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  #1  
Old 01-10-2017, 03:42 PM
mihai.bunda mihai.bunda is offline
 
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Talking Winter Fly Fishing Calgary



Hi, have any of you done any winter fishing this time of year on the Bow in Calgary? Next week is looking pretty nice as a Chinook is coming in and im wondering if there are any good areas?

I might take a day off and go fishing

thanks!
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  #2  
Old 01-10-2017, 03:46 PM
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Scott N Scott N is offline
 
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With the recent long-ish streak of cold weather, accessing the river might be difficult because of ice shelves along the bank. It can be pretty good fishing when the conditions are favorable. Be careful though, fishing with a partner is a damned good idea this time of yeear.
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Old 01-10-2017, 04:27 PM
mihai.bunda mihai.bunda is offline
 
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Originally Posted by Scott N View Post
With the recent long-ish streak of cold weather, accessing the river might be difficult because of ice shelves along the bank. It can be pretty good fishing when the conditions are favorable. Be careful though, fishing with a partner is a damned good idea this time of yeear.
yeah I can imagine that its pretty dangerous. I picked up an inflatable pfd that I will wear if I do go fishing in the winter, and i do have a friend that I will be going with me.
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Old 01-11-2017, 05:54 PM
rycoma rycoma is offline
 
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Terrible idea dont do it...........😁
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Old 01-12-2017, 11:10 AM
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Terrible idea dont do it...........��
He doesn't want you in the way. LOL
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Old 01-12-2017, 11:26 AM
CraigJ CraigJ is offline
 
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This is how you fish in the winter

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Old 01-12-2017, 11:42 AM
mihai.bunda mihai.bunda is offline
 
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This is how you fish in the winter

I love it! ....he's missing the life jacket! haha
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Old 01-12-2017, 12:13 PM
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Okotokian Okotokian is offline
 
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This is how you fish in the winter

Just float down the river on that! Who needs to pay $$$ for a &#%$& guided driftboat? LOL
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Old 01-12-2017, 12:23 PM
goldscud goldscud is offline
 
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Hey that's my picture! My buddy is always on the cutting edge of new fads....
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Old 01-13-2017, 10:38 AM
CraigJ CraigJ is offline
 
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Hey that's my picture! My buddy is always on the cutting edge of new fads....
It certainly is a good picture, good work taking it. I found it on photobucket.
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  #11  
Old 01-13-2017, 11:17 AM
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biggyJ biggyJ is offline
 
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Find yourself a deep slow hole and you will definitely catch some fish.

Use small flies (sz 14 chenille SJW, brassies, zebra midge, green copper johns) and pay attention to the smallest deviation in your indicator. The bites can be very light to very aggressive.

Fish wont move far for your fly, so make sure you are on the bottom. If you are not setting your hook on every drift (hit or bottom) then you need to get deeper.

Good luck, wear extra socks, bring a thermos.
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Old 01-14-2017, 01:19 AM
scel scel is offline
 
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Originally Posted by mihai.bunda View Post


Hi, have any of you done any winter fishing this time of year on the Bow in Calgary? Next week is looking pretty nice as a Chinook is coming in and im wondering if there are any good areas?

I might take a day off and go fishing

thanks!
To be honest, this is just unseasonably warm weather. Even Edmonton will be getting positive temperatures. Fishing in an actual chinook can be challenging since they are necessarily accompanied by the 40-60kmh west winds.

But being pedantic aside, fishing can be stellar, but when the weather warms up, after a long cold spell, it takes a couple days for the river to equilibrate. I would expect it to be slushy for a couple of days after the first truly warm day.

I used to love fishing in the winter, but after the flood, the good, deep, slow runs are harder to get to. The good thing about winter fly fishing is once you find one fish, you will usually find many more. The bad thing about winter fly fishing is trying to find that first fish.

Be very, very careful though. The ice shelves along the edge of the river will be quite sturdy after such an extended cold spell, but trust none of them. If you are wading, watch out for the ice floes. My most sincere near-death experience involves being taken out at the knees by an ice chunk. I floated down the river 50 or 60m consoling myself that drowning and hypothermia are supposedly pleasant ways to die. When the chunk hit some choppy water it threw me off into chest deep water. I scrambled to the bank on the opposite side of the river. It took me over an hour to get back to my car. So, be careful.
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  #13  
Old 01-14-2017, 05:25 PM
goldscud goldscud is offline
 
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Ice shelves are way bigger this year due to the cold weather, and therefore way more chances for dangerous situations. Be very careful. Not many places you can get safely into the water. And if fishing off the ice, and you catch a fish, you have to land it safely somehow.
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  #14  
Old 01-14-2017, 05:58 PM
rycoma rycoma is offline
 
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The ice is pretty thick today. But that can change in a couple of warm days on a river. Also watch out for ice burgs. A lot of them get all wet and disappear in the water they will take you out uf you dont watch for them. Fishing was pretty poor today as most of the pools are iced over as the ice shelves are massive this year.
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  #15  
Old 01-16-2017, 11:26 AM
mihai.bunda mihai.bunda is offline
 
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Smile Thank you

Quote:
Originally Posted by scel View Post
To be honest, this is just unseasonably warm weather. Even Edmonton will be getting positive temperatures. Fishing in an actual chinook can be challenging since they are necessarily accompanied by the 40-60kmh west winds.

But being pedantic aside, fishing can be stellar, but when the weather warms up, after a long cold spell, it takes a couple days for the river to equilibrate. I would expect it to be slushy for a couple of days after the first truly warm day.

I used to love fishing in the winter, but after the flood, the good, deep, slow runs are harder to get to. The good thing about winter fly fishing is once you find one fish, you will usually find many more. The bad thing about winter fly fishing is trying to find that first fish.

Be very, very careful though. The ice shelves along the edge of the river will be quite sturdy after such an extended cold spell, but trust none of them. If you are wading, watch out for the ice floes. My most sincere near-death experience involves being taken out at the knees by an ice chunk. I floated down the river 50 or 60m consoling myself that drowning and hypothermia are supposedly pleasant ways to die. When the chunk hit some choppy water it threw me off into chest deep water. I scrambled to the bank on the opposite side of the river. It took me over an hour to get back to my car. So, be careful.
Thank you scel for your insight and advice! as well as biggyJ,goldscud and rycoma! You have all made some great points and I appreciate it! I will definitely watch out for myself if I do decide to go out.

Thanks again!
Tight lines!....I think that how people say it!

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