Nearby alternatives to the Bow

[jaymack]

I just took up fly fishing this year, and I have only ever gone on the Bow in the NW of Calgary. I have never really looked at going anywhere else, but it seems like I may have to expand my boundaries if I want to get some fishing in anytime soon. Does anyone have any recommendations of where I can go without really going further than 30-60 minutes out of the city? I'm not looking for exact hot spots, just a basic idea of where I could have a half decent chance of catching some fish.

[Flieguy]

go try jumpingpound creek or sibbald pond/lake. both are probably less than an hour from you and produce fish.

you could also try grotto mountain pond or mclean pond but I'm not sure if grotto is still there and not sure if mclean is close enough.

I've also seen people fish the Elbow where it crosses hwy 22. the water level is down farther than the bow is but still be careful of unstable banks and whatnot

if you want to try something different, go to Pine Coulee Reservoir. it'll be more than an hour from north calg but not by a lot if you take deerfoot/hwy2 all the way down. go on a weekday as it gets busy. large weighted streamers off the dock and close to the bottom will produce walleye and possibly the ocassional pike. 5wt is fine for the walleye, they don't get much bigger than 14 inches there. I've never got a pike on the fly there and don't bother using leaders. I know some ppl target them though