Spring Fishing on the Bow River
Some days it’s good, other days it’s better. 
From my perspective the bad days can often still be grouped in as good since, after all, we had the opportunity to be out on the water. And the days that are better? Well.. they keep us going through the good days.
Earlier in the week I heard that the boat launch below the city was opened up; with that news in hand Sam and I made plans to drift the Bow River on Saturday. Saturday turned out to be a good day… We were joined in the boat by a common friend; another rod to double our chances and a great addition to our in-boat banter. We managed a few hard-earned browns over the course of the afternoon but it wasn’t easy fishing. Fishing aside, it was great to get out and float again - it brought back a lot of good memories from last season. We were passed by another drift boat that had been out the day before as well - presumably the first boat this season in this section of river.
Now, Sunday was a completely different story. I had some tentative fishing plans with my friend Jamie. Had either of us been left to our own choice we’d have likely stayed in but combined we had enough initiative to get out on the water. Looking out the back window towards the mountains I could see isolated storm cells moving in. There was also sun and clear sky around them so we decided to give it a go. We did a little walking to get to some water that isn’t fished as often as the common winter stretches. The water clarity was pretty decent so things looked promising. I went with a Hares Ear and midge nymphing setup. I took note of the structure in front of me and started to work the water. I started by fishing in close and gradually worked out. Within a few casts I managed to hook into a nice fish. The fish was a great fighter.
After a few jumps and runs I started getting a little concerned - depending on the hook placement and which fly the fish had there was the risk of popping the hook. I was about to voice my concern when the line flew back at me before I could say it. That was frustrating. A fish on is a good sign though - there will be more where that came from.
Taking a moment to rebalance I take in what’s happening on the water. The midges are coming off strong. Around this point the sun came out again as well - the warmth was welcomed. I tied on a third fly; another midge. If the fish are looking for midges hatching I’d like to provide a couple flies through the water column… Pretty quickly I hooked up with another fish. This one was more co-operative and I got it in. The fish was a bright chrome Brown Trout 
and he mangled my Hares Ear nymph - an acceptable price to pay.
Not too long into the session Jamie managed a Brown trout as well. Having both avoided the skunk this moved the day into the upper end of a ‘good’ day. What followed made it better…
We experienced consistent fishing the rest of the afternoon. When I say consistent I actually mean really consistent. At one point I lost my indicator so I figured I’d just work on my presentation sans indicateur. First drift through and I saw the line tip hesitate… The result was a deep bellied brown with great markings.
Big Belly!
During the afternoon we saw a few more boats go by, a couple guys out in pontoons and a pair of drift boats..
Guys Drifting By…
The weather still had a few tricks to play. We watched one storm cell move in towards us. We hoped it would go by a kilometer up or down from us but it went straight overtop instead. Rain, ice pellets and snow all came pumping out of the cloud, but that only lasted about 15 minutes. Through it all the action continued.
A decent Rainbow Trout
Moving up along the run I found some slack water behind a small rock shelf in the water. I knew a few fish would be holding off the edge of the shelf. Sure enough, after a few drifts along I picked up a small white fish. A few more drifts through and I got another whitie. Next drift..? Whitie. I moved back into the trouty water. The white fish will often school up so if you can locate one, you will often have found another. They are a common catch when nymphing on the Bow river. They have very soft mouths though so landing them can sometimes be tough. Neat fish, from the trout family, but not exactly my cup of tea.
Rocky Mountain Whitefish
I’ll leave you with a few more photos that better describe the time.
Lots of midges on the surface today. Fish were rising randomly all over the place - not easy to target just one though.
Headlong
More Brown Trout than rainbows lately - many rainbows will have moved around for spawning now that Spring is in…
Here’s to the better days!
Dan Jackson
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