august

Whew, the heat wave has subsided ,rivers are all in great shape,and fishing well. Still some stones fluttering about,lots of PM D's...we have some nice new patterns in the shop. Crow rainbows are starting to be finicky,but still lots of action!!Shop is open 7 days a week from 8-6. Wishin' you good fishin', Susan

july!!

The summer is finally here...and it's hot!The Oldman ,Castle drainages are clear and running at average flow now..Crow is just about back to normal levels,nice and clean.Good time for big dry flys!Just thought I'd post this as Edmonton seems to think we are under water with floods...??tight lines, Susan Crowsnest cafe and Flyshop

Canada Day

It,s official ...Another beautiful green summer is unfolding like the wings of a golden stonefly tumbling on the surface of a gentle cascade ... well enough of that barff... Set The Hook!! .. it,s big fish time and the rivers are clear dropping fast .. good hatches are starting .. Wading can be dangerous and watch out for those spawning beds ... another hazard out there these day,s are river otters.They look cute and will taunt you're dog out for a swim . I was out with my old pals from Bamff Fishing Unlimited and there was a 28-30 pound laker landed on the second day.. just waiting for a picture from my guide buddy Scotty Campbell to post .. The Crows Nest Cafe' and Fly Shop is open 7 days a week now ..gourmet food for fisherman and gourmet flies for trout ... we have a new website for the cafe' which is crowsnestcafeandflyshop. something? G.LOOMIS is GOD of ROD Have a great Canada Day long weekend ... Al B.

Wild Turky Hunting and High Water

About the end of March everybody was talking about the winter drought and the forest fires due this summer .. I guess they just forgot about where they live .. the Alberta Rockies .. Skiing might have been slim this year but we are going to get that snow at sometime (after the Ski hilsl close ) .... Well we have had the most snow and rain ever in the last month and a half ... it was cold enough the higher snow pack didn,t melt much and the run off has been high and steady , with more snow building higher up.. so a good run off so far this year and more moisture in the ground than I have ever seen .. I got selected by draw , to hunt a wild turkey ... on the last few days of the hunt, I pulled the insoles out of my hiking boots to accomodate my waders and hunted the soggy hills .. it sure was different to hunt in the spring time with every thing turning green , and wild life every where .. I came across three grizzly's and three black bears in just a few days.. also
hundreds of deer ,a mother fox with about 8 mice in her mouth and still, hunting the next one and had two cougar,s growl in the trees close by. I would imagine at me .. and the Wild Turkey is the goofy 'est thing ever .. and I learned lots about them over the course of two weeks (thanx for the hunting time Suzy Q ) .. And would gladly hunt them with a camera until the next time I get drawn for the hunt .. (although I will miss the gun ) and the fine dinners from the bird ..turky pies tonight were excellent .. And with that experience behind me it is back to fishing season.. We had some good fishing on the Crow then it blew uot .. then it cleared a bit and is still high but fishing good ..some salmon flies are about. I saw my first one a couple weeks ago .. caddis .. mayflies .. midges .. salmon flies any time any day .. but don,t expect all the feeding to be one the surface .. Summit Lake B.C. just over the boarder is fishing great .. those rainbows sure fight ! The Oldman is high but not that dirty .. most of the trout have finished spawning, but watch out for reds , because they are right were you would like to wade ... Our little fly shop will be open 7 Days a week starting June 16th.( untill we burn out ) Opening day for all trout waters in Alberta .. we have a web site for the Crowsnest Cafe and Fly Shop now ... crowsnestcafeandflyshop.ca ... I think ? Any how I have to leave for a quick millwright job on Edson AB, And will fish my way there and back ... definately fishing Lk. Minniwanka in Banff on the way back for lake trout.. So reports on other waters next week .. Crowsnest Cafe and FlyShop 403-563-8510 for fishing info .. keep your tip up Al B.

May Report Crowsnest /Oldman River

Well , conditions change every couple of days with these May blizzards ...The Crowsnest looks beautiful and blue right now and a bit higher ...wade with caution .. I will check out the hatches tomorrow for possible blue wings , probable midges and some times a brown caddis hatch in this lousy spring weather... This snow will melt soon when the sun comes out this August ..and the river will get some colour.. keep in touch .. Gary T. caught a good Lake trout in the Crowsnest river in the lower section again (5-6# lbs. )Suzie has been tying streamers and fishing them this winter , they look like crap, but fish bite them (because they can,t stand the colours) ... she has caught some nice rainbows lately ...and Kirby just stands around muttering about DRY FLY Fishing and bothering people .. The Oldman R. is muddy by Ft. Macleod and upsteam to Pincher creek ....clouded above that ... and muddy coming into the reservoir ..then clear in the closed section ...not much for hatches in this cold weather... The Bow R. looked great around Canmore the other day also .. Suzy ,Gary ,Kirby ,dogs and I visited the Palmer Ranch Springs, and the wind blew , the sleet sleeted and then for a grand final'e .. a horizontal blizzard of dollar size flakes ... I could barely see the end of my rod for an hour, and fishing a white line as usual .... for near an hour I covered that water with various flies and techniques ... the white noise of wind, waves and big wet snowflakes .It was eventually hypnotizing .. lost in casting a white line into a blasting tunnel of snow .. when the blizzard died I saw the first trout in an hour slowly wag it's way under my now visible line.... 15 feet out ... the white noise repressed .... and soon I hear the beep of the Suburban horn , Suzie is done ..broke off a big one, on one of her crappy streamers , the heater is on ,and she ready for home . The boys are back... Gary Taje landed a classic Palmers Ranch chromer ...and he had a Queen Charolette island grin.. watch out for spawning reds .... Al B.

Crowsnest River Fishing Report /April 28 th

The River has cleared up a bit with this cold weather ( visability was 4-5 ft .) , but with the full moon, miniscule midges plagued the water .. size #28 would be too big..making it tough fishing ... but I did catch fish on a #18 midge pattern fished deep on both the Crow and the Oldman. A few skwalla adults skittered about with out being ate . We did not see many May flies hatching even with the bad weather , but it is still April and it,s going to change soon .. Visibility was good this week .. Suzy and I will be fishing the Upper Bow River tommorow in the snow ...guess we picked the wrong week to have a holiday! The streets of Calgary will get a good wash with this weather but that will probably blow out the lower Bow ...maybe we will check it out around Cochrane and report back Saturday .. good luck out there ! Conditions will change soon .... Al B.