themountainflyfisher

The Upper Bow River -So what did happen in 2011? - Predictably the Upper Bow River river began flowing in earnest by the 20th of the May, the freshet would continue well into the first week of July. An unexpected event came with the sustained inflow of high water volumes brought into the Upper Bow from the Spray River, this largely resulting from a faulty turbine on the hydro electric dam at the Spray lake reservoir, this event created significant turbidity within the Bow for the larger part of summer 2011 with some distinct impact on the performance of the fishery. There is much speculation with respect to the long term effect on the fishery and many in the valley are subscribing to the theory that the long term effect will be negative. I took the time early in October to wander into what is likely the primary spawning grounds of the Upper Bow’s Brown trout population, it was a pleasant surprise to see significant numbers of large spawning fish. All fish were full bodied and looked to be in really good condition, notably I saw more large fish than I had at the same time last year. I couldn’t help thinking as I was leaving the spawning creek how it seemed that we (man) repeatedly underestimate the ability of fish and their environment to absorb seemingly catastrophic events. I suggest that if the catastrophe is aquatic in origin and does not involve chemical spills or other inane human intervention, then in all likelihood for the aquatic dwellers it may be an inconvenience in the short term but not likely significant in their long term outlook. Pity we can’t broaden our scope and use greater spans of time as  a baseline for measuring impacts, positive, or negative ,with respect to the hydrology of a system and its inhabitants. The sky is very likely not falling!

The Headwaters North and South – Tremendous snowpacks from winter of 2011 created very significant spring flows in all headwater streams with no particular detrimental effect on the fisheries, inconvenient for the angler perhaps but refreshing for the aquatic systems, as areas of silting were cleansed and nutrient trapped in old silt deposits were once again made available to the streams and their residents. A nice perk actually from a fishes point of view.
I was not fortunate enough to fish as much around the province as I would have liked (not sure thats really possible), however I found the waters of the Livingstone and the upper Oldman and many of their tributaries in fine shape in early September, fish were abundant and fat, it is always a good sign when small (6-10 inch) fish have a full bodied appearance actually looking like minature adults.
This was true to the north also, where I found the Blackstone and a few neighboring streams in excellent condition with a strong showing from the inhabitants.
I do look forward to guiding more destination and multiday camp type trips in 2012, selfishly I aspire to seeing more of our lesser known bodies of water and revisitng many that I have not seen in better than 6 years now.

So July 1st and Chief Hector lake at Nakoda Lodge has turned over and photo-synthesis is full on - result? Caddis Flies 3 varieties including the Travelling sedge  (Giant Sedge a.k.a Mothers day Caddis), damsel flies and more, and yes the fish came!

A lighter population of giants now than in 2010 for sure, however the fishing experience is more realistic and the really big fish now have an element of surprise working in their favor when they take the fly (or maybe they really are just much bigger than at close of last year), as everyone who encountered one of the big guys in the last week (myself included) has been beaten by the fish.

In the mid range there seem to be a solid number of fish between 14 and 16 inches that are now very plump, actually they are very heavy easily approching twice the weight of trout of comparable length in some other systems, as as for this years group of 12-14 inch fish their growth is formidable.

The bad news is that unsettled weather patterns has yielded a number of days to date with extremely high winds well beyond anything close to manageable either for boat operator or rodsman. Well perhaps the upside of the extreme winds is the retention of pints of blood that I otherwise would have lost to this years crop of mosquitoes.

Although mountain waters are running high and in some cases still really off color, the truth is this “freshette” of 2011 is  exactly that, a cleansing and refreshening of the waters of the frontal range of the Canadian Rockies.  Perhaps an aggravation to some who make their living plying their trade on these spectaular rivers and streams  of the eastern slopes, or for others who would recreate here, however the truth is the unusually high flow volume in the rivers and creeks is a unique process of cleaning and renewal.

As rivers are scowered, nutrient trapped in silt is released and for nutrient starved mountain waters like the Upper Bow River this is equivalent to a multi vitamin shot in the arm, a shock treatment of goodies. Trout, although somewhat hard pressed by heavy flows are designed for their environment and as a result the likelihood of any significant suffering or population decimation is not likely, actually not likely at all.

Spring spawners such as the Rainbow Trout stand to lose the most, if in fact there was to be any significant mortality, however in most waters Trout that would normally be present in early spring pre-runoff (May) moved to other locations in noticeable amounts, seeming to sense the building snowpack would transform eventgually into a hydological colossus. If only we as humans had retined a few deeper survival instincts.

May 15th, 2011 – The lake is now fully ice free, to the uninitiated the “die-off or winter kill” appears to be extreme, however I can confirm seeing good numbers of fish and a fair number of large fish relative to the size of the lake. It will be a few days yet before the lake turns over and real opportunities to assess the population more accurately occurs. Naturally for those early anglers on the lake in the last few days, the tendency after seeing any number of dead fish translates into a “complete winter kill”. Based on the population density of the lake in the fall,  coupled with the significant numbers of very large 8 lb. class fish a predictable occurrence was the demise of approximately 1/3 of the population, a natural process as the bio mass or carrying capacity of the lake resets. The sky in fact is not falling!

