The Bow River is Disgusting
 

I know I am going to get flamed for this, but here it goes.

I have avoided going fishing in the Bow River for years because I hate fishing in the city and I also hate fishing in waters that has Water Treatment Effluent dumped into it.

I Fish Mountain Lakes, streams and creeks primarily.

Out of boredom I tried the Bow River this evening and I feel like I need to scrub my Fishing Rod and Line and Flies in a vat of bleach.

The Bow River smelled disgusting, and holy smokes is it ever filled with mud, weeds and slime.

I don't know how some of you boys do it.

So don't fish it, more pigs for the rest of us

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Be glad you dont live in edmonton then.

If i lived in calgary id be pumped you went only to the mountains. Less competition for spots


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haha.....

I fish mountain streams to catch and release little hungry cutts in some of the most beautiful country around, that doesn't mean I can't enjoy hauling giant trout out of the bow.

Not sure how catching big fat trout is worse than sitting around being bored, whatever floats your boat though.

http://www.calgary.ca/UEP/Water/Page...ment-tour.aspx

I would take a mountain stream any day... But I'll fish the bow with no hesitation. At least we treat our sewage. Still a lot of coastal cities that just dump raw sewage into the ocean. Yummy.

What's your point? Did you expect a river that flows through a city with a population of over a million to be pristine?

The nutrients from the Calgary waste treatment systems are partly responsible for the great fishing in the middle Bow, so poop and enjoy the fishing already!

I'm sorta in the middle. I'm not crazy about fishing where you can hear the drone of traffic, and I personally wouldn't eat anything caught near downstream of the sewage plant (and yes I know it's catch and release now), but I still find the Bow a nice additional fishing resource that comes in handy. I can't fish my smaller streams and rivers until mid June. Happy to pop over to the Bow occasionally. And I've never found it that horrible or reeking. What I have fond, on average, is some of the bigger trout I've caught.

Mud in a river? Come on... ;)

Yep, I hear you. Red Deer below Red Deer...same. But fishing was great.

Like you, I prefer the clean mountain rivers. That is why I put more time on the Highwood. Who wouldn't want crystal clear, of course. But there are huge pigs in there that will keep me coming back to the Bow. God bless it :)

Oh, and check this post out... I think you will find the reasoning
http://www.outdoorsmenforum.ca/showt...=1#post3608826

I originally hail from southern ontario, St.Catharines to be exact and grew up on the shore of Lake Ontario with the Toronto skyline as my view 28 miles straight across from the living room window. We were situated between the old Port Dalhousie canal and the Welland Canal. My grandparents lived in northern Ontario and had a cottage on a beautiful deep gin clear lake loaded with Lake Trout. Compared to what I grew up on it was heaven BUT I could walk out the back yard and down the bank to the beach behind the house and depending on the time of year catch everything from Coho, Chinook and Browns to Perch, Pike and mammoth Carp, Bass and just about anything that swam including Eels. I look back now and think what a great opportunity that was and how much fun we had even though we wouldn't dare eat the fish. We had the fish at the cottage for that.
In the summer of '81 I was 17 and spent that summer working in Calgary and though I knew little about the Bow I fished it several times where I could access it from shore and with no knowledge how to really go about catching river trout. I caught fish on only one occasion after a big storm and the waters had raised. My first was a Brown of about 8" on a small black/yellow dot Mepps spinner, my second was my first ever Rainbow and even though I had caught hundreds of Lake Ontario Coho & Chinook I could barely contain my excitement when I landed my first Rainbow on the banks of the Bow, a beauty of a fish of about 8 pounds!! My third and final fish was another 8" Brown and though again I had caught dozens of 2-5 pound Browns chucking spoons in Lake Ontario those little river Browns were as much of trophies as any trophy could be to a teenager getting to fish in Alberta's infamous Bow River!
Don't let an ideal ruin your fishing experience, take it for what it is and do battle with the river denizens on your doorstep. I know I did in the summer of '81 and that big Rainbow is still my largest to date and most memorable!!

Never liked the smell of the Bow, but dang if it doesn't fish well.

lol what an ignorant forum post.

Purist troll.....

You go ahead..... we'll fish for the big fish.

Ever wonder why the big fish are big....
wonder why there's such big fish and such good hatches on the Crow..?

The word princess comes to mind.

