trout on dries: Crowsnest River, Back Eddies

Monday 18 July 2011

Crowsnest River, Back Eddies

It is the second week of July and water in the Crow is still higher than usual but clear. The PMD hatch hasn't busted out like it has in some years past. They are around but not in great numbers. As a result, there are not a lot of bank feeders yet. In terms of hatches there are: some Green Drakes, the large kind, coming off of the water; little yellow stones; some caddis (rust and tan); still the occasional golden stone. The only place I'm seeing predictable rising fish is in the back eddies where flies are being circulated and therefore collecting in enough numbers to bring fish up to surface or to feed just subsurface. These spots have been reliable. I have spotted some great fish on banks but few and you have to really look as they are feeding very subtly and not with great frequency as there is not a steady parade of mayflies. I took a picture of a beautiful rainbow I caught the other day and will post it next time I blog. I also took some pictures of the Crow. The water is still very cool: around 50f, mid day. A lot of the locations that I often search for shallow water trout are still a little too high and fast to hold fish and see them sip flies. Hopefully the water will continue to drop and hatch densities will improve so that there will be more dry fly opportunities. Everything is late this year.

Went to the Lower Oldman other evening to check it out. Flows there are double what they usually are and water visibility not great, 2ft. Flows: 90-80 cubic meters. Water levels are also high. I saw lots of bugs and some river locations that are slow enough to have feeding fish. Lots of little stone flies and PMD spinners (rusty). If water drops lower in next couple of weeks river could start producing great dry fly fishing in evenings and mornings if not too windy.

I went up to fish the Upper Oldman above the Gap and will describe that experience in another blog. The water temperature there mid day was 47F.