May 9, 2011 - Some signs of winterkill are in evidence at the lake now (as is likely the case with most Alberta mountain Lakes this year), definitely aging out is a contributing factor to some of this mortality. A number of large cruising fish have been seen and getting a drifter on the lake and fishing it to the Mother’s Day Caddis hatches which should be starting any day. Recent warm weather and a bit of rain in the last 48 hours has freed most of the lakes surface from its winter cloak of ice and snow.

Since my last post of May 7th, the waters of the Upper have undergone what was at first a series of subtle changes daily – on the 19th May, the first truly significantly noticeable jump in volume and change in color occurred and even the unitiated could percieve the change. Over the course of the four week period since the 7th May, Canmore and the Bow Valley has experienced a 30 cm snowfall, hot days pushing the 20C. mark (70ish.F) coupled with numerous days of heavy rain.

So the predictable cries of despair from anglers lamenting the unfishable state of the river have begun. Truth be known, this is truly the best time of year and the type of year (really big snomelt) to see and have the opportunity to cast to the largest trout in the Upper Bow River system. All adjacent waters to the UBR that are carrying overflow or flood feeds will become the temporary home of the biggest and the best, these waters will clear quickly and offer a genuine smorgasboard of invertebrates and terrestial insects.

Imagination and a spirit of adventure will open the curtains to a seperate reality of superb fishing opportunities to anyone who cares to get off the couch and go for a bit of a poke around, using brain and eyes first and rod last. I urge you to be a part of a very elite group of Fly-fishers who broke out of their little boxes and have truly learned to fish.

Remember, you are the only limiting factor! This little truth likely applies well beyond fishing, I try to keepo it that way for me anyway!

Well, in the past three weeks of being ice free, Chief Hector Lake at Nakoda has been scrutinized by many, most within the first weeks of ice out – their reports unanimous -”Winter Kill”,  ”Total winter Kill”, etc. 

Interestingly perhaps only one in ten of these erstwhile anglers appeared to evaluate the lake on any quasi logical basis. For example other than not catching any fish there was apparently no need for other qualifying observations which might have adjusted somewhat the conclusions reached. In the past three weeks there was a noticeable absence of any hatches (midges included until just the last 5 days, the water carried much particulate in suspension yielding next to to zero visibility – these “little” clues pointed to a body of water that had not yet begun the process of “Turning over”, critical photo-synthesis had not yet occurred.

Being at the lake pretty much  every day for the past three weeks I have watched the awakening process, and happily in the past three days have sat contentedly and watched (not fished) as midges, caddis-flies and two species of Mayfly have emerged, as well as the annual spring spawning swarm (occurs multiple times during the year -spring spawn seems to be the largest migration) of Gammarus shrimp a.k.a. Scuds. Oh and yes with these awakenings came fish!

The short answer to the burning question; Alive or Dead? is Alive! The effect of any winter kill will only be truly measureable in the weeks to come as the lake quickly comes to full life and the “Greening” of the lake is complete. At time of this writing I have no doubt that the survival rate is sufficiently high to assure that Hector Lake will provide many with hours of tremendous Rainbow fishing this summer.
I will keep you posted and I suspect that I may well start to fish it this week, as the number hatches increases and correspondingly the numbers of rising fish will negate further specualtion as to the state of the lakes health.

Today, less than 10 minutes walk from the spectacular deck of the Wood Restaurant at the end of main street in Canmore another stroll by the river yielded the header shot for this blog, a beautiful big Brown rising to Size 16 March Brown mayfly, also in the shot just over the snout of the trout is a substantial Midge morsel. This Brown was one of a group of 8 fish, holding in less than 3 feet of water within 2 feet of the rivers edge beside the paved walking trail in town.
The following links tell the story. Just use your browsers back button to return here.
http://themountainflyfisher.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/reason-to-riseweb.jpg
http://themountainflyfisher.files.wordpress.com/2011/05/rising-brownweb.jpg

Well May has rolled into the Canadian Rockies with the usual 30ish Cm. ( 10 inch ) snowfall for May 1st, it arrived a few days early actually delivering the bounty in the last week of April.

A few balmy days, lots of wildlife movement then finally today in the early evening some showers and warm temps. Snow pack will definitely beginning to go deep Isothermic, influencing flash changes to water flow and temperature, with a net result of an awakening instream orchestration of life. Invertebraes and close behind Trout, will all as rapidly shift from zero perceptable (to us poorly sighted humans) activity to a genuine frenzy comprised of absolute change keeping pace with the changes in flow and temp.

A walk tonight along the shores of the Bow yielded “the island” herd of cow elk many already with calves of the year, an awesome sight with the soft evening light on the three sisters. The river never ceases to amaze at this time of year, I will remember to begin shooting it daily, for its change is truly dynamic and for many completely unimaginable.

Should I be fortunate enough to be sharing this with someone who is new to Canmore Kanananaskis and the “Valley Bow”, it is time to buy and carry Bear Spray (or rent it) on your strolls and hikes for we are blessed to reside in what I like to call the “Serengetti North”.  No need to walk in fear, but be sure to walk informed, in tune, and in synch with where you really are.