Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Fishing Reports June 30

Bow River Report –June 30, 2010

The wet weather is but a memory now, the river looks really juicy, and water levels are dropping.

Dry fly fishing has been good, especially in the morning hours and then again late. PMDs and Caddis are present in good numbers with fish eating them. Stoneflies are present as well with some fish starting to get on them.

Nymph fishing has been quite good. Large Stones being the best bet right now.

Streamer fishing of late (last 4 days) has ranged everywhere from superb to really tough. Some banks and structures offering aggressive fish, other normally great water producing very little. Overall, streamer fishing has been pretty good with some real big fish being caught. Large, dark streamers that sink fast have been the best but as the water clears smaller streamers will be effective as well.


Hatches: PMD’s, Caddis, Stoneflies.

Streamers: Bush’ Witch Doctor, Silvey’s Sculpin Leech (Black w/ Olive, White Head), Clousers, Karnopp’s Stream-A Stone, Hickman’s Party Boy

Nymphs: Fox’s Beech Creek, Morrish’s WMD (Dark Stone), Hogan’s Chubby Cousin, Bloom’s Tung Dart, Gob-O-Worms.

Dry Flies: PMD Sparkle Dun, Quill Body Parachute-PMD, Silvey’s Hatching Mayfly-PMD, Bloom’s Parachute Caddis, Bloom’s CDC Caddis, Berretts Barred Leg-Golden Stone.

Crowsnest River Report – June 30, 2010

The Crow has dropped back down to 12 CMS, a more normal level for this time of year. As a result you can find some dry fly fishing at the Crowsnest now.

Big foam bugs can produce well right now or you can fish a big nymph through the riffles and gravel bars. Great time to catch a bunch of fish.

Hatches: Golden Stones, Yellow and Lime Sally Stoneflies, Caddis

Streamers: Brunette Leech, Chamois Leech.

Nymphs: Pheasant-Tail, Hare's Ear, Copper John, Tung Stud, and San Juan Worm

Dries: Berrett’s Barred Leg Stone, Neversink Caddis, Fat Albert-Black


High Country River Report – June 30, 2010

River levels and visibility are all much improved. Most everything is about normal for early July. High water but decent visibility

Hatches: Stoneflies, Caddis, PMD’s

Nymphs: Fox’s Beech Creek, Morrish’s WMD (Dark Stone), Hogan’s Chubby Cousin, Bloom’s Tung Dart

Dries: Berretts Barred Leg-Golden Stone, Yummy Mummy, Neversink Stone, Neversink Caddis.

Streamers: Large Olive or White, heavily weighted patterns for Bull Trout.

Gulf Satellite Photos

A recent photo-like image of the Gulf from the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA’s Terra satellite. Leaked oil appears as a maze of silvery-gray ribbons. Twice-daily images of the Gulf of Mexico are available from the MODIS Rapid Response Team in additional resolutions and formats, including a georeferenced version that can be used in Google Earth.

http://modis.gsfc.nasa.gov/

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Another Pig on a Party Boy!

Fishing is starting to pick up here and there. Here's a pretty good example
of why we love early season high water streamer fishing.

George Beasley Jr. picked this girl up on the Party Boy. Such a wonderful bug!



Monday, June 28, 2010

Bow River Report

Mike and I got out for a float in the city yesterday. The river is running with little more than a foot of visibility, but with enough flows to finally start to push fish to the banks.
The fishing was very inconsistent, with times of absolute mayhem, to hours of the dull-drums. We stuck with fishing big flies off of the banks, as well as some of the bars and buckets.

We found the vast majority of our fish off the banks, and had most of our success with Hickman's Party Boy and Silvey's Sculpin Leech. To put it simply, bigger was better.

Once we get a little more clarity, the river should be amazing. There were an absolute ton of caddis and a fair sized PMD hatch through the mid day.

Pictures to be added soon!