I've never found the bow to smell or look disgusting. if you don't like the weeds and things fish it in the spring.

Haha absolutely

x3

This person must have been above glenmore cause that's where the warmer water is and we fish and picnic at beaver damm often and yes it most certainly is pretty nasty up there.There is a stink and the rocks are most certainly slimy and gross.Pretty much anything below glenmore is perfect but whatever please stay away we are all fine with it.

Mud and weeds in a river...OMG, OMG:sign0161:

Mud is in the water from the construction at the old weir.

Ever seen the Ganges?

It can't be all that bad,in the 30 or so years I've been fishing the Bow I've yet to catch a fish that had three eyes or some other kind of major deformity
To bad there's not more people like the op,there would be more room for the rest of us to fish a world class river that is right in our back yard
Hopefully the news doesn't get out to the people who come from all over the world to fish the "Disgusting Bow River"

It may not be perfect but my son has never complained about it. He's 11 now but we've been going there since he was 6 or 7. In fact, we were there the other day trying to practice scaring the fish with our casting.

It's kind of funny to hear of the people that drive for hours away from a truly world class river. I love the mountain streams. The "getting away from it all" feeling.
But as an angler, if you can't see what is plainly right in front of your nose then I have few words.
June 16th is the best day of the year for me fishing wise. That's when people start flooding west and leave more runs for me and my small group of fishing friends in the Bow.
I've taken many new people out and had them catch truly big fish. 24" rainbows are possible. Not everyday occurrences to be sure but they definitely are there.
Most rivers in North America a 16" rainbow or brown trout is a real good fish. That's the mark to try for. A lot of rivers around SW Alberta people try to attain the magical 18" range. That's a hog in so many places in the world. In the Bow many don't remark on the day unless there is a fish 22" or bigger. Why is that I wonder? Because it is a World Class fishery. I've landed a couple rainbows over 25 for me or friends and 1 brown in the 25" range. I've had plenty in the 22-23 3/4" range that just miss the magical 2 foot mark. Hooking up with a 20+" fish on a little dry fly is magical.
I just don't get some people.

There's more to fishing than just fishing. I basically only fish the Bow but understand the appeal of the mountain streams, besides catching 20"+ fish in the mountain streams is not as uncommon as you might think.

Amen! Couldn't have said it better. For those that think the OP is closed minded, looks like they did the same by fishing the Bow and thinking it is the only world class one around. Having scenery, clean water and big fish...so worth the drive. Besides, the Bow is a big drive for me as well so why not get the best experience :)

Not only that but I find creeks and smaller rivers more challenging to Fly-fish as you have to skillfully toss flies in between deadfall, large boulders, and navigate narrow banks filled with trees that you could get caught up in if you don't cast perfectly.

That's just my opinion.

To each their own.

I think I was wrong to say the Bow River is disgusting. Only certain sections of it. I think Shouldice Park and Upstream from there probably has less pollution and smell than the lower reaches. I would like to fish the Bow near Canmore.

No problem. I totally get where you were coming from the beginning. I too say it is disgusting but also disgustingly good :)
I prefer what you prefer but I also have to make a trip or two to the nutrient and smelly sections for some of that world class fishing.

I understand it is not really the same river in many respects (with the reservoirs along the way and many other factors) but a float on the upper Bow this summer was an amazing experience. I travelled the waters downstream from Canmore with Nick, the owner of Wapiti, on the oars. Didn't see another boat all day until we hit Dead Man's, and this was on a long weekend. Such a beautiful part of our province, and a spectacular day on the water!

I think there are some very solid reasons why Calgary's Bow has the reputation it does as a blue ribbon fishery. For many folks the larger fish are the ticket... #sizematters. I certainly don't fault them for that. Perhaps if I lived in Cowtown I would regularly fish the Bow, but for the introvert in me the draw is to go west versus north, to smaller water with fewer people. Yes, even if that typically means smaller fish. As for the smell, I think growing up in tiny towns surrounded by farms, and pike fishing many prairie lakes along the way, has made me immune to caring much about that.

I don't know if I agree with this cause you can say the same about the Bow in many sections. The Bow river is regarded as tough fishery and is extremely pressured. I would go as far to say the Bow is one of the most difficult or even the most difficult river we have around here, and that's one of its alluring attributes.

I don't see why we are discussing which is better cause neither is superior to the other. Just be thankful you have the option to choose.