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Old 06-05-2018, 08:30 AM
deeman deeman is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Calgary
Posts: 47
Default Fly Fishing Trip on the back 40

Good Day all, hopefully most of you are able to find a spot to wet the line these days and enjoying some of the weather we have been getting. I would like to preface this as I am not looking for anyone's sweet spot/Honey Hole, but more for a pointer in the right direction or guidance per say as I am travelling with my 2 sons who are still learning the fine art of Fly Fishing. With that said I am planning a multiday trip undetermined as of the length yet, I am thinking 7-10 days at the end of July where we will be heading south of Calgary to HWY 40 and then heading North to a friends place outside of Sundre. We will be stopping at rivers, streams, and some lakes which I have primarily mapped out, but this is where I would appreciate some input as to access points.
Sheep River- I have fished it and familiar with access
Highwood- Never fished and looking for some insight. Like just outside of Longview looks pretty good from Google Maps with deep pools but also looks like all private access??? In the Eden Valley area doesn't look to bad but agian access? Where to park and hike up and down the River?
Upper/Lower K Lakes- Maybe try a day from the Pontoon, depends I may want multi days on the Highwood.

After 3-4 days in the south I am heading to a Friend's place outside of Sundre and we are going to hit the:
Upper Red Deer- Never fished but access doesn't look to be an issue
Panther- Never fished, still researching, my friend says he knows a few sweet spots
and the Clearwater if time permits. We will be Camping/Hoteling (haven't decided) and I realize this may be a fairly ambitious and tight schedule, but I wanted to do a homewater trip this year and learn more about our home rivers. Never know I may not plan as many trips to BC as I have in the past. Thanks in advance for anyone's input/advice all will be very appreciated.
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  #2  
Old 06-05-2018, 09:07 AM
scel scel is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 521
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Originally Posted by deeman View Post
Sheep River- I have fished it and familiar with access
Highwood- Never fished and looking for some insight. Like just outside of Longview looks pretty good from Google Maps with deep pools but also looks like all private access??? In the Eden Valley area doesn't look to bad but agian access? Where to park and hike up and down the River?
Upper/Lower K Lakes- Maybe try a day from the Pontoon, depends I may want multi days on the Highwood.
OK. You have hit a soft spot. I make it a strict policy to not talk about any river specifically other than 'the big 3': Bow, Red Deer, and North Sask rivers. I never had a chance to go fishing with my dad.

South of Highway 1, I would probably hit 3 rivers. Livingstone, Cataract Creek, and Highwood.

The Cataract Creek campground is a good home base for a couple of days. It is a little expensive, but well-maintained. Livingstone is surrounded by crown land. Access it anywhere below the falls for amazingly eager cutties. Cataract creek is a neat fishery because of the sheer abundance of little brook trout. They are not big, but the action can be non-stop and a great place for kids. As well, exploring the beaver dam areas can produce some good sized brookies. There are a dozen or so access points for the Highwood west of Longview. The landowners have allowed some blanket access. You can see the yellow signs. The only place I would recommend not accessing it is near Eden Valley---it is a reservation and they tend not to like it if you are on their side of the river. I made the mistake while walking upstream. I was asked very nicely to fish on the other side of the river, which, of course, i did promptly, but I would have rather avoided the confrontation all together. With the Highwood, you can get 'trapped' meaning you will have to climb out of the valley to get around a structure. There is a campground that provides a good access point or at least a reference point.

I would avoid the Sheep and K-Lakes unless I was on a bull trout only mission. The Sheep can be productive at times. It is close to my house, so I can make a trip to the Sheep in about the same time it often takes me to get to the Bow. The sheep can produce prodigious amounts of whitefish, but it has taken me a few years to hone in where and how to fish and a success evening out will produce 2-3 trout, usually with 3km or so of hiking.

K-Lakes has always been a disappointment. It is a beautiful area with some incredibly mediocre fishing. Again, if you are targeting bull trout, it is possible to pull some out, but I would put my efforts into something a little more productive if I had my kids in tow.

