Bow River Spot Names

[Burns]

Found this old post on the Fly Fish Calgary forum (courtesy of someone called "rusty"), thought it might be a nice addition, particulatily for new comers to the Bow:



Most common access points/named holes, from Glenmore down:

Glenmore - obvious - river left and right good

Southland - also obvious (sometimes called the dogrun) - again, left and right good

City gravel pit/Lafarge - between Southland and Deerfoot bridge (Ivor strong) - right better than left for me

Douglasdale - Large bend in the river just below the Ivor Strong bridge - river left better, but right good too

Mallard Point - maybe half a k d/s of Douglasdale, access off end of Canyon Meadows Drive. Footbridge near parking. Both sides good

CIL Hole - large bend below Mallard Point (def. the best hole in the city stretch, IMO - more big browns out of here than almost anywhere else in town, but tough to wade fish since the flood) (river right)

Bankside - Tail end of Mallard Point channel dumps out here, river right

Burnsmead/Mackenzie footbridge - just below Bankside a ways

Little Poo Hole - around bend from footbridge (deadly winter spot, river right)

Fish creek confluence - just below little poo hole, river right

Hullswood - next bend down (access named at end of Bow Bottom - river right)

22X - duh

Gilligan's Island - first island d/s of 22X, river left

Thousand Islands - long chain of islands visible from Deerfoot extender, river right

Beaverdam - massive run just u/s of new Deerfoot bridge across from new WWTP

Policeman's Flats - access off Dunbow Rd, river right, some absolutely fabulous water both up and down

House Run - house is maybe a mile d/s of Police on river left

Llamas - Llama farm on river right d/s of big house

Bleachers - on river left, best dryfly fishing on the Bow in many eyes

Must-be-nice - Huge island on river left, nice house on river right just off the river (must be nice to live there!)

Frenchman's - old (private) takeout spot below must-be-nice

Wash - just below must-be-nice, river right

Cottonwood - off the golf course of the same name, river right

Burnco/Cliffs of Doom - massive high cliffs just below Cottonwood - most fishing done on river left

Racetrack/Bay of Pigs - huge flat spot a ways below Burnco, river left

Lightning Hole - nice run on river left just below big island

Mansion Run - big run below big house above Highwood a ways

Highwood confluence - generally all of the water around there, sometimes also called Nature's Hideaway if you're on river right

Cliffs below Highwood - river left, big high cliffs

Corrals - nice bank, river left, maybe 2 mi above McKinnon with old corrals on it

McKinnon's Flats - access of signed road from 22X - major access spot

Below McKinnon's the names become less common, but you'll find:

North Bow Lodge - deadly huge nymphing run with great dry fly fishing too

Janzen's or Legacy Island - Access off end of #24. You need good clearance to get in, but TU took this lease over and has done some great work building a little launch

30 Fish Island - a few miles below Janzen's, the name speaks for itself

Jubilee - monster island below 30 Fish but above the big fork

Carseland Channels - massive braided mess of small rivers, jammed full of big angry trout. Make sure you pay attention if you decide to float

The Lake - large flat calm water above Carseland

[cranky]

Coincidence much!. I was just thinking about this today. I will be coming to Calgary area 3-4 times this summer and would like to fish a little as i have the time. There isnt to much on this topic in search function. And here it all is in depth.
Only thing is right and left makes no sense for me. Maybe in just too tired to figure it out. Is left and right looking at it from upstream facing downstream?
But still this is great,thanks for this.

[Burns]

I would imagine he is talking river left, river right. That being looking downstream.

[wetchimo]

I'm moving to Calgary.

[Chisholm77]

Thanks for posting. I'm fairly new to the Bow and this helps.

[Albertafisher]

Originally Posted by Burns

I would imagine he is talking river left, river right. That being looking downstream.

Yes it would.

[Okotokian]

Now what would be wonderful would be for someone with much more technical computer and map skill than I to number and put all those points on a map so a person could see where they actually are and how to get to them. I've done a ton of driving along Bow south of city trying to figure out how to actually get to the river without trespassing. It's hard.

But thanks anyways. I think I can find some of these. Should be of great help!

[ericlin0122]

you should google map these spots.

[Chisholm77]

Anybody know any access points on the other side of the city? I think the one below the Bearspaw dam is closed now so Bowness is the furthest west I know how to get to. Anybody know the points west of here towards Cochrane or even west of that?

[DiehardFishingMan]

Thanks for sharing.

[Jayhad]

There is a Bow river map book sold at most of the shops in the city.

[Gust]

Are there any on here thinking "Hmmm, I would say right/left on that one and left right on the next?"

There was a farmer who would let us access thru his property until some people without permission did everything possible to p'o the farmer, ending it for everyone. When I was younger, I would walk/fish great distances to some of those areas but now with lazy legs, it's all just memories.

[TMLhammy]

Seriously OP? 'cmon man!

[Burns]

Originally Posted by TMLhammy

Seriously OP? 'cmon man!

This is what I thought this forum was all about. You don't want to share, fine. I do, so I will.

[Jayhad]

Originally Posted by TMLhammy

Seriously OP? 'cmon man!

i'm all for secrets, but this is the Bow..... it flows through a city of 1,000,000+

[Gust]

It's not like those spots are really specific, they are runs and some take work to access, ,,, though I still say one is better right followed by a great one left.

[TMLhammy]

I'm all for helping just not advertising. I put in a lot of leg work to find some cool spots (new spots to me I'm sure they've been documented) that was my beef. No biggie!

[SCHOOCH]

Good Post Burns.......ive met some of my favourite fishing buddies standing in the run i was going to fish (after i was done cursing as i was walking up to it)!! The great thing about that is everyone you make friends with on the river knows something or somewhere you don't...........

