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Originally Posted by lds
So I had a different thread for winter nw bow river fishing but thought this could be it’s own thread. This is a copy paste of my other thread. Also this is more a summer struggle as I haven’t done much winter flyfishing.
Well I ended up down at the glenmore bridge yesterday and just as expected I sucked. I don’t understand what my issue is but I’ve been flyfishing for 10 years now with no problems on any other water but the bow. For some reason that river just laughs in my face almost every time I go out. I have never read as much or tried as many techniques or watched as many videos as I have on the bow and haven’t gotten very far. I would say very minor improvement since I started and by that I mean I caught 5 or 6 fish on the bow last year with probably 15 times goin out and only 2 worth mentioning. Any advice that is not the typical bow river advice. Anyone doing anything crazy and unique that works for you. I feel like I’m the only one struggling this much for this long on this river
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You certainly are not the only one suffering. Unless you spend time with a guide/teacher, successfully fishing the Bow takes a great deal of time and attention. Since the flood, winter fishing on the bow has been tough. Fish will congregate in the slower deeper pockets. Pre 2013, the river was narrower and deeper. Now, most of those pockets are out of casting distance. The holes where the fish congregate are much further apart.
All the fly fishing mantras that work on other rivers still apply to the Bow, but you really have to be on your A-game, and little things tend to make a difference. The Bow River is filled with food, and it is why the Bow river fish get so big and strong. The Bow river is trout fishing university.
Flexibility is key with the Bow for most of the year. In the winter (Nov to Mar), however, I only fish 4 flies: chenille SJW, gartside leech, zebra midge, and disco midge. My catch rates are 1/3 SJW, 1/3 leech, and 1/3 midge. As of April, I travel with 3 spools of line: one rigged for dries, another for nymphs, and type 4 sink tip for streamers.
Because there is so much food, the fish tend to be a little pickier. I am not sure if it actually works, but I find fluorocarbon tippet is superior for nymphs and streamers (it is more likely, however, that I just became a much better angler).
The Bow is 'alive'. I know that is going pure hippy, but your best bet is to pick a couple of weeks and fish every other day for a couple of hours. Where the fish hang out is very seasonal. It is hard to fish the Bow without learning its 'heartbeat'. There are sections that look super fishy, that almost never hold fish. In the summer evenings, however, they become dry fly havens. In mid-spring, the Bow acts almost like any other trout stream, except numbers will be reduced because the rainbows start making their move to spawn. By summer, the fish are literally everywhere, so it is important to cover water and vary techniques. By fall, fish have become pickier, but will start moving into classical fishy water. By the beginning of November, you are back into the winter game.