Floating the Bow River on a Big Blue Sky Day

It felt like summer. A warm breeze; the river in perfect shape and our friends, Steve and Taryn, inviting us to float the blue ribbon Bow! Steve has been guiding for Out Fly Fishing (OFF) this year. He knows the river well and today maybe his last day to float. His regular work responsibilities are now going to take up a lot of the next 6 weeks!

The day was not to be wasted. We floated from Police Flats to Mackinnon Flats. We decided to fish hopper dropper looking for the big eats that an aggressive rainbow or brown can make when they see a succulent meal.

Well the boat had the 4 of us. That was fun in itself! We visited, enjoyed the sunshine and had lots of laughs.

The fishing? Excellent. Lots of eats by rainbows in fantastic shape. A break off by a biggie, jumping rainbows and hitting Mackinnons Flats in the dark. 

The hoppers were everywhere and we saw lots of October caddis as dusk decended upon us!

We got home late but that big blue sky day with our friends was perfect.

Video of Tay River Restoration Project

Take a look at what we are trying the accomplish! Worth a look!

Darren Exploring New Water

Darren Petersen got out for a bit of exploring some water he was unfamiliar with, a copy of Barry Mitchell's Trout Highway in hand.  He had his buddy Dean's Brittany along, Marten is a hard working hunting dog and he was impressed by his stamina and fearless approach to river crossing in places where most would think twice about.  Marten wasn't too interested in fish but kept the squirrels on their toes!

A smattering of mayflies and small lime and yellow stoneflies were active mid-day and migrating Wilson's warblers and Say's Phoebes darted out from the rock cliffs to fuel up on them.  The whitetail fawns are getting bigger but still have their spots and they saw a doe with twins.  The rock formations covered in moss and rugged cliffs were impressive and their day packs grew heavier as the guys hiked and collected interesting stones for our rock gardens back home.

The guys caught an even mix of Cutthroat and little Rockies.     

Marten growled several times in the darkness around the campfire and later from Dean's tent which made for a lighter sleep, my vivid imagination fretting about whatever the brittany was hearing.  The courage that bear spray and a long blade give in daylight in grizzly country is substantially diminished at night.  Darren laments that it makes a person feel alive being in situations where you might not be the top of the food chain.