[Burns]

So, who has been out to the formentioned spots and have gotten lucky so far this spring?

[rielbowhunter]

This brings back a lot of great memorizes. I used to fish the bow a lot, before my kids came along. I have been lucky enough to catch fish in all these holes. Might have to float down the river this summer. But most of these I fished bye walking from the popular launches so anyone can find them. thanks for the post.

[bwackwabbit]

If a guy had one day to hit the Bow at this time of year, which of these spots would be the "Have To Hit"?

Species is not important just looking for a good probability of tying into something (spinning gear). Coming from Sylvan for a one day trip next week.

Not looking for secrets or access, just a name from this fantastic list (thanks OP).

[Flyfishen]

Originally Posted by Burns

This is what I thought this forum was all about. You don't want to share, fine. I do, so I will.

Excellent post Burns.
TMLhammy; these areas are well known to many...many people already.
The key is to know the spots within these spots. Let me explain; Once you know where the fish are at each spot one year, the next year could be much different with the next run-off changing of structure.

Most of these spots see multiple fisherman through out the course of a day, especially in the city. But I have still caught fish in these areas late in the day after everyone else has tried. You just need to know where they are and what they are eating that day. Simple eh?

[Pikehunter13]

Originally Posted by Burns

Found this old post on the Fly Fish Calgary forum (courtesy of someone called "rusty"), thought it might be a nice addition, particulatily for new comers to the Bow:



Most common access points/named holes, from Glenmore down:

Glenmore - obvious - river left and right good

Southland - also obvious (sometimes called the dogrun) - again, left and right good

City gravel pit/Lafarge - between Southland and Deerfoot bridge (Ivor strong) - right better than left for me

Douglasdale - Large bend in the river just below the Ivor Strong bridge - river left better, but right good too

Mallard Point - maybe half a k d/s of Douglasdale, access off end of Canyon Meadows Drive. Footbridge near parking. Both sides good

CIL Hole - large bend below Mallard Point (def. the best hole in the city stretch, IMO - more big browns out of here than almost anywhere else in town, but tough to wade fish since the flood) (river right)

Bankside - Tail end of Mallard Point channel dumps out here, river right

Burnsmead/Mackenzie footbridge - just below Bankside a ways

Little Poo Hole - around bend from footbridge (deadly winter spot, river right)

Fish creek confluence - just below little poo hole, river right

Hullswood - next bend down (access named at end of Bow Bottom - river right)

22X - duh

Gilligan's Island - first island d/s of 22X, river left

Thousand Islands - long chain of islands visible from Deerfoot extender, river right

Beaverdam - massive run just u/s of new Deerfoot bridge across from new WWTP

Policeman's Flats - access off Dunbow Rd, river right, some absolutely fabulous water both up and down

House Run - house is maybe a mile d/s of Police on river left

Llamas - Llama farm on river right d/s of big house

Bleachers - on river left, best dryfly fishing on the Bow in many eyes

Must-be-nice - Huge island on river left, nice house on river right just off the river (must be nice to live there!)

Frenchman's - old (private) takeout spot below must-be-nice

Wash - just below must-be-nice, river right

Cottonwood - off the golf course of the same name, river right

Burnco/Cliffs of Doom - massive high cliffs just below Cottonwood - most fishing done on river left

Racetrack/Bay of Pigs - huge flat spot a ways below Burnco, river left

Lightning Hole - nice run on river left just below big island

Mansion Run - big run below big house above Highwood a ways

Highwood confluence - generally all of the water around there, sometimes also called Nature's Hideaway if you're on river right

Cliffs below Highwood - river left, big high cliffs

Corrals - nice bank, river left, maybe 2 mi above McKinnon with old corrals on it

McKinnon's Flats - access of signed road from 22X - major access spot

Below McKinnon's the names become less common, but you'll find:

North Bow Lodge - deadly huge nymphing run with great dry fly fishing too

Janzen's or Legacy Island - Access off end of #24. You need good clearance to get in, but TU took this lease over and has done some great work building a little launch

30 Fish Island - a few miles below Janzen's, the name speaks for itself

Jubilee - monster island below 30 Fish but above the big fork

Carseland Channels - massive braided mess of small rivers, jammed full of big angry trout. Make sure you pay attention if you decide to float

The Lake - large flat calm water above Carseland

I would like to add,

Steep Hill Flats - Glen bow ranch, has lot's of lake trout and huge browns.
On good days your can catch nearly all the species in the river.

[Burns]

Just thought that I would bump this up for any new comers that might be interested...

[Tigger72]

Thanks for bumping.....if only someone could plot this on a map for me.... lol...

[norman9530]

thanks for posting... i need to try these spots too...

[NOOBhunt'r]

Originally Posted by Chisholm77

Anybody know any access points on the other side of the city? I think the one below the Bearspaw dam is closed now so Bowness is the furthest west I know how to get to. Anybody know the points west of here towards Cochrane or even west of that?

Same question here, does anyone know the Upper Bow access points? Appreciated for planning future trips out west!!

[JimPS]

Probably not politically correct anymore - Immigrant Point - south side of St. Georges Island - where the old Italian gents from Bridgeland/Riverside used to bait fish.

In the day, they'd fish sitting on 5 gallon steel pails, then walk home across Memorial Drive with a buckets full of big rainbows and suckers. The suckers were used to fertilize the rose bushes and the vegetable gardens.

Lot's of big rainbows in those days went under the rose bushes too because they'd smell like old motor oil when you fried them up.

[Okotoks584]

Thanks this will help me out so much.

[kilgoretrout]

Unfortunately most of these spots are no longer the same or gone after the flood but the beauty is finding and naming new ones