Sunday, June 27, 2010

New Fishing Books Part 2

New titles, Old titles you might not have seen.......


Fly Patterns for Stillwaters
Sure to be a long-standing reference for stillwater fly patterns, this book covers link between understanding the food base within lakes to designing effective fly patterns. All major trout food sources for entire year are covered, plus how to tie a representative pattern & fish it effectively. Numerous proven stillwater patterns are given. 104 pgs.


Tying Furled Flies-Patterns for Trout, Bass, and Steelhead
Introduces readers to furling, the technique of twisting materials together. Furling has unlimited potential for creating distinctive mottled & variegated patterns to imitate some of the common (& not so common) foods that trout, bass, & steelhead feed on. 500 color photos; 144 pgs.


Modern Midges
The most comprehensive midge pattern & fishing techniques resource to date. Shows the life cycle of the naturals, fishing & rigging techniques for a wide range of waters, & 1,000+ midge patterns. 44 B&W illus, 1343 color photos; 288 pages.

Midges may be small, but in many streams and lakes around the world they are the most important year-round food source for trout. Rick Takahashi and Jerry Hubka team up to provide readers with the most comprehensive midge pattern and fishing techniques resource to date. Stunning photos and detailed illustrations show the life cycle of the naturals, fishing and rigging techniques for a wide range of waters, and over 1,000 midge patterns. Whether you tie or buy your flies, this collection of cutting-edge advice from experts around the world will help you catch more fish.

• First comprehensive book of contemporary midge patterns
• Over 1,000 midge patterns and recipes from around the world, including the United States, United Kingdom, Japan, and Canada
• Tying steps for 15 essential pattern styles
• Fishing techniques, tips, and tricks from experts on rivers and stillwaters

Additional Titles Now In Stock Include:
High Rollers, Fly Fishing for Giant Tarpon. Bill Bishop Jr.
Clouser Flies. Bob Clouser.
Angling the World, 10 Spectacular Adventures in Fly Fishing. Roy Tanami.
Good Life Wasted or Twenty Years as a Fishing Guide. Dave Ames.
And other great titles from John Geirach and Thomas McGuane.

Saturday, June 26, 2010

New Fishing Books Just Arrived Part 1

Some of our choices. Just a few of the bunch of new books and DVDs just arrived.


Of Wind & Tides
A delightful autobiography of one of the world's true fishing legends. Starting in the 1930s, it tells of Apte's Naval service & Pan Am duties that took him to the exotic places where he honed his fishing skills, continues through the years of Apte's life with a variety of chapters on fishing with some of the sporting world's greatest celebrities, hosting star-studded fishing trips. Sure to entice the fishing world--from beginners to veterans. 496 pgs.


Dances with Sharks
Few experiences can compare to a shark attack while casting to world record bonefish to help put a diagnosis of cancer in perspective. Fly-fishing winds like an interactive time machine through the pages of this book. These short stories, in the classic tradiiton, are funny, informative, poignant, & filled w/ enough action to keep you up reading late into the night.


Great Fishing Lodges of North America: Fly Fishing's Finest Destinations
Escape on the fishing trip of your dreams in this exclusive tour of North America’s most storied fishing lodges. Picture yourself on the premiere streams, rivers, lakes, & coasts with a fly rod in hand. A must-have for the fisherman who dreams of taking the once-in-a-lifetime trip, or wants to bring the “lodge lifestyle” home. 200 Color Photos; 240 pgs.

Lafontaine's Legacy
Lafontaine's methods changed fly tying in America. The 26 patterns with proper tying instructions detailed here are the final legacy of him. The Beattys provide thorough tying instructions which are accompanied by vivid color photos to depict the various stages of creating each pattern on the tying bench as well as the completed fly. Documents an important piece of American fly-fishing history. 128 pgs.

