Tag Archives: alberta scenery

Home Water

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crocus

“I once gave up fishing. It was the most terrifying weekend of my life”.

-Anonymous

Skwala! Not many around but enough to get some trout looking up. Bugs are always appreciated as this is a blog about dry fly fishing, and I need them if I’m going to have material; something to write about. I’ve been going out a few evenings after work looking for rising trout and also checking things out on weekends. It has been an early Spring in SW Alberta but my home rivers have been quiet. Usually I’m into surface feeding fish at the beginning of April. We are in the third week and things still aren’t under way in spite of the Crocuses being up; calves spotted streamside; campers running the highways; neighbours aerating their lawns; some midge flies in the air in the evening and even some olives riding the currents in the afternoon. It was the Skwala (a stonefly) that got the attention of a few trout on a local tailwater river this Saturday and I managed to hook several mid-sized fish. Here is a picture of the best one of the bunch.

tailwater

oldman river tailwater section

 

standoff

riverside standoff

 

oldmanbow

rainbow trout on dry fly

 

deer

deer on crowsnest river

 

crocus

crocus

 

Rural Western Scenes, Alberta

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Some small town pictures and a few out on the open plains. Alberta is considered the richest province in Canada…however, the oil money doesn’t trickle everywhere.

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riders on the storm, pincher station, ab

 

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blairmore, ab

 

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blairmore, ab

 

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abandoned building, coleman,ab

 

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roxy (abandoned), coleman, ab

 

 

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summerview bridge, oldman river, ab

 

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big trucks, bellevue, ab

 

On the Way to Trout Streams

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“Oh, I wish I lived in a caravan! ‘ said Jimmy longingly. ‘ How lovely it must be to live in a house that has wheels and can go down lanes and through towns, and stand still in fields at night!”

– Enid Blyton, Mr Gilliano’s Circus

 

Some western scenes while driving or walking to some of my favorite trout streams somewhere out in the fields…

cabin cloud

sw alberta cabin

 

chile

Patagonia, chile

 

idaho path

field path to river, idaho

 

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coleman, alberta

 

horse

chairs

coleman, alberta

 

little relig (2)

near waterton, alberta

 

shreddies

shreddies

 

little relig (1)

a little religion, sw alberta

 

rodeo

rodeo stands

 

idaho field

Idaho field

 

goats

glenwood goats, alberta

 

Creekside Grass

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Most of the streams I fish flow through arid sun baked terrain. The edges however are often lined with tall grass growth. They shoot skyward with the summer warmth, stream moisture and nutrients. These edges are places of life: waterfowl, insects, eggs, feathers, even the odd golden retriever…

Trout prowl the aquatic side of these edges. I often sit hidden in the grass and watch the water for movement; for trout. If you sit still long enough the flowing water and swaying grass become mesmerizing. Then a soft rise or flash of a feeding trout  wakes you up.

Here are some pictures of soothing creekside grass taken along the rivers I fish.

grass banks (1)

 

idahograss

creekside grass

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smelling creekside grass

 

feather

feather found in streamside grass

 

big head

trout caught next to creek grass

 

sea oats

butterflyingrass

found along grass bank

 

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creekside trail

 

eggs in grass

goose eggs in creekside grass

 

grassshadow

Between Casts

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The wading boots are hanging in the shed. Instead, I’ve been hiking on weekends. Next week I’ll toss flies again. The local ski hill is closed for the season and it’s only Feb 16th; no snow; go figure. They’ve tons of it back east; none here…yet.

best

side horse

antler2

i4 donk

 

 

A Winter Brown Trout

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“Faith consists in believing when it is beyond the power of reason to believe”.

-Voltaire

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brown trout

MID-WEEK I CHECKED THE WEATHER REPORT FOR THE WEEKEND. It predicted temperatures around zero or slightly above for Saturday and Sunday. Next I looked at the wind chart as mild temperatures usually mean a big blow along the eastern slopes. That’s what was in the cards: a wind warning. Saturday looked a bit sunnier and seemed like my best opportunity to fish. Besides on Sunday there were two good football games scheduled.

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side channel

I never really watch a complete NFL game. I just kind of listen to it, do other things and then pay close attention when there is a big play. I’ve learnt that the Championship games are often better than the Super Bowl. Last year the Seattle versus San Francisco game was a classic. In comparison the Super Bowl was anti-climatic.

bridge river

So, Saturday it would be. I was into it as I hadn’t been out since before Christmas as the weather had been arctic like.

reeel

side channel

I went to my local tailwater river as it doesn’t ice over, and swung flies real slow near the bottom while the wind whistled in my ears. The fish weren’t active. I’d often get a slight “tap” but with no hook up. I did best by swinging my fly back to the spot where I had found some life. Sometimes I had to pass the fly through several times before getting another “hit” and the occasional hook up. I caught some rainbows this way.

