Back to Southern Alberta to Camp and Fly Fish

Karen and I along with our friends Jay and Lynn headed back to southern Alberta to camp and do some fly fishing. The rivers are in great shape and there was a lot of fly fishers out! We fished a bit and enjoyed the camping and beautiful scenery! Our days always started slowly with coffee and a great breakfast. Karen and I thoroughly enjoy the company of our long time friends, Jay and Lynn! Lots of laughter and solving all the world problems as we sat by the river made the days fly by way too fast! We fly fished around camp and just took it slow. Karen and I have been painting our house so taking a well deserved break was a great reward. The fly fishing was excellent as usual although the cutthroat have become very wary. I even caught a few bull trout. I do not target bull trout but I did connect with a couple.

I always love the benchlands in southern Alberta. They are so enjoyable to walk along!

It is getting dry everybody so consider not having a campfire. Do check if there is a fire ban! They are now being posted in several parts of the province!

Darren Petersen in Parkland Region of Manitoba (late May)

Thanks for the trip report Darren!

Me and my fishing buddy Blake have been drooling for years over the images of Tiger trout you have been posting from trips to the parkland region of Manitoba.  This spring we finally made the Pilgrimage, an especially long haul for Blake travelling from Peace River.  The Tigers did not disappoint and we had a great week of fishing.  We caught a mixed bag of species from several different lakes but a slow day testing new waters sent us back to Twin mid-afternoon for those accommodating hybrids. 

I found them to be a great mix of the best from both species.  The broad shoulders and depth of a brookie with the bull dog pulling power, combined with the length and acrobatics of a brown trout made for an exciting fight, especially when we were fishing shallow.  The other interesting feature of them was how variable their appearance was, beautiful fish.

I had a fun experience on East Goose lake.  In less than an hour anchored off a point I caught a couple nice browns, a good rainbow, a couple perch followed by a pretty decent walleye.  All on the same fly!

It was also a great week of birding with fun opportunities to photograph a Great Egret, Black Terns and big flocks of White Pelicans.  The birdsong surrounding Twin in the early morning was nearly worth the trip and a perfect soundtrack to the fly fishing. 

Another East Goose Walleye

Bernie is Selling His Boat Loader

Bernie Peet is selling his “Load-It” front boat loader, which will take boats of up to 16 ft. in length.  It has a remote control, making loading and unloading very easy. He bought this last year and have only used it a few times so it is in “as new” condition.  He is selling it because he has decided to sell his fifth wheel and so don’t need the loader.  It is simple to install, it just needs a front receiver on your truck and I have the rest, including the instruction manual. Bernie paid $3,500 for the installation and he is asking $2,500, or make him a sensible offer.

P:  +1 403-782-3776

M: +1 403-392-3104

The Hexagenia Hatch

As summer winds up in early July several great hatches will bring the biggest brown trout out of the hiding spots in order to gorge on bugs. The hexagenia and brown drake hatches are certainly two of these hatches. Both happen late in the day and often well into the dark. There are several fly fishers who will gear their fly fishing to these hatches.

The images here are from Steve Luethi. Steve loves to use his macro lens to capture the mayflies and of course the big browns when he has a chance.

Thanks for the great shots Steve!