Also check our selection of recently arrived DVD's:
Spey to Z. Topher Browne.
Fly Fishing Stillwater Secrets. Jack Dennis
Raising the Ghost, Dry Fly Steelheading. Fly Boys.
Running Down the Man.
Hustle and Fish.
Rollcast Productions.
Articulated Streamers. Kelly Galloup.
Streamer Flies for Trophy Trout. Kelly Galloup.
Tying and Fishing Stillwater.
Brian Chan.

Thursday, June 24, 2010

What's The World Coming To?

The Whoppa App has arrived!

A 2-in-1 app that enables you to keep a detailed personal log of all your catches AND get up-to-date information on what's working for others in your location.

How many times have you walked past a fellow fly fisherman on the banks, and in passing you enquire, "Had any luck? Oh really... what with...?" Well, this is what this app is about: instant access to local knowledge. That, and being able to keep your own detailed record of all the catches that you make – learning and remembering from your successes in the past is invaluable, and the app does the remembering bit so you can simply reap the rewards.

With GPS capability to pinpoint your location on googlemaps and automatic date and time entries, it's never been simpler to log a catch. You can add as much detail as you like with options such as techniques, equipment, species, weight and length, fly type, hook size, season, weather, water type and water body... you can even add a picture. All the information will be automatically stored on your phone with the added option of being able to upload it to your account on the Whoppa website for safe-keeping.

And, if you want to see what's working for other fisherman at your spot, just click the "Recent Catches at This Spot" button to pick up some top tips and handy information. You can even adjust your retrieval area within a 1-mile, 5-mile, and 10-mile radius. With so much knowledge at your fingertips, Whoppa is your secret weapon to building an impressive catch portfolio.

http://www.whoppa.net/iphone

Wednesday, June 23, 2010

Fishing blues



My mojo has been a little out of wack for the last month and a bit, my days off from the shop and evenings on the river have just never lined up. Looking for caddis and finding none, while a friend calls me from the other side of the river raving about the rising fish. Going 2 out of a dozen when the caddis fish were finally found. The most recent bad luck was losing a freshly stocked nymph box, giving up looking for it after donating my sunglasses to the river. I got out on the Bow yesterday (June 16th) hoping for some high water streamer action, to find the river in amazing shape. An hour without a grab, I changed up to a Witchdoctor and moved a fish almost immediately. Finally! I thought.

Then the rain started. If you`ve never been in an Alberta “monsoon”, they aren`t something to get stuck in. The water rose 20 cubic meters per second (700 cfs) in a matter of hours, and the perfect streamer water quickly turned into 4 inches of visibility with logs flowing down the river. The bad mojo was back.

Let`s hope it fixes itself by the time the Goldens are out.

Once the water gets a little more consistent, so will the streamer fishing. PMDs have been spotted below the city, and once we get some warmth and clarity they should be the bug of choice.

The Eastern Slope streams have opened with their typical muddy conditions, and not much to talk about. Once July rolls around be ready with Green Drakes and Stoneflies.
-Brent Piche

Originally posted on Idylwilde's Blog http://idylwilde.com/wordpress/2010/06/mojo-or-lack-of/
Check them out for some great stories, pictures and other things "marinated in awesomeness"

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

FISHING REPORTS

Bow River Report –June 22, 2010
The heavy rains of last week have adversely affected the visibility in the river. Flows out of Banff, albeit fairly high, are clear but the Elbow is quite dirty, leading to the dirtier water. Visibility is around 6 inches right now. Things should clear up if the weather stays dry.

Even with the dirty water you can still catch fish. Heavier, dark, large streamers fished in the buckets and around gravel bars are working well.

The high water nymph rigs are certainly the ticket right now. A worm pattern, combined with a larger Stonefly nymph fished right along the bottom will work very well.

Unfortunately the river level did not come up high enough to really push fish into the banks so a lot of the mid-river structures and “outside” lines on seams and runs still produce the most fish.

Lots of PMDs around, with just a little more clarity that should get going again
(maybe by the weekend). Been seeing a few Golden shucks around as well, should be soon.

