Post by golferjeff on Aug 4, 2018 15:16:17 GMT -6
I just got back from spending 8 days in the Canadian Rockies outside Calgary, Alberta. Wow, what an amazing trip! The scenery and wildlife are amazing. This was the third year for our group put together by Orvis Plano and Steven Palmer. I personally believe it was the best yet. We spent five days in the mountains chasing Westslope Cutthroats and Bull Trout. An occasional cuttbow or mountain whitefish would round out the fare. Down near town on the Bow River, the catch was mostly 18-20" rainbows, but that part of the trip pretty much bored me since it was boats and structured days.
We fished several drainages. Oldman River, Fisher River, Castle River, Livingstone River, Racehorse Creek, and other small tributaries. It was all cutties on top and all bull trout if you chose to toss 6" weighted flies. I spent 1.5 days targeting Bulls and caught 7 total. The other 3.5 days was Cuttie fishing at its best. we put lots of miles on our boots - one day chasing bulls alone we did 7 miles. The action was steady for the most part, but each day the mountain thunderstorms would drop in and the fishing would be nuts. The storms brought clouds of Caddis and Green Drakes to the surface, and along with them, big fish. Most Cutties were 12-20" with a few bigger. westslopes aren't the most colorful of the subspecies, but in these mountains they get fat, strong, and eat like pigs. Typical mountain dries along with Green Drakes induced countless strikes. We occasionally tied on a dropper, but my go to rig was a stimmy trailed by a small beetle or flying ant. But when the drakes came off, that was all you needed. Size 8-10 - it was so easy fishing~!
We saw Eagles, black bears, minks, otters, hundreds of bird species, elk, mule deer, whitetail deer, mountain goats, and an occasional human not in our group. It was paradise. 65 degrees, rain every day, and glacier covered mountains all around us. The only negative part was the drive to the mountains from Calgary. 2 hours each way cut into the fishing. We are looking to do the trip next year just staying up in the Rockies in tents and travel trailers. Since it is light at 5:30 AM and doesn't get dark till almost 11pm, imagine the fishing you could do!
Here are some of the best pics from the trip.
_
Fat Cuttbow my PB Bull Trout 1st Cuttie of trip Juvenile Bull Underwater shot of Bull Trout Baby Bull with Colors Gorgeous Cuttbow 'Average' cuttie
We fished several drainages. Oldman River, Fisher River, Castle River, Livingstone River, Racehorse Creek, and other small tributaries. It was all cutties on top and all bull trout if you chose to toss 6" weighted flies. I spent 1.5 days targeting Bulls and caught 7 total. The other 3.5 days was Cuttie fishing at its best. we put lots of miles on our boots - one day chasing bulls alone we did 7 miles. The action was steady for the most part, but each day the mountain thunderstorms would drop in and the fishing would be nuts. The storms brought clouds of Caddis and Green Drakes to the surface, and along with them, big fish. Most Cutties were 12-20" with a few bigger. westslopes aren't the most colorful of the subspecies, but in these mountains they get fat, strong, and eat like pigs. Typical mountain dries along with Green Drakes induced countless strikes. We occasionally tied on a dropper, but my go to rig was a stimmy trailed by a small beetle or flying ant. But when the drakes came off, that was all you needed. Size 8-10 - it was so easy fishing~!
We saw Eagles, black bears, minks, otters, hundreds of bird species, elk, mule deer, whitetail deer, mountain goats, and an occasional human not in our group. It was paradise. 65 degrees, rain every day, and glacier covered mountains all around us. The only negative part was the drive to the mountains from Calgary. 2 hours each way cut into the fishing. We are looking to do the trip next year just staying up in the Rockies in tents and travel trailers. Since it is light at 5:30 AM and doesn't get dark till almost 11pm, imagine the fishing you could do!
Here are some of the best pics from the trip.
_ Fat Cuttbow my PB Bull Trout 1st Cuttie of trip Juvenile Bull Underwater shot of Bull Trout Baby Bull with Colors Gorgeous Cuttbow 'Average' cuttie
