm into April, and I had another two successful trips that month, with some great fish being caught and released. I was blown away at the fact I was guiding clients that early in the year. Normally I don’t start guiding until the end of June, depending on how much run off we see coming out of the mountains. Typically the river is unfishable for two to three weeks as the water turns to chocolate milk coloration. This year the river went dirty for just over a week, and then turned fishable in early June. June started with Bill and Renee Mains. Renee bought a fishing trip for her husband Bill at Christmas time. She played a few tricks on Bill when he went to open his gift. It was like a puzzle until he reached the third box which contained the guided fishing gift certificate to come battle large trout on June 27th. What a trip it ended up becoming! Both Bill and Renee had a 5-10 fish day, respectable on any river at any time. We all had a blast and the weather was spectacular.

July was my only month that was quiet. Mike Collinson, an old co-worker of mine had wanted to take a guided trip for quite some time. I am sure glad I was able to fish with him this year. The day started out nice but soon turned ugly after the first hour of the trip. There was lightning crashing down just south of us which made me unsettled. I decided to play it safe and pull off the river until it passed us. I happened to forget my rain gear that trip and got soaked to the bone. Note to self and the readers here, always pack your rain gear with you. You can put it on if you bring it with you! If you don’t have your rain gear, it takes the fun out of the trip really quickly. Check out Rapala’s great line of Rapala Outdoor Rain Gear

August was a super busy month and it all started with John Martin and his son from Louisiana. The father son duo, were on fire out there and landed some of the largest monstrosities I have ever seen captured from the Bow River. John’s son Tyler hauls in a beast rainbow trout seen here, and then shortly after John has to show his son that daddy is not be outdone, with this complete jaw dropping slab pictured here. She was a hot month with lower than normal water flow, a week after this trip the Alberta Fish and Wildlife closed the river for fishing due to high water temp’s. It was like a sauna in there when we fished on that 3rd of August.

September and October were unreal for massive, hard fighting rainbow trout. I cannot believe the size of the fish my clients landed all year this year. I would say this was the best year for huge rainbows I have ever witnessed in my lifetime of fishing the Bow River. The numbers are also up from 2014 which was the year after our great flood. I would say in about 2-3 years, we will start to see numbers of fish per square kilometer like we did pre-flood of 2013. It always amazes me on how Mother Nature can bounce back from something as devastating and destructive as what I witnessed in 2013! This year was another stellar year for trout fishing on one of the most amazing fisheries on the planet. If you missed out on a guided trip last year, I can promise that the 2016 season will be just as good as last year, if not better.

A HUGE thank you to all who graced the boat this season! I feel so blessed and grateful that I can be your friend first, as well as your fishing guide. I hope to see some old faces next year, as well as some new one’s.