Remember to get your Angling License online at www.albertarelm.com
Takes about 2 minutes.

Hatches: PMD’s, Caddis

Streamers: Party Boy, Bush’ Witch Doctor, Silvey’s Sculpin Leech (Black w/ Olive, White Head), Clousers, Karnopp’s Stream-A Stone

Nymphs: Fox’s Beech Creek, Morrish’s WMD (Dark Stone), Hogan’s Chubby Cousin, Bloom’s Tung Dart, Gob-O-Worms.

Dry Flies: PMD Sparkle Dun, Quill Bod Parachute-PMD, Silvey’s Hatching Mayfly-PMD, Bloom’s Parachute Caddis.
High, colored water can offer great opportunities to catch large Browns and Rainbows!

Crowsnest River Report – June 22, 2010
The Crow, like everything else in the southern part of the province, got really pummeled by rain last week. Flows went from 12 CMS the 27 CMS overnight.

Dry weather would be a big help right now!!1

Hatches: Stonefiles, March Browns, BWO

Streamers: Brunette Leech, Chamois Leech.

Nymphs: Pheasant-Tail, Hare's Ear, Copper John, Tung Stud, and San Juan Worm

Dries: Berrett’s Barred Leg Stone, Neversink Caddis, Film Critic-BWO

High Country River Report – June 22, 2010
The high country streams suffered from last weeks rains. As of late week the Oldman, Livingstone, etc. were all very high and dirty.

The Highwood is fishable above Cataract but absolutely pooched below. Just a quick thanks to the Provinces INSANE logging practices. For those who want evidence, go take a look at Cataract campground. NO MORE TREES!

Hatches:

Nymphs:

Dries:

Streamers:

Sunday, June 20, 2010

Saturday, June 19, 2010

PMDs Are Here!

Short little video shot the other day.....

PMDs June 15, 2010 from Mike Gifford on Vimeo.



Also, vote for Sean Furlong's Cubera Snapper on the Moldy Chum Slab o' the Month!. It's on the left hand side!

Thursday, June 17, 2010

They're Here!!!!!!!!!!!!!


They're here. Those pretty cream sailboats of Spring. Yes, that's right! The PMD's are hatching. Saw a few over the weekend, quite a few on Monday, and lots on Tuesday.

And even better.....Fish are eating them.



Just another footnote in what has been the goofiest year ever. Wildflowers are late, wild grasses are late, snowing in Banff this morning, and the PMD's are one to two weeks early.

Just another thing added to the list of "What we really don't know".

Bow River Update June 17 8 AM

Seems that our Bow river report was accurate for about 6 hours. Rain yesterday afternoon, through the night, and today, have brought the river up quite a bit (levels are actually about where they should be in a normal year. Finally!)

So, for the next few days we will see high flows and significantly reduced visibility on the river. With more stable weather this shouldn't last too long (who knows this year!). For the long term....we finally get a good push of water. The river needs it and should fish better because of it.

We'll keep everyone up to date over the next few days to let you know how it's shaping up.

Wednesday, June 16, 2010

Bow River Fishing Report June 16

Bow River Report –June 16, 2010

Well, a few changes since last week…. The last cold snap seemed to almost completely eradicate the Caddis. They are infrequent n numbers over the last few days. Even the heat over the weekend failed to jumpstart them again.

However…Who cares as the PMD’s have been getting heavier and heavier over the last number of days. As of yesterday there were lots of bugs and fish eating them.

The water has taken a little bit (OK, about 20%) of a jump in flow on Tuesday/Wednesday but remains in good shape for visibility. This is the time we all wait for all winter. Big, dumb Brown Trout in the high water.

Nymphing should be quite good over the next while with the higher flows. Big Stones and Worms should be the ticket.

Streamers…. Big, nasty, dark, and heavy!! The streamer fishing should get better and better if the water stays around 1 to 2 foot visibility. 200 and 250 grain sink tips will increase your success.

