Flies to tie for the highwood.
 

So it just so happens that I am actually getting some time to do a bit of fishing while down for a wedding early in July.
All of my fly-fishing experience has been on Vancouver island fishing for small cutties or river run salmon so when it comes to knowing what flies to tie in preparation for my trip I am completely lost. I am staying within 10 minutes of where the highwood meets the bow so that is likely where I will be focusing my efforts.
What types of flies should I be focusing on? I would love to be able to fling a few dries but I understand if that's not the way to go at this time of year.

Leech, prince nymph, and san juans under a float work well.
As far as dries you can never go wrong having caddis of all sizes and colours but mostly tan.
Pale morning dun, Golden stones, tricos and hoppers are all deadly there and don't forget yellow and orange stimulators
I find the hoppers work well along the banks at dusk....the browns will gobble those up! hahha

Awesome thanks a lot! I would love to hook into a nice brown as I have yet to ever catch one. I will have to dig into my mess of foam and see what I can create.

My favourite is a red stimulator with dark brown hair and hackle with a copper John dropper 2.5-3’ below. Always been my best producer for any mountain river especially the highwood

I have never caught a brown in the Highwood. I am sure some make it up from the Bow, but rainbows and cutthroat are primary fare.

Runoff is over early, so first week of July will be prime time. Nymph selection is fairly easy. A golden stone and a copper john or hares ear will cover 90% of nymph fishing.

There are some go-to generics patterns for mountain streams: fur ant, chernobyl ant, stimulator, caddis, and adams. However, the difference between a good day and an amazing day on the mountain streams is having the right patterns in your fly box. I am not sure how much effort you are willing to invest, but having some green drakes and PMDs if you can experience and match a legitimate hatch, it can be mind-blowing.

The Bow river itself can be very good too. Fish are a little harder to find (as an angler, the river itself is filled with fish), but they can get quite big.

ok fair enough. i am fairly equal distance from the bow and highwood so i guess il have to try and hit both!:sHa_shakeshout:
this may turn out pretty good as the flies you are suggesting are all among the patterns i used for my trip last year so if i can get a few more sizes and maybe a few more ants i should be set!
i like to think im serious but in all honesty with the amount that i have fished in the last few years my casting now resembles something along the lines of an old lady combating a bee with a broomhandle so my expectations are not high. right now the plan is to get out and be on a river and anything else is an added bonus.

Seriously lol'ed.

You will not be disappointed then. With the early reports from the Highwood and how the Bow has been fishing lately, fishing should rise from 'really good' to 'stellar'.

PM me closer to your travel date for an accurate sit-rep on the rivers.

This X 2....Fish tales has really realistic green may fly patterns that absolutely slay on the highwood. I would grab a few if you get a chance.

Kinda depends where on the high wood and what you plan on targeting. Most of my fishing there has been out west, dries for the cutties and streamers for the bulls. Adams, elk hair caddis, green drake, iron blue dun have worked for me at various times.

It will likely be near where the highwood meets the bow. And quite honestly I'll target whatever will rise to a dry if possible. It's been so long since I've been on a river that if someone told me we were chucking dough balls for suckers I'd go.

Thanks! I can't wait. I will definitely hit you up on that when I go.

So I made it out and even managed to catch some fish! I'm not sure whether it was me or the fish but I had no luck on the highwood so I hiked down to the bow. I didn't have any luck on dries though not for lack of trying so I finally switched to nymphs.
I found the most luck with a Kaufman's stonefly with a small prince nymph dropper.
Although I only caught 3 fish I managed to catch the biggest trout I have ever had on a flyrod. He may not be a monster but Im happy and that's all that matters.
http://imgur.com/YDUpRAG.jpg

Awesome, nice to hear you had some luck. The Bow is a great river.

This Yellow Stonefly has been a favorite dry (as shown) or wet (tied with grey squirrel tail) on Alberta trout streams for me...
https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4773/...7474ec45_c.jpg
Also, Deer Hair Caddis (dry/wet) have been consistently good...
https://news.orvis.com/images/01-fly...-sep/lyle5.jpg
Joes Hopper is another one for the summer (mid to late)...
http://stevenojai.tripod.com/images/joehop/joehop.jpg