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rainbow trout

In a side channel I got my first good aggressive strike but no hook up. I kept tossing my fly through the same spot hoping for a repeat hit. After a dozen or so swings, “fish on”; I had made a connection. This one didn’t make the standard run. Instead it tugged a lot, shook its head, stayed deep and zig-zagged. I thought ” brown trout”.

brown full

brown trout

When winter fly fishing you gotta have faith.

ice brown

brown trout

 

Blur Photos

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It has been too cold around here to put on felt sole boots. I’ve traded them in for snowshoes this weekend. Here are some pictures taken while driving to and chugging along the snow trail.

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wind generator in the valley

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x-country tracks

 

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snowshoe tracks

 

corral wheels (2)

ribs along the trail

 

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high above valley

 

corral wheels (1)

portable corral

 

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portable corral

 

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entrance gate to acreage

 

“Go And Catch a Trout”

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“At one stage I fished the Yellow Breeches Creek, along which I lived, almost eight evenings a week.”

Charles K. Fox – This Wonderful World of Trout

beetle thumb

photo r dewey

GETTING GOOD PHOTOS OF TROUT IS ALWAYS CHALLENGING especially when you fish alone, which is what I do most of the time. Fish aren’t cooperative. After you land one you have to do a number of things in order to get a picture. All seem easy but aren’t, especially when you’re kneeling in moving water, and often in imperfect weather conditions. You have to gently control the fish; keep it in the water and unhook it; dig your camera out of a deep pocket; turn it on without dropping it into the river; focus the shot; ensure there is no water on the lens (I still have trouble with that one); check where the sun is in order to avoid shadow; etc. And you want to do all of this fast so that you can safely release the trout. I have had many great fish bolt on me before I got all of the aforementioned tasks done, and therefore missed a wanted image.

riv sheep

photo r dewey

I was lucky this past August to have a photographer with me for part of an afternoon. I felt no pressure when I was directed to, “Go and catch a trout…I’m all set up to shoot”.

back shot

photo r dewey

 

running

photo r dewey

Although SW Alberta has great rivers, quite a few people fish here (angling pressure) and the trout are wild, wary and usually not easy. The river that I was sight fishing is especially challenging. It is a quality not quantity fishery. It runs through wide open terrain where it is often sunny and there are few places for an angler to hide. The trout are spooky; some even seem clairvoyant. In order to have a “crack” at a great fish you generally have to do things well. In mid summer when the water is low and clear the resident rainbows simply don’t tolerate mistakes and catching one on a dry-fly in my mind is always an accomplishment. Usually each good fish takes some time.

girth 2

photo r dewey

Well, shortly after being directed to, “Go and catch a trout”, I caught one! If you fish a lot you know that it doesn’t usually work out this way. I was lucky, things just came together. Having a photographer nearby made getting some nice shots so much easier. It simplified things. I just had to focus on safely handling the trout.

fish me

photo r dewey

What I like best about some of the images taken is that they show the girth of the trout. That’s something I have trouble capturing when I’m taking pictures by myself. The rainbow is quite representative of the ones I catch there. I have caught more large trout on small dries there than on any other river along the continental divide, either side of the Medicine Line. The place is an ace.

1 shed

photo r dewey

 

girthbest

phoro r dewey

 

 

 

 

 

Prairie Scenes and a Few Winter Trout

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Some photos from the past two weeks while out winter fly fishing and windshield shots while driving to rivers…temperatures cool, river traffic low, trout kind of sleepy, prairie towns also sleepy.

nanton1

favorite pic

 

foothills town

main street, prairie town

 

smile barn

smiling barn

 

rough fish

rainbow trout ( had been caught before)

 

nanton2

foothill-prairie town

 

guide ice

ice on fly rod guides

 

bow river

bow river

 

cowcountry

bow brown

bow river brown trout, only tail on ice

 

cowboy scupture

sculpture

 

dist grain

prairie town

 

 

Swinging Flies to Jingle Bells

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The Winter Solstice is just around the corner and I’m still swinging flies and catching trout. I purchased a two-handed switch rod and have been practicing Spey casting the last couple of weekends. It’s going to be my winter project. The casting movement is certainly much easier on the shoulder especially when fishing a big wide open windy river.

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sw alberta brown trout

 

I was hoping to get away to somewhere exotic like Patagonia (check out First Cast Fly Fishing) or NZ this winter for some dry fly angling but I don’t think that I’ll get the time needed for a DIY trip. So, swinging flies it is.

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sw alberta tailwater river

 

All I need is the temperature to be somewhere around zero and it’s quite comfortable out there, even with the sun just barely arcing above the horizon. From noon until 4:30 works well. The fish seem opportunistic then. I keep the menu real simple: a small leech like pattern (black, dark brown or olive) with black rubber legs. Maybe it’s the wiggle; maybe not.

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Three weeks ago some trout were feeding in the riffles and hanging out in shallow drop offs. They were quite active. Lately most have been down deeper. I hauled one up the other day in cold weather and it had mittens on its fins.

no nose

brown trout

 

Since I’m not heading to the southern hemisphere I’ve been researching winter steelhead opportunities. There is an intriguing river ten hours from my home. It’s a bit of a hike but maybe I’ll get a chance to put a big bend in the two-hander. In the meantime I’ll keep practicing my technique.

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rainbow trout

 

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road home to the rockies