Remember to get your Angling License online at www.albertarelm.com
Takes about 2 minutes.

Hatches: PMD’s, Caddis

Streamers: Party Boy, Bush’ Witch Doctor, Silvey’s Sculpin Leech (Black w/ Olive, White Head), Clousers, Karnopp’s Stream-A Stone

Nymphs: Fox’s Beech Creek, Morrish’s WMD (Dark Stone), Hogan’s Chubby Cousin, Bloom’s Tung Dart, Gob-O-Worms.

Dry Flies: PMD Sparkle Dun, Quill Bod Parachute-PMD, Silvey’s Hatching Mayfly-PMD, Bloom’s Parachute Caddis.

Christmas Island Slide Show

Kind of a cool slide show put together by Neil Jennings
after one of our trips back in 2004.

Christmas Island Slide Show from Mike Gifford on Vimeo.

Saturday, June 12, 2010

First Time Tarpon

Curtis Bartlett went saltwater fly fishing for the first time this past May.
Below are a couple of phots of his very first Tarpon.

Not a bad start!

The grimace on his face in the photo on the right is not from lifting the Tarpon, it is actually the sudden realization that any plans for "partial retirement" have now been completely messed up by a new, addictive habit. Seems the blame has fallen completely on me and Curtis is not speaking to me...until it's time to go again!

Friday, June 11, 2010

Stephen Doolan......Way to go!!

Not to be outdone by his skiff partner, Steve caught his first ever Permit within a half hour of Greg's.

A few hours later he also had his first Grand Slam. Awesome!

By the way Steve, the Pool dunking is standard procedure for a first Permit! Ask anybody.


Greg Moffat gets a Permit

Another congratulations from all of us at CP goes to Greg Moffat for his first ever Permit and Grand Slam at the end of May.

Mike Schaalje's First Permit

The week of May 15-22 saw Mike Schaalje catch his first Permit, at Cayo Largo, Cuba.

In addition, he caught a Grand Slam that day as well!

Pretty cool for his second time Permit fishing. He actually hooked a Permit on his first trip but "Murphy" stepped in and broke it off.

Conratulations from everyone at CP.

Congrats to Dave Pryce

Just a quick "way to go!" for Dave Pryce, for his first ever Grand Slam,
from all of us at CP.

The Permit, Bonefish, and Tarpon were caught May 24 at Cayo Largo, Cuba.

Couldn't happen to a nicer guy.

Wednesday, June 9, 2010

Floatant 'Techniques'

A common question we see in the shop, is what floatant we choose and why. So here's our typical floatant assortment that we use throughout the day while fishing.

Loon Aquel:

Our favourite silicon based floatant is Loon Outdoor's Aquel. Not only does it seem to float flies better then other liquid floatants, it also doesn't become an unusable liquid on 30+ degree days.

Squirt some onto your fingers, and rub until the floatant liquifies. Then apply to your fly and leader to start the day. Throughout the day apply to your fly and then use Top Ride for the most efficient float.

Do NOT use on flies that contain CDC, as you'll goop the CDC and not have a very useful fly.


Loon Top Ride:
You'll commonly hear this referred to as 'Shake and Bake'. Probably the most useful floatant we've found, this product contains a power floatant, as well as desiccant to pull to moisture from your bug. Place your fly into the contain while on the leader, close the lid and shake. Pull the fly out and blow off any remaining powder. Your fly should be good to go. This is the preferred method for CDC flies after they've been chewed on.



Using these two products in unison really does make a difference. After your fly has started to sink a bit, dry it off as best you can, apply aquel and then dip it in the 'shake'. You'll be set for your next rising fish!

ps. Probably one of the leading problems with flies and leaders not floating, is a sinking fly line. Be sure to care for your fly lines, and if the line is cracking, it's probably time to get yourself a new one!

Good fishing!