what gear to wear for cataract creek and nearby spots

[sloken]

Hi all. New to forums and glad I found them...way more activity here vs flyfusion forums. Anyways, I'm thinking of camping at Cataract creek next weekend and found some good discussion on here.

If I'm hiking upstream and its another scorcher weekend, what would you guys suggest to wear? ie.
-just hiking boots and shorts
-wading boots and wading socks and pants
-full-on waders and wading boots

I've never been there and I'm not sure what the terrain/brush/bugs are like and would hate to start my hike off in heavy and hot waders n boots when it might not be that necessary.

I drove back along the 40 through longview yesterday from picklejar. I saw quite a few cars randomly parked along the highway, some near fences that had black and yellow signs. Are those designated access points to the highwood? I wouldnt mind tossing a line in there en route home.

Finally, any hike-in spots (either creeks or lakes) within an hour drive from the cataract creek campground other than picklejar?

Thanks!

[Fly fishing Alberta]

When I go back on ftr for fishing I just bring a pack pack with all my fly equipment, and I just wear some shorts and runners I don't care about and just wade in like that. Just pay attention because some parts look deeper then others... I would know haha. But the cold water is nice on a hot day. I did try waders and it was way too hot. And bring bug spray, I was up there 3 weeks ago and had a blast, but got eaten alive by horseflys


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[LKILR]

Don't forget your bear spray

[calgarygringo]

I am not a bug checker but have fished Cataract for about 40 years. This time of year the water is warm so I usually just do shorts and old pair of runners. Watch for Yogi as there are many in the area. In about 40 years of fishing there I only encountered a bear once and no he didn't eat me. Great spot and find the best fishing is a ways up stream. Make sure to fish the beaver ponds too as there are always some beauties in them. Do a search on the forum as I lead a few tours several years back up there and you may find a few tips from our trips.

Originally Posted by sloken

Hi all. New to forums and glad I found them...way more activity here vs flyfusion forums. Anyways, I'm thinking of camping at Cataract creek next weekend and found some good discussion on here.

If I'm hiking upstream and its another scorcher weekend, what would you guys suggest to wear? ie.
-just hiking boots and shorts
-wading boots and wading socks and pants
-full-on waders and wading boots

I've never been there and I'm not sure what the terrain/brush/bugs are like and would hate to start my hike off in heavy and hot waders n boots when it might not be that necessary.

I drove back along the 40 through longview yesterday from picklejar. I saw quite a few cars randomly parked along the highway, some near fences that had black and yellow signs. Are those designated access points to the highwood? I wouldnt mind tossing a line in there en route home.

Finally, any hike-in spots (either creeks or lakes) within an hour drive from the cataract creek campground other than picklejar?

Thanks!

[sloken]

Awesome thanks guys! One other thing - Im guessing that campground doesn't take advance reservations? Will it likely be jam-packed this long weekend and if so, can I just pull over on the FTR and sleep in my truck?

Originally Posted by calgarygringo

I am not a bug checker but have fished Cataract for about 40 years. This time of year the water is warm so I usually just do shorts and old pair of runners. Watch for Yogi as there are many in the area. In about 40 years of fishing there I only encountered a bear once and no he didn't eat me. Great spot and find the best fishing is a ways up stream. Make sure to fish the beaver ponds too as there are always some beauties in them. Do a search on the forum as I lead a few tours several years back up there and you may find a few tips from our trips.

[calgarygringo]

You should be ok as August long is not a biggie for most and usually only fills after everything else is done. We camped there a few years ago on August long and it was maybe a third full. Not a popular spot though I believe many don't want to travel down the dirt road and prefer hiway campgrounds.

Originally Posted by sloken

Awesome thanks guys! One other thing - Im guessing that campground doesn't take advance reservations? Will it likely be jam-packed this long weekend and if so, can I just pull over on the FTR and sleep in my truck?

[Remey]

Random camping is allowed along the FTR

[sloken]

thanks all! Had a pretty fun weekend out there.

First stop was Elbow lake. Left calgary at 6 and was the first one up on the lake (beat all the campers there!) Fish were rising and jumping like crazy, but it was so damn frustrating b/c I couldn't see what they were feeding on, turning over rocks didn't turn up much, and I must have tried a dozen different tiny dries over the course of 1.5 hours with zero luck

I drove out to Mt Lipsett and had lunch at that day use area then continued on to Running Rain and hiked up there. Nice to see that people have laid down a navigable log/stick path across the first 100m of marshy/creek area so you don't soak your feet right away. Crossed paths with one family going up there, and maybe 4 ppl setting up camp when I got to the lake. Damn that place is shallow! The pool at the far end looked like it might hold fish but I didn't see a single trout at all. Sank nymphs and streamers deep down there but zero activity. IF anyone is planning to hike that with the sole purpose of fishing...I'd suggest to hold off. I'm not convinced there's fish up there, but would love to be proved wrong.

Then I hit up the downstream portion of cataract right before dinner after setting up camp. Those little brookies are beautiful! too bad I was severely overgunned with a 6wt haha.

I did the meadow (upstream portion) of the creek the next morning and what a beauty! Saw some grizz tracks all over the place, since it had rained the night before I saw a little nervous - a couple of whitetails scared the $h!t outta me when the broke through the bushes a few metres away.

Thanks for the tips! I have a bunch of pictures I wanted to post but when I go to the FAQ's and click the link to take me to my user control panel....there's no "picture and album" link to click! what gives?