I don’t post in this section often but I have fly fished for over 30years, I did guide in BC and at one point fly only for a good number of years. So I have caught a fish or two on the fly including a lot species not normally targeted on the fly
All great advice regarding casting and something I am not going to go off about. Things to remember it is about being smooth, being consistent and keeping rhythm not force. Practice and having someone knowledgeable watch your form makes a huge difference adjusting flaws
The Bow is a high pressure C&R river so you are fishing educated fish especially if you fish popular easy access areas. This goes for any high pressure C&R waters. I fished a lot in the past from carsland to Canmore but that was years ago but I live too far away now. Still have friends in Calgary that fish it a lot that do well. It may involve so effort to learn and many just flog the same water the same way. This has always been the case with the bow and often the case in many decent size rivers
Personally I believe the real key to all flowing water fishing is reading the water. You need to break it down and focus on areas that hold fish rather than flogging water. This is often the biggest factor to success in flowing waters. An advantage to flowing waters is when trout are ready to feed they don’t have as much time to analyze your offering vs still water. The issue is you need to put your offering in the right place as they are often holding waiting for food vs cruising
My opinion the best way to learn to fish flowing waters is target creeks and streams. You are forced to pin point pockets more so causing you to think about where you present the fly. You are also more likely to cover ground than flog one spot over and over. You may be targeting smaller fish but at times numbers are higher and they can be more willing. Head west and explore. My buddy does very well in some of the smaller creeks with trout up to 2-4lbs at times west of Calgary. He is fishing less popular waters
Once you get good at reading the water on smaller streams use it to break down the bigger waters
One big mistake I see with many fly fishermen is they overlook how important leader length can be when it comes to getting your fly into the strike zone
But I will leave it there and say good luck
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