Finally the Summer Doldrums Are Over

Hi Everyone!

Karen and I have finally been able to get out on the water lately! It has been a while! Water temperatures have been high and we have been focussing on getting Karen's recovering broken leg strong for an upcoming hike in Scotland. The good news is her leg is getting stronger and can easily handle hikes over 15 plus kms now.

I did have a few late evenings during the brown drake and hex hatch that were outstanding. I was surprised how late the hex hatch started and lasted but I decided not to fly fish it on several evenings because of water temperature being way too high! That is a tough decision when you see large browns gulping big mayflies.

Our big trip to Maligne Lake was cancelled because of fires. It was so sad what happened in Jasper National Park.

Our pot holes lakes will have the water temperature coming down and it will not be long until the boatmen and backswimmers start up!

It is nice to see water temperatures finally coming down. We were at Sylvan Lake a couple of days ago and the water temperature was 64-65F. We decided to fly fish once we agreed the water temperature was ok. We managed to catch pike, lake whitefish, and perch! Most of our fish were caught in 11-13 feet of water depth using small blood worms. We enjoyed our day on the water and it was not busy at all.

Karen has not been ready to hike too far into the backcountry but our kids and grandkids have. They love fly fishing. Above is a picture of Oliver and his twin brother Edwin with a brook trout caught on a Bubba Gump Shrimp!

Karen and I fly fished on the Red Deer River a few days ago. just below the spillway. The water was a bit high but the tailwater temperatures are always excellent because of the bottom drawn water from Gleniffer Lake. Whitefish are starting to move up towards the dam!

Can you see all the brook trout rising? Karen and I were hiking with our family in Sunshine Meadows. All the tarns in the area are teeming with brookies but this area is closed to fishing! Sigh!

I hope you are able to get out on the water. Our summer is usually spent in the high country but that has been limited by family, firs and water temperatures. I can feel fall in the air, time to get our fly rods dusted off!