I have much less experience north of hwy1. I hope this helps you out.
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Old 06-05-2018, 10:42 AM
deeman deeman is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Calgary
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OK. You have hit a soft spot. I make it a strict policy to not talk about any river specifically other than 'the big 3': Bow, Red Deer, and North Sask rivers. I never had a chance to go fishing with my dad.

South of Highway 1, I would probably hit 3 rivers. Livingstone, Cataract Creek, and Highwood.

The Cataract Creek campground is a good home base for a couple of days. It is a little expensive, but well-maintained.
Thank you scel,
Way more information than I was ever expecting, and I especially like the suggestion on the Campground. Great home base for those suggested rivers.

I have heard that the K lakes are very hard to fish and doing a bit more research since the post this morning I may leave those for an early season session.

I would love to just target Bulls only and maybe that can be on one of the days, but I think your suggestions are much better for some novice Fly Fishers to get them some confidence with Brookies/Cutties in the begining of the trip.

Thank you again scel, all the best and tight lines
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Old 06-06-2018, 12:53 AM
scel scel is offline
 
Join Date: Aug 2011
Posts: 521
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Thank you scel,
Way more information than I was ever expecting, and I especially like the suggestion on the Campground. Great home base for those suggested rivers.

I have heard that the K lakes are very hard to fish and doing a bit more research since the post this morning I may leave those for an early season session.

I would love to just target Bulls only and maybe that can be on one of the days, but I think your suggestions are much better for some novice Fly Fishers to get them some confidence with Brookies/Cutties in the begining of the trip.

Thank you again scel, all the best and tight lines
My pleasure. Do me one small favour please---teach your kids how to pinch the barbs of their hooks. The Livingstone and Highwood see a lot of fishing pressure. There are lots of fish to catch, but some of them are pretty beat up. I hope, one day, you can take your grandkids too!

There are bulls in the Oldman/Livingstone. You can easily hunt for bulls while your kids practice on the cutties. The first time I took my wife out, within 10 minutes she had hooked her first cutty, and then a big bull trout started chasing it around the pool.

Good luck. Let me know how it goes!
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Old 06-06-2018, 06:24 AM
deeman deeman is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Calgary
Posts: 47
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Originally Posted by scel View Post
My pleasure. Do me one small favour please---teach your kids how to pinch the barbs of their hooks. The Livingstone and Highwood see a lot of fishing pressure. There are lots of fish to catch, but some of them are pretty beat up. I hope, one day, you can take your grandkids too!

There are bulls in the Oldman/Livingstone. You can easily hunt for bulls while your kids practice on the cutties. The first time I took my wife out, within 10 minutes she had hooked her first cutty, and then a big bull trout started chasing it around the pool.

Good luck. Let me know how it goes!
scel,
We have been in the practice as we have fished in BC quite a bit, but I am sure I could be more diligent about it.

Thanks again for the great advice and guidance, I am sure these waters will make a difference in our trip, with it being our first ever boys only outing. I will definately let you know how it all turns out.

Tight Lines
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  #6  
Old 06-06-2018, 03:48 PM
spin spin is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2017
Posts: 68
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Scel has some great advice. I started fly fishing last year and visited Cataract Creek. Great place to learn as there's tons of eager brookies that will pretty much take any dry fly. Most of the fish are quite small (I'm talking 6-10 inches small) but it was a really awesome experience for one of my first outings.

Have fun fishing with your kids. I know some of my fondest memories from my childhood were fishing with my dad.
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  #7  
Old 06-13-2018, 06:58 AM
deeman deeman is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2011
Location: Calgary
Posts: 47
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Scel has some great advice. I started fly fishing last year and visited Cataract Creek. Great place to learn as there's tons of eager brookies that will pretty much take any dry fly. Most of the fish are quite small (I'm talking 6-10 inches small) but it was a really awesome experience for one of my first outings.

Have fun fishing with your kids. I know some of my fondest memories from my childhood were fishing with my dad.
Thank you Spin... The great part about the eager Brookies is it will teach them a little bit about the water they want to be fishing and the take. scel has given some great advice and I hope we are able to complete the trip as we are planning too.
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