Oldman and Crowsnest River Report, June 18, 2013

Spring and early Summer:  " It is the sun shining on the rain and the rain falling on the sunshine"
-Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret Garden

I was on local rivers this weekend and Monday night. Saturday afternoon I spent a couple of hours on the Crowsnest river looking for risers. I spotted none in spite of covering some territory. I returned one evening this week after some rain and hail, and it fished well in the low light and humidity. It felt like summer. There was a rumbling storm in the distance, some surface disturbances and a few takes on a dry fly. They were solid "Crow" fish with a lot of pull in them.

crowsnest river rainbow

I spent late morning and mid-day on Sunday checking out the Lower Oldman river. Usually at this time of year it is high, fast and turbid. This year, mid-June, it is quite fishable. I have never experienced that in the 12 years I've fished it. Usually you have to wait until mid-July for it to drop and clear for any sort of consistent dry fly angling. No two angling seasons are ever the same.

The visibility on the lower Oldman was 2 to 3 feet. When I arrived at the river there was some cloud cover and quite a few bugs were on the water: mainly mid-sized yellow stones, some size 12 mayflies and in the afternoon just a few PMD's appeared. I caught some fish on dries casting to boils and spotted the odd trout sporadically eating on top. The ones I landed were mid-sized fish....one was a bit better. The largest fish I intended to photograph but it wasn't cooperative; so no fish pics from the Oldman. Things were looking very promising but when the full sun appeared in the afternoon it became a ghost town...no more surface action except one small Brown trout feeding in the shadow of the bridge. Some other anglers were around. One fellow was practicing Spey casting and dreaming of Steelhead. Boat trailers were also around so a few people were drifting the river. I walked downstream quite far when the sun squelched the angling to investigate how recent run-off has re-shaped the river. I spotted an upright picnic table in the middle of the river on a shoal. Here is a snap of it. I'll eat lunch there sometime this summer. Maybe use it as a casting platform!

picnic table, oldman river

The Lower Oldman looks real promising. I might check it out again after work later this week if it stays warm and fish it late (in low light).

Because it's the beginning of summer, angling memories are just waiting to happen.

Crowsnest River Report, Mid- April 2013

Winter returned to the Crowsnest Pass this weekend. At least one foot of snow accumulated. Increased snow pack will pay dividends in August. I managed to negotiate the slippery roads and get to two rivers: the Lower Oldman and Crowsnest where I checked out several reliable dry fly spots. The midge hatch was fairly good, but there was no sign of life: no risers; no surface disturbances at all, just jumbo snow flakes melting into the mercurial river's surface. The rainbow and brown trout appeared to be hunkered down; probably watching golf on TV. The white river banks were flecked with many small dark midges and little stones. There was also a few big bugs, Skwala. The water temperature at both places was around 39-40F. It all looked so, so promising and I thought I'd catch a couple on top, but the Trout said "No". To stay warm I did some walking and took photos.

Here is a snap of the Crowsnest river in a snow storm:

Here are some snowy riverside shots:

 

Lots of midges in a small back eddy:

Beautiful horses near my home:

Crowsnest River Banks, Healthy vs Damaged

Canada is know for its Banks. Our Banks are seen as solid and stable. Our Banks are envied around the world. Britain even snatched the Governor of our Banks.

Below is a good, solid Canadian Bank. It is a Crowsnest River Bank.

healthy crowsnest river bank

 

intact crowsnest river bank

Below is a poor, weak Bank. It is also a Crowsnest River Bank.




unhealthy crowsnest river bank

cow trodden crowsnest river bank

 

The difference between the two Banks is the good, solid one hasn't had Cows on it and the poor, weak one has. The weak one has been trampled by the heavy creatures and is caving in. Also, the Cows have eaten much of the stream side vegetation which keeps the soil in place. When Banks cave in a river broadens, becomes shallower, and the water becomes warmer and murky. Water quality suffers and cold water species like Trout disappear.

If you keep Cows off of a river and leave the riparian vegetation alone (don't cut it down), the Banks will stay intact. Large wildlife like deer don't degrade Banks.

Pristine water is a rarity. You'd think we would want to keep the few cool, clear streams that we have left.

Here is a good solid Bank. I have often seen deer sleeping here.

 

 

 

Here is a damaged Bank.

Crowsnest River Fishing, August 11, 2012

cutthroat adipose fin

I've been on the Crow the last 2 evenings. The dry fly fishing has been tough. August can be tough. In spite of the weak PMD hatch I managed to locate a couple nice trout eating dries. I missed one feeding in a difficult location but landed the other. The fish in the back eddies are mainly on emergers but I did spot a few eating PMD duns. The PMD's are much smaller now probably size 18 and under. And the fish eating them are more discerning especially in the slow sections. The river is low and you have to be real careful when wading the flat water. Slow down and look hard. You have to hunt for them. The odd one out there is still sipping. Challenging angling... long leaders.

There are grasshoppers around.

Crowsnest River Report, July 21, 2012

A couple of great fish started rising to pmd's as soon as the sun left the river. It was about 8:30 pm when they showed themselves. I had spotted one of them rising mid day to pmd's and pmd spinners several days ago when fishing with a friend. I returned tonight to see if the rainbow would be up and feeding. I sat and waited for one hour and one half. The pmd hatch was sluggish. However, the fish did show itself when the sunlight left the river. Then another large fish started sipping higher in the pool, again on a shallow bank. I caught both on a size 18 pmd cripple; a Bob Quigley style. Two great bank fish in a foot or so of water. The lighting was perfect to see it all unfold: the rise, the take...
Pmd's are the main hatch and what good fish are rising to. I continue to see some lime sallies and lots of midges buzzing on the water. River temperature is still in low 50's F with all the rain. The water has dropped a lot but is still above seasonal levels.