Mountain streams. Always pristine, cool and clear. In my region they are the home to Cutthroat trout. With the cool wet spring we’ve had they are still somewhat high and the water cold even though it’s July 9th. I’ve been waiting for the flows to recede and the water to warm so that hopefully insects start emerging and the Cutthroat start rising. After a couple hot summer days I fished two evenings in the mountains. The wading was challenging on the river I was on but I was able to criss-cross it and work my way upstream. I saw very few bugs: just a few drakes, a few pmds, a few small yellow stones and a few rusty spinners dancing above late day. It appears the mountain streams are just starting to come alive. They are waking-up. Here are the best of the several Cutthroat and Cuttbows that I did pull-up while prospecting the river with Haystack and Usual dry fly patterns…
Stetson named one of their hats, Open Road. Probably paying homage to the wide open West. Here are some images while fly fishing out on the Open Road… eleven days, three rivers in search of brown trout, a growing pup and a roof top tent on my truck. No Stetson or Cowboy boots. Instead, a ball cap and aging Simms wading boots. All trout caught on foot, with my eyes and on dries…
brown trout on small beetle
sage brush
mastering an angler ladder
a spring creek
checking out the hatch
5lbs plus brown, I’m in creek up to my suspenders, hoisted him on grass bank, quick shot.
The Mother Lagoon. I’ve read STORIES about it for years and have always wanted to visit and fish it. It’s far from my home. 2000 miles away far. What has intrigued me most about the lagoon is it’s extremely shallow and consistently so. And it’s usually clear. It stretches on for miles and is generally only inches to 2 or 3 feet deep. Really, just the slightest of water. I’ve also read that there is one area of the lagoon that has a firm white sand bottom. This allows a fly angler to sight fish on foot.
I’ve read STORIES that you can drive on the nearby beautiful seaside beach and camp on it for free. There aren’t many places like that left. Dogs can also run off leash there. That’s also a rarity. From the beach you can hike over the sand dunes to the lagoon.
It is a coastal region so it can get windy. Clouds and storms can also make it challenging. I’ve read STORIES you can walk and search a lot and often not see any or many fish. Sometimes they are just not in the area that you’ve chosen to explore. Sometimes, however, you do find fish prowling the sand flat for food. Sometimes some good ones. Saltwater ones. Feeding in just inches in water.
Of course STORIES are often just STORIES and being 2000 miles away it is hard to know what is fact, what is magnification and what is fiction. So I contacted someone who spends more days than most on the Mother Lagoon. I described my plan. I hoped they would reply. They graciously did and said: “Your plan is good”. They even offered some angling advice.
Here at home, 2000 miles north of the Laguna, my STORY is that it has been hot. Brutally hot. It was 38c or 100f the other day when I left a local river at 4 pm. I went to two different rivers that day both bottom release flows from reservoirs and therefore fairly cold. I fished in shorts, drank close to 2.5 liters of water, waded a lot to stay cool and found some fish rising. Here are a few nice trout taken in full sun on a size 16 Pale Morning Dun dry fly, CDC wing; and another on a Klinkhammer style tie with trailing shuck (see photo).
Hot. Let me repeat, Hot. Full sun. Blue skies. Everything is dry. Fire ban on. Forest fires one province over in BC. Smoke could be on the way.
On my favorite rivers few bugs. Hatches have been weak all summer long. Not many rising trout. You have to hunt to find the odd one. Challenging out there.
With the pandemic everyone seems to be outdoors camping. It’s real busy in my region. It’s busy on the rivers: rafters, kayakers, swimmers, and many, many anglers. More than usual. Can’t find parking in some of my favorite spots. Challenging out there.
Some photos from the past few weeks. All trout caught on small dry flies: mainly Pmds, Ants and Beetles.
Some early season simple dry flies, size 20. Can pass for little stone flies or midges. These have dun colored cdc wings but I also tie with black CDC wing or white for better visibility depending on light conditions.
Summer took forever to get here. And what has arrived feels like an impostor; an anemic fake. No real consistent heat. Warm one day, cool the next. Wet wading in shorts one day then layers of fleece and a wool hat the next. And from time to time, some real heavy rain to make things muddy. It’s hard to get in sync with local streams given the dramatic variability of the weather. And with that, hatches have been inconsistent; they’ve been all over the place.
July weather
The good news is Crowsnest river fish are big this year. Other rivers that I have put time on have also produced, not many, but some memorable trout which required a chase and a lot of rock hopping. Quality over quantity. I’ll take that exchange any day of the week.
tailwater rainbow on size 14 pmd dry
The other day I found myself in the middle of an unexpected golden stone-fly hatch. The tailwater river I was on is not known for this large insect. If some do make an appearance it is usually in early summer, not late July. Then again everything is late. July is like June. Maybe August will be like July. Maybe August will be like September. Maybe…
I had no stone-fly impressions. I fished the same water the day before (in the cold and heavy rain) and tossed mainly miniscule size 18 BWO and PMD emergers to bulging trout. With the giant stones skittering the surface the trout wouldn’t look at anything but the big bug. Why would you eat a single Bon Bon when you can have a whole Snickers bar?!
I lucked upon a fellow and his friend fishing a soft spot on the river. He was kind enough to give me a yellow stimulator (golden stone impression) from his fly box. Shortly after I hooked a fine brown trout that took me way downstream. I chased, once again rock hopping a long way.
Many thanks to Scott Smith I believe from Edmonton. Here’s the brown I wouldn’t have caught without his generosity.
brown trout on dry fly
Also, photos of other trout taken sight-fishing with dry flies and some SW Alberta scenery from the past 3 weeks…
tailwater rainbow on size 16 ant
beautiful crowsnest river
crowsnest river brown trout on pmd dry by Joe F.
thick crowsnest bow on size 16 pmd dry
crowsnest river
tailwater cutthroat on size 18 bwo
crowsnest river
tailwater rainbow, Joe F.
crowsnest river
tailwater rainbow, same fish as 2nd one on post
Joe F. with another Crowsnest river brown on dry/emerger
Summer. Warm. Long days. Great light for trout spotting. Trout are looking up. Main hatches on the tailwater river I’ve been on: little yellow stoneflies; pmd’s; some larger caddis. Here are a few trout taken sight fishing with dries this long weekend…
Local rivers are settling. Water temperatures are rising into the right zone and with that insects are making a strong appearance and trout are becoming much more active. I’m seeing a lot of the small stoneflies, especially hatches of Yellow Sallies. Here is a recent tie for the faster riffle sections: size 16.
And a tie for slower river sections, size 16.
Pale Morning duns are also starting. Like the Sallies they are light yellow/ cream in color. Some have a slight orange or pale green tint to them. I prefer this hatch as they ride the river surface for a fairly long time before taking flight. Trout can relax and sip on them.
The small fly hatches, unlike the big flies, tend to go on for weeks on end and some for months. They tend to be consistent and dependable. Last year I fished Pale Duns from late June into late September on one of the local tailwater rivers. That’s reliability!
Catching a large rising trout on a small fly is always a real challenge and quite special when a connection is made and one landed. Here are a few taken on small dries